Yesterday, I was playing with my dogs at the local elementary school and noticed a small child sitting back on her heels (as only supple ones can), gazing at a row of ants carrying little bits of leaves. She was so intent. I thought of how we gaze at things and how sweet feelings arise when I gaze at my wife. It led me to write this.
The Gaze
To gaze, to fix the eyes with steady might,
A rapture born of beauty, pure and bright.
Self-absorbed, absorbed by what's outside,
A soul's connection where both worlds collide.
Oh, to be caught in sweet surrender's call,
Seized by beauty's charm or the unusual's thrall.
Awakened by the awe, the glorious, the divine,
In that captured moment, our spirits intertwine.
Do we gaze with eyes alone? I think not so,
Our heart and soul engaged, in unity they flow.
In life's deep engagement, we cease to be,
One with the object, a timeless sea.
A wise monk said, a flower we truly see,
The rain, the soil, the clouds, the sea.
In a grain of sand, a world unfurled,
In the smallest part, the vast whole world.
Lately, the word has stuck within my mind,
An echo of the depth our gazes find.
To gaze is to connect to life, to soul,
A timeless moment when we are whole.