Circles

The circle is the shape which satisfies
It shows us the beginning as the end
Symbolic of departure and return
The shape to borrow or the shape to lend
Of new life being born as old life dies
The shape to return by the shape we send

A young man goes on his journey to learn
And if he comes back home again he brings
A lesson learned the hard way home with him
And when no longer young an old man sings
About it gravely though it was a whim
Of a young man who was curious to see
If he could do it and who found he could
I know this because he used to be me
And if I could remember more I would

The circle is the shape to harmonize
Our coming and going the gain and loss
The up and down of both ends as the same
Of our departing and our arriving
The shape which joins the credit to the blame
Of being fired and of being the boss

The circle is the shape of surviving
All the pain of getting back home again
Where gold is gleaned from detritus and dross
Where souls are lost their circles still remain
As ruts worn in the earth by the striving
Of the limited for the limitless
The temporary for the permanent
Like a dog who chases his tail unless
The dog knows it is his and where it went

+Steven Curtis Lance



Copyright MMVIII