A Gathering of Friends

I received this poem earlier last week by email from my friend, Hipólito Orlando Sánchez, who lives in Tivoli, New York.

On his beautiful Hudson Valley property are Cafh Foundation Retreat Houses where gatherings of friends meet every year.

He dedicated this poem to those friends.

I count myself fortunate to be one of them.

A Gathering of Friends

I’ll meet you in the evening

When the birds return to the trees,

The wind stops

And time stands still.

.

I’ll listen to your thoughts and

My soul becomes a valley, deep and wide

Where your words have echoes long

Sustained until the flower buds open.

.

I’ll hush. That’s all I want,

Because music flows in the air,

The rocks shed light,

And our souls become transparent.

.

Then I’ll risk another word:

An answer, a memory, a suggestion,

Perhaps a concept, an experience or a doubt

Our echoes open wings, like butterflies

And disappear beyond the hills.

.

When we depart we’ll wave to one another from the distance.

But there’s a space where we’ll keep together.

What we said were seeds to sprout in future valleys.

Who knows what birds will come, then,

To sing their songs on our shoulders.

.

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To read more of Hipólito's work, visit:

Landscape of the Soul by Hipólito Sánchez