ghaley shu

thus it was said

with a heavy heart

my virtue declined by my pride

i know it now

the fires of love and hate must burn out

the push and pull of two must exhaust its course

pinched against the bars of my view

held captive by an unfriendly warden

and still knowing that returning fire with kindness

is like making the warmest hearth

in the harshest winter

only the shaman can take the darkest tears

and turn what he touches into light

with rough hands and red spun wool

the gentle clatter of beads

between butter lamp lit primal chants

your dorje to my bell the whole of none

cloaked in white robes

of the mountains blanket snow

where the heart’s deepest wealth

hold the jewels of truths

sacred waters

blood red coral and turquoise veins

nestled in the valley of a mind

I squeezed tight in a bind

the suffering of this great divide

between inbreath and outbreath

forces distilled clear insight

where the knots still hold

you were the glorious sun that was my light

a mistake I made out of weakness

to crave you as much as I love you

a drop of desire has bled in so deep

it made a bed of my bones

I could have paid for lifetimes

and to find you only to see

I’ve drifted away in the stream

and this ache of perpetual need is hell

I want to wake from this dream

but the Himalayas haven’t left me

the trails are a map to the stupa

where I froze the tears of my mothers

the quiet strength of my human heart

that remains fluid against

the nakedness of heat

consuming flames of compassion

eradicating the excess complexity

so the truth pure and fluid

can pour into any cup

fill you to the brim in my heart i bring you in

in the tiny corner of my hearth with bread and beer

but the sands distant lands

have slipped through my fingers

of different hands so many times

I own nothing except my will

i lost my home and my name

so i’m leaving now

ghaley shu

this is my parting sorrow

because who knows where I’ll be

I’ve wandered far to find

eyes like yours they speak to me

and show me there again

I see the end in the start

the joy is sweeter than before

the farewell that breaks my heart

is the key to my prison cell

that i could for once say goodbye and stay

to not suffer change

only to get lost in the world

start all over again

crossing the vast unknown

diving into the ocean’s wisdom

on my little boat i’m leaving

ghaley shu

as i say hello i know we must part

this wonderful beginning

is the end in disguise

the freedom and liberty

is in the path of embracing joy

without holding onto the road

_/|\_

Ogyen