Circa late 70s, one of a zillion things written for the lovely Carrie Sue, at a point in our relationship that was fraught with the challenge of reconciling her unique brand of spirituality with my own spiritual agnosticism. -g

you

are a mirage

you

shimmer before me

you

are transparent

you

are only illusion

i

reach out

i

find nothing for my grasp

but still

your image

waves before my eyes

i

try again

some substance this time

you

begin to collect matter about your image

loose now, offering my hand

slight resistance

as it passes through

you

but

you

are not really

there

i

cry

because

i

need you

not as an energy field

holding particles of matter

i

need you

not as an image for my vision

you

have a spirit

i

am after

i

am often mistaken

i

often search for your spirit

by seeking

you

physically

i

search for

you

you

become mirage

i

will never find

you

looking for

you

the way

i

do

so

i

stop looking for

you

and start looking for

me

i

find myself

in a space

i

sit amongst a variety of images

they are all

me

there

is the image of fear

there

is the image of love

there

are millions of images

they

are all

me

but

i

sit in the center

then

i

am lifted

i

am rising

above the ground

covered with images

i

am rising above

the sum of my parts

i

am reaching my center

now

i

am there

it

is a warm place

it

is a free place

it

is my place

now

i

am back again

but

i

am still here

in my center

here

in my center

there

you

are

are

you

a mirage?

you

shimmer before

me

i

reach out

i

encounter resistance

my

hand does not pass through

you

you

are here

you

are in my center

you

have always been here

i

had only to look within

me

to find

you

this

is why

i

love

you

this

is why

i

will always love