By Hydeh Aubon
Facing the ocean,
I stood in a doorway
with no door.
It was made out of ancient rocks,
it was unsteady and full of cracks,
and, it was built on sand.
Nevertheless, I stood high
and observed the ocean.
Once, a horseman passed
with a basket of fresh herbs.
I accepted the herbs,
the passion and generosity
of healing, turned my face,
and I let him go.
Once, a lady passed with
a basket full of fragrant blossoms.
I accepted the promise of life,
the promise of never-ending
new beginnings,
and I let her pass.
Once, a child was running with a group of
colorful butterflies and in her
hand she held a kite
soaring so high with
a rainbow tail of dreams,
manifesting with each step.
I watched her pass as I envied her.
Once, a group of
unknown spirits passed
lovingly smiling at me;
vast, as the unknown
beautiful as uncertainty,
unreachable as answers,
and familiar as nothing and everything.
I closed my eyes, so afraid of
the possibility of them being real.
Recently, an old being
stood in front of my doorway
and without uttering a word asked me,
how long was I going to
stand in a fragile doorway
without ever stepping forward?
I said, I know of a whale
in the vastness of this ocean and
sometimes, I just close my eyes
and the whale hears me.
One day, I will walk to the ocean
get on the back of that whale
and go to the endless
unknown.
I looked into the unknown’s eyes
an old hand was stretched
and I grabbed it stepping
outside of the doorway.
The smell of apples, herbs, blossoms,
the ocean,and
the presence of eternity,
What could be more magical?
What could be so uncertainly reassuring?
No, I do not need to follow the colorful butterflies
or enviously look at the birds soar
or a kite of my dreams vanishing
in the beyond.
The hand I grabbed was my own
and when I smell the apple,
somehow, I know
that nothing matters.
Hydeh Aubon (2/1/09)