Saturday, August 6, 2022

Chelan Harkin: When I Die

Well, this one makes me cry and touches my heart so deeply. Thank you, Chelan. Thank you. 🙏💜Molly

 When I die, dear God,
please, let me take something
of the mountains with me.

May I stow away,
inside some caverns of myself,
a glow from the moon?

Let me fill
any pockets my soul might have
with bits of silver rivers
and quiet moments
of starlight.

Can I pack a bag before I go
and bring only sunrise?

May I keep a souvenir
from whatever it is
Autumn does to the heart?

Of course I’ll keep the pang—
won’t I?—

of knowing I’ll never be
high or low enough
to fully hold
or bow to
the immeasurable kindness
of Love

Mustn’t it be continuous,
this sacred inadequacy
that at once sears and sings
and is the reason why
I grow?

How many songs may I take?

Please say you have room
for all my laughter

And the vast collection of diamonds
that are my tears

What will happen
with that kingdom
of love
that builds itself in my heart
as my daughter
clumsily and perfectly
toddles toward me
with the most wild grin
that is totally unhinged with joy
and chubby arms open wide enough
to somehow
hold the sky
and unconditionally enough
to embrace all
my limitations?

Tell me that
is an empire that cannot fall.

May I be rich enough
to bring remembrance
of the way
the jeweled stars
are set
in that great crown
of the night?

Can I bring a moment
of that eternal peace
found in the spirit
of the forest’s exhale
after the rain?

Please, may our passage
into the Beyond
only widen our access
to the spectrum of beauty

Though my wildest imagination
cannot possibly believe anything
could be better
than a naked sole
pressed into the dew-drenched grass
of this utterly love-soaked earth
woken early enough
to be kissed alive
by the dawn

Please, still, may the Beyond
be a space
where I may feel
a closer kinship
with the heart of everything
I’ve come to love
here.

Chelan Harkin

💙

You can find Chelan Harkin's books, Susceptible to Light and Let Us Dance! Available on Amazon or signed copies from Waucoma Bookstore.
 

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