Tuesday 24 May 2016

Polish it!

Thoughts in the head of
what clothes to wear and
what they will think of
my wardrobe.
Oh dear foolish one!
Look in the mirror and see
the state of your heart
not your external attire.
Look in the mirror and see
if the heart is
shabby or shining
and worry not about
the outward show of things.
Look in the mirror and see
the state of your heart
and if it is not shining
polish it, polish it, polish it!

© 7 May 16

Sunday 22 May 2016

How much?

How much of your life is safe?
How much of your life is known?
How much of your life stays neatly
in the boundaries of your comfort zone?

How much of your life is risky?
How much of your life is small?
How much of your life stretches you
allows you to be tall?

How much of your life is dangerous?
How much of your life is ‘me’?
How much of your life allows you
to be unfettered, boundless, free?

How much of your life is fluid?
How much of your life is set?
How much do you let yourself
dance in that which is unknown yet?

© 19 May 16

Thursday 19 May 2016

Love is the locked door

Love is the locked door
the searching for a way through
the key
the turning handle
the hesitancy
the stepping over the threshold
the meeting
the immersion in oneness
the realisation
there is no door.

© 9 May 16

Monday 16 May 2016

I do not long for sorrow

I do not long for sorrow
but now I see
it intertwines with joy
growing together to create
one beautiful plant whose flowers
cannot be separated.

I do not long for sorrow
but now I see
the lurking shadows I try to avoid
also hold my greatest joys.
To admit only the joys
would be to live a half-life
that is partial.

I do not long for sorrow
but now I see
the cyclical turning of the earth
encompasses all facets of life.
In the depths of winter hibernation
the seed of spring is stored and nurtured
already present, already growing.

I do not long for sorrow
but now I see
the magnificence of the sunset
is only evident because of the clouds.
They are the canvas on which
its beauty is revealed.

I do not long for sorrow
but now I see
the deep well of tears
is the spring that nourishes my joy.
I would not dismiss one
to only claim the other.

I do not long for sorrow
but now I see
birth and death are natural functions
of this turning earth
of this universe
yet they are not its all.
Beyond the cyclical turning
is stillness
the true centre of all.

© 16 May 16

Saturday 7 May 2016

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

Tuesday 3 May 2016

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

Monday 2 May 2016

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

Sunday 1 May 2016

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