Photo by John Gawthrop

by Tammy Takahashi

Heart of Light

I am always on my way to you.
But here are many pathways,
and my mind is easily confused
by life’s trails scattered everywhere,
each another promise beckoning
my restless heart.

This is how I grew to see myself,
and I’ve clung to the vision
the way the year’s last leaves
adhere to tired branches
despite the winter wind.

But as I walk I see the field
with fewer ways to go,
and my heart feels lighter
of a sudden. I can encounter
now a life lived, its moments gathered,
and marvel how I got here.

Here, where beauty’s all around,
and voices do not call from
far away. I take in everything
from where I find myself
standing.

It’s not where I started from,
or ever thought I would be,
but there is still an I that I can see,
and this is nothing short of magic,
because you, too, are here with me,
like we’ve always needed it to be.

 

About the photographer: John Gawthrop is in late-career in the mental health field, along with being a musician and composer with an interest in phone camera photography. He lives on beautiful Vancouver Island, Canada, where he keeps his phone handy as chance shots abound. Photo above is a once-in-a-lifetime example, taken on a morning walk in the sunshine – its title an easy call: Dancing Leaf.