The opening of eyes

That day I saw beneath dark clouds
the passing light over the water,
and I knew then, as I had before,
life is no passing memory of what has been.
Nor the remaining pages of a great book
waiting to be read.

It is the opening of eyes long closed
it is the vision of far off things seen
for the silence they hold.
It is the heart speaking out loud
into the clear air
after years of secret conversing.
It is Moses in the desert,
fallen to his knees before the lit bush.

It is the man
throwing off his shoes as if to enter heaven
Finding himself astonished -

Opened at last,
fallen in love with solid ground.

David Whyte