What I am is a hearth

I’ve spent so much time
Trying to figure out
Just who I am

Defining myself by This. Not that. Me. I. My. Not this. Nor that
Some of this, some of that
Each attempt as ungratifying as the next
Each circumambulation a creation and deterioration of identity
Each a procession to the pyre

In countless eons
I have been burned from something into nothing
From Name to dust
Only now I discover
What I am is a hearth

May the warmth of what burns inside me comfort those coming in from the cold
May my every teardrop contribute to the beginning-less stream of compassion
May all beings remember their nature as wide open-heartedness
Without obscuration or obstacle

- Scott Menasco, PhD., MFT