The Song That Returns

Let no harm be done to Earth,
Nor Nature, nor the living soul.
For every life that comes to birth
Belongs to one eternal whole.

What we give returns to the world,
What we love becomes our seeing.
Walk gently where the living grow;
Be still enough to hear the flow.

The world is older than its name,
Yet every dawn is born anew;
The stars arise from ancient flame,
And morning paints the heavens blue.

The river bends, the seasons turn,
The fallen leaves, the stars that burn;
And all that seems to come and go
Returns to depths we cannot know.

Do not mistake the changing face
For that which does not fade or die.
The leaf may fall, the flowers fade,
The moon may vanish from the sky.

Forms rise and fall within the stream,
Like shadows passing through a dream;
Yet through the turning wheel,
The hidden Light remains sublime.

Be not consumed by noise and haste,
Nor chase the shadows crowds pursue.
The world will praise what time will waste,
And crown the old with something new.

The proudest name, the greatest throne,
Will one day stand with dust alone;
But what is given without claim
May live beyond the giver’s name.

What is our strength if it cannot
Protect the fragile and the small?
What is our wisdom if we spot
No suffering voice, no distant call?

What is our wealth if Earth must bleed?
What is our freedom if we leave
A wounded world for those who come,
And call our conquest victory?

Be still when all around you cries.
There is a silence underneath.
Beyond the restless mind arise
The spaces breathing with your breath.

Do not pursue the Light afar;
It is not hidden in a star.
Be still, and what you seek to find
May awaken in the quiet mind.

You are not separate from the rain,
Nor from the soil beneath your feet.
The breath you borrow comes again
Through forest, ocean, grain and wheat.

The sunlight entering your eyes
Was born within the ancient skies.
The Earth is not the ground you tread,
It is the life by which you’re fed.

Therefore, walk softly through the world;
Let every footprint leave less pain.
Let every word you give the world
Bring healing like the gentle rain.

Where hatred rises, answer not
With hatred born of the same thought.
Where sorrow dwells, remain nearby;
Sometimes compassion asks not why.

When you encounter one whose way
Is unlike yours in faith or name,
Do not demand they see the day
Through windows of your private flame.

The rivers differ, yet they meet;
The stars are many, yet complete.
The Divine is greater than a creed,
And Love asks neither rank nor deed.

The wise do not possess the Light;
They become vessels for its glow.
They do not wage a war with night,
For even darkness has its role.

They carry neither pride nor fear;
They make the distant mystery near.
And where their quiet footsteps fall,
A little peace returns to all.

Remember this when days are bright;
Remember when the darkness grows.
The seed is hidden from the light,
Yet trusts the darkness where it grows.

What seems to end may yet begin;
What seems a loss may harbour seed.
The mystery does not explain,
It asks the heart to trust again.

Let life itself become your prayer,
No temple wall, no book required.
Let kindness be the breath you share,
And every deed by Love inspired.

Let Earth become your sacred ground,
And every living thing profound.
Let Love be more than words you say,
Let Love become your living way.

For time will pass and names will fade;
The monuments will fall to dust.
The wealth we gathered, worlds we made,
Will yield at last to Earth’s great trust.

But every kindness freely given,
Every wound made less, forgiven,
Becomes a light beyond our days,
A living ember through the haze.

And when at last the journey ends,
When form returns to earth and sky,
Perhaps we shall discover then
What separation cannot deny:

The Light we sought was always near;
The Love we sought was always here.
And all the paths we thought apart
Were one great journey of the heart.

So let no harm be done to Earth.
Let no harm be done to Life.
Let Love arise within our words,
And Peace outshine the ways of strife.

Let Harmony become our way,
Not merely something we proclaim,
But how we walk through every day,
And how we leave this world unchanged.

For when the noise of ages fades,
When every crown and name is gone,
What we have loved, and what we saved,
May live beyond the setting sun.

So let no harm be done to Earth.
Let no harm be done to Life.
Let Love arise on every path,
And Peace be greater than our strife.

Let Harmony become our way,
Not merely something we proclaim.
For what we practise day by day
Becomes the world that bears our name.