At the end of my suffering br there was a door. br br Hear me out: that which you call death br I remember. br br Overhead, noises, branches of the pine shifting. br Then nothing. The weak sun br flickered over the dry surface. br br It is terrible to survive br as consciousness br buried in the dark earth. br br Then it was over: that which you fear, being br a soul and unable br to speak, ending abruptly, the stiff earth br bending a little. And what I took to be br birds darting in low shrubs. br br You who do not remember br passage from the other world br I tell you I could speak again: whatever br returns from oblivion returns br to find a voice: br br from the center of my life came br a great fountain, deep blue br shadows on azure seawater.