Let them go
Drifting away into the receptive air,
Let what there is to do or give
What there is to show or have,
All the thoughts and skills and talents,
Whether inherited or learned,
And those borrowed or possessed
harboured in both mind and muscle
Contained within symbiotic frame,
Just go
For the greater good.
Not for some self-seeking glory
Nor for an unnatural gain,
But only to enhance
An already noble eminence
That rises above the present state
To fill a life that you create.
Does the beauty of a rose
Deplore the gentle petals’ fall?
Or the vanished fruit tree blossom
Give less freely of its fruits?
Only man has learned the tricks
Of hedging with such fruits he has –
Is blind not to see what needs to go
For his own gain, for him to grow –
To pass the best within to those
Outside less gifted or endowed.
And as a pruned rose blooms again
As a well fills up with water
And stars return to waiting skies,
Give freely and unmeasured from your store
Unrelated to any value worth.
Just give gladly.
And as you see your treasures go
So you will see more treasures grow.
June 1995