The Friend

The heart is on a journey
Thru lands that exist within it
Our search for Friend is not new
Yet those who find never disclose the way
The path is such it does betray
Any narration or explanation
To those who think in worldly terms
This search confounds all reason
Before me there are myriads, not one
Never-ending unconnected voids
Winds and waves and storms so violent
Through which it seems must pass, I
This land is strange, no trace is left
Of the countless who have crossed
Not many have found Friend at all
And have turned to pleasant paths
My legs, arms, bones and flesh
All will me to follow them so
Step aside, stop for a moment mere
And be cured of maddening wanderlust
It's all a matter of the heart's intent
What a heartless slave driver it is
The millionth step causes my eyes to see
What this tormentor proclaims is a way
Seems mirages take joy in harassing
Just the lonely, lifeless traveller
Walking, walking never do I reach
Any further along this road
For the weary, tired and devastated
The burning sand becomes a shrine
But a sudden burst of new desire
Breathes life into this hidden corpse
Friend addresses the tired traveller
Who lies where the journey began
'To search for Us you need not wander
Bound by space is not Our existence
Everywhere are We ever present
All creation but of Us a mirror
We respond not to tutored chanting
Nor to breathless demonstration
Of the love they claim they have for Us
Shows intended for some others
Friend are We of those who tried
Of those who were consumed entire
By the flame of truth whose heart contains
The secrets to Our friendship
Enter forth and be with Us
In company with your Friend
For all else you were never present
Your journey happened never
The threshold is met and you are free
Bound by shackles of gold no longer
Join with Us and eternally learn
All the truths you ever desire'