I want companions of passion,
who still ask
how and why and what,
the way the sun
comes up every morning.
We all climbed great mountains
in the past, and looked
out over infinity;
so why sit and remember
the old days, sipping tea
and talking like some
kind of experts on climbing?
Everywhere you look
are new mountains:
making a living,
raising a family, dealing
with pain, illness and loss.
Your flatness of emotion
proclaims some secret knowledge
you think you possess
about the Universe.
I want the passion of
those who Doubt,
who still crack open
trees and stones in their looking.
I want companions
who cry “Why Lord, Why?”
I need the company of brothers
and sisters who fall down dumb
when they see a flower or
a sunrise, who weep over animals
dead on the roadside, who
dance with babies and small children,
who love strangers and friends
for no reason at all.
I want companions who have
nothing figured out,
no answers on the shelves of their
mind, no money in the bank,
nowhere to retire to,
who will greet me as I greet them,
with open arms and laughter
in answer to my questions,
saying from their hearts,
“I have no idea at all—
let’s go find out!”
Posted by kind permission of the poet.
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