Learning To Remember

The unforgetting know nothing of memory,
time past is always present, always now,
not another country but the house next door--
you have to lose something in order to find it.
We are learning to remember.

Do you remember
when we were stars and the night sky
was full of darkness and endless possibility?
And the evening and the morning were the first day;
do you remember when we came down
to the new earth
and walked among rocks and hills
that had not forgotten how to speak
and we joined their song.
We walked under the first tree--
or did we dance? well, there was no difference then,
walking was dance, speech was song,
breathing was praise, for we had not learned
how to forget. That came later,
as creation ate up potential
and time consumed eternity
and infinity was filled by space--
as we were asked to wrap ourselves in veils
of illusion called flesh; and to forget, that we might learn
how to remember.

The unforgetting know nothing of memory.
Fortunate are the forgetful, who understand
the work of remembering. Fortunate are the wanderers,
who know the joy of coming home.
We are learning to remember.