To Love the World

You know you love the world
When the scent of pine pitch makes you cry
When the sound of grass in wind
Is as good as heaven
When stream water feels like as a lover’s touch
And going indoors is hard to bear

You know the love of the world
When a hillside of cypresses in the wind
Sounds like deep rolling laughter
And the breaking waves is your own pulse
In your own body
When a swift, streaking overhead,
Carries you into open space
And granite in your hand
Silently teaches you
The most ancient religion

Garth Gilchrist

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