The First Glimmer of Dawn

It’s funny what a little bit of concentration brings;
My Master told me, “Say these Names and banish other things.”
And so I sat, and as I think that he is rather groovy,
Examined every precious Name as if it were a ruby.
I must admit that, for a while, inside my head was chaos,
I thought about old movie stars and world cup football play-offs;
Family, work and other things all whizzed around my brain.
At times I thought that sitting there would drive me quite insane.

But Master wants me still to sit and focus on this stuff,
And so I keep the discipline, although at times it’s tough.
I fight with my alarm clock – I say, “No, that can’t be right
To wake me up so early – it’s the middle of the night!”
But step by teeny–tiny step I start to tame the mind,
It is a little monkey, though, and really not inclined
To help me in this giant quest to find my Real Home,
So when I sit to meditate, it always starts to moan:

“Oh, it’s too early! I’m too tired! You deserve a rest!
There’s more important things to do, I really must protest!
Today should be a holiday; you know, you don’t look well …
Despite all this you won’t give up? Alright, I’ll give you hell!”
But habits come and habits go, so as I keep persisting,
My mind is slowly calming down and giving up resisting.

And so today at last, you see, I’ve found the secret corner
Where Shabd can be accessed and, by gosh, my soul feels warmer.
With luck, my mind will even see it’s not a waste of time;
That meditation matters and the task is to refine
Our grosser nature bit by bit, and keep inside the focus.
The more that we are balanced – well, the less the world can choke us.

But let me now enjoy the peace that radiant Shabd can bring,
And for a while enjoy the road that takes me to my King!