having loved enough and lost enough

   Having loved enough and lost enough,                            

   I'm no longer searching                                                    

   just opening.                                                                      

   No longer trying to make sense of pain

   but trying to be a soft and sturdy home                       

   in which real things can land.                                       

                                                                                               

   These are the irritations                                                 

   that rub into a pearl.                                                       

                                                                                                                                                        

   So we can talk for a while                                                                                 

   but then we must listen                                                  

   the way rocks listen to the sea.

  And we can churn at all that goes wrong

  but then we must lay all distractions

  down and water every living seed.

  And yes, on nights like tonight

  I too feel alone.  But, seldom do I

  face it squarely enough

  to see that it's a door

  into the endless breath

  that has no breather,

  into the surf that huan

  shells call God. 

Mark Nepo