<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;" class="">Visiting an Old Teacher</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><span style="font-size: 14px;" class=""><i class="">For Dr. Robert Hall</i></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">The light I used to see in your eyes</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">Has gone somewhere else.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">It's odd, isn't it?</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">What goes and what stays.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">When you spoke at the meditation center, </span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">I felt your kindness.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">You talked about resting, just resting.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">A door opened in my heart then.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">I did rest. I breathed easily.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">I thought of all the love</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">I had received in my life, including from you.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">I felt a wave of gratitude break in my body.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">It almost reached my eyes. </span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">I asked myself,</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">"Would I cry, in Mexico?" </span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">For you, or for myself?</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">Afterwards, you sat in the bright sun on the patio.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">I asked you if you wanted to go out for coffee or a walk,</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">You smiled and said, "Oh, I don't do that, anymore."</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">Okay.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">Your partner helped you down the stone steps</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">to your car.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class="">It's odd, isn't it? What goes and what stays.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""></span><br class=""></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-kerning: none" class=""> You've been with me, this long.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Geo Taylor</span></p></div></body></html>