In the pursuit of solitude

Every so often
Just as a snake sheds its skin,
I yearn to discard
this garb of social propriety,
To strip off all
the concerns of the world
and roam free in the wilderness.

Then to sit all alone
underneath a tree like Buddha,
devoid of all thoughts
devoid of all feelings,
And be one with nature –

      To feel what the birds feel,
      To think what the trees think
      To grow my roots in the soil
      and sway with the winds,
      To glisten with the morning dew
      in the lush meadows
      on every blade of grass,
      To shower down with the rains
      on the parched fields
      And playfully wash the shores
      with the waves of the sea!