LITANY

You, my friend with the wisdom to fill a billion blazing Alexandrian libraries.

May your loquacious words always be without regret and your dark ink never blur from tears.

You, my friend with judgment so sharp and clear as you blindfolded hold the gilded scales of justice,

May the sword never cut your veins and leave you bleeding and forlorn at the stairs to the temple.

You, my friend who must have lived a thousand lives and secretly stowed away all that knowledge into the voyage of this present endeavor,

May you never realize that the flame of youth has not illuminated your inner eye but instead has gauged your vision.

You my friend with the unyielding belief in what is right and wrong as you walk on the  clear-cut path of stones before you,

May you never err from your certainty to wander in the jungle of treacherous doubts.

You, my friend standing above the rest of us hurling blazing fireballs in scathing contempt,

If you are ever brave enough to don the shoes of those you sneer upon, may your steps be secure and may you be protected from that inconspicuously concealed obstacle in the road as your high head soars above us. 

BEL April, 2012

Image: BEL: Early Morning Glow (taken on Indian Head Trail, White Plains, MD)