when you have lived
self-absorbed, or self-
abandoned for a day
or many days
or years

and you yearn
to re-enter the stream

rise early—let the dawn
light wash your face
return to the first
prayers, the first slow
habits of silence

live without thought
 
do not try to invent
new ways of meeting
yourself on the path

be like the gardener
following the trace
of the grass stem’s long
white root in soft spring soil
so she may slide it whole
unharmed, from the darkness
beneath her feet

and restore it to the meadow
where it can grow
embraced and embracing
the water-seeking roots
of its companions

become the green harp
strings it raises
to catch the wind’s
wandering song
                         5/9/2005