Derek Walcott says:
The time will come when with
elation you will greet yourself
arriving a your own door, in your
own mirror and each will smile at
the other’s welcome, and say, sit
here. Eat. You will love again the
stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back
your heart to itself, to the stranger
who has loved you all your life,
whom you ignored for another,
who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from
the bookshelf, the photographs,
the desperate notes, peel your
own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life!
Here the 79-year-old Trinidad poet offers us great wisdom: we are in error when we focus all of our longing on the lover, the child, grandchild, friend, lost spouse, passed away friend, or any other human being who is unavailable to us. In part, the true longing is for our own lost selves. Rumi says losing the taste of our own essence is what hurts the soul.
Poets, mystics and great souls join together in trying to teach us that we have been given our own body, heart and mind for instructional purposes: learn to love the “stranger who was yourself.” Love what’s close at hand, and the flow of love will soon wash over those nearby, those farther away, and finally, over the whole, precious world.
There’s a powerful image in Lisa Starr’s beautiful poem about the old dying dog. He lifts his head one last time even though it hurts, one last time to be a part of this unutterably beautiful world with its water and boats, and “so much blue.”
Blessings to you dear visitor. I will be unable to post again right away. You can reply here or contact me at drvlee1234@aol.com.
