I asked the old man standing on the street
what he was doing, who would he meet?
Well I've met you he replied
and that I could not tell,
until you just arrived.
I met the children playing in the park,
I asked them what are you doing
in these hours before its dark?
They said they go up and down
and then swing to and fro,
then before the sun sets
round and round they go.
I met the priest sitting silent in the church
he asked me what am I doing?
I said I came to ask you
why you sit here in this place?
He said it was for praying
for deliverance and grace.
I went to the hermit's cave, lonely in the hills
to ask him why he lived there,
why he shunned the city's thrills.
He said it was to free himself
from the ties of human life
and all the many questions
which only bring us strife.
I asked the old man on the street
what were you doing all this time?
I was waiting for you he said
but I did not know that
until you just arrived.
David Taylor
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/searching-90/
