Hares Salam
Nova Rai · Haresalam, 10 of 23
The story
I woke up with words in my mouth I had never learned. Hares, salam, tschagg, tom, pai, u: the guardian, peace, the fire that settles on the mountain, it is finished, go, you. Sometimes your body knows the prayer before you do. Walk out of the room that was never yours. The road is long, and it is yours to fill.
Lyrics
Hares, Salam
Tschagg tom Pai u
Hares, Salam
Tschagg tom Pai u
I don't know what these words mean.
But my body knew them before I woke.
I wore a coat that wasn't mine
I climbed the stairs to someone's room
I kept the key but drew no line
Between the corridor and bloom
The mornings came beneath the door
I told myself the light would do
But something stirring on the floor
Was calling out a name I knew
Hares, Salam
Tschagg tom Pai u
A prayer I never learned to pray
That my body always knew
Hares, Salam
Tschagg tom Pai u
The guardian, the peace, the way
The oldest word made new
I lived because I had to live
I walked because the floor was there
I gave what wasn't mine to give
I breathed but never tasted air
Then water spoke a memory
And birds sang without asking why
I threw my chair at what might be
A ghost, but it was only sky
Hares, Salam
Tschagg tom Pai u
A song I never learned to sing
That my feet already knew
Hares, Salam
Tschagg tom Pai u
The fire, the mountain, and the ring
Of something breaking through
Now I will tell you what the old words say.
They came in tongues I've never spoken.
Five ancient languages in a single breath.
Hares: the guardian. The one who watches while you sleep.
Salam: peace. Not silence. Wholeness.
Tschagg: the fire that settles on the mountain.
The gift of knowing. The pilgrim's name.
Tom: completeness. Innocence of heart.
The Hebrew word for "it is finished."
Pai: go. The simplest verb in the oldest tongue.
Just go.
U: you.
The guardian of peace,
the fire has landed,
the pilgrimage is complete.
Now go, you.
That is what my sleeping body
said to my waking life
in languages I do not speak.
The hotel stands but I walk out
The bike was fast but couldn't stay
I do not need to scream or shout
I just need feet and one more day
I see the village on the hill
I see the smoke, I see the trees
The road is long and mine to fill
And I am walking and at ease
Hares, Salam
Tschagg tom Pai u
Blue bayou, blue morning light
The oldest prayer come true
Hares, Salam
Tschagg tom Pai u
One life left and the road is bright
And I am walking through
Hares, Salam
Tschagg tom Pai u
Hares, Salam
Tschagg tom Pai u
The drop returns.
The ocean knew.