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| Comments: The poem speaks to the inner struggles we all face, whether dealing with the senses or choices we make. Religions define what is right and wrong, some more narrowly than others. Cultures likewise define the parameters. This poem raises questions in a mystical debate. However, at the end, the conclusion is that you should, after weighing everything, be true to yourself –not an easy task. |
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Agape
Love is only a word.
But if you truly inhale its essence,
Love will change your world
And all with whom you touch.
Like the pebble dropped into the quiet pond,
The ripples radiate from the source
Ever widening and encompassing
Magically reflecting the Sun's radiant energy.
<>
Comments: The Greeks had three distinctive words for love. "The greatest of these is agape" - unconditional love unbridled by jealousy or possessiveness. The agape experience goes far beyond the brotherly (philos) or romantic-sexual (eros). Agape is the love about which the great spiritual teachers spoke. I have known a few who walk the agape journey. I hope you have too.
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Simplicity
What demons we wrestle
In our quest for truth.
Finding it hard to accept
The obvious.
Surely we must question
Deeper than this
For the answers cannot be
Before us.
<>
Comments: Perhaps the ultimate answers are more obvious than we think.
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Tick-tock
Tick-tock, tick-tock,
All the time in the world.
Tick-tock, time moves on.
Tick-tock, so much to do.
Where has the day gone?
This report is due.
My dinner can wait.
The work must be done.
Make the call, "I'll be late."
"I may not be home till dawn."
Tick-tock, time moves on.
Tick-tock, my time is gone.
<>
Comments: Oh, we think we have so much time to fritter away on our never ending jobs. Regrettably, one day we wake up and wonder where time has gone. The wise human realizes early on that the true job is living life and the more hours spent at the office denigrates that quality.
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Days from Hell
"Have you ever known a day "Straight from Hell?"
When immediacy and pressures overwhelm
Making you think, "They're of such import."
Yet, a year from now or even two days from now
Most will be but "A forgotten memory."
<>
Comments: Perspective helps provide sanity and eventually, happiness. When stressed out if we can view the BIG picture, somehow the small events don't mean quite as much. I personally find that in the scheme of life many work related events are 'small events.' To put things into true perspective, what you think about on your death bed are the BIG ticket items - family, beliefs, etc.
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Dragon Slayer
We each war against our dragons
Trying not to be consumed by the fire.
Only we can slay our own
And find the peace we each desire.
<>
Comments: So often we attempt to solve our problems looking outward when the solution is within. No one can really solve our problems for us.
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A Calendar
A place to record the joys to be had
even those that leave us sad.
But as we tick the time away,
let's do our best to enjoy each day.
Thus, when the end is coming near,
there'll be no need to shed a tear.
<>
Comments: A little ditty with a BIG thought.
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Will we ever know what lies within
....or understand those feelings that explode without?
Surely, we are more than the firing synapses.
Are those profound emotions of love
....simply illusions created by chemical reactions?
When I dream of a future where peace abounds
....of a world far better than now,
....are they merely the summation of electrical currents?
Perhaps, just perhaps,
....our ancestors may have understood a better wiring,
....a spiritual core,
....that opens our hearts to a larger universe,
....one beyond simplistic chemistry.
Comments: Time, Newsweek, and other magazines have run articles on "spiritual hard-wiring." Others have said that these "feelings" are mere chemical reactions. Obviously, from this poem you know which side I have come down on.
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I am Time.
I’ve watched the mountains
....rise and fall.
The dinosaurs expend their reign.
Oh mortal, you are but
....a microdot, a blip.
Use your moment wisely.
Comments: Food for thought.
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Tombstone 1914–2005
The dash, a lifetime it represents,
from the first breath and cry
to the last gasp of saying good-bye.
It includes all of that which memories make
And all the actions that one partakes.
Whether the years upon this land
Are short or long
The mere dash symbolizes,
Though once here,
That you are gone.
Comments: I recently attended a funeral of a friend. The minister used the symbolism of the dash to represent my friend's life. I took the concept and turned it into this brief poem. I don't believe I will ever again view the tombstone dash the same.
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Call to the Source
Come silence, give me rest.
Let me feel the breath moving
Through my lungs
And enjoy the sensations
And tranquility that it brings.
In the quiet moments between thoughts
Speak the soundless words
That soothe
Causing turmoil to cease
And peace to prevail.
Comments: Those into meditation and quiet prayer should understand this poem well. This poem came to me after watching a magnificent DVD, Yoga Unveiled: Its Evolution and Essence, on the history of yoga and the use of yoga and meditation in modern medicine.
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Children's Sermon
The minister lowers himself slowly to the carpet,
......joking that he might not be able to rise again.
The youngsters laugh and smile in anticipation.
He begins the homely rhetorically with,
......“What can you do for the church?”
......and quickly offers a suggestion.
I ponder the lives before them,
......and remember back to early youth–
......the excitement and anticipation I’d felt,
......so wanting to grow to adulthood.
“What do these youth offer us?”
......returning to the reverend’s question.
I inwardly retort, smiling,
......“A deeper understanding of the eternal circle
......and promise for the future.”
Comments: The draft was written on the back of the church bulletin as the minister offered the children's sermon.
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Where Art Thou?
“Oh Solitude, where art thou?”
.....comes an inner cry,
.....when drowning in ubiquitous noise.
.....where even the walls of a home,
.....one’s castle,
.....fail to blot the siege of sounds
.....of modern America.
Cell phones to ears,
.....iPods in the woods, on the beaches,
.....the endless din of television –
.....all devices to escape
.....the dreaded quiet
.....and inward listening.
Many so fear
.....what silence might bring.
When did solitude
.....become such a fearsome thing?
Comments: I find it harder and harder to find quiet places. Sometimes, I long for solitude. So much of society is geared to make that search difficult. Some even look at you askance when you try to explain how important it is for the spiritual journey
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Three Untitled Shorts
We each cross our own abyss,
wishing it was never there.
Though once on the other side,
we often comprehend the reason why.
Lay your head gently on the pillow,
feeling the softness and the acceptance.
Pull the blankets securely around you,
wrapping you in warmth.
Close your eyes,
knowing that hope reigns
if such simple pleasures still exist.
Have you ever said good-bye,
Sensing it may be forever?
Inside you long for more time
Before finally bidding adieu.
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