Your heart’s desire

As though in a dream, wandering the land,
I come across a shrine, and enter in.
An old man sits silently and smiles.

A question bubbles up within me
and floats into the space between us:
‘How can I be happy?’

I hear only kindness in his voice:
‘Wait a little in this place, and consider:
What is your heart’s desire?’

In the pause, I know the answer
is not about more holidays.

And then into the silence,
a voice begins to sing sweetly
bringing happiness to the room;
it is my heart, answering for herself:

‘I wish to give love, on and on,
more and more, without stint.

I wish to be wide open to the joy
of this immeasurable life.

I wish to be with God again,
beyond words, as love.’

The old man fades, as does his smile,
the room too disappears, as though in a dream.

The echo of the song remains.