Still Mind

     Where the river streams:
     swirls into a single pool.
     When attentive and joyful,
     draw your mind to the pool.*

     —Tsangyang Gyatso, 6th Dalai Lama

My eyes search ciphers on the page:
curls, lines, and dots — between gaps —
I probe your face, rapt in the same code.
You inhale, harbor clues. Breathing
out, a pool of words arrange themselves,
a lock turns and releases thought
streams. We treasure hunters
seek signs between ink stains,
my mind sidles up next to yours
word waves tap,
touch, release: blinding light outlines
a shadow door. With a push
you unfurl the veiled
world. In your eye, I watch
a glacier melt into river,
icicle fangs soften
in midday sun
water falls
into still lake.
You swim
among phrases
of evening breeze.
I dip my toes in ice till
you pull me in and squeeze
out laughter. The gauze shifts and I
see our legs sway among rushes, your palms
open to catch. My head dips into quiet world:
I emerge streaming rivulets from your hands.

* translation by Annie Bien.