You move through woods
before you reach the temple
     and cross a flowing stream 
Gentle, so gentle . . . 
     perhaps he's there;
     perhaps not.
Either way you're sure of sweets, and other nourishment
that promises so much.
And like your dreams
not even sleep is required; all is provided free.
The only limitation is--doubt--
nothing else.

For here there is no need of you; you are free
to come and go. Free to see
all that was once relation
wander in a place beyond your expectation.

How can anyone describe what happened? 
    I never asked any questions.
    Didn't relax.
    It's not as if I suddenly became a child.
When others sang
I'd catch my hands
    and watch.
If you asked I'd have to say
    nothing happened--nothing at all.
I didn't know how much was prepared
before I came:
    He merely looked at me . . .
    and, like the wind,
           was everywhere
           suddenly
           everything.

He was the edge of the cliffs
biding me to leap
The leap itself
its river-sound and rock space.
Fear he was, and longing
the hesitation, trust
the standing still. 
    And no matter where I fall
    he holds me. 

Time, it is strange
    to inhabit the earth so lightly,
to have one's proper name
    drop away
like a leaf you hid behind . . .
and have a new name tremble awkwardly
    over your lips . . .
to find the voice behind the lips
    suddenly singing.

It's hard being dead
at first, when the world no longer seems strong
    enough to hold you
and you long to know the time, what
    day it is,
          his name
He is tender with you then, and all doors
are open to you.
He lets you go on wishing
you own wishes; nothing is required.
You are free
to test your world
like a broken toy
against his playful emptiness. Perhaps
this is all you need, a contrast 
    with your world . . .
some sweets, a place to be, a show to watch . . .
Enough---to be no longer who you used to be
Enough---
    But subtle is the path of love.
    No answers and no questions.