Early In The Day It Was Whispered That We Should Sail In A Boat

Early In The Day It Was Whispered That We Should Sail In A Boat,
Only Thou And I, And Never A Soul In The World Would Know Of This Our
Pilgrimage To No Country And To No End.

In That Shoreless Ocean,
At Thy Silently Listening Smile My Songs Would Swell In Melodies,
Free As Waves, Free From All Bondage Of Words.

Is The Time Not Come Yet?
Are There Works Still To Do?
Lo, The Evening Has Come Down Upon The Shore
And In The Fading Light The Seabirds Come Flying To Their Nests.

Who Knows When The Chains Will Be Off,
And The Boat, Like The Last Glimmer Of Sunset,
Vanish Into The Night?

I Am Like A Remnant Of A Cloud Of Autumn

I Am Like A Remnant Of A Cloud Of Autumn
Uselessly Roaming In The Sky, O My Sun Ever-glorious!
Thy Touch Has Not Yet Melted My Vapor,
Making Me One With Thy Light,
And Thus I Count Months And Years Separated From Thee.

If This Be Thy Wish And If This Be Thy Play,
Then Take This Fleeting Emptiness Of Mine,
Paint It With Colors, Gild It With Gold,
Float It On The Wanton Wind And Spread It In Varied Wonders.

And Again When It Shall Be Thy Wish To End This Play At Night,
I Shall Melt And Vanish Away In The Dark,
Or It May Be In A Smile Of The White Morning,
In A Coolness Of Purity Transparent.

Life Of My Life, I Shall Ever Try To Keep My Body Pure

Life Of My Life, I Shall Ever Try To Keep My Body Pure, Knowing
That Thy Living Touch Is Upon All My Limbs.

I Shall Ever Try To Keep All Untruths Out From My Thoughts, Knowing
That Thou Art That Truth Which Has Kindled The Light Of Reason In My Mind.

I Shall Ever Try To Drive All Evils Away From My Heart And Keep My
Love In Flower, Knowing That Thou Hast Thy Seat In The Inmost Shrine Of My Heart.

And It Shall Be My Endeavour To Reveal Thee In My Actions, Knowing It
Is Thy Power Gives Me Strength To Act.

Tell Me, Who Was It That Bound You?

Prisoner, Tell Me, Who Was It That Bound You?'

`it Was My Master,' Said The Prisoner.
`i Thought I Could Outdo Everybody In The World In Wealth And Power,
And I Amassed In My Own Treasure-house The Money Due To My King.
When Sleep Overcame Me I Lay Upon The Bed That Was For My Lord,
And On Waking Up I Found I Was A Prisoner In My Own Treasure-house.'

`prisoner, Tell Me, Who Was It That Wrought This Unbreakable Chain?'

`it Was I,' Said The Prisoner, `who Forged This Chain Very Carefully.
I Thought My Invincible Power Would Hold The World Captive
Leaving Me In A Freedom Undisturbed.
Thus Night And Day I Worked At The Chain
With Huge Fires And Cruel Hard Strokes.
When At Last The Work Was Done
And The Links Were Complete And Unbreakable,
I Found That It Held Me In Its Grip.'

The Butterfly Counts Not Months But Moments

The Butterfly Counts Not Months But Moments,
And Has Time Enough.

Time Is A Wealth Of Change,
But The Clock In Its Parody Makes It Mere Change And No Wealth.

Let Your Life Lightly Dance On The Edges Of Time
Like Dew On The Tip Of A Leaf.

Love Adorns Itself; It Seeks To Prove Inward Joy By Outward Beauty

Love Adorns Itself;
It Seeks To Prove Inward Joy By Outward Beauty.

Love Does Not Claim Possession,
But Gives Freedom.

Love Is An Endless Mystery,
For It Has Nothing Else To Explain It.

Love's Gift Cannot Be Given,
It Waits To Be Accepted.

Life Is Given To Us, We Earn It By Giving It

Life Is Given To Us,
We Earn It By Giving It.

Let The Dead Have The Immortality Of Fame,
But The Living The Immortality Of Love.

Life's Errors Cry For The Merciful Beauty
That Can Modulate Their Isolation Into A
Harmony With The Whole.

Life, Like A Child, Laughs,
Shaking Its Rattle Of Death As It Runs.

If Thou Speakest Not I Will Fill My Heart

If Thou Speakest Not I Will Fill My Heart With Thy Silence And Endure It.
I Will Keep Still And Wait Like The Night With Starry Vigil
And Its Head Bent Low With Patience.

The Morning Will Surely Come, The Darkness Will Vanish,
And Thy Voice Pour Down In Golden Streams Breaking Through The Sky.

Then Thy Words Will Take Wing In Songs From Every One Of My Birds' Nests,
And Thy Melodies Will Break Forth In Flowers In All My Forest Groves.

Yes, I Know, This Is Nothing But Thy Love

Yes, I Know, This Is Nothing But Thy Love,
O Beloved Of My Heart---this Golden Light That Dances Upon The Leaves,
These Idle Clouds Sailing Across The Sky,
This Passing Breeze Leaving Its Coolness Upon My Forehead.

The Morning Light Has Flooded My Eyes---this Is Thy Message To My Heart.
Thy Face Is Bent From Above, Thy Eyes Look Down On My Eyes,
And My Heart Has Touched Thy Feet.

When I Go From Hence Let This Be My Parting Word

When I Go From Hence
Let This Be My Parting Word,
That What I Have Seen Is Unsurpassable.

I Have Tasted Of The Hidden Honey Of This Lotus
That Expands On The Ocean Of Light,
And Thus Am I Blessed
---let This Be My Parting Word.

In This Playhouse Of Infinite Forms
I Have Had My Play
And Here Have I Caught Sight Of Him That Is Formless.

My Whole Body And My Limbs
Have Thrilled With His Touch Who Is Beyond Touch;
And If The End Comes Here, Let It Come
---let This Be My Parting Word.

Day By Day I Float My Paper Boats One By One Down The Running Stream

Day By Day I Float My Paper Boats One By One Down The Running
Stream.
In Bid Black Letters I Write My Name On Them And The Name Of
The Village Where I Live.
I Hope That Someone In Some Strange Land Will Find Them And
Know Who I Am.
I Load My Little Boats With Shiuli Flower From Our Garden, And
Hope That These Blooms Of The Dawn Will Be Carried Safely To Land
In The Night.
I Launch My Paper Boats And Look Up Into The Sky And See The
Little Clouds Setting Thee White Bulging Sails.
I Know Not What Playmate Of Mine In The Sky Sends Them Down
The Air To Race With My Boats!
When Night Comes I Bury My Face In My Arms And Dream That My
Paper Boats Float On And On Under The Midnight Stars.
The Fairies Of Sleep Are Sailing In Them, And The Lading Ins
Their Baskets Full Of Dreams.

Palm-tree: Single-legged Giant, Topping Other Trees

Palm-tree: Single-legged Giant,
Topping Other Trees,
Peering At The Firmament -
It Longs To Pierce The Black Cloud-ceiling
And Fly Away, Away,
If Only It Had Wings.

The Tree Seems To Express Its Wish
In The Tossing Of Its Head:
Its Fronds Heave And Swish -
It Thinks, Maybe My Leaves Are Feathers,
And Nothing Stops Me Now
From Rising On Their Flutter.

All Day The Fronds The Windblown Tree
Soar And Flap And Shudder
As Though It Thinks It Can Fly,
As Though It Wanders In The Skies,
Travelling Who Knows Where,
Wheeling Past The Stars -

And Then As Soon As The Wind Dies Down,
The Fronds Subside, Subside:
The Mind Of The Tree Returns.
To Earth, Recalls That Earth Is Its Mother:
And Then It Likes Once More
Its Earthly Corner.

That I Want Thee, Only Thee

That I Want Thee, Only Thee---let My Heart Repeat Without End.
All Desires That Distract Me, Day And Night,
Are False And Empty To The Core.

As The Night Keeps Hidden In Its Gloom The Petition For Light,
Even Thus In The Depth Of My Unconsciousness Rings The Cry
---`i Want Thee, Only Thee'.

As The Storm Still Seeks Its End In Peace
When It Strikes Against Peace With All Its Might,
Even Thus My Rebellion Strikes Against Thy Love
And Still Its Cry Is
---`i Want Thee, Only Thee'.

One Day In Spring, A Woman Came In My Lonely Woods

One Day In Spring, A Woman Came
In My Lonely Woods,
In The Lovely Form Of The Beloved.
Came, To Give To My Songs, Melodies,
To Give To My Dreams, Sweetness.
Suddenly A Wild Wave
Broke Over My Heart's Shores
And Drowned All Language.
To My Lips No Name Came,
She Stood Beneath The Tree, Turned,
Glanced At My Face, Made Sad With Pain,
And With Quick Steps, Came And Sat By Me.
Taking My Hands In Hers, She Said:
'you Do Not Know Me, Nor I You-
I Wonder How This Could Be?'
I Said:
'we Two Shall Build, A Bridge For Ever
Between Two Beings, Each To The Other Unknown,
This Eager Wonder Is At The Heart Of Things.'

The Cry That Is In My Heart Is Also The Cry Of Her Heart;
The Thread With Which She Binds Me Binds Her Too.
Her Have I Sought Everywhere,
Her Have I Worshipped Within Me,
Hidden In That Worship She Has Sought Me Too.
Crossing The Wide Oceans, She Came To Steal My Heart.
She Forgot To Return, Having Lost Her Own.
Her Own Charms Play Traitor To Her,
She Spreads Her Net, Knowing Not
Whether She Will Catch Or Be Caught.

On The Seashore Of Endless Worlds Children Meet

On The Seashore Of Endless Worlds Children Meet.
The Infinite Sky Is Motionless Overhead And The Restless Water Is Boisterous. On The Seashore Of Endless Worlds The Children Meet With Shouts And Dances.
They Build Their Houses With Sand, And They Play With Empty Shells. With Withered Leaves They Weave Their Boats And Smilingly Float Them On The Vast Deep. Children Have Their Play On The Seashore Of Worlds.
They Know Not How To Swim, They Know Not How To Cast Nets. Pearl-fishers Dive For Pearls, Merchants Sail In Their Ships, While Children Gather Pebbles And Scatter Them Again. They Seek Not For Hidden Treasures, They Know Not How To Cast Nets.
The Sea Surges Up With Laughter, And Pale Gleams The Smile Of The Sea-beach. Death-dealing Waves Sing Meaningless Ballads To The Children, Even Like A Mother While Rocking Her Baby's Cradle. The Sea Plays With Children, And Pale Gleams The Smile Of The Sea-beach.
On The Seashore Of Endless Worlds Children Meet. Tempest Roams In The Pathless Sky, Ships Are Wrecked In The Trackless Water, Death Is Abroad And Children Play. On The Seashore Of Endless Worlds Is The Great Meeting Of Children.

The Night Is Black And The Forest Has No End

The Night Is Black And The Forest Has No End;
A Million People Thread It In A Million Ways.
We Have Trysts To Keep In The Darkness, But Where
Or With Whom - Of That We Are Unaware.
But We Have This Faith - That A Lifetime's Bliss
Will Appear Any Minute, With A Smile Upon Its Lips.
Scents, Touches, Sounds, Snatches Of Songs
Brush Us, Pass Us, Give Us Delightful Shocks.
Then Peradventure There's A Flash Of Lightning:
Whomever I See That Instant I Fall In Love With.
I Call That Person And Cry: `this Life Is Blest!
For Your Sake Such Miles Have I Traversed!'
All Those Others Who Came Close And Moved Off
In The Darkness - I Don't Know If They Exist Or Not.

Thou Hast Made Me Known To Friends Whom I Knew Not

Thou Hast Made Me Known To Friends Whom I Knew Not.
Thou Hast Given Me Seats In Homes Not My Own.
Thou Hast Brought The Distant Near And Made A Brother Of The Stranger.

I Am Uneasy At Heart When I Have To Leave My Accustomed Shelter;
I Forget That There Abides The Old In The New,
And That There Also Thou Abidest.

Through Birth And Death, In This World Or In Others,
Wherever Thou Leadest Me It Is Thou, The Same,
The One Companion Of My Endless Life
Who Ever Linkest My Heart With Bonds Of Joy To The Unfamiliar.

When One Knows Thee, Then Alien There Is None, Then No Door Is Shut.
Oh, Grant Me My Prayer That I May Never Lose
The Bliss Of The Touch Of The One
In The Play Of Many.

I Dive Down Into The Depth Of The Ocean Of Forms

I Dive Down Into The Depth Of The Ocean Of Forms,
Hoping To Gain The Perfect Pearl Of The Formless.

No More Sailing From Harbor To Harbor With This My Weather-beaten Boat.
The Days Are Long Passed When My Sport Was To Be Tossed On Waves.

And Now I Am Eager To Die Into The Deathless.

Into The Audience Hall By The Fathomless Abyss
Where Swells Up The Music Of Toneless Strings
I Shall Take This Harp Of My Life.

I Shall Tune It To The Notes Of Forever,
And When It Has Sobbed Out Its Last Utterance,
Lay Down My Silent Harp At The Feet Of The Silent.

O Fool, Try To Carry Thyself Upon Thy Own Shoulders

O Fool, Try To Carry Thyself Upon Thy Own Shoulders!
O Beggar, To Come Beg At Thy Own Door!

Leave All Thy Burdens On His Hands Who Can Bear All,
And Never Look Behind In Regret.

Thy Desire At Once Puts Out The Light From The Lamp It Touches With Its Breath.
It Is Unholy---take Not Thy Gifts Through Its Unclean Hands.
Accept Only What Is Offered By Sacred Love.

This Song Of Mine Will Wind Its Music Around You

This Song Of Mine Will Wind Its Music Around You, My Child, Like
The Fond Arms Of Love.
This Song Of Mine Will Touch Your Forehead Like A Kiss Of
Blessing.
When You Are Alone It Will Sit By Your Side And Whisper In
Your Ear, When You Are In The Crowd It Will Fence You About With
Aloofness.
My Song Will Be Like A Pair Of Wings To Your Dreams, It Will
Transport Your Heart To The Verge Of The Unknown.
It Will Be Like The Faithful Star Overhead When Dark Night Is
Over Your Road.
My Song Will Sit In The Pupils Of Your Eyes, And Will Carry
Your Sight Into The Heart Of Things.
And When My Voice Is Silent In Death, My Song Will Speak In
Your Living Heart.