Hospice

In the hospice of the heart
the instructions for dying
are instructions for prayer.
Dear sister, dear friend,
now it is time to let go.
Nothing real can shake you.
All that can be shaken 
is not who you really are.
Be grateful for this fear,
it shows you who
you are not.
What is "letting go"?
Not needing
to believe any more.
Just knowing
that you are surrounded
by the ocean of love.
Shall we call it God?
It is prior to God.
The Mother of all things?
It is before the Mother.
This is the ocean
of the last breath,
which is the first breath.
This is the eternal breath
of your true name,
the grace in whom you
drown and discover
that you have always
already let go.

Engraving by William Blake, 1795