They Hold their Hats in
Deference in their Hands
Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem
Two men are bowing at the crossroads to
Each other. Though already distant they
Grow fainter even as they set off through
The mist apart. There in the morning’s gray
The viewer sees them go though he has not
Been introduced. An unnamed feeling takes
Him unaware. This Bodhisattva caught
The perfect insight. Spirit thinking breaks
Through . . . to the essence of all things. He knows
Outside the ocean of becoming. Then,
Just then, he dwells in non-attachment, grows
Together and apart. He sees the men
And he are straying in serenity of space,
Are staying there in utter peace’s grace.
~ Phillip Whidden