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One day in September 1984 we received an envelope from him. In it was a hand written poem.
It was sent to all his other pupils too, Darwin Tichenor of Madison, Myron Kowalski who stayed
there at Northeon Forest, and the others too.
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It was dated Sept. 14. This happens to be Ruth's birthday. As the next few years passed, each
time we took his poem out to read it, I said to Ruth, " You know Honey, you should really try to write
Paul a poem in return. Isn't that what his teaching is about? He plays beautiful music, and then
we try to play beautiful music back? " She did write a poem back. His is first ... then hers:
.
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I rejoice in the rain and the rainbow, the sun, the stars
and the holy breath that is the wind;
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I rejoice in the sight and sound of birds, the song in the
voices of women and in the smile of friends;
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I rejoice in the earned sweat of the body, the upturned
faces of flowers and in the peek of the shy racoon;
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I rejoice in the scent of grasses, the feel of watered earth,
the thousand perfumes of flowers and fruit;
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I rejoice in the peace that comes from prayers, the joy
in children's voices and the whisper in the shade of trees;
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I rejoice in the lust of the body and the yield of a
lusty response and in the grain that makes bread;
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I rejoice that the moon must wane in its time and that
after the darkness comes the new moon - glorious.
.
o o o o o o o
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I rejoice that no one can abide upon the earth
so long as to grow weary of its riches.
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Sept. 14, 1984
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9-14-91
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I rejoice in the darkness of the storm,
and the colors of the rainbow.
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I rejoice in the sharp angle of the arm
in motion and the gentle curve of
the cheek at rest.
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I rejoice in the glow of approval
and the heat of anger.
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I rejoice in the discipline of training
and the freedom of play.
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I rejoice in the structure of learning
and the openess of understanding.
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I rejoice in the energy of the day,
and the serenity of the night.
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I rejoice in unqualified love and
earned friendship.
.
.B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
. .B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
About the rainbow in the picture here .... we had just left Paul's house in Valle D'Oro in the foothills just outside Tucson .... it was to be the last time we would see this man alive .... he was a man in the
true sense of it. I recall one time on a Sunday morning there at Northeon Mountain in eastern Pennsylvania, we were all gathered inside the mill .... he was getting ready to start talking about his new program, but he asked if there were any questions about the program we were leaving. I don't know why but I asked him " What is it to be a man? " He bristled at the question ... shot back " Who asked that question? " I sort of dissolved, even hiding a little behind the lady in front of me ( we were
all sitting on cushion rolls tucked in underneath our butts; in the way that those who meditate sit ) ... did I say " me " or maybe I just didn't say anything. But he did talk at the question ... he said in a
contemptuous way that we wern't interested here in becoming " men " or becoming " women " ... but
we were interested in the development of being. The rainbow occured in January of 1997. Paul died
in August of 1998 I think. We talked on the telephone a number of times between when we saw him
last, and when he died. I have those conversations on tape so he still advises me; keeps me pointed
in the right direction. He did love Gurdjieff ... but he said to me that when you do what you will do with this, it can't be just a Gurdjieff school. That was the way he did it too. It wasn't just a Gurdjieff
school. Written Saturday, July 29, 2000.