Against the sheer rock face stands a simple stone gate
Is there more? Of course – there is always more,
If you just have the patience
to look
For the hollow,
For the path beyond the gate
(That gate?) Yes, there are more
– there are always more
But you must start here, along the path
On soft footsteps into the mountain’s heart
(and how many steps into a woman’s heart?)
There are always more
But the mountain, the mountain lets you in on a secret
(A secret?) Yes. For now, twenty five steps are enough
And you emerge into the swirl of sunshine and incense,
Bells, and the songs of a thousand years
hidden in the valley cleft
A stone gate, then twelve more of wood
(and how many gates into a woman’s heart?)
There are always more
But for now, twelve are enough
There is no hurry –
Here, there is water, shade
and time enough to rest your feet
among other weary pilgrims
as your eyes trace the path ahead:
There, beneath a woody mane,
in the sheer rock face at the heart of the cleft,
Stands a simple stone gate.
(One of the most hypnotically beautiful shrines I have ever been to!)
David Pablo Cohn 