3/9/2004

Returning from
a pilgrimage
to the forest
in which
desperate
she lied to me
about
who she was
initiating a mystery
that invited resolution
and transformation
into the person
beneath
assorted appearances
she had always been
able at last
to settle down to
work
and a fitting life
I pass through
a venerable university
awareness of
the forgotten world
coming
back to me
finding there
put aside
the shirt
off my back
I was glad
I hadn't lost
removed
absentmindedly
when it
got too hot
my small pack
perhaps lost
disconcerting
losing one's belongings
though not
as I think about it
a serious loss
all roads leading
irrespective
of other circumstances
back to the place
from which I began
rested
and resting still
ready now
perhaps
knowing who I am
to recognize
what I find
for what it is.