Why do this every day? That last delightful hour of sleep
Surrendered for a duty? Such an antiquated thing.
No duckherd will pursue us with the obligatory stick.
An albatross around our neck will hardly give us wings.
If the effort be continuous, the motivation must be more.
To fill a need? But all our needs are covered from day one.
Perhaps the need to satisfy legitimate desire?
The desire to be loved, to contribute, to belong.
All easily achieved without dramatic supplication.
Unless a childish petulance makes the task a tribulation.
If we must be motivated, let the incentive be precise:
To still our wavering purpose, help us through the needles eye,
Give sustenance to our soul, enhance our ability to rejoice,
To strengthen our resolve to continue on the journey,
To leap those daunting hurdles that could undo our precious choice.
So here I am again, with best intentions, pointed east.
My desires satiated, but my soul must have its feast.
A westerner I am, gesticulating like a Muslim.
Just another testimony to the power of this Faith.
I’m now prepared to enter the sacred portals of His grace.
A little late today, I try to ignore quotidian sounds.
The dogs, the venders, moto-taxis, as well as the rancheros.
And that’s not all, for lo, I spot a tick upon the wall.
I close my eyes and try and try to empty heart and mind.
Must they always be entwined, things mundane and things sublime?
So many years of effort, still not much ground’s been covered,
No matter, says The Comforter, if it takes a hundred thousand years,
Never should we falter, till the beauty of the Friend has finally been discovered.
Dammi tu forza, o cielo! May all the veils be put to fire 1
Till He becomes the one and only object of my desire.