I Live my Life in Widening Circles of Compassion
inspired by Rilke
I live my life in widening circles of compassion
spilling over the world like Kwan Yin’s tears—
dewdrops on the soft petals of heartache
adhering with tender intimacy before falling.
I may not fulfill this destiny,
but that will be my attempt.
I cry with the Earth, and the Four Noble Truths*.
I’ve been praying for millennia—
in temples, mosques, synagogues
open spaces inside the hearts
of the meek and menacing.
And I still don’t know if I am
the stone creating the ripples,
the lake receiving them
or the outer banks embracing
the widening rings with care.
*Four Noble Truths – Foundational principles in Buddhism to understand suffering and freedom from suffering.
Kaveri Patel practices family medicine in northern California. She yearns to mirror wholeness in other beings, no parts left out. She also wishes to see and sense the world with soul. Patel’s literary work has appeared in About Place, Buddhist Poetry Review, Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, Passing It On, Soul Forte, Touch: The Journal of Healing, Braided Way, The Healing Muse, The Mindfulness Bell, The Mindful Word, Pulse: Voices from the Heart of Medicine, We’Moon, and The Wayfarer. Information about her meditative and literary offerings can be found at www.wisdominwaves.com.
Amethyst Review 