Saturday, November 6, 2010

sail with me

elegance
was never a feature
of the lexicon of my presence

grace
-long internalized-

only now
finds a place
a voice
in the telling of
my knowing of this place

a voice akin
to the raised call
of someone passing
on a river
in a small sailboat

in their voice
the reassurance
of companionship
care
a shared joy
an understanding
that in the night
as you drift downriver
while you sleep alone
you
will meet
if nowhere else
at least
in
the dreamworld

"sunset glow at tone river"

15 comments:

Linda Sue said...

Why am I crying all of a sudden...really! Maybe it's the sleeping alone and meeting in the dreamworld that nailed me...

Elisabeth said...

a wonderful thought, Steven, that we might meet in the dream world.

Ruth said...

The first word of the poem mark the journey of this soft and rather melancholy (in a good way) poem. There is longing, and even though it seems unfulfilled directly, there is something like connection. Really lovely, Steven.

hope said...

I love that first line...I can so relate. :)

I like the thought of sailing during dreams..nicely done!

Friko said...

I really don't know how you can find these wonderful words almost day after day.

I wish I could visit your internal landscape, steven.

Dan Gurney said...

I share Friko's wonderment at your creativity. I'm guessing based on your reply to Weaver yesterday, that you hear inspiring voices not only in dreamland as you say in this post, but these inspiring voices also appear in your periods of meditation.

Ruth said...

I tried to leave a comment earlier, if you got it, no need to post this one.

I was struck with the melancholy of this, in a good way. The longing that in itself is satisfying.

steven said...

linda sue - my sense is that despite the wonders of legal, romantic, digital, physical, emotional spiritual, creative connection - we are alone. in some ways. while entirely connected in others. i'll celebrate the "entirely connected in others" for as long as i am here! steven

steven said...

elisabeth - i think that there are ways of meeting not entirely mediated by the obvious. steven

steven said...

ruth every so often words arrive that i allow into tis place because they carry such presence in my own little experiencing of the world they i know they belong here as givens. i am pleased that you found an echo or resonance in them. steven

steven said...

hello hope. i think that people wish for a sort of presence that they never quite match. it is somehow beyond their grasp. then they discover that in fact they have a presence and it is so essential and so lovely that it is good just as it is. steven

steven said...

friko - i don't know how they arrive really. my internal landscape is as rich and convoluted as your own! it's a lovely place to spend time if you know the language, can manage the terrain, and are willing to ignore th many shortcomings, expectations, and sudden flourishes!!! steven

steven said...

dan - so much arrives on my bicycle rides, my morning awakening sitting and also my times in the woods. so much fortune has come my way - fortune that others might view as odious, challenging, perhaps even misfortune. but i have been gifted with the ability to see and know goodness regardless (and more recently to be able to express that same goodness) and so i spend time making myself available to the insights and understandings that only come through the gentle practices! steven

steven said...

ahhh ruth i don't know why your comment took its time getting up and posted but it made it all the same! the word "longing" is intriguing because i used a similar word recently with my students to help them frame their thinking around waiting for something. longing and waiting being the experiencing of the process of connecting who we are with who we wish to be. steven

Lisa Ursu said...

Steven, your words are so marvelous,
you have kept them well.
thank you for sharing.