Two Rings

I See Two Ravens Spiral to the Heavens
Ridin' Thermals
On the Breath of Life
Soaring Higher and Higher
Flying the Great Spiral Dream
From Down Below to Sight Unseen
Hangin' in Spring Canyon
Watchin' Clouds Dancin'
Purusha Cultivatin'
Embraced and Embracin'
In this playground Spring Canyon

"Poetry huh?" said Doc, as he glanced at my writing.

"Yeah," I said, "Sometimes I'd much rather write this than research papers. Especially when I look at birds soar, or hear them sing...or when I watch my dog run through woods...these beautiful creatures with their simple minds...not a care in the world..."

"Well, I imagine they care about some things," Doc said, "But I agree their life seems more carefree. Maybe it's all in their approach, or lack thereof, as they live completely in the moment, worrying about neither past nor present."

"Yeah, I suppose so," I said to Doc less than enthusiastically. Seems he picked up on my melancholy.

I don't know what I'd do without Doc's jolly character, so wise and clever. In so many ways he has carried me here, though I know the feeling is mutual. For he once said to me, and I will forever remember it, Doc said, "Ya know son, my genius child, I love you for the goodness of your curiousness. However you or others may see stumbles and failures...you are a winner always in my eyes...not because you always know answers, but because you always ask questions."

On this occasion Doc merely said, "Ya know, the vast majority of human troubles come from spending too much time making something out of nothing."
"Doc," I said, only halfway hearing what he was saying, "I see two circles coming together."

Pausing for his response, Doc merely said, "Go on."

"Well, it seems one of these circles is me...and the other is something, or someone else...I'm not sure exactly how to put it."

"Just go with it," said Doc.

"Well, I feel this other circle is joined with me somehow, in a sort of communion. We are like two rings hooked together, in a necessary balance that keeps the universe in order."

"Hmm," was all Doc said as I continued on.

"Now I don't know what this other circle is. Perhaps one circle represents my mind and the other my body, and they are only now catching-up to each other and re-uniting. Or perhaps one circle is male and the other female, or maybe it is matter conjoining with mind to make existence work as it does."

"I can see that," said Doc.

"Or maybe the first circle represents a whole of which I am now fully apart, once distinct or separate from the other, they are now coming together...one circle being the first and the other the last, as in Alpha and Omega, these two circles may represent two worlds...two great entities or realities...forever dancing..life and death...forever circling and cycling...here and there...mind and matter...in this dance of existence...or the Great Dream Spiral, as you've called it Doc."
"I see you get it," smiled Doc.

"Yes," I said, "It's the answer to the riddle of the rings."

"Communion!" exclaimed Doc.

"Reconciliation!" I said back.
"Exiting and Entering."

"Living and Dying."

"Crying and Rejoicing."

"Meeting and Parting."

"Hello-ing and Goodbye-ing."

"Farwelling and Returning."

As we began laughing at our silliness, I once again fell serious. "Doc, I said, "Maybe the two circles represent something else."

"What's that?" he asked.

"Old and New."

"I think that's true too," Doc said. "After all, if nothing else the two circles...as they dance...represent change and movement, the Eternal Flow of what was, what is and what will be...and how it all cycles and recycles around again."

"And where the two circles overlap," I said, "That is the present...the moment in time the two circles share in common.

"I see that too," Doc said calmly.

"The image makes so much sense," I said, "But it only decreases the pain to a certain extent."

"Yes pain, as well as joy, and the rest of the emotions, they too are part of it all," agreed Doc. "In fact, they are most fundamental. For it's the tension of emotion that drives the Dancing Spiral."


"Then it makes sense too that emotions are most powerful where the circles intersect, that is, at the junction of their coming and going as they move in their cycling."

"Yes," Doc nodded his head, "It's easy to see this is true, in the joy of a baby's birth or the joining in marriage, as well as the aguish at the other end, in the pain of death or sorrow of separation. A long silence fell between us...until Doc finally broke it.

"By the way, what movie did you see at the Paradise last week?"

"The Bicycle Thief."

"Ah, De Sica at his neorealistic best, " said Doc.

"Yeah, talk about the tension of emotion...and the pain of separation," I said.

"You're gettin' pretty big for your britches genius."

"I can't help it...comes with hangin' around you all this time," I smiled. "I'm even starting to sound like you."

"Goes both ways kid," Doc smiled back. "I'll have to do my best to keep up with you now. Now get the hell outta here before I put ya to work."

Soon out the door, I turned around and stuck my head back in the old drugstore. "Doc!?" I yelled towards the back, Doc again busy at work.

"What!?"

"I love you!" I shouted, then l was gone, my exit so fast, a second ring of the bell overlapped with the first. Seemed so appropriate. For this was an ending of sorts with Doc. Of course, I would see him again and again over the years. But I was moving on now, heading off to college. And on top of that, I was growing into a man.