Only nine words

Let silence breathe
music, words, fullness
nothing more needed.

© 30 Apr 16

Deep joy, deep sadness

Deep joy that you are following your dream
deep sadness that it takes you so far away
from the home we have built here.
Deep happiness that you can do
just what you want to do
deep sadness that there will be
so many miles in between.
I want to say, ‘don’t go!’
but that would be utterly selfish.
I can’t keep you here
to be always wondering
what might have been.
I will not hold you back or
frustrate your dreams
yet your happiness in going
feeds my sadness
they are two sides of the one coin and
cannot be separated.
The knife that cuts your apron strings
also wounds my heart.
Yet I would not have it any other way
you must be free to follow
your heart’s calling.
And I will not say, ‘don’t go’ or
sow any seeds of doubt.
I will cry silently to myself and
help you pack your bags.
If I raised you to be free
I cannot clip your wings now
to keep you here.
The great well of love that has built
over a quarter century
now overflows and is the wave
that will carry you out into the world
and I cannot hold it back
however much I choose.

© 5 May 16

Don't disturb the bees!

Often a poem speaks
what is in the heart
allowing it to emerge
in a way it would not otherwise.
Sometimes it feels stuck
as if the words are
flying around my head
like frustrated bees
unsure of where to land.

I try to reach out
to hear more clearly
what they are saying
but this disturbs the music and
the rhythm and causes them
to buzz angrily, ready to sting.

The words are already there
sometimes formed and
sometimes seeming incomplete.
Patience!
Be still and
let the bees land where they will
without trying to manipulate them
or cause them to settle in a
pleasing pattern.

Patience!
Be still and
don’t disturb the bees!

© 3 May 16

Silent words playing

Wind chimes sound
wind gently plays
tree leaves rustling
tree branches creaking
wind has no sound.

Silent clouds rain
silent sun shines
silent earth rotates
nature begins in silence.

Human baby cries
human being talks
laughs, shouts, sighs
humans surrounded by noise.

Go back to silence
surround yourself with silence
a comfort blanket enfolding
not a scary, empty place.

Be like the wind
silent and free.
Be like the clouds
forming, moving, letting go
silent and free.

© 2 May 16

Titania's jewels

Titania and her faeries
have been here
liberally scattering jewels
until every blossom glints
dripping with raindrops and
morning sunshine.

Titania and her faeries visited
amidst wild, unpredictable weather
leaving the garden
endowed by a royal decree
glinting blossoms bedecked with jewels
liberally strewn for all to enjoy.

Beauty does not always creep in
silently, subtly changing
sometimes it thunders in amidst
storms, hailstones and driving rain
leaving behind not havoc or chaos
but glinting blossoms
dripping with raindrops
shining in morning sun
light bouncing off every facet.

© 29 Apr 16

If you must believe anything

Trap
Birth
Death
Believe
Free
Wind
Immense
Gentle
Impartial

So easily caught in the trap
of birth and death
of coming and going.
Awaken, awaken
from the trap that ensnares.

If you must believe anything
believe we are free
as free as the uncontained wind
an immense force
blowing down houses if it chooses
a gentle caress
soothing a heated brow.

Be like the dandelion seed
removed from its pod
lifted by the wind and
resting as the wind abates
impartial as to where it lands.

If you must believe anything
believe we are free.
Be like the uncontained wind.

© 24 Apr 16

The cog factory

Busy
List
Golden
Nourishment
Freedom
Clearly
Cogs
Whirring
Awareness

Today my upstairs cog factory
is busy with its ineffectual
to-do lists and planning.

Busyness overrides the golden time
when true nourishment arises
the freedom to see clearly
the whirring, whirring
incessant whirring
achieving nothing beyond keeping
the cogs in motion.

The golden time has its effect anyway
holding a mirror to the cog factory
bringing clarity to the incessant whirring
bringing awareness
the freedom to see clearly
the cogs in motion.

They are like juggling balls
constantly kept moving for no reason.
Let them fall!
Let them all drop and
after the clattering shock as
they hit the ground
see what happens next.

© 22 Apr 16