Joel's Poems
Another Name by Joel S. Goldsmith
"Aloneness" has been granted me Whether on Bishop Street at noon,
Or Kalakaua;
On Waikiki at sunset,
On the sands at Kailua,
Before dawn, I am alone.
I walk alone in crowds And feel the solitary Self In the moonlight on the beach.
"Aloneness" has been granted me,
To walk with men, To fly the skies, And sail the seas,
Wherever heart is raised to Him I walk alone.
At heat of day, Or cool of eve, On shore or city street, The yearning Soul receives by Aloneness.
The sick are healed.
The restless are forgiven.
Alone, yet in the hearts Of those who long for peace.
The restless feel my Aloneness; The hungry eat it; The thirsty drink it;
It washes impure minds Of those who do not know,
Touching the mind with Light.
"Aloneness" has been granted me.
Alone I sit behind the prison wall I pace the sickroom floor;
Wherever danger threatens,
My aloneness breaks the spell,
Where misery loves company,
My aloneness they may share.
Alone, I wake, and walk, and sleep
Alone, I sit or stand Alone, I travel sea and sky And sometimes till the land.
The Infinite Way Letters 1955, p116
The Inner Self
The Inner Self by Joel S. Goldsmith
Twas in the marketplace I found Thee sitting at the gate Oh man of many faces and Master of the Fates. There gathered those around Thee whose ears were tuned to hear The stories of the Master and the Psalms of yesteryear.
"Come to Me, ye heavy laden, drop they burdens at My feet I AM strong in faith and power, drink this water, fear no heat. From the noon-day glare I shade thee; for thy hunger, take ye bread. Weary sore-foot traveller, rest ye here, My arm thy bed. Had ye known Me, I had led thee by a way ye know not of. Under palm trees, under date trees, mid the shading greens."
Thus the bidding of the Master to a feast in Bethany To the wanderer of the desert and the sinner at His feet.
"Long I woo'd thee ere ye heard Me, Long I bade thee to the feast. Which the Heavenly Father spreadeth for the children of the East. Have ye precious jewels to barter; have ye oils and spices too; Have ye slaves and pretty dancers, borne in caravans and boats? Merchants rich and sickly beggars, I AM come that ye might live, Not by bread or wine or water, but by streams of Love divine. Not by food or beast or fertile field, nor yet by golden wine. But by My Light, inspired Word, and in My narrow Way I bid ye come and eat and drink and rest that ye might live, and live thy life abundantly as fits thee, child of God; And in His many mansions dwell, in heavenly riches stay.
Ye need not toil, nor fret ye, the Father's Life is thine, No power can e'er disturb thee, no tyrant's rule touch thine. I give thee freedom to thy soul and set thy sore limbs free, I give thee grace to run thy race and peace that makes thee whole.
The Letters, pg 7-8
The New Jerusalem
The former things have passed away and all things are become new. Whereas I was blind, now I see, And not through a glass darkly, but face to face. Even in my flesh, I have seen God. The hills have rolled away And there is no more horizon, But the Light of heaven makes all things plain.
Long have I sought Thee Oh Jerusalem, But only now have my pilgrim's feet Touched the soil of heaven. The waste places are no more. Fertile lands are before me, The like of which I have never dreamed. Oh, truly, (there is no night there), The glory of It shines as the noon day sun. And there is not need of light for God is the Light thereof.
I sit down to rest. Into the shade of trees, I rest and find my Peace in Thee. Thy Grace Is Peace, Oh Lord. In the world, I was weary. In Thee, I have found rest. In the dense forest of words, I was lost. In the letter of Truth was tiredness and fear, But in Thy Spirit only is shade and water and rest.
How far have I wandered from Thy spirit, Oh tender One and true, how far, how far? How deeply lost in the maze of words, words, word? But now, Am I returned.
And, in Thy Spirit shall I ever find my life, my peace my strength. Thy Spirit is the Bread of life, finding which, I shall never hunger. Thy Spirit Is the Wellspring of water, drinking it I shall never thirst.
As a weary wandered, I have sought Thee. And now my weariness is gone. Thy Spirit has formed a tent for me And in its cool shade I linger and Peace fills my soul. Thy Presence has filled me with Peace. Thy love has place before me a feast of Spirit. Yea, Thy Spirit is my resting place, and oasis in the desert of the letter of Truth.
In Thee will I hide from the noise of the world of argument; In Thy Consciousness, find surcease from the noisiness of men's tongues. They divid Thy garments, of Lord of Peace, They argue over Thy Word,
And yea, until it becomes words and no Word.
As a beggar have I sought the new heaven and new earth, And Thou has made me heir of all. How shall I stand before Thee but in silence? How shall I honor Thee but in the meditation of my heart?
Praise and thanksgiving Thou seekest not, But the understanding heart Thou receiveth. I will keep silent before thee. My soul and spirit, and my silence shall by Thy dwelling place. Thy spirit shall fill my meditation And it shall make me and preserve me whole.
Thou tender One and true, I am home in Thee! The Infinite Way, pg.185
The Nightengale of the East
Amidst the flowering plants of a garden in Egypt sat a nightingale of great beauty.
Its soaring song filled the Oasis with lilting melody. Its song was a coo of love; A message of peace from out the heart of the Infinite, Stilling the waves of a world of sense.
Knows thou, O Bird, of the peace that fares forth with thy song? Knows thou of the strife that is stilled by the melody from thy throat? Nay, the nightingale knows naught of the power of its song And less of the unrest that is quieted by its sound.
So should ye be as the song of God pours forth from you, The willing carrier of the divine message, Yet unaware of the power of your being
And still less aware of the troubled ears ye quiet with your melody of love.