BY JAN HAAG
YESTERDAY
2-10-98
I was deceived by the divine
beauty of yesterday
and came away without my umbrella,
unprotected,
chilled, angered, perhaps,
by the relentlessness of dismal
happenings.
I wanted no part of reality, no reasons why the
season
of beauty could not last but a single day.
I knew. I was
mature. I had lived to see
the endless, mindless parade of
frightful
small occurrences that could destory the fortitude
of
a sadhu. "Never mind," said the wise. "Fight
back," said the young. But
have you noticed the serene
smiles on the faces of the
elderly
who know you needn't fight back, you needn't be
angered
or chilled, you are protected by the day
and the night and
the rhythm of what comes and what goes.
"Let there be change," said
God, and there was
light. Light! O Devayani, light enough to
illuminate the world,
the night, the full moon, the laughter of those
who
never laugh. Change it from divine beauty
to driven sorrow.
Never mind. Greet it all. Welcome what is.
Copyright © 2000 Jan Haag
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Jan Haag may be reached via e-mail: jhaag@u.washington.edu
Etruscan Goddess
Father
Feeding Frenzy
Gifts
India
Interstellar Space, 7-5-97
Lung-gom-pas
Micro Paleontology
Nothing
Point of View, 7-5-97
The Roaring Silence of God, 4-3-95
Roots
Ryoanji
Silence
Solstice, 12-21-97
Steady Drizzle
Two Tomatoes
BY JAN HAAG