
A PATH WITH HEART
To My Friend Betty Lou ...
Resettling from distant lands
We meet in docent class
I tell her of my Arabic
She speaks to me of grass,
Of shrubs and trees in Autumn breeze
At Mason Farm we walk
As naturalist and therapist
From east to west we talk.
I cry Amazon, she sighs Morgan Creek
We banter in our play
She buys my waft, I learn her craft
Our friendship meets midway.
Years pass, I find her at a dance
The setting is cosmic
She smiles and speaks a Sufi name
It sounds like Arabic.
Oh Hakima, what have you done?
I question in surprise
I left that moldy mystic path
But now you sympathize!
Next comes a spell of health concern
I watch her shed long tears
But through it all, comes Khidr’s call
The prophet she reveres.
And then one day his sign appears
A vision bright and green
An anole basking in the sun
Reflecting health and dream.
I now see that she’s growing strong
With Hamid at her side
She fills the shoes of Hakima
As healer, Sufi guide.
So on this sixty-fifth birthday
Green Valentine I send
For twenty years of path with heart
A tribute to my friend.
February 12, 2011 - Camp New Hope, NC
Photo: Carolina anole
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