There, for all

Seeking the Inner Self
Emerson Matabele
[Yangon, Myanmar]

Beauty is not in the face.
Beauty is a light in the heart.
KAHLIL GIBRAN


There,
somewhere in dappled light,
transparent,
projected on saffron nearly brown,

not found by curling fingers
holding wordless pages
not of thoughtless mind
nor in mindful gaze

it will not come from the tip of a pen
not apparent in the shaving of the head
nor in wearing of the holy robe
built to show a shoulder’s tender curve

not hiding in the folds of curtained walls
nor floating in recycled air of words
nor waiting for soft feet to tread upon it
not found in any resounding name

but only in a gentle spread of light
origin of all and nothingness
that indicates both path and resting place
where shadow stops to tell the story once

for all.