Not-Random Meeting

…And you will understand that every passerby
Begins to bear your likeness, suddenly,
By that Eternity which in their gaze does lie.
— Elena Marusenko

It happens sometimes – in the rush of faces, a blur,
You recall one, before you've even looked your fill.
A greeting in the sweep of a stranger's lash will stir
Your own restless heart to answer, against its will.

The Day's great meaning lies in meetings not by chance,
The Universe's pattern, lovely and complex, is cast.
You only must learn to recognize and enhance
A Star's own smile in the one you were meant to pass.

You only must know them, reach out, and hold fast,
Leaving behind all idle haste and folly.
The One Life gives the Chalice to us at last,
In eyes and in hearts, having spilled Eternity.

May 10, 2000