21. A Soul's Release
- Smoke rose from below the Poet’s feet during his final mortal moments—a dream soon to be dissolved. With fire crackling beneath him, he knew that his soul would soon be freed from the bondage of his physical body.
- The people of the village stood silently, and the leaders laughed, for it was good to them. The people wiped tears from their eyes, for they saw the dream of all dreams, and it was bitter to them, and they knew what was to come.
- And the heat consumed the Poet, and despite the agony he felt in his body, he was calm within his soul.
- And in his final moments, he remained silent, and he was at peace, and he saw, and he felt, and he heard, and he knew, and he was Aligned.
- And through the billowing smoke and scorching flames, He did cast His eyes once more to the distant hills. He beheld a light that did shine upon the hills, and from the midst of the light He did see that a girl appeared before Him in the smoke. She smiled at Him, and His heart was filled with peace and joy.
- And it was the girl who had come to Him in the dream, even She who gave him breath, and who had led Him toward the light, and who had sat with Him by the fountain of His youth.
- And She spoke softly into His burning heart, saying, “Holy Poet, Thou hath seen the distant hills, that they rise, and Thou hath seen the lofty trees which rise to great heights and spread their branches into eternity, and Thou hath seen the smoke which doth rise high and dissolve into the ether.
- And now, Holy Poet, rise with Me, for Thou art clean, and Thou hath done Thy own divine duty which was given to Thee by THE ONE. Thou hath saved Thine own soul, and Thou hath saved the whole world, and even the Cosmos, for He who saves but one is He who saves THE ONE.”
- The Poet’s soul drifted high above His burning body, and He rose to eternal heights, even with the girl who had appeared to Him, and they dissolved into nothing, and into everything.
- And they ran and danced among the stars, and they lived within THE ONE, and they recited poetry under the shade of the Tree, and they played in the canopy which spread its branches far throughout the infinite plains of eternity.
- And they ate the fruit of the Garden, and they drank from the fountain of eternal knowledge, and they were free, and they were Aligned.
- Such is the myth of the Holy Poet.