My Second Skin

I wept through morning yoga. Now I'm sipping hot tea and savoring the rawness of my unexpected menstruation while grieving my beloveds departure. I might have sent him my morning musings, but in his absence, I'm inspired to blog:

What is the truth of this relationship?
Of all relations?
Don't they all start with self and spirit?
(As if there were a difference)
I'm wondering what is the truth
...Of me... in all my relations?

When my grandfather died
his last words were surprisingly
not about real estate or the stock market
but he advised my brother,
on that which he himself missed most:
'take care of your relationships,
That's all we ever have.'

His benediction is my religion.
For I am a relational creature
living in a modern tribe.
My friends and lovers
are my second skin
and connection to spirit
is my first.

I know
I am nothing,
if I am not
in relation
with spirit
and
everything
is
spirit.

My heart is built like a temple
with an altar to everyone I've loved.
It may feel crowded in here, at times
but there is always room
for expansion.

Kamala Devi 10/2010