Held Breath

Seeking, I found;
and so, wide-listening, lay at the heart of all-
an instant-an eternity-who knows?
I lay at the heart of the world and heard the world
from creation to creation
from forever to forever
from now to now.
I heard the seas let forth; the great peaks rise;
the sun burst red across the first day's rim;
and in the churning fogs I heard it set.
I heard the mists rise over forming plains;
I heard the towering trees take root and shape;
I heard the spirit quiver and divide
and scintillate in multiplicity;
I heard the ego enter into flesh.
Deep in the dark and dazzle of the mists
I heard the heartbreak of divided soul;
I heard the teardrops of a spirit flow.
Holding my breath, I heard the breath of things
too near to fathom and too far to change.
I heard love turn to scarlet; truth to beige;
peace turn to saffron; loyalty to gray.

I heard the flame creep on the fleshy wall;
I heard the smoke drift out across the sky;
I heard the fiery embers dim and die
and,
soft as silence,
heard the ashes fall.

~Mary Boyd 1996~