LONG LIFE
Once, years ago
I emerged from the woods
in the early morning
at the end of a walk
and it was the most casual of moments
as I stepped from under the trees
into the mild, pouring-down sunlight
I experienced a sudden impact,
a seizure of happiness
it was not the drowning sort
of happiness
rather the floating sort
I made no struggle toward it;
it was given
– Mary Oliver
AWAKENING
When you start understanding
How the formless
Takes a form
Once you realize
How the senseless
Comes into senses
The instant you grasped
How the tasteless
Develops a taste
The moment you know
How the idiot
Becomes the wisest
How the virtues
Transforms into sins
How the slumber
Gives rise to awakening…
– V. B. Eudaimonia