Another oldie

I wrote this for a friend. A dear friend who questioned his place and mission on the Colorado mountaintops. Enjoy.

The Why of it.

You ask why you are here.
Is this not the question
we would all ask?
But for today,you are here
because this place has called you -
to walk in different gardens -
to walk in that which is frozen in this place –
to walk in the bright glare of nightfall.

You are here
to kneel at the grave of your grief
in tribute.
To complete the circle;
trying to catch your shadow
and dance on the edge of darkness;
running from
and to
the waiting arms of life.

You are here to soak your feet
in the cold runoff of melting mercy.
To climb from the depths
and reach for the stars.
And to descend to the love
that is waiting.

When you find yourself
in the raven’s blackness,
between a hardrock
and the soft underbelly
of pain and exhaustion;
when you are up against your limits;
when you have run
until the pyre has burned itself out,
You will find the healing hand
of the mountains.

And the Why
of being here
will no longer be important.

7/10/05