To Another, One

The wind comes along

and cools your body

and lifts your spirits

and softens your day,

and pushes you gently

in a certain direction,

or blows you so hard

you must stay wide awake;

and on those days

when it's hot and still,

you want the wind to cool you;

and at those times

when you're all alone,

you want the wind for comfort;

and on those days

when you're not quite sure

and you want to see

clouds hurrying by,

you want the wind

to show you where

your heart must go;

but you cannot have it,

it comes when it wants

and it blows where it will,

it belongs to another,

one greater than you.

And the water flows past

your house in a river,

and the rain comes down

and cools your yard,

and it flows from the mountains

all the way to the ocean;

you can drink it

and bathe in it,

you can ride it

and laugh with it

tumbling over you,

but you cannot have it,

it is only passing by,

it belongs to another,

one greater than you.

And the fire burns slowly

and heats up your dinner

and warms you at night

when the chill wind blows;

or burns hotter

consuming

your frivolous adventure,

taking care of that excess

you've left on your path.

The fire is a danger,

you don't want to hold it;

you thought you could use it

and tried to contain it;

you suffer for trying,

it belongs to another,

one greater than you.

And the earth is your mother

and gently protects you

and shields you from water

and fire and wind;

but you may not possess her,

though you think that you own her,

she belongs to another,

one greater than you.

There's a woman you know

who has touched you and held you

and told you she loved you

but meant much, much more;

and she warmed you and warned you

and guided you tearfully;

she's been a dear friend,

like a wind to your soul,

like the water

she has cleansed you,

like the earth, she has fed you

like the fire, flared up at you;

and the days are hardest

when your heart aches for her

and you want to posses her

and make her your own;

but she is a priestess,

and you cannot have her,

she belongs to another,

one greater than you.