You will not waste your life.
It is a diamond
set into your heart
and light escapes
through the many windows
opening you to the world.

Everything that has hurt you
is the carving of the jewel,
brilliant facets
formed in rough hands
that have struck you down.
Pain is a teacher.

There is nothing to fear
if you remember
you are safe
in the treasure house
of awareness,
the spacious center

everywhere, the pure air
of devotion,
love that breathes
into the emptiness
of suffering.
This you can trust. 


from ‘House of the Unexpected’ (Wild Ocean Press)
and ‘Torch’ (an unpublished manuscript)