Poem Inspired by Flute-Playing: Something Cool Happened

From my Journal: June 4th, 2008.


So, I was playing the flute in the park today.
I just learnt to play a song, an Indian lullaby.
As I played, I closed my eyes and imagined playing it to a child,
and soon, he fell asleep. I imagined playing it to another child and she fell asleep too. And I soothed three or five other children to sleep.

When I opened my eyes, something very interesting and fun happened - the kids in the park started clapping, I said, "Thank you," a little unsure how to respond,
and they surrounded me, and one kid said, "It's so sad but so beautiful."
And he said, "Play us another song." At first, I said, "That's the only song I know. I am still learning." He said, "Ok." But then I learnt another song, and they just kept on clapping as I paused in each play. One kid even said, "I wish I had money", checking his pockets. Then he turned to me and asked, "Are you coming tomorrow?" I said, "Ya."

After all a while, I began reading some poems from "To Bless the Space Between Us" and then began to walk home, using a different path from the one I came. As I left, One kid said, "You've got really good songs".

As I walked home and saw the purple flowers on the ground, filled with a desire to play with them, the following poem came through me:

Sweet child,
I am so sad to see you falling asleep,
knowing that I will not be able to be
with your bubbly waking self for at least another 8 hours.

But at the same time,
I feel so happy to be
with the beauty of your sleeping self,
and so joyous to know
that you are getting nourished
by the Nurse of Sleep.

I am so sad to not be with you
in your Dream Land
as faeries soothe you in your dreams
and hug you and kiss you.

But at the same time,
I am so happy to see
your peaceful lips,
your eyes closed in total tranquility,
your cheeks fully rested.

As I observe all these feelings well up with me,
I become one with the Observer within me,
and I feel, at last, at total Peace,
filled with a Total Acceptance
of all the contradictions within me,
all my complexity,
all my simplicity,
all my vastness,
all my smallness,
all my infinity,
all my infinitesimal.