I

I wonder if I know him

In whose speech is my voice,

In whose movement is my being,

Whose skill is in my lines,

Whose melody is in my songs

In joy and sorrow.

I thought he was chained within me,

Contained by tears and laughter,

Work and play.

I thought he was my very self

Coming to an end with my death.

Why then in a flood of joy do I feel him

In the sight and touch of my beloved?

This 'I' beyond self I found

On the shores of the shining sea.

Therefore I know

This 'I' is not imprisoned within my bounds.

Losing myself, I find him

Beyond the borders of time and space.

Through the Ages

I come to know his Shining Self

In the life of the seeker,

In the voice of the poet.

From the dark clouds pour the rains.

I sit and think:

Bearing so many forms, so many names,

I come down, crossing the threshold

Of countless births and deaths.

The Supreme undivided, complete in himself,

Embracing past and present,

Dwells in Man.

Within Him I shall find myself -

The 'I' that reaches everywhere.