I sat with Aunt Sue
just before she passed
and held her gaze
for long moments.
Her eyelids would drop
as if in sleep
then suddenly pop open, unwilling
to miss a moment.

In her 88-year-old
steel blue eyes, I saw
a newborn baby
a dolphin's gaze
the Buddah
the eye of a Soul.
All the same.
A kind of pureness
Stillness
Distance.

And when her eyes focused
over my shoulder
intently
at thin air,
I told her
Goodbye. Don't be afraid.
There are many souls waiting
to welcome you.

Mary Schanuel has been a writer since she could hold a pencil and has published non-fiction, entertainment reviews, poetry and short fiction since she was 19. Her works have appeared in such publications as Working Mother Magazine, Organic Gardening and the Los Angeles Daily News. "Soul's Gaze" is one of a collection of her poems that will be published in an anthology of spontaneous Zen writing. A member of the Woman to Woman - St. Louis community, Mary facilitates personal growth and healing workshops.