i am forced to polish my inner lamp

We cannot live for ourselves alone.
Our lives are connected
by a thousand invisible threads..
~ Herman Melville

i am forced to step through
the small doorway, and hold
hands with the light that was
always there--just hidden from view

i am forced to polish my inner
lamp ever more brightly
so as to feel the light shining
burning from the inside out

atrocities can kill the spirit
when we take the hand of mind's insistence;
we can choose the heart- just on the surface
of the pond's soul to take control

shining luminosity from forest to star cluster
from green algae, our swans glide smoothly above
to the squirrel's green eyes resting on fallen log
in this moment of loving- we remind ourselves

the more we practice compassion
the more we can shine the light
for others who are in pain

the sun and rain:
in misty harmony,
WE will find peace again

as we witness the oneness woven
each of us-- a perfect thread
stitched into the same peaceful blanket

reds, purples, blacks,
whites, yellows, blues-

we can only contribute
to each other's beauty

what we take away

from ourselves, we take away
from the blessed
whole of humanity

so be it

Kate Lamberg