Gifts from India

[A gift from India from this lovely soul...]

...and a gift from my friend Nina, a woman who reached out to me on her journey to India almost two years ago and has since bestowed the most beautiful gifts of poetry at moments when I most need them.

At the End of the Year

The particular mind of the ocean
Filling the coastline's longing
With such brief harvest
Of elegant, vanishing waves
Is like the mind of time
Opening us shapes of days.

As this year draws to its end,
We give thanks for the gifts it brought
And how they became inlaid within
Where neither time nor tide can touch them.

The days when the veil lifted
And the soul could see delight;
When a quiver caressed the heart
In the sheer exuberance of being here.

Surprises that came awake
In forgotten corners of old fields
Where expectation seemed to have quenched.

The slow, brooding times
When all was awkward
And the wave in the mind
Pierced every sore with salt.

The darkened days that stopped
The confidence of the dawn.

Days when beloved faces shone brighter
With light from beyond themselves;
And from the granite of some secret sorrow
A stream of buried tears loosened.

We bless this year for all we learned,
For all we loved and lost
And for the quiet way it brought us
Nearer to our invisible destination.

~ John O'Donohue

[© John O’Donohue. All rights reserved.  www.johnodonohue.com]

Comments

[Send Gifts Online to India]

Beautiful poetry. The most valuable gift that we can ever recieve is a sweet memory.

[Linda Alvarez]

It is so great to see how John’s work continues to weave “words of love . . . an invisible cloak, to mind your life.” I also want to support you in sharing that inspiration and love. I am, however, responsible for minding the technicalities connected with the preservation of John’s estate and literary legacy. John’s family would be very grateful if you would add to your quote a note that gives the title of the book from which the poem is taken – along with a copyright attribution ( © John O’Donohue. All rights reserved.) and the web site: www.johnodonohue.com — so that those who want to know more about John can come to us?

warmly and with gratitude,
Lindaa

[Shannon]

thank you for this. I am loving John O'Donohue in a big way lately — reading him, listening to him nearly every day. I find his words and his spirit to open me up to beauty, truth and spirit.

[Lisa]

thank you for reminding me of 'the invisible destination' with this poem. Sending you lots of love....

[doorways traveler]

oh. the invisible destination.

i am so glad i found you there.

so much love. lisa

[jen gray]

i love you swirly.

[Marianne @ Zen Peacekeeping]

Beautiful. I especially appreciate being reminded to be thankful for the slow, brooding times, when all was awkward and the wave in the mind pierced every sore with salt. And for those times when from the granite of some secret sorrow a stream of buried tears loosened.

Exquisite and perfect for the end of the year as well as the beginning.