At a time of day, like what it is now -
My love asked me, 'Would you come with me?
To bow your head along with mine
To a shrine of a deity different than thine?'
I looked at her eyes
That were curious and wide
I said 'I would accompany you
To where ever you may go,
But I cannot promise, that along with thine
My head shall bow'
It is because my bow comes from my Heart
And my heart has a mind of its own
I imagine I would bow -
At at majestic columns or a dome
At marble arches or spires of stone
But only if my heart is overflown
My head could also bow - I imagine -
At a small silent temple,
Or a tranquil durgah
Or a solemn chapel
Or perhaps in a shaman's hut
If my heart encounters divine peace
I feel I would surrender still,
To a mere rock or a shady brook
To the cool, still waters of a pond or a lake,
Or some shore or cliff or a daybreak
If it thrusts into my heart
A million murmurs of content
Even if from afar, I see a place
Where the hungry are fed
Or the weary find respite,
The lonely are taken into company
Or where the shunned are welcomed
Where childish clamour becomes music
Where humanity partakes the sacred dance of life without shame,
You'd see my heart overwhelmed with holy tears
And my soul already prostrate
There are times however, when I imagine I could not bow -
Places where deep, dark, dogma rots and a stench runs afoul
Where unity is separated and love becomes exiled
If force and might are mistaken for justice and righteousness
Where life is caged in the terror of violence
My heart. I imagine, would revolt at places like these
Because it is not beholden to pamphlets or tablets
Of any size or age - for it has a mind of its own.
I imagine my heart would become defiant
If truths were rejected
And lies installed in the seats of beliefs
If the innocent are persecuted
Or if ignorance is taught as virtue
I think if ambrosia even, were fed by force
My heart would reject it
If any parchment or word spoken
Teaches me to hate and fear
It would only teach me to hate itself
I believe my heart would reject
Light that twinkles of illusion and fails to illuminate
Or turn away in an instant from
The deafening noise of smug blabbering idiots
Throw away anything that propagates the tar
That poisons my heart and misdirects my actions
I would strike with great force
To shatter the symbols of false perceptions
That propagate serpents which constrict the breath of life
Which produce horrendous laments
Or generate a maddening lust of destruction
Because I am but a mere man
And as a mere man I would continue to be
My Heart I respect and observe -
With fresh streams of experience do I water it
Feed it with the dense honey of knowledge
While the company of greater hearts provides it shade
And from time to time,
Cull the weed and pest that may have grown near it
Suddenly I forget - I remember
My love and her curious wide eyes
And I say 'I shall go
To your shrine, with you'
