Remembering Bliss "Ah," said the young father as he took his baby in his arms, "So, so, so. So you know you're back again. You didn't get away. You closed your eyes and thought it was the end, but here you are again." The baby continued to bawl. "Yes, you're just a little speaker, but you're loud as a crowd," said Papa. "It's like you're crying for everybody. There, there. It's not so bad. Not if you know a little secret. Want to know a little secret?" It was only a trailer, and a small one at that, but he had built a deck. And now he took his bawling baby out there on the deck, in the night, and pointed at the sky. "You see? It is a world of suffering, but there is bliss. There it is, little man. The moment you're free from the sea, there it is. You're not drowning. It's okay. It's not so terrible to be reborn. Look, look!" And just at the moment the young father thought that maybe this was not such a good idea after all, that the child was going to wake the whole neighborhood, the baby saw the moon and stopped. The tears were still on its face, its little chest was still heaving, but the anguish had vanished. Its eyes opened wide and the radiant beauty of the celestial body pervaded its being. The father sat down in a chair with his pacified child in his arms. He knew they would be there a while. It was a warm summer night, the trees were gently waving, and his child was remembering bliss. 26 June 2021 Texas Jim Prospect, Nova Scotia www.granitecoast.ca