Illumination

THERE was a man who sought to know
The secret things of life-
His end, beginning, years between,
His dreams, the purpose and the strife,
That surged about him, to and fro,
And visions dimly seen.

For long he sort to understand
The wisdom of the soul.
He found in seeking scraps of Truth,
Wise words, but portion of the Whole;
And still he sought the Ultimate,
And thus he spent his youth.

The path he trod was dark and long,
With pitfalls laid about,
But climbing on at last, he found
A Light, that shining, helped him out
Of that morass he floundered in,
And lit the path around.

And oft the trav'ler stopped to tend
His small and feeble light.
The shadows deepened and the flame burnt dim,
And but one step ahead the path was bright,
But as he passed a radiance lit the way
For those who followed him.
- Jean Eckhart