Dark Roots   From strange dark roots our being rose; the sun That blazes manifold within each head Once flung itself in weltering night, and sped World within world; so too, in everyone The same stars shine and the same rivers run; And each is earth and fire, and gold and lead, Both flaming lotus and it's muddy bed, And all primeval Hell and Heaven have spun.   The riddle of our life that tears the brain, Its every contradiction, every hitch, Are knotted in that web of mysteries dire. Nor is there any issue till we drain Pure nectar from the very pits of pitch, And alchemise the flesh to golden fire. Page-83

To Eros (God's Love Incarnate)   Love, the world will wreck you; wait, Fold your wings before they burn; Once you pass the soul's white gate, There is no peace and no return.   Human searching drops hot wax Over your pure secrecies; There is no touch of earth but cracks The heart's white silence, steals your ease.   Earth is dark, unknowing, dumb; How can darkness guess or see What you are and why you come; It destroys your purity.   Love, you do not heed a word, Risk the night, the pain, the lie; Lightning-winged wild heaven's bird, Come and lift earth to the sky. Page-58

Shelter   Draw close to me, O magic Heart, The thunders gather over the deep, Red flaming winds have torn apart The veils of dream and screens of sleep.   Draw close to me within the night; The wild beasts in the water-cave Are grappled in a deadly fight, And there is none but You can save.   O heart of Love, enfold the seas, And sentinel my helplessness; Open your harbours of white peace And shield me in your coved caress.   O shining Light, illumine, free The dream-delusion on the wave, The ancient sleep upon the sea, The wild beast in the water-cave.   Stand far no more in star-carved trance, But in your be

Old Lovely Faces   Old lovely faces which have made Our young lives pure, our wild hearts strong, We come across our sorrow's shade To you, adream with twilight song.   Back to your holy, quiet light, And soft caress of words that free, The smiling peace of star-brows white With inward, distant majesty.   Upon your stillness to lay our pain, And vagrancies of trembling nerves, Our broken dreams and clotted brain Of wounded thoughts your balm preserves.   The work you gave with silent gift Unmurmuring, unproud of heart, Is now the halo in the drift Of cloud that folds you high, apart.   Old faces, mute wi

Play   The world's bright voice and moody fakes Keep us apart: But quietly your beauty breaks Within my heart.   You come in utter loneliness, Call and deny, Play with earth's ways, tease and confess Your hidden lie.   White spaces fold their purity Around my soul; With utter truth You come to me And make me whole. Page-61

"Willing"   Beloved, I am tired of thinking, I put me in your hand, If it's your will I'll never More try to understand.   But let me love you always, Or I shall die, my dear; And if our wills don't tally, Mine 'will' be yours, I fear. Page-151

A Gift of Grace   These simple little gifts of Grace I put down only for Your sake; For passing Time will soon efface The memory of me and break To dust the heart that thrilled to You, The brain Your presence.made so bright, And Silence flood out through and through These vibrant pathways of delight.   Of nought will stay the faintest trace; Nothing remains and all falls still; Only this little gift of Grace May praise You — if it is Your Will. Page-98

The Player   Keep your head, my heart, my heart, Keep your head; If you muddle through your part, You'll soon be dead.   If you bungle all your task, Day after day, Tossing off your painful mask, Who'll play the play?   Grant this much to Him who thought Playing such fun; Pretend to be what you are not — For 'tis all one. Page-40

Part Two Page-75

Sudden Change   The heart sits blank in utter darkness Through days and nights of idiocy, Lonely and still, a vacant desert, A stone's insensibility...   When sudden through the self's vast spaces The shining worlds begin to move, Trailing their moons and starry graces Across the fields of heavenly love;   And suddenly the inner deeps Vault outward to infinity, And all the far blue heaven leaps And merges in the heart's wide sea. Page-135