After A While... Poem by RIC BASTASA

when he was about to
leave me
for good, (that is what is usually
said)
he told me
Be not proud
for you too
shall have a share of those pains
just like the rest

and it is only when every
flesh of your body
gets numb

(i.e. it is too familiar
with pain that
it does not react anymore
to any
stimuli)

that you finally get
that reward

of what you have always sought
that

eternal peace

(i.e. it is not that the mind
becomes blank
like the closure of the windows
of the day
where you are led
into a dark room where you have
no choice but
sleep

forever,

no, no, no
it is not

it is never meant that way

it is this

you sleep
you are too tired
for almost everything

you do not remember
what happened

you wake up
light touches your face
plays with your
eyelids

you rise
again
a whisper leads you to
the door that opens
into a garden

it is such a beautiful garden
flowers that you have first seen
scents that you have never smelled before

there are sounds of
chirping birds
blue clouds
clear skies

a peaceful path
that takes you
to new friends

yes, my dear,
you are into another new beginning

you write again
those new letters upon a new language
that surprises you
with a higher
level of
understanding

yes, it is the wisdom
that faces you
upon a first
meeting.