Artist: Virginia Miller

​​I Want to Bathe in the River of Beauty 

 
 
I want to bathe in the river of beauty,  

to dip below the surface of a world  

in perpetual strife. 

I want to dive into the depths  

and rise again with understanding  

and grace. 

I want to bask in the trilling of a songbird 

I cannot name, 

serene, secure, 

singing atop an ancient ash:  

a tree made stronger by storm and stress.   


 
I want to float in midnight waters 

and awaken to the moonlight of awe:  

To dip my toes in pure wonder  

and wish upon a star.  

I want to feel the gentle undercurrent  

of a deeper, wider,  

undiscovered hope 

tugging me along to landscapes I have not seen,  

and music I have not heard, 

and colors not yet combined and contrasted --  

transformed into new creations.  

I want to be amazed and humbled  

by all I do not know.  


 
I want to cleanse myself with compassion,  

to feel again the depth of Soul, 

to swim against the current of our time 

and understand the pain in another 

without judgment. 

I want to be the river,  

the wind, 

the mackerel and the blue heron,  

each struggling to survive,  

and know the world 

through them. 


 
I want to bathe in the river of beauty,  

to immerse myself in the divine waters of  

tenderness and togetherness, 

and feel again 

the joyful connection of earth and sky, 
​
creatures and me. 
​
 
--Patricia Adams Farmer ​