• I. SHORES OF SILENCE

1.
The distant shores of silence begin
at the door. You cannot fly there
like a bird. You must stop, look deeper,
still deeper, until nothing deflects the soul
from the deepmost deep.

No greenery can now satisfy your sight:
the captive eyes will not come home.
And you thought life would hide you from
the other Life that overhangs the depths.

You must know—there is no return
from this flow, this embrace within the mysterious
beauty of Eternity.
Only endure, endure, do not interrupt
the flight of shadows—only endure
dear and simple—more and more.

Meanwhile you always step aside for Someone
from beyond,
who closes the door of your small room.
His coming softens with each step
and with this silence strikes
the target of the depths.
Karol Wojtyla (João Paulo II)

• Imagem: Stasys Eidrigevicius