The task of caring is unconditional
and weighs many an abiding heart and clergy
with the pall of humanness,
with the doubt of acceptance.

It is a call of light to accept us all,
to manage the balance of tending and pretending,
to be the sourceless rudder
that both steers and blends the family.

As children always we look for this:
the guide of selflessness and harmony,
the courage of eternal conviction to return to
in relearning our human rhyme.

It is not a straight or narrow course,
but follows winds is spheric sweep
to engulf all voiced concerns and even those unspoken,
and blamelessly present the dusty true path.

At the base of all rests this heart of light,
and not in the echo and brick of religion,
to testify in quiet, balanced sureness
to the need and the beauty of diversity.


Credit: Included in 'America at the Milennium',
anthology of The Best Poems and Poets of the 20th Century, Owings Mills, MD

Heart of Light painting that accompanies this poem (click image to view larger) ~This painting is not available for purchase