THE BELOVED

Let the body
be the clay,

the red earth.
Add water, then

spin it, knead it 
on the potter's wheel.

See it take shape

in the artist's strong

and supple hands.

See the vessel

swivel and sway,

rise up

under all 

the mindful touch, 

the lifting, the thinning,

the centering.

Inside, another

shape is forming.

In the stillness,

in the quiet,

a beloved 

is being traced

to rest

in the hollow

of a hidden

embrace.