The Return Path

The dust that swirls ahead,
The laden treasure of a worldly quest,
Gems that fall into the deserted ground,
As my limbs ache and my eyes strain,
Caves that glisten with their wares,
A world of opportunity,
Plundered with missionary zeal,
In a storm of forgtefulness,
Have I now the strength for the return path?

When this chill night draws in,
I cower with my claims of success,
And trade with these desperate pilgrims,
And we feel the hollowness of a conditional love,
We hear the demons that clamour for our souls,
As the camp fire smoulders,
Have I the strength for the return path?

Though I came to teach,
I forgot to learn,
Though I was given a map,
I became a lazy guide,
Though my first steps were true,
My grip grew frail,
For I granted reailty to a craven world.

Yet I know that a miracle is but a choice away,
I know that a dream takes a second to complete,
I know that the door remains open, unlocked,
The return path is here, broad and intact.

And lo, as I smile and turn away,
Fearing the solitude of toil and trek,
I feel a rush and a joy and a sudden peace,
For here are you all resplendent and made up,
Checked out, clean shaven and brimming with glee,
Let us set out my friends for heaven awaits our call,
As we surge and sway on this homely course,
A crowd that throngs on the returning path.

(I was reminded of this poem when talking to a colleague about the work of Joseph Campbell. Joseph Campbell was a student of mythology and developed the concept of the monomyth or 'Hero's Journey' which identifies the various stages involved in the heroic life - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey. Campbell suggested that these steps could be oberved in all cultures throughout history. He broke down the 'heroic' cycle into 17 steps with various poetic titles such as 'The Call to Adventure', 'The Road of Trials' and 'The Magic Flight'. Step 15 is called 'The Crossing of the Return Threshold' and, in hindsight, I realise that this poem was written from this place on the journey. A quote from the above Wikipedia article summarises this step as follows-'The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to integrate that wisdom into a human life, and then maybe figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. This is usually extremely difficult.' And later, in the same article, I came across the stuning beauty of the following description of the final stage 'Freedom to Live' - "The hero is the champion of things becoming, not of things become, because he is. 'Before Abraham was, I AM.' He does not mistake apparent changelessness in time for the permanence of Being, nor is he fearful of the next moment (or of the 'other thing'), as destroying the permanent with its change. 'Nothing retains its own form; but Nature, the great renewer, ever makes up forms from forms. Be sure that nothing perishes in the whole universe; it does but vary and renew its form.' Thus the next moment is permitted to come to pass." . What more could I possibly add to that?!)