A little background on this one… a few years ago on a long hypnotic drive, a wonderful acronym came to me as a way to describe our essence. I filed it away in my brain and never did anything with it, although I knew it would surface again some time. This morning I heard the first two lines of today’s poem and thought, “I wonder where this is going … what a strange way to start a poem.” After six lines I thought, “There is no way this is going to have any meaning today. This isn’t going anywhere.” Then lines seven and eight came out in a rush, and I instantly knew what it was about: my acronym. I burst into tears because it was so awesome — these words that were so obviously not from me, but were so brilliant. Then I thought, “Okay spirit world… you started this … now you have to work an acronym into a poem! What a challenge!” And boy did they meet that challenge, in non-stop flowing words that tied it all together in one beautiful package, and all in less than ten minutes … Take your time, figure it all out, and enjoy the beautiful message. A Christmas present from the Council of Poets to all of us today …

Hard as a walrus tusk
Carved to perfection
With a luster so bright
You can see your reflection.

This tiny jewel
That you can hold in your hand
Started out at its birth
As a small grain of sand.

You call it a pearl
This bright little jewel
Bur for you we have used it
As a kind of a tool.

The word in your language
Brings an image to mind
But each letter of “PEARL”
Means something else, as you’ll find.

For what is a pearl?
But a jewel that does hide
Inside a rough shell
That’s quite crusty outside.

Yet open the shell
And inside is the shine
No one could imagine
A treasure so fine.

The “P” stands for “Pure”
Something clear and quite sure.
The “E” stands for “Essence”
What you have at your core.

The “A’s” just a word
It’s a holder called “And”
The “R’s” more important
For “Real” does it stand.

But “L” is the most
Valued word of the five.
It stands for “Love”—
That which keeps you alive.

P-E-A-R-L
When five letters combine.
You discover the secret
With a meaning sublime.

Each man’s like an oyster.
Maybe crusty outside,
But inside him such beauty
Like the pearl he does hide.

Inside is your jewel
It’s your “Pure Essence” for sure
“And Real Love” … That’s the secret…
Now you know your true core.