Coat of Ash

He finds the silly old photograph in the fire place,
lost and buried in painful ashes;
something about the coat in the picture-
what is it that he can't understand?

He catches a glimpse of who he was
and starts to recognise
familiarity in the eyes
but he can not trust what he sees.

All he believes is the coat.

He can not take his eyes off it,
this old friend from another life;
the ivory buttons, the suede leather,
his history starts to come together.

Why does this strange coat warm his heart
with emotion that is no stranger?
A warmth that spreads across his existance,
melting away chains of conditioning
until he can not hold back any longer-

he lets himself remember.

This used to be his drinking coat,
then too-short blanket, then sinking float;
this very same coat that he wears today,
in ghostly tatters, weathered away.

Together, they've lived through each incarnation
if only so he should never forget this incantation:

Simply to give a man his coat back
does not rid him of his pains
for no matter how empty the coat rack,
the man inside forever remains.


A more fitting tribute to the late great Mr. Levi.