Divine Our Song

"If only things might stay as they once were

And beauty not be tried beneath the sun,"

Looking at azaleas overgrown

As cancer travelled swiftly through her cells

Diminishing her in stature, not in soul.

Once could not counsel with empty platitudes

The obvious that she already knew,

That change is the saving constant of our lives,

For like a chrysalis the body holds

The growing spirit safe within the shell

And those who have embarked as on a raft

Knowing not the journey's end as faith

The rudder, steering, certain of the course,

Steadies the craft mid the buffeting winds,

The turbulence and roiling of life's seas,

We all set sail to undiscovered shores

Seeking for serenity and peace

And perhaps more, a truer way of life,

A higher goal than yet has been attained

Though the pull of mortal memory is strong

And human love in all its poignancy

Our crown of beauty and integrity.

Slowly we walked on scented garden paths

The word once powerful in silence stayed

Our lips; behind the heart the psychic knew

There would not be a looking back for us

This dreamlike oneness never to come again

But deeper love would blossom through the days

Until the chalice filled and overflowed

With gratitude for all the years we grew

To widen out encompassing the world,

Embracing earth, humanity and God.

Divine our song divine the life to be.