Esalen, 2004

A glimmer of inspired light reveals

peregrines swirling over cliffs

like kamikazie marauders.

lapis lazuli waters roil in the wind,

enrapturing the eye from the horizon

to the bleached white surf.

An esoteric rhapsody enchants the nudes

splayed like sun-warmed seals

around pools of hot springs.

Morning brings the haunted sound of cooing doves,

oracular voices of the night.

Fog shrouds a labyrinth of eucalyptus-

scented trails that diverge in search of

those who know, who may illuminate

the shadows behind the looking-glass self.

Pilgrims do the labor, sculpting their lives

into a work of art, sometimes a masterpiece.

Incubating like a bear in hibernation,

Parmenides found the key to the rational knot.

Studying the art of stillness, he distilled

the spirits of the wise.

Imagination liberates one from fear, thoughts

vanish when mind and body stretch, vision

expands, and energy flows like bursting dams.

Dark places of wisdom yield

an untarnished essence of self.

Milton P. Ehrlich