Wednesday, July 03, 2013
Mark Strand--poem
Old Man Leaves Party
It was clear when I left the party
That though I was over eighty I still had
A beautiful body. The moon shone down as it will
On moments of deep introspection. The wind held its breath.
And look, somebody left a mirror leaning against a tree.
Making sure that I was alone, I took off my shirt.
The flowers of bear grass nodded their moonwashed heads.
I took off my pants and the magpies circled the redwoods.
Down in the valley the creaking river was flowing once more.
How strange that I should stand in the wilds alone with my body.
I know what you are thinking. I was like you once. But now
With so much before me, so many emerald trees, and
Weed-whitened fields, mountains and lakes, how could I not
Be only myself, this dream of flesh, from moment to moment?
- Mark Strand
This poem appealed to me because it reminds us that we should love and honor our bodies no matter how old we may be. Self acceptance is an important element in all spiritual/psychological journeys.
Likewise, Kundalini is also beautiful, even when we grow older and the energies diminish from what they were when we were younger. Apparently, Kundalini, once fully activated, goes on forever, becoming always more subtle and delicate. What a blessing this is!
Strand also tells us that we are, after all, but a "dream of flesh," inhabiting our physical forms merely from "moment to moment." As someone has said, we are doomed to love, and must love what vanishes (ourselves).
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