On and Off the Path

It’s the light above the path

that points to the path that

makes it a path.

The way the sun off the moon

lights the oar with the peace

we were looking for while we

sleep it off adrift in the boat.

It’s the light above the heart

that points to the heart that

makes each path necessary.

The way going there always

brings us here. The way loving

another always brings us

to ourselves.

It’s the light we drop and

leave that makes each

giving a path.

The way a carpenter builds

home after home; knowing

that the sawing, the planing,

the hinging, the building

is his home.

It’s the light we are but never

see that makes each soul a path.

The way the blossom of all

we feel and all we hide makes

the search for beauty unnecessary.