Reaching

Just recently I met a man,
As lonely as I used to be.
When I looked into his eyes,
I saw a deadness look back at me.

He seemed to be at the crossroads,
And didn't know which way to go.
How hard it is to tell a broken heart,
The directions to him you can show.

I said " If you can understand me,
And listen openly to what I say.
Without holding it against me,
And please, don't walk away."

"I don't think I'm any better,
but I'll help you if I can.
You remind me of someone else I knew,
Of another lonely man."

"He was also at the crossroads,
And didn't know which way to go.
Life for him was sadness,
Life was blow after blow."

"He wasn't a man of religion,
He didn't attend the church.
But when his eyes grew empty,
His soul began to search."

"For the soul needs the soothing,
Gentle touch of love.
The body may always deny it,
But the soul keeps searching above."

"Then the mind joins the soul,
For it too needs some peace.
So together they search for what they need,
Then the longing of the body will increase."

"For the three must go together,
The body, mind and soul.
With these three things in harmony,
A being may achieve his goals."

"So with loving soul, and peaceful mind,
And body looked after with care.
The loneliness will fade away,
For someone else is there."

"I think you know of whom I speak,
For your soul is searching too.
So join it with your body and mind,
And good will come to you."

He looked at me with a faded smile,
And a reminiscing glint in his eye.
He said," It's been so long,"
And he glanced toward the sky.

Then he reached and touched my forearm,
And said," You know,- you're right,
The body and mind will join the soul,
In it's search for love tonight.



Note: I dedicate this poem to Nick, who inspired it.
I met Nick in a Sydney boarding house many years ago. He was from Croatia and was very bitter that his wife and family had deserted him after coming to Australia to start a new life. He had a good sense of humour, despite the bitterness he felt, and I could get him to laugh, and for that, he liked me. I liked him as a friend and felt for him in his situation. Although events didn't occur as in the poem, it was he who inspired the thoughts in me to write it. One thing that Nick said I will always remember happily. He was talking about another croation living at the boarding house, and whom he didn't really approve of, and he said to me, "I NO SPEAK ENGLISH, BUT HE NO SPEAK ENGLISH MORE." I burst out laughing and he looked surprised then laughed along with me.I went looking for him a couple of years later on my return to Sydney and the beautiful old terrace-home boarding house was completely gone, it was a spare allotment. 


 

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