| Then Almitra spoke, saying, We
would ask now of Death. |
| And he said: |
| You would know the secret of
death. |
| But how shall you find it unless
you seek it in the heart of life? |
| The owl whose night-bound eyes
are blind unto the day |
| cannot unveil the mystery of
life. |
| If you would indeed behold the
spirit of death, |
| open your heart wide unto the
body of life. |
| For life and death are one, even
as the river and the sea are one. |
|
| In the
depth of your hopes and desires |
| lies your
silent knowledge of the beyond; |
| And like
seeds dreaming beneath the snow |
| your heart
dreams of spring. |
| Trust the
dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity. |
| Your fear of death is but the
trembling of the shepherd |
| when he stands before the king |
| whose hand is to be laid upon
him in honor. |
| Is the shepherd not joyful
beneath his trembling, |
| that he shall wear the mark of
the king? |
| Yet is he not more mindful of
his trembling? |
|
| For what
is it to die but to stand |
| naked in
the wind and to melt into the sun? |
| And what
is it to cease breathing, |
| but to
free the breath from its restless tides, |
| that it may rise
and expand and seek God unencumbered? |
|
| Only when you drink from the
river of silence |
| shall you indeed sing. |
| And when you have reached the
mountain top, |
| then you shall begin to climb. |
| And when
the earth shall claim your limbs, |
| then shall you
truly dance. |