83. The Hermit Rediscovers Humanity

Such beauty:
leaves shimmer with unspoken secrecy;
dragonflies dance in iridescent hues.
Languishing under shade beneath the
mid-noon oak
there is joy, and
peace.

But another human eye,
like mine;
an arm, a mouth,
all like mine:
movement, speech –
like mine:

this is some strange and clever game!

Unlike trees with their sullen rules,
suns with their odious paths:
I am mystified, baffled by this
unpredictability, this
depth and unobservable,
attainable mystery –

and for you to feel the
same;
to feel the world begin anew with
me:

is this what every being
should desire!

Emerging from my vigil
of the bottom of the
lake;
Rusalka, selkie, Naiad:
return from the lonely depths
and regard these
creatures silently,

transfixed:
it is no wonder they have risked their
fragile hearts and sparkling realms for
centuries:
to live and breathe and love –
how grand!