As he ages he begins to look

like a Jewish Lincoln—angular,

shy, too long for his clothes,

proclaiming emancipation.

Like Abe he must have been

an ugly duckling once,

before he was a swan.

Now and then, in the slope

of the shoulders, in the

archless feet, or in the modest

cast of the eyes, some of

the young duck nudges

through again, and touches

our own duckling hearts.

But make no mistake—

here indeed is the swan.

It does not sing, but its

inclined head and clean reach

of neck bear a silence

which stops the world.

When we look for him

we see the Dharma,

like seeking smoke

and finding clear water,

or finding gold.

This Dharma likes to eat chocolate

This Dharma has an easy laugh

and is easy to love.

This Dharma is our brother,

and so we return to him,

again and again.

For Joseph—

With gratitude and love,

Eric Kolvig

December 1983

From the Spring 1984 issue of Inquiring Mind (Vol. 1, No. 1)

Click here to read this issue’s Joseph Goldstein interview.