When the pain is close
Worn on our skin
Written on our bones
Carried like a parcel through the day
Perched on our chest over night
Hefted back to our back each morning
When we read the news

When sorrow is too near
I open the narrow vision to deeper view
Look up
Look out
Look away
Look afar

Feel the solid earth below
The steady sun above
The wide sky expanding
The distant mountain unmovable
The immense ocean impassive
Our faithful moon companion

The long years of life
The years and years of human history
And the billions of years since great beginning
Dissolves my pain into the centuries
And the space between the stars
Vanishes my sorrow