I am comforted,
By the companionship
Of friends,
In the midst of all
The suffering and
The pain,
Whether it be theirs
or mine;
I drink deeply from
Refreshing waters
With cupped
and grateful
Hands.

Call it a a “translation” or reinterpretation of an ancient poet and one of his works:

Your love leads me
along the treed and verdant paths
Along the babbling brooks that speak of vast and endless silence.
I often walk with eyes closed
My blind steps treading
on right roads,
hearing only your music and your name to guide me,
to the sacred destinations of the heart;
And even though at times
I walk encompassed by the depths of darkness,
The darkest forces
Of the night
my faith
and
your example guide me
To leave me no fear.
And so the bountiful tables
Are often spread out before me
In the midst of all the many that would harbour me ill will;
That would see me harmed and lowly
to placate troubled souls.
Your gifts are many,
rich,and blessings;
a finger dipped in oil,
an abundance
Of the flowing fruit of vine;
Your well springs of
Water, life, and wine
Cupped
revive me
I seek, I walk,
Sure footed and
certain
In your paths of goodness
and compassion,
To arrive,
And rest finally
in the unending
mansion habitations
of your love.

The boatman

Has grown a long
grey beard,
Like a holy man, a monk
With a tall hat,
And a strumming
Ancient oar.
He waits today
and the fates
Declare
there are no takers,
For the journey anywhere,
And just before I’m ready
To pay his fare and more, to distant shore
He overturns his boat
On sandy shore,
and disappears.
Somehow, sometimes,
we all retire and disappear

instead of waiting,
To succeed,
Just before the next new
Traveler
Is about to pay;
But tomorrow;
Tomorrow is yet
another day.

The boatman

Is no where to be seen
No boat, no oars,
No shining angel eyes .
There are only remnant
traces where he’s been.
He’s far away exploring other familiar shores,
And his presence
Is sorely missed.

YOU whose heart was
Enormous, cracked, and sympathetically flawed-
radiating light
from a blazing great fire;
whose eyes
Puffed with weariness
In a body too tired,
and too frail to go on,
With eyes clear and luminous
And shining with wonder
as they often are
in the aged and wise.
The time arises that souls
need to move on,
Like a bird on a wire;
And you knew it was coming,
-this journey-
With a Hineni in song

So many
Moments of a life,
A fleet of
Word,
Song,
Heartbeats,
Breaths,
stitched together,
A soul’s sum
Echoing
in the continuum,
Lasting
Long
And often laced
With joy
And bittersweet.

#LeonardCohen #CarrieFischer #DavidBowie #Prince #GlenFry
#poem #poetry #micropoetry