Hiding the Light
(“Still Life”, 2021, original encaustic)
Hiding the Light
A lot has been happening in my life recently
And that’s a good thing considering
How staid and stodgy I’ve become
In old age.
But it’s still a challenge
And as one unexpected hurdle after another
Comes up, as always will,
I’m reminded, from some place deep in my past,
Perhaps best called my gut,
That now is the best time
To simply ‘go with the flow’.
My wife latches on to this axiom too
And so I know it has the universal resonance
Of truth,
My wife, being the embodiment,
Although long past 42, of the ultimate answer
To Life, The Universe, and Everything,
At least for me.
Then today I hear another truth
That strikes like an arrow to the heart,
A bull’s eye without room for doubt,
That the path for someone like me,
And maybe someone like you too,
Is to ‘hide the light’.
The light we are shines best
When we aren’t trying,
When we don’t even know it’s shining.
So this hiding of the light
Is for everyone involved
Since it doesn’t help anyone
To spin their wheels dwelling
Upon the obvious.
An honorable man needs no validation.
A beautiful woman needs no make-up.
And yet validation and a little make-up
Is all good too.
The light after all is something completely different
Maybe felt and not seen
Says it best,
But people are fooled
Much more by what they see than feel,
So hiding the light
Is as simple as going with the flow
Without concern for where it all goes.
(6/8/25)
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