And I Will Sing

There was no altar.
No sacrifice made,
though I drew near -
nearer than breath
or light,
and I lingered
in a sanctuary
made of holiness
and time.

I tasted sweetness there,
and light that flickered
and danced
and rose higher -
a haloed spark of gold
and blue.
The air was filled
with blessing
and music,
a psalm of thanks
that lifted me
and filled me,
and I sang out my joy.

I was returned,
as ever,
as always,
to this place of
sacred benediction,
and I was whole
in that place
and I sang out my praise.

And now I leave,
step back across
a chasm as wide as
time, or the beat
of my heart, or
infinity squared,
but I leave with a secret,
a promise that lingers
like a kiss -

I will carry these blessings,
this sweetness,
this joy
with me,
ever and always.
Even here,
I will carry them
as a leaf carries dew.
And I will be filled.
And I will be whole.
And I will return,
as ever
as always,
to this place,
this sanctuary of holiness
and time,
and I will sing.

And When I Leave

I am not ready
To leave this place
this time
this rest.
I am not ready
for the separation that
must come, not while
I still smell
the sweetness
of cardamom and cloves.
I want to linger
in this holy time
this sacred promise
And be
Just be.
But the stars are dancing
One
Two
Three
A thousand
Infinity and
More,
They scatter like pebbles
strewn on a field of
velvet night.
And there are numberless shades
of dark,
broken by those infinite and
silvered pebbles.
And oh! my feet ache
to explore that vast expanse,
even as my heart yearns
to stay,
to linger
in this place,
where I can still
taste the wine
that teases my tongue.
But I have blessed
The thin line that
Separates
Dark from
Light,
From Sacred
And Holy.
I have found
Rest and
peace and
comfort
and God.
And when I leave,
Though I ache to linger,
I will take with me
the sweet scent of spice, and
the teasing taste of wine, and
I will hear, Forever
the guttering of a candle
into a cup of wine,
Which will Forever be
the sound of Promise
and the promise of
Return.