They say it’s important To acknowledge your feelings, Mine burn deep Searing like a heated knife.
Sadness, disappointment Futility mixed with Mayhem and barbarianism The anguish insufferable
Simultaneously we are Isolated, quarantined Where will this all end?
Man’s eye like a microscope, Disproportionately viewing life Distorted by imagination Enlarging the illusion.
With no regard For the ‘third’ eye, Where lies his clarity Abundant and beyond compare.
I pray for a united return Of humanity, Kindness and peace Simple joys.
Where greed, power Egotism are quelled voluntarily, As realized that we are nothing But dust in the end.
Yet here we are, Kings and queens In a moment in time, And granted pleasures in multitudes.
What can be that deciding factor Whether we live in peace and harmony Or divided and disgruntled?
Gazing up into the sky The sun, moon and stars peacefully Focused, levitate and orbit Constant in their mission.
Down here on earth I see the equilibrium of nature, Of which I am a part With a privy to consciousness.
Herein lies my blessing and solace, For not only can I sing and dance along, But also acknowledge the Orchestrator The One to whom I benevolently belong.
Dignity, driven to be attained by stature,
Letters behind the name
Certificates on the wall
Climbing the corporate ladder.
For some,
Dignity is synonymous with pride.
Endorsed by accolades and ‘likes’
Possessions and privileges.
Does more of anything
Really equate to dignity?
Perhaps to stand in front of a mirror
And look yourself in the eye.
Who is this person?
When stripped of titles, material possessions,
Even the relations of family-hood.
Dignity, is perhaps not a quality
But a by-product,
When one is able to have a sense of
Self worth and respect.
Should dignity not belong to all?
Despite circumstances of wealth
Identity of race, religion or sexual orientation.
How did we lose sight
Of our commonality?
And focus on only our differences?!
When the macro sphere has been reduced
Lost is the vision of the universe
Where we exist for less time than the snap of the fingers
And matter no more than any other dust.
Our vision has narrowed
And our true gift left unseen,
As we are held in the palm of existence
And bestowed with the dignity of life.
This is our identity
Life from the giver of life!
Can we accept the greatest of gift?
Do we recognize its preciousness!
To be granted this opportunity
This is what equates to self worth
Beyond any measure of wealth.
With this said,
Each man is equal
Being granted his time and opportunity
Of this here lifetime.
Allowing this to resonate,
Dignity then emanates from within
For oneself and every other living companion,
No matter the outward differences.
You arrive and greet
This morning of Rakshabandan.
As always, in full bloom
With unequivocal light and love.
This symbolic yellow rose
Stops me in my tracks
As you, brother, embodied
It’s rich depth and warmth.
Saving me from my sorrow
I see how love transverses all.
Physically no longer side by side
Yet our spirits still unite.
Our bond is clear
My brother dear,
As you remain with and between us,
Your loving sisters.
Today is Rakshabandan, the day of celebrating the bond between a brother and sister. The yellow rose is the symbol, my two sisters and I chose, that represents our departed beloved brother, Dipak.
From an unknowing third party, what should the universe send my way today of all days, but a yellow rose surrounded equally by three buds! What an image of our sibling unity!
Comes natural to the hermit
Enforced on the convicted.
A sort of imprisonment
Intended to safe guard.
And today,
The likes of me and you
With access to the essentials
Water, food and light.
But little preparation
With unheeded forewarning,
The mind is unconditioned
The body unable to relax.
As sources of entertainment fade
The confines close in,
And the loss of freedoms
Begin to set in.
What is most amiss?
The face to face
To see and feel
To interact, to feel of significance.
At heart we are social.
Beings in need of beings.
So here lies opportunity
To reach out in solidarity.
Break free of the concepts,
Traits of greed and fear.
Evolve to enable
Humanity at its best.
Perhaps the greatest outcome
Is yet to be seen,
As from our strife and grief
We learn the truest meaning
Of the real ‘Shelter in Home’.
For you are the home
Where the grandest one
Chooses to reside.
So take the time now given,
To acquaint and befriend.
Meditate in your solace
On the place most neglected.
Uncover your buried gifts
Your allies, your strengths
Your inner peace and joys.
The key to this realm
Is to deflect and rebuke
The noise, the distractions
Of the exterior, the illusions.
With these layers
Of shelter in home,
Be kind
Be gracious
Be in gratitude.
For you are ‘home’
And in home
Of the greatest of arms.
With your eyes upon me
I stand in your trance
Delicate, supple,
Dare I say, beautiful
Your kindness showers a light
What you see is your reflection
Except you think
The beauty belongs all to me
Together we beam
Bouncing energies that gleam
Much like chicken and egg
Where does this beauty begin and reside?
Universal is this beauty’s light
So easy to see in nature’s delights
Yet if so omnipresent
Why so hard to accept
That we are part of the same exquisite design
Come, my admirer
Share with me your heart
So that I may too
See my reflection
Then with such an embrace
Of love, light and beauty
Gratitude can reign
And we both shall have truly lived
Looking, waiting
For that love
Must you be
So illusive!
Yet like electricity
It’s really just there
Flick the switch
And all at once
Illumination
An infusion of warmth
But no
Love must be tangible
In a man
In a woman
In an experience
Yet like electricity
It’s still just there
Look behind the sheet wall
Under the floor boards
Even against your very own skin
Crackling and coursing
Ever present
Love too, we’re told, is everywhere
High up in the sky as the birds glide
In the wide open seas as dolphins dive
On the vast lands as flowers and trees thrive
But what of man
He appears to have to strive
Perhaps the search
Needs go no further
For if we learnt to dig a little closer
We’d find a wealth
The love of our true nature
Once this hidden pot
Revealed and found
Appears it has
No bottom ground
Love now reigns
Without any bounds
I give thanks
To the One that heard my cry
Pointed me
In my own direction
Now, for the love of
All time
I need only
To close my eyes
Sitting on a bench
Sharing our stories of
George Eliot
The pen named writer
The high school we all attended
The hospital where you were born
Once in the forefront
Then the backdrop
Of our lives
Sitting on a bench
Sharing our stories of
Riversley Road park
With the parading peacock
The pristine bowling green
The wading pool and bandstand
And of course the Museum
Once in the forefront
Then the backdrop
Of our lives
Sitting on bench
Sharing our stories
Outside
Abbey Theater
With new friends in times of need
Old ones re-acquainted
Once in the forefront
Then the backdrop
Of our lives
All these memories were fortunately made
So stories now can be re-told
And I can still cherish you
No matter how quickly
The two years have flown by
At no other time in existence
Has there been a world of such abundance
Where we have them all
Choice, access, immediacy.
So, how hard is it to be grateful?
“You can be anything you want”
“Where there is a will, there is a way”
Philosophy to preachings
Man is the almighty!
So…How hard is it to be grateful?
Gratitude now linked to the tangible
Objects and materials
Acquisitions and conquests
Talent and masteries.
Yet the most sublime features
Sustaining our existence
The true wealth of mankind
Diminished to being taken for granted
Forgotten, dismissed
At best at the bottom of the list.
Requiring ownership and rsponsibility
Value to enable preservation
Is the air we breathe
The ground that hold us
This planet we all share.
Perhaps deeper still
The constant repair and re-birth of each living substance
The invisible atomic and cellular exchange
The very life source
Sustaining those things we enjoy.
Yet we abuse, even destroy
These majestic elements
Lost in our ignorance
Our pride, greed
Our righteousness.
Gratitude, I pray
Wake me,
Wake in me
So tomorrow can be
As fruitful as intended
By the Master designer.
Learning to love
The ‘hardest’ person
In your life
Will be The greatest achievement.
To love this ‘hardest’ person
Means to Accept
Their weakness
Their faults
Their idiosyncrasies.
To love this ‘hardest’ person
Means to Forgive
Their choices
Their mistakes
The pains that are carried.
To love this ‘hardest’ person means
To show kindness in their loneliness
Share laughter in their sadness
Support their efforts
Acknowledge their concerns.
So begin now
To Love, Accept and Forgive
This ‘hardest’ person,
As it is none less
Than You, yourself!
This task appears easy
In this ‘me’ world
But who is it that we love?
The true self or the made up self?
Past the screens and barriers
Lies a tender soul,
Strong and fruitful
Locked away with but one key.
True love is this key,
With the mighty power
To release from all suffering
To embolden with courage.
So unlock this ‘hardest’ person.
Allow the potential
To surface
So love can be felt
Inside and out.
