With persistent notice
and consistent intent
they limit their focus--
the gauzy crossway,
the intimate ultimate
They may name it Allah;
Brahma, Vishnu, or Shiva;
Yahweh, El or Adonai;
Ormazd, or just plain God;
or nounless, animate it
Otherwise they may favor
a hood of the Buddha,
the Christ, or Mahavira;
else deny a proper self
and lean toward the Tao
Yet not seeing eye to eye
need not blind us, forbid us
the delight at the crossing
of language and living--
the delicate dance
Set aside the source, the seed,
the culture and nomenclature--
all souls on fire: mediums clad
in a holy flame, not their own,
lure the rest of us to the glow
