Echoes by Abdallah (9/23/01)
Oh
Friends
The
word has all but lost its meaning
And
the desert grows increasingly vast and dry.
The
oysters lie barren deep beneath the sand
And
their pearls discarded as worthless
Lie
trampled in the dust.
Oh
Friends
The
eternal voice that has thrown galaxies across the heavens
Echoes
against these canyon walls
The
ancient call of the one true mystery longing to be answered.
But
only a few rare witnesses
Are
out beneath this brilliant sky of diamonds
Only
a few are feeling this majestic midnight breeze
Against
their tear streaked face this evening.
Only
a few are breathing the breath of this vast moment
A
liquid breath of timeless sacrament.
Everyone
else has gone inside to lie in the dust of their musky graves.
Everyone
else has pulled the covers of this world over their heads
They
long for the rest of forgetfulness
While
shivering in the shadows of sleep.
Oh
Friends
If
we only knew a taste of a taste of a taste
Of
the vast vision of the witnesses of this one voice
We
would surely cry for forgiveness
And
never cease.
For
tiredness or pain or loneliness would not stop our tears
Nor
mountains nor rivers nor oceans would hinder our weeping.
The
awesome beauty of this night
Would
tear through our souls like a blazing comet
A
piercing fire that was never kindled from any spark
Nor
will it ever be extinguished.
Oh
Friends
Few
of us indeed have the courage to go out at this late hour
And
prostrate upon this desert
Beneath
this sky
And
breathe this breath
And
witness this beauty beyond all expression
And
weep before this ineffable Mercy.
Far
far to few will even listen to the call of the ones who witness
How
can they even hope of witnessing themselves?
What
then are words to them but phantoms and ghosts
And
pearls that seem as dust?
Echoes already faded and quite and so very very far.