31 March 2009

108 Poems #080

Nothing seems certain
Least of all the movements of the heart

Undermined by a stomach full of doubt



[30 March 09]

30 March 2009

Reverence

Ideas of
poems

emails

phone calls


All drop away


Switch off the lights

And stand


In awe

Reverence


With

The slender crescent

The silver moon


Potent, yet

Delicate

Luminous


Present



[29 March 09]

Alight

if only I could
light an incense stick

on the incandescent

flaming golden sunset

that sets the room
and my heart

alight

I'd have no need
for matches



[29 March 09]

108 Poems #079

The sky whitens, tinged blue
The horizon glows orange

And the landscape darkens



[29 March 09]

28 March 2009

Locked

The morning breeze delicately
R
ustles leaves on the hedge
Outside


But can't reach

My barricaded heart

Inside



[26 March 09]

108 Poems #078

In the cold grey morning
A vivid splash of daffodil yellow

Solitary, nodding in the wind



[28 March 09]

108 Poems #077

Beauty in sorrow, sorrow in beauty
A single teardrop reflects

All that can be seen and all that is not said



[27 March 09]

27 March 2009

108 Poems #076

I see the world
Through dusty spectacles and dirty windows

Its beauty reduced to glimpses



[26 March 09]

26 March 2009

Daybreak

The mist sits in layers over the ground
The sky starts to clear


And a whisper of the moon

Fades in the south



[17 March 09]

108 Poems #075

heartbroken, heart aching
touched by the sorrows of the world

heart open, weeping.
then listening


[25 March 09]

25 March 2009

Gone

two small flames splutter
and then cease to be

surrendering to a brilliant
shaft of morning sunshine

incense smoke swirls
spreading tendrils across the room

fragrantly embracing the morning
and then cease to be


[24 March 09]

108 Poems #074

Leg muscles screaming
Thoughts wandering

Intimacy arrives with each breath



[24 March 09]

24 March 2009

108 Poems #073

Shadows sharpen
As the sun warms the morning
After a blustery start, tranquillity


[23 March 09]

23 March 2009

108 Poems #072














hot from running
, resting
the mind almost absent, aware

sensations flow with the view,
gazing


[22 March 09]

22 March 2009

108 Poems #071

A gentle breeze whispers
Between the vast sea of stars

And the damp grass underfoot



[21 March 09]

20 March 2009

108 Poems #070

An imperfect lawn. Look closely
Myriad forms of life and beauty
Emerge into being from the earth


[20 March 09]

108 Poems #069

In the mist shrouded morning
Bird calls and wing beats

Echo round and back



[19 March 09]

19 March 2009

108 Poems #068

Sitting quietly, tears rise
On a tide of gratitude and love

I miss my older brother



[18 March 09]

18 March 2009

108 Poems #067

Cool weak sunshine
Filters through the clouds and mist
Painting white reflections on the floor


[17 March 09]

17 March 2009

108 Poems #066

Everything calm
Unhurried, effortless

A bird glides across the sky



[16 March 09]

16 March 2009

108 Poems #065

Spring here
The hedge fully trimmed
Blue sky floods the window


[15 March 09]

14 March 2009

108 Poems #064

Woolly grey clouds fill the sky
Then they part

Revealing the vast brilliant blue



[14 March 09]

meeting

step by step
breath by breath


caught up in thoughts

speeding up


unentangled

slowing down


damp grass in the garden

lambs bleating in the field


hills on the misty horizon

traffic announcing itself


meeting the morning

as it comes to meet me



[13 March 09]

108 Poems #063














Walking in silence

The morning orchestra

Reaches out with its offering



[13 March 09]

13 March 2009

108 Poems #062

Searching for words
But hitting a wall

Yesterday's worries, still here



[12 March 09]

12 March 2009

108 Poems #061

There's nothing here, nor there
That need be spoken of
Silence has no inadequacies


[11 March 09]

11 March 2009

108 Poems #060

Racing clouds and rolling wind
Might have been in the mind

As the blotchy grey sky lumbers on



[10 March 09]

10 March 2009

108 Poems #059

Six green and yellow slices
Fall from the avocado half

Softly glistening and smooth



[09 March 09]

09 March 2009

Evening Chanting

Through the cracks
And gaping wounds
Of a broken heart

Gratitude and joy
Flow openly


[08 March 09]

Homesick

Welling sadness
Incredible sadness

Skirting along the edge

Of tears and loneliness


Somehow the joy and delight

Conjured up by your words

And the vision

Of walking barefoot and

Climbing trees with gratitude


Touches something dark and unknown

An overwhelming grief

I have yet to make friends with

Or even ask it's name


Where am I?



[08 March 09]

Exercising

Above, the vast deep blue bowl of sky
To the East, the bright rising moon

To the West, the sparkling evening star

Below, the damp and shadowy ground


And through the middle,

The harsh wind whistles and howls


As I exercise these limbs
And let the mind rest a while



[08 March 09]

108 Poems #058

Moonlight slides across the floor
Climbs upon the sofa
Gets swallowed by the clouds


[08 March 09]

07 March 2009

108 Poems #057

This head aches a little
But the hedge has lost its head!

Brutally prepared for Spring.



[07 March 09]

For Katagiri Roshi

I hear your service
Deep bows

Incense

And a tear



[06 March 09]


In response to Wild Fox Zen's Memorial Service for Katagiri Roshi whom I know through the writing of
Natalie Goldberg

06 March 2009

108 Poems #056

The crisp frosty morning emerges
In the bright sharp sunshine

Blurred weariness slowly melts away



[06 March 09]

108 Poems #055

Turning and turning
Circling and circling

Yesterday's thoughts shade the morning mind



[05 March 09]

05 March 2009

108 Poems #054














Patterns repeat

Into the night

Until rest comes



[04 March 09]

04 March 2009

Perfection

Sitting still awareness brightens
Accepting the perfection

Of things just as they are


And just as they are not


Discomfort and turmoil

Comes to a rest

Under a bright crescent moon



[02 March 09]

03 March 2009

108 Poems #053

Sitting still
Through aches and pains

The morning lightens



[03 March 09]

Adjusting

Chasing this
Chasing that

Hoping, fearing

Waking, sleeping

Seeing, hearing

Cooking, cleaning

Working, resting

Eating, shitting


A mind full of

Distractions

Entanglements

Obstructions


Days full of activity

So busy going

Nowhere


Adjusting


A little to the left

A little to the right

Ah...!
The middle way

The vessel

Of daily practice

Sails onwards

Slowly, steadily, gently*


Leaving opposites

Bobbing in its wake



[20 January 09]


*Deep bow to Jisu Sunim

02 March 2009

108 Poems #052

Against the blue sky
Circling pigeons, beating wings

Shadows race across the frost



[02 March 09]

01 March 2009

108 Poems #051

Birds flit and skim across the garden
In the peaceful stillness

Time slips by



[01 March 09]