There’s courage involved if you want
to become truth.  There is a broken-

open place in a lover.  Where are
those qualities of bravery and sharp

compassion in this group?  What’s the
use of old and frozen thought?  I want

a howling hurt.  This is not a treasury
where gold is stored; this is for copper.

We alchemists look for talent that
can heat up and change.  Lukewarm

won’t do.  Halfhearted holding back,
well-enough getting by?  Not here.

There’s a shredding that’s really
a healing, that makes you more alive!

For safekeeping, gold is hidden in a desolate place, where
no one ever goes, not

in a familiar, easy-to-get-to spot.  The proverb goes, Joy
lives concealed in grief.

I saw grief drinking a cup of sorrow
And called out, “It tastes sweet, does it not?”

“You’ve caught me,” grief answered, “and
you’ve ruined my business.  How can I

sell sorrow, when you know it’s a blessing?”