YEARNING OYSTER

 

In the dark deep depths of mighty blue ocean

Searching, seething; seeking!

For the precious mystery of the hidden pearl

Under reef and rock you have rummaged

Drawn by the current and swooned by the gyre

Oh! Nacreous Friend!

Why seek pearls when you yourself are an oyster!

What different pearl will you seek in others?

Who else will open their shell to you?

Looking all over for the precious pearl!

Oh, yearning oyster of the mind!

Don’t forget to look inside!

ZAZEN

 

In the midst of a clamorous crowd of feelings

Something remains silent

In the midst of the dazzling dance of perception

Something silently watches

In the midst of all this watching

Something dies! Something is silently let go!

No desire, no seeking, no satisfaction!

No existence! No nonexistence!

Only zazen! 

GARDEN OF LIFE

No sprouting seed worries about the timing of the coming rain!

No growing plant worries about the duration of sunshine!

No fragrant flower worries about the buzzing of the bumble bees!

No succulent fruit worries about the fate of its precious seed!

Yet with the passing of every new season!

The luxuriant garden of life; still silently blossoms!  

HERE AND NOW

Happiness is here and now

And here and now is bliss!

The winds of thoughts may sway you to the future

And clouds of uncertainty may rain

But all of that is an illusion!

All of that is untrue!

For Happiness is here and now

And this Happiness is bliss!

Rusty anchors of the past may drag you with regret and sorrow

And chains of attachment may pull you down

But all of that is an illusion

All of that that is untrue

For, happiness is here and now

And here and now is bliss!

BARBED WIRE

Wrathful coils of cold metal held by rusting poles apart

Barbs and spikes greedy to rip the flesh apart

 Paranoid faces with untold fears

Taking formidable shelter; now behind the barbed wire!

Tell me dear friend? Hiding behind this quagmire!           

Where is the precious soul inside that you seek to protect?

Where are the mighty monsters that you so dread  

Those mindless vices that you desperately try to drive out

Are they inside or outside, the black boundaries of your huffy barbed wire?

 You could not afford the opaqueness of the wall; but could you not afford even an open heart?

The barbed wire across the land; is a barbed wire across the heart

Once sharing love and dividing the pain

Why now, divide the heart and bleed with pointless pain

Entangling and constricting, the loving heart with caustic spikes

Leaving behind bleeding sores on the souring soul

Tell me dear friend!

Who is it who hides behind this barbed wire? 

SEA OF FEELINGS

Blue skies; the water flowing!

Fleeting feelings floating!

Figuring, fighting!

Fielding, fending!

In foamy fits of frenzy!

Formless  forces failing!

Futile fusion in a frothy fugue!   

Flowing feelings; now finally fleeting! 

HIGHWAY REMAINS

Limp and lifeless now left lying by the highway

With skull split open and the warm blood still flowing 

As the hardness of the asphalt greets the softness of the grey matter

Desires, hope and dreams; all vanishing now; with one wrong turn

Oh pitiful friend! Once speeding on the highway of life

Riding of the wheels of self pursuit   

When you skidded and swerved by the corner 

 Did you have time enough to think?

Who will cry, by your scattered remains!

LIMERENCE

 

The subtle nuances spoken in the lingering glance

The hidden passion within the smiling dance

Orchestrated meetings yet happening by chance  

And Conversations ending in a mutual trance

Tell me dear friend

If this bliss is not it! What is romance?

STRIKE OF LIGHTNING

The gathered clouds claver about the coming storm!

The worried earth rattles; the angered winds howl!

Within the ever-churning foliage of the mind!

Restless fears chatters and turbulent thoughts rumble!

And when the lightning strikes the tallest tree!

Can the leafy mind break free? 

NOTHING REMAINS THE SAME

When a note of music changes; can the song remain the same?

When the words of a poem changes – can the meaning remain the same ?

When a story itself changes; can the end be the same?

Oh ever-changing mind of mine

As all composite things change- can the soul ever remain the same ?