I walked outside to open ground
I bent and stretched and wandered round
I touched the grass, sniffed the trees
Crunched the stones, watched the bees

The sun fell warm upon my face
A breeze that danced through time and space
It seemed to reach beneath my skin
A strange elation stirred within

I found a cobbled wall and gate
Raised the latch, stood up straight
Gazed out on a golden field
Felt a longing long concealed

Then stepping on a dusty path
A pretty, gritty, rusty path
I praised the land through which I ambled
As Tui sang and berries rambled

And all the while the sun did shine
The breeze did dance, the stars aligned
With something great beneath my skin
Something timeless deep within

I took one step into another
Embraced the field like a lover
Saw the world through crystal eyes
How clear the air! How deep the sky!

But as my feet fell into stride
My restless heart began to chide
It fluttered, paused and gently pressed
A wistful beat inside my chest

Come to me. It seemed to say
Like I'd wandered far away
And so I sought a place to sit
To listen and commune with it

I stretched myself upon the ground
Breath to breath, inward bound
Closed my eyes as if to dream
Let go. Let go. Surrendering

And in that warming winter glow
I slipped beyond the world I know
Beyond my mind, beyond my being
Into darkness, somehow seeing

I am the sun. The earth. The breeze
The dusty path. The scent of trees
The blood that pulses in my veins
The molten core. The astral planes

I’m every thought and every note
The giggle in a baby's throat
All that lives, that is, will be
I as you. You as me

The sun went down upon my senses
Doused in pearls the night dispenses
Body quashed and loosely furled
My spirit spanned the cosmic world

And as my memory lay amiss
I felt not fear but Orphic bliss
All colossus, every crumb
All at once, all as one

A trillion links began to break
My resting mind began to wake
Floating back into my senses
Back to thoughts, back to fences

Back through gates by which I came
Back to the bees, the trees again
Back to that rare and fleeting place
The precious gift of time and space

(Epilogue)

That night I lay upon my bed
Body buzzing toe to head
Humbly seeking to recapture
The sense of awe, the timeless rapture

And with elation running rife
I laughed the deepest love for life
For I had felt my soul traverse
The fabric of the universe
And I had seen from where we came
And in good time will go again