Sunday January 23
*
A glimpse
forth toward the steep climb
to the leading light of my long day
slight gentle beautiful determined bright one
patiently making her way
she firmly alone firmly herself
to quietly remind me
that not so far away
for she I we two
our warm and bright future day
And to her then to say to tell
of how I continue to spin
in quiet patience the thread
for the loom as that upon
which we weave our
destiny together
through all difficulties
and all changes
and of the way
over Dungda La
To gaze out over
Mount Dungri Karpo
glorious beneath the open sky
from dark outcrops
to blazing snow
that stuns the eyes
and lifts the spirits
of weary travellers
Then to a place
where the stone of sand
cut deep and stark
into the earth
reveals the sparkling
green depths of Mekong Da chu
Far will it flow
through two thousand kilometers
twelve hundred miles through
these walls of rock
that once sat beneath
the waves of Tethys sea
eternal ages ago
To the lands below
2400 miles of vast bends
to the delta that bears it's name
But we make our way
here at this place
the bridge they call Druka Zampa
to rise from the far side
over Lao Shan La
Look beautiful one
an alpine meadow
vast beneath the sky
where juniper grows
its branches wave in the wind
graceful to and fro
with needles from whence come
the sacred smoke
that ascends from a dwelling
sheltered with its boughs
and windblown bushes grow here
beneath whose shade
grow plants of healing power
that bring the essence
of clear dry untainted air
to those who struggle
for breath of life
and flowers of brilliant color that rise up
everywhere to bring warm beauty
upon this high vast plain
All this not so wonderful
to my straining eyes
as your determined beauty
and swift uplifted grace
that endures with patient dignity
this that I see in you
beneath the open sky
on this afternoon
of our winter of working and waiting
Lotus blossoms rest
upon the window sill
and so we wait
two as one
we our effort
real and lasting
slight gentle
beautiful one
January 18
* courtesy of A Luminous Diamond (Bright) Crystal Show productions.
reference material for the poem is courtesy of the Footprint Tibet handbook by Gyurme Dorje.