Where have all the poems gone?

What to do when you appear to have writer's block and the poems aren't flowing any more? Write a poem about it, of course! :)

Where have all the poems gone?
These pages are empty
not because there are no words but
I haven't taken the time to invite them in.
A shift in priorities has squeezed out
the time for writing and
now it is easing itself back in.

These pages have lain empty and blank
for weeks
as I pursued other creativities.
Lately, I have been writing
on the computer
which is not the same as
pencil in hand.

I am a conduit
a channel
a conductor
guiding the ever-dancing
ever-moving words
onto the page
in some recognisable formation.
Sometimes it is different
to what I expect.
I am only the channel
the conductor.
I cannot dictate
how they will turn out or
what patterns they will create.
I am only the conduit.

© 18 Sep 16

I discover

I discover
I prefer the sound of
crashing water descending down rocks
to the chatter of humans
one to another.
I prefer
the conversation of leaves
rustling with the breeze
to the noise of humans
which becomes a distraction.

Mind makes a judgement and
sets up a preference.
I want to hear natural sounds.
I want to hear water
as it beats down incessantly
on the rocks below
rather than the stream of humans
come to visit this glorious sight.

And is there a point they can merge?
Can the mind stop deciding
there is a difference
seeing this one as natural
and therefore the other as unnatural?

Here on this busy bank holiday
many families with young children
friends and relations have all descended
on this beauty spot, as have we.
Do I really want to wish them away and
selfishly enjoy this by myself?
Where would I rather the humans were?
Sat in front of a TV screen?
Or just not here?

The mind that makes preferences
does not follow through
these logical conclusions
it makes a snap decision
“I would prefer things not to be like this”.
I decide to rejoice
that so many parents
have made the decision
to bring their children out into nature.

I decide to rejoice
that the chatter of human life
is equally enjoyable
to sounds of nature.
I decide
to enjoy things as they are
instead of how little ‘me’
would like them to be!

© 2 Sep 16

The wind of life

The wind of life
gusts round the house
strongly, forcibly
saying,
Do not forget me!
Do not let your sorrows
pull you into believing in death.
I am here! I am here!
Calling to you
smiling to you
from every leaf and every petal.

I am the origin
lending life to all that moves.
I am the song
lending voice to all that speaks.
I am the fire
lending light to all that sees.
Know my presence
hear my voice.
I am the sound of silence
the knowledge that remains
when all searching ceases.

© 7 Aug 16

This Buddha smiles beatifically

This Buddha smiles beatifically
all understanding
all knowledge is hers.
Her friends doze in a
fog of forgetfulness
not seeing what she sees
not knowing what she knows
lost in a sea of emotions
we are sad, angry, regretful.

This Buddha smiles beatifically
all understanding
all knowledge is hers.
We are blessed to be in her presence
to bask in her light
soaking in a second-hand
understanding.

This Buddha smiles beatifically
all understanding
all knowledge is hers.
She sees the simplicity
of everything.
She knows the glory
of everything.
She knows
all one has to do is
breathe
smile and
let go.

* Buddha = Awakened One

© 7 Aug 16

I am essence undressed

I am essence undressed

with no impurities or defilements

pure and free.

I am clean, fresh water

unpolluted and untainted 

coming directly from the source

the well-spring.

I am unadulterated light

with no shadows

bright, penetrating

coming directly from the sun

womb of all fire.

I am clean, fresh, pure air

the wind that blows through

brushing aside all uncertainty.

I am the song that sings itself

tune and words utterly recognisable.

I am the heartbeat of the cosmos

steady, regular

pulsing in every being

essence of vitality.

I am space

all-containing space.

I am essence undressed

with no impurities or defilements.

I am free.

© 31 Jul 16

Love so deep

Love so deep is painful
in the letting go
yet better to love and
have a heart shattered
like broken glass
than to live a half-life
of mediocrity.
Better to feel the intensity
of great beauty and great loss
than to live life
only in the shadows.

A shattered heart
can be mended
yet a life half-lived
cannot be undone.

Now is the moment
the only moment.
Dance and dwell and
revel in this moment.
Be with who you are with and
be who you were born to be
now, in this moment.

© 27 Jul 16

Last night I dreamt

Last night I dreamt a strange and wonderful dream. I dreamt I was born a baby, innocent and helpless. I was born into a family who kept trying to tell me I was theirs, but in my heart of hearts I knew I didn't belong; this was not my home. I waited with eager anticipation for the day they would reveal the contents of this secret to me. Yet the day never came! They never unfolded the secret that I knew. As days and weeks, months and seasons turned I began to believe what they told me, that I belonged here, here was my family, my home. And as I believed, I lived with them through the hopes and fears, dreams and disappointments that seemed to be part of the package. Together we celebrated new life and mourned the passing of life into death, which seemed strange and contrary to me. I lived this life with them but I never fully believed the stories that they spun. As weeks and months, seasons and years turned their insistent voices that we were a family grew louder and the secret voice inside my heart grew faint.
One day I met someone who confirmed everything I knew in my heart. They spoke with a voice I understood and recognised. They told me, this so-called life is a dream, a play in which we are called to play our part extremely well, make it so believable yet never forget to remove the costume, wig and make-up backstage. This play is full of dramas, comedies, histories and tragedies, yet none of it is real, none of it is true.
And my heart was satisfied until one day a question came to mind - if this life is not real, not true, what is? I fervently searched for an answer. I looked in books, I enquired with everyone I met, but often they responded with a look of puzzled confusion. I scoured buildings and towns trying to find an answer that would satisfy the yearning in my heart.
Finally I met someone who said - you will never find the answer by searching in this way. Be still! Stop looking! Be silent! Let the answer find you! So I sat and listened. I heard the wind whisper in the trees, I heard the stars sparkle in the night-time sky, I heard the snowflakes as they fell, I heard the birds singing freely in the open sky, I heard families and friends calling jovially to one another. Through it all I heard a sound of oneness. I knew this silence in my heart, when all external activity ceases, was where I belonged, was what I could truly call home. And now I was completely satisfied and I woke up with a smile on my face and a deep contentment in my heart, utterly free.