Buddha's Birthday

Buddha's Birthday

You find me kneeling
on the alter of this spring,
on the alter of a love bigger
than one life.

The color of the leafing trees
makes me drunk
with a joy that has no words.
The thirsty earth
longing for a slow,
soft rain to touch her skin
reminds me of how much
it means to find you here
kneeling next to me,
watching as the planet turns
toward the sun.

On Buddha's birthday
a thousand years ago
you lay with me like this too.
We had other faces
and bodies then,
but I recognize your soul
as we find these red threads
encircling our open hearts.

How can we deny ourselves
a happiness that keeps finding us,
century after century
discovering the truth of love,
disguised, at first, in the form of a stranger?

It is meant to be shared,
this opening of the lotus
to the sun by day
and the vast darkness of the moon
and her sister stars each night.

Buddha is smiling,
showering his blessings on us
as we find our way back
to a loving embrace,
saying, on his birthday,
"It is right, always, to love."