Before the Presence

Now in this autumn life I realise

Beyond desire and the unconscious act

The guidance of the accompanying friend.

In this present birth and births held long before

I move as if a stranger to my soul.

Unchanged within I watch the seasons pass

And feel the winter of my days approach.

Like a child asleep within its mother's arms

I must wake new-born to beauty and delight

Cast off the false persona of the self

And kneel before the Presence once again.