to worship You
is to worship the beauty
of the caged soul
to know that deep inside those
grieving walls
and ruinous halls
lies a joyous state
a part of me that lives in union
with the unknowable Lord

the lamp that serenely burns
at your sacred alter
has no wish other than
to be aflame in divine love
such a flame burns inside
each one of us
to find the meaning of You
knowing well that it may never
come to pass

O great mystery of mysteries
the long chains of karma
that’ve followed me past oceans deep
You’ve unchained by a mere glance
if I were buried a thousand times
at one place
even the thousandth grave
wouldn’t be enough
to thank you for your merciful grace

slowly yes the world I know
is waking up
waking to the force
of your soothing presence
my inner world is shifting too
it meditates on You
every strength it draws
it draws from You
in your unearthly feet at last it knows peace

Your speech so divine
aren’t words but prophecies
time like an old mutt wags its tail
when You arch a brow to change its course
as You pat its head
some breathe new life
some are healed and some
well some drown
in your mercy

to your worship I devote this life
for even a thousandth grave
cannot repay your kindnesses
the dead weight of death
the glittering joys of life
hold no sway
the goodness that comes of You
is pure gold
everything it touches it burns to gold

O smiling Lord
to worship You is to ascend
to the high heavens
while alive
all human grief sorrow and pain
like shadows in the sky dissipate
You alone are real
a billion stars in the galaxy
and You the Sun that powers them all