Prized Possession

I told a

story well

with humor

His hungry

heart said ummm

is that all

A compound

fracture left

untreated

Let me

try

again

Funny as it

is life is

no joke

Answers without

questions don't

nourish the soul

The serious may well

lean toward

story refreshed

A holy man (aren't we all)

finds a

precious ruby

Freely gives to a dispirited

pilgrim who

petitions

They part company

reunite years later the

pilgrim still heartsore

He pleads give me now

what allowed you

to give me the ruby

Aaah

there is

more

And the way out is not

the way

we came in

*This poem was inspired by a response to a Sufi story I once told to a group of college students who had gathered for worship. I asked them to imagine what happened after the pilgrim and the monk reunited. I waited but there was no response. After awhile I said, "I'm serious, I would like for you to help me complete the story. Any ideas?" Again I waited. Time passed. After several more minutes, I noticed that a young woman sitting on the front row was starting to cry. I said, "What's wrong?" Her voice was hardly above a whisper. "We're not supposed to think, you are supposed to tell us." Later when I was alone, I cried..