Beneath the Chandelier of Truth: When Loving-Kindness Plays

When we’re young, truth feels simple—this is good, this is bad, this is success, this is failure. But as we love, travel, and grow, we find truth is multi-dimensional, like a crystal with countless angles. This poem imagines that crystal as a chandelier inviting us into deeper understanding.

Imagine now a ballroom wide,
where silent souls in stillness bide;
all gazing up from where they start—
the chandelier that lights the dark.

It shimmers with a thousand sides,
each angle where the truth resides;
one sees Christ, serene and bright,
another bows to Buddha’s light.

They stand in rows, fixed in place,
each certain theirs, the truest gaze;’til softly through the velvet haze—
a song begins: Loving-Kindness plays.

A rhythm soft, yet spirit-deep,
a melody stirs souls from their sleep;
they lift their gaze, release their fear,
step forward now and –dare– draw near.

They meet a soul, a hand extends,
a stranger smiles, and truth begins:
“I saw the light from over there—
it danced through love and loss and prayer.”

With every step new stories burn,
more facets of the crystal churn;
a chandelier they thought they knew,
now shining deeper, fuller, true.

It isn’t just one name or frame—
not form, nor face, nor holy claim;
it’s every path the soul has known—
a prism through the One has shone.

We dance beneath the chandelier of truth.