Become Becoming
Wait for evening.
Then you’ll be alone.
Then you’ll be alone.
Wait for the playground to
empty.
Then call out those companions from childhood:
Then call out those companions from childhood:
The one who closed his
eyes
and pretended to be invisible.
The one to whom you told every secret.
The one who made a world of any hiding place.
and pretended to be invisible.
The one to whom you told every secret.
The one who made a world of any hiding place.
And don’t forget the one who
listened in silence
while you wondered out lout:
while you wondered out lout:
Is the universe an empty
mirror? A flowering tree?
Is the universe the sleep of a woman?
Is the universe the sleep of a woman?
Wait for the sky’s last
blue
(the color of your homesickness).
Then you’ll know the answer.
(the color of your homesickness).
Then you’ll know the answer.
Wait for the air’s first
gold (that color of Amen).
Then you’ll spy the wind’ barefoot steps.
Then you’ll spy the wind’ barefoot steps.
Then you’ll recall that
story beginning
with a child who strays in the woods.
with a child who strays in the woods.
The search for him goes on
in the growing
shadow of the clock.
shadow of the clock.
And the face behind the
clock’s face
is not his father’s face.
is not his father’s face.
And the hands behind the
clock’s hands
are not his mother’s hands.
are not his mother’s hands.
All of Time began when you
first answered
to the names your mother and father gave you.
to the names your mother and father gave you.
Soon, those names will
travel with the leaves.
Then, you can trade places with the wind.
Then, you can trade places with the wind.
Then you’ll remember your
life
as a book of candles,
each page read by the light of its own burning.
as a book of candles,
each page read by the light of its own burning.
~ Li-Young Lee
~
(Behind My
Eyes)
Web archive of Panhala postings: www.panhala.net/Archive/Index.html
To subscribe to Panhala, send a blank email
to Panhala-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To unsubscribe from Panhala, send a blank email to Panhala-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com