Purse of Words

My purse of words teams full
Like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow
It spills over with treasures I did not merit on my own
Today I was going to take that purse and move away
But it was too heavy, and leaving it behind did not seem right

I decided then to sit here for a while

Next to this treasure and share it with the world
Perhaps in doing so, someone might be made the richer
And my burden might be lightened sufficiently to move on

It is good to pause before a journey

To take stock of what has happened
Since arriving in this place
Good to collect one's thoughts and share those gifts
That still have value to someone, but that are too big to carry all alone

My gift is not in earning wealth through toil,

My gift is in knowing that wide expanse of opportunity
Found between this disappointment and the next
My gift is understanding the vastness of the space
Between two ordinary things

The subtle distance between the drops of rain
The space between the beads where one could decide
To throw it all away, or move forward to the next state of grace
It is in these forgotten places that that life and hope emerge
It is here that the soul lives freely, but here that men fear to dwell

When the angels weep for what we've done, or failed to do
When the heavens cannot contain those sorrowful tears
When in a deluge of grief they fall from the sky,
The space is known more fully

It is that space the sun fills up with ease to produce a rainbow

Seeing those millions of tiny spaces lit up
With colour and beauty and grace,
Men feel joy and say there is hope! There is treasure! There is love!

I feel that same rejuvenation in this one tiny space before me

I feel it in the countless empty spaces of my life
Today I shine if for no other reason than to light that space
That others too many know the beauty to be found here
If the rain should fall, I will still shine and the s p a c e will still exist

And on that rainy day you may find a rainbow
If you dare to raise your head toward the heavens, follow it.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also
My treasure is here amid the words
If I could keep one Word for myself,
I would happily dispense with all the rest