Realization

 This is a poem I wrote many years ago on July 20, 1976
. . . . . .

I passed into a sleep remembering
Distant poetry's shore in sight
I heard a call which beckoned
For some time now it has come

Come and find me
For I am the One
A touch in heart I felt and set aside
I awoke again and thought

I knew my beauty
And truth in who I was
And the world ahead of me stood
As I to the one behind

I saw across a field
Standing those I knew upon a hill
They stood looking at me posed in silence
I could not hear them

I looked to myself
And opened my arms in wonder
My eyes fell down encompassing my body
It was me

And then I turned
To see what was behind me now in front
It was dark at first
And then a path appeared

And I took a step in that direction
For I knew it was from where the beckon called
And with me I took one thing
That touch I had in heart

Along this way I passed through those doors once more
Many things which made no sense a sense
My touch in heart flared to light
While my eyes were blinded

And so for some time
I walked
All along though unable to see
I continued forward

For quite some time I walked
Now unable to see either behind or ahead
I was conscious only of my own truth forward moving
For I could not turn around; I cried

The tears with time they dried
And a fresh breeze christened my cheeks
I had had enough
And I was off again

I stood up strong and demanded Life
These things I would not have
And the God I knew acknowledged
I heard from within my own echo

For reverberation trusted me
And I knew it
All else was silent amidst the roar
And I knew it

And for some time I knew
There were paths to chose from
Which I had chosen not to see
There was something to see before

And recalling the hill from where I came
The light in my heart began to flare
No matter what the darkness brought
It could not seem to extinguish its warmth

And here I knew I had to face
The silence amidst the roar
For in front of me I saw a boat
And it was meant for me to launch

I realized again though through the journeys
I still stood still
Change was all around me
While my eyes fell again and it was me

This place I had been had given much
I knew my love and I knew their intentions
But this place and destiny I sought
could not be had but any other way
I had to see it for myself, being silent amidst the roar

I realized I had two destinies to follow
This I saw before and this I saw again
Listen well for here lies another key
I had to face the trust handed me

My course could be charted
And I knew it
And it was time
And I qualified it with all I knew

The chart I placed in a bottle
And set it to float behind me
Among the sea should one find it
Be silent amidst the roar

© Tony Beach 2007