I have treasured this cave.
Its echoes met me in my wordless cries.
These shadows have borne my sorrows and taken me in.
These grooves of water-worn stone have been my comfort
and without them I could not have found my joy. 

It is hard to trust the light again.

I stumble in the woods, falling
to my knees, speaking nonsense to the trees. 
The rocks remind me of so much. Still, I know I am 
ready to receive this blessed communion with life and become
one, heart and mind united, no more divided.

In the distance I see a world. 
it is blurry now, hazy like a dream,
and you are coming through the clearing. 

• 

You have valued your swords:
Your sword of truth expressed so eloquently and also
that sword you wielded against all you thought you must defend.
The sharp blade has served you well through time, pointing you
back to the centerpoint and truth that needs no argument.

It is hard to lay it down again.

You reach for the familiar, straining
for those kingdoms that you built once upon a time. 
The castles remind you of so much. Still, you know you are
ready to give your whole self to all that is, will be and ever was
and bear witness to grace and goodness multiplied.

Closer than you realized you see a world.
It seems an illusion (too good to be true ?) reflected 
by the sun in your sword and I am there, a glimmer.