AFTERGLOW

   My grand breakthrough to Cosmic Consciousness,
   My mystical debut, came long ago
   When I was just eighteen.  It came to bless
   Me with a sense of how I ought to grow,

   And ever since, my memories of that light
   And warmth, that purple glow, remain,
   And when I’ve strayed, they help to set me right:
   May that illumination never wane.

   I heard no angel’s voice, nor saw a scene
   Of heavenly beatitude and grace,
   As stories tell; I simply felt serene
   And keen at once, suspended in that space—

          Until that glorious evening was through,
          Though even now I feel its residue.

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