The fire and the rose

The fire and the rose  

                                                                           

Eliot, a contemporary of Yours,

quoting Julian of Norwich –

And all manner of thing shall be well

(adding) -- when . . . the fire and the rose are one.

Getting into the rhythm of darshan,

flame of garland about Your throat,

like the pulling of oars,

the snaking queue

and the giving, the giving, the giving

in the heat and dust,

skin golden, sadra translucent;

the sea of fire and the lonely swimmer –

no shore visible in any direction . . .

and the rose of perfection,

the flame of longing – a culmination,

a melding in the heart’s furnace,

intersected and resurrected

in the body and being of the Godman

. . . and all shall be well

and all manner of thing shall be well.

O child of God, bewilderment, (literally – led

into the wilds) is a rare gift from Father to child.