When You Were A Child

When you were a child

you practiced no

esoteric tantra,

held no concept of a "path."

You were an orchid opening

in equatorial wilderness,

bending toward warmth,

veering from chill.

You smiled on the stranger

who made your chest glow,

turned away from one

who made it shrink,

inching by degrees 

of swell and contraction.

You could grow this way again.

Obey the sacred scripture

of your body.

Move through the forest

at midnight

holding the candle

of each breath.

Near-sighted, step

into the next lit pool

of silence.

Way will open.

No need to see far.

Just bend toward warmth

and smile 

on the perfect stranger.

Depart from the kingdom of fear

and enter the golden palace

of your Self.