Absolute Beginner

“Beginner’s Mind”: the phrase
 a gift from old Zen-man
 Suzuki Roshi,
 carried in my pack
 these years.
 
After traveling
 so many roads,
 discovering inspiration
 and beauty never suspected,
 right inside “me”
 
once the hard shell
 of the ego-bubble
 had been softened
 by suffering,
 then dissolved 
 in pure Love.
 
The roads
 so long, so
 winding
 led this hand
 to dab magic
 onto canvas,
 
led angels at times
 to speak through my pen
 
and even brought forth songs
 lyrics fully formed, complete with melody:
 
all of it
 a mere witness
 to what is
 
outside
 the blinding
 bubble.
 
But the bubble, too,
 is resilient, or at least
 more veils await
 the intrepid wayfarer,
 
and the world of beauty
 seems to wither once again
 and one finds oneself
 bubble-wrapped as if
 never born,
 
once more with no idea 
 how to get out;
 but this time
 one leg up because of
 the memory
 of having previously experienced
 it is possible!
 
And so,
 damn the labels,
 “writer who can’t write,”
 “painter who can’t paint!”
 
One is simply 
 a beginner
 
and always will be,
 for there is no “me”
 except the veil,
 
and the Infinite
 is always
 just beyond—
 
And LOVE
 will dissolve it
 every time!