For All, But Especially You... And You... And You Poem by Diana van den Berg

A prayer has just arabesqued
Inside the shelter of my heart,

Like a tiny flowerbud
In humble self-confidence
Opening its sepals
And giggling its petals
Into my forest garden
In joy;

Like a wavelet
Tickling the shore
In foam-edged, sea-foal delight;

Like the sun
Mischievously peeking
Through grey-day clouds
And hide-and-seek light
On prancing, translucent leaves;

Like mountain-tops
Blue in sky-dream distance;

Like the lovelight
Glowing in the eyes
Of my adored fur-babies;

And the prayer, the prayer
Oh, the prayer

It is for all whom pain
Of any hue
Is touching
Or ever did
Or some time will,

For pain,
If explored
And caressed
And understood,

Unites
And teaches
And, yes, comforts,
And births art
Of quiver-cry beauty,

May you find
The warmth you seek
Whether for
A butterfly-wing flutter moment
Or a lily-day
Or a redwood lifetime,
And may you seize it,
Embrace it,
Celebrate it,
Dance it,
Immortalise it,
Honour it
In gratitude
And bliss;

But the prayer is
So
Very
Very
Much
More
For those whom pain
Has not reached,
Or has - but without
Your exploration,
Your caress,
Your understanding,
Without having united you
With the fellow-members
Of the human race
Or nature
Or God,
Without having taught you
Lessons you love,
Without having brought you
The comfort of exhausted tears,
Without having birthed
A beauteous poem
Or story
Or painting
Or sculpture
Or thought,

For the dead-ache sadness
In that
Stops my breath,

May your hearts
Open and melt
To tsunami tears
Of sharp cold stone pain
And dragonfly happiness
As wild and gentle as a gazelle,
And eagle freedom
As bright as sunlight on silent snow,
As warm as summer palm-beaches,
As consoling as pan-flute solos,
Leading you down the pathway,
Dewdrop-rich in minuscule, eye-wide discoveries
To the wonder
And the blessing
And the solace
And the glory
Forever and ever
Of
Uninhibited feeling.
Amen.

(31 December 2011)