Author: Taruna

Hiroshima

Countless children at school

Workmen at construction sites,

All unknowingly said a final goodbye that morning…

A white to grey plumage rose to the sky

As crimson red flames scorched the ground

Soon a black radioactive rain showered down.

The range of pain that ensued 

Completely breaks the heart

Churns the stomach

Depresses the mind to non-functional.

This the feeling 80yrs later 

Viewing the Children’s memorial

The Atomic Bomb Dome

Names, endless names…..

Reading the personal stories, 

Mothers’ searching for their children

Orphaned children housed by strangers,

All burnt, scarred, mammed, or with post exposure sickness.

City, housing, families, lives

Destroyed or left unrecognizable.

Mass destruction followed by 

Prolonged suffering and ugly painful deaths.

A truth known by the rest of us from history class 

This 3D evidence 

Even when second hand, 

Screams volumes 

Lessons learnt but easily forgotten 

Time, distance 

Poor excuses.

Are we not at a precipice 

Where so easily 

We could repeat history?

Only with greater

Far reaching force and destruction?

Our power is limitless 

As darkness and light.

Now is the time for unity 

To prevent another Hiroshima.

Acknowledge the pains of past atrocities, 

Claim the light, kindness and understanding from within

Let today’s children never have to learn and visit further new memorial sites.

Nepal to Nara

The man, Siddharthar Gautama,

Of Indian decent 

Known now across all continents.

‘Princedom’ childhood

Protected and privileged 

Lap of luxury.

Curiosity of a tender 

Wholesome heart.

Peeking beyond the fortress

Tears of realization, 

Suffering is omnipresent

Nirvana is not created.

With stillness,

Acceptance, 

Came actualization.

Everything has its place 

Dharma, Karma, Samsara.

With responsibility taken

Each can find our Buddha within;

Enlightenment to tread this earth

Free of entrapments, suffering.

The path from Nepal

The spirit of Buddha

Sits giant-like 

In Todaji Temple,

Surrounded 

By the bowing deer of Nara.

Gazing up

To the height and depth 

Of this monumental form,

My spirit expands 

With a knowingness, 

That it is only my stillness

That brings

My samsara,

My nirvana,

Right here, right now;

Which ever corner 

Of the planet I sit. 

Samurai

Dedicated 

Diligent

Disciplined

In practice  

In principle

In progress.

Consistent 

Committed

Conscious 

To history

To honor

To heritage.

Where is the ‘Samurai’ of today??

Are they not the men, women of our armed forces?

Do we not ask of them this?

Barrack training when young and impressionable

Indoctrinated to preserve the homeland,

Returning scarred, at times flesh wounds none to seen

Injured down to the soul.

How can we pay homage to such sacrifices?

How do we expect this unquestioned service?

Perhaps a return to respecting and upholding 

Our forefathers,

Their wisdom, their foresight.

Making clear

To acknowledge our privilege,

Our priorities.

Standing by

Our promises

Our patrons, fellow countrymen 

Allies and mankind.

May the heart of the Samurai 

Be known to us today,

May the humility,

The character 

The sanctity be preserved.

May each man 

Each woman 

Take stock of what can be lost 

When traditions, culture 

Values and knowledge

Are compromised

And worse still, disregarded.

Japan Waters Teach

In secluded Teahouses, 

Shrines surprising on any given dori,

Onsens, lakes and glistening stalactites;

Water everywhere is revered…

Quenching

Rejuvenating 

Exhilarating 

Purifying…

Immerse into Onsen waters,

Healing heat and minerals

Weightlessness teaches trust

Promise of nature’s caring protections.

Teahouses simmer waters ceremoniously,

With ‘Harmony’ between the articles and the environment 

Utmost ‘Respect’ of the process

Precision and care for ‘Purification’ 

All with ‘Silence’ and concentration.

Passing though a Tori, shrine after shrine 

Welcoming water wells and baths

Offer cleansing of the body,

Both inside and out.

Hosted by Hozu-gawa River

Floating along oar by oar,

Accompanied by scenic trains, birds

Along embankments and bridges alike 

Until a squeezed passageway

Between silver grey boulders 

Rocking and splashing,

Rapids, cool and drench…

What of this liquid

Colorless

Tasteless

Yet infinitely irreplaceable!

Unique to the Pale Blue Dot.

I hold you in my cupped hands,

You kiss my surrendering lips 

You run through my veins

Synchronized to life itself.

Anticipating Japan

Islands pieced together 

Around lakes, mountains 

Hills and plains

From snow topped Mt. Fuji, Arashiyara Bamboo Forest and Nara Park 

To Hiroshima’s peace bell

Nature’s delights to human demolition

The sword of the invincible Samuri

The demure and enduring Geishas 

Monks, priest, their shrines and temples

From looming Tokyo SkyTree Tower and TMG building

To the frenzy of Shibuya Scramble  

The amazement of Team Lab Planets

To the tranquility

Of Cherry Blossoms in Sumida Park

Languid picnic-ing with sips of sake….

Ahhh the Red Sun awaits 

With promise of Onsen waters 

And endless matcha and Butter Butler pastries…

Can’t wait to meet you 

My brothers, sisters 

Of a culture, language and history

That’s already captured my heart!

The Hidden 

Source of all creation,
Sort for in disguise 
As power, status,
Accumulated accolades and acquisitions. 

Fluid yet omnipresent,
Like the soft drizzle of rain
Slowly, flowing and circling 
Back to the seas.

We are that drop
Manifested of love
Looking for love,
Lost in the storms.

How delicate this play,
A scavenger hunt designed
Clues strewn in your path,
Undeniable beauty 

In every bud, petal
Baby, cub,
Ancient story,
Familial feeling.
 
Filled with an intrigue
The search is endless,
Yet the prize sits
Literally under you nose.

If the thirst is sincerely evoked 
The universe concedes.
With every stardust particle 
Your true love, the union

Uncloaks, lays naked
And embraces.
Here is heaven on earth
And the game of love

Is truly afoot.
As now the longing and satiation  
Can be played each day
With lover and love 

All in one abode.
Know the temple, your own being 
Feel the beloved ,as home 
Is completely where your heart is.

Pained

Pain, pain go away

Come again another day

If you really have to!

What is pain

This feeling so disliked

With discomfort, anguish 

Turmoil and more?

But wait…

Is it not ultimately a balancer?

A reminder?

That our painless moments

So easily forgotten, 

Are so very priceless.

So letting this shower of pain,

Much like the rain,

Drench me right now

As my body defaults, 

And my mind revolts,

Leaving me not knowing whether 

To succumb to the noise,

Or smash out of the bubble

With neither quite possible.

I return to a stillness

Where there echos an ancient whisper 

Where my breath becomes my umbrella.

This place is my solace,

My palace without 

Walls, fortresses,

As no defense is necessary.

Simply boundless

Cosmic and ethereal, 

Putting back into place 

The futility of any fight.

Letting go

Unclenching 

Relaxing 

And with a flow of peace

The light of gratitude returns,

Darkness withdraws 

And with clarity, pain can be understood 

And even managed. 

Inferno

Innocent sparks ignite

A simple flicker to a glow of a flame 

Then a roaring fire to an acreage eating blaze!

The oxygenated wind 

In her bewildered dance

Is she swirling in a rage? 

Or like the birds

Horses, dogs and cats

Squirrels, skunks 

And even every man;

Is she obsessed in her flurry 

To escape?

Not knowing herself 

Her power 

Her realm,

She laps up the terrain 

Bring insufferable heat

Suffocating smoke and ash.

Man’s effort to defend, to fight

To save, to rally together 

Brings forth the hour of humanity.

Apocalyptic carnage 

Leaves molten metal,

Literal dust of all wood

Brick and mortar 

Homes and lives 

Emptied, destroyed, obliterated. 

Not a trinket left to salvage. 

What is this?

A lesson to be learnt?

Explanations galore!

From Politicians

Geophysicists 

And every pundit and priest.

‘But hasn’t it happened before?’

‘Oh but never so destructive,

Never as bad as this!’ 

They say.

Perhaps we encroached 

A little too far

In deserts, mountains, coast lines.

Where man is not exactly sustainable.

This planet, 

This space

For the span of your lifetime, 

Is a ‘rental’

We forget.

It was here before us,

And will be for sure, 

Here without us.

So put aside 

The finger pointing, 

The grievances 

The many explanations.

With coming together,

Understanding our nature 

Our opportunity,

Let hope and innovation flourish

Unity lead,

Humility and compassion serve

And respect be universe.

*”It is in the ‘darkness’ 

Of devastation, 

man made(war) or not,

Is when we need the ‘candle of light”

*paraphrased words of Prem Rawat

Fall

Fall time, fall years

Culmination of beauty

Wisdom

Perspective.

Immersed and surrounded

By a depth,

Only time can give.

Riches,

Only experience can gather.

Gratitude,

Only surrendering reveals.

The fine lines 

The atrophy

The forgetfulness,

Ceases to grip 

As anguish begins to melt.

What comes, will pass

What hurts, will fade

And peace is found,

As the cyclic natural of all

Comes to light.

And most of all,

A returning

To a consciousness.

Floating with a birds eye view

Disengagement from drama, trauma.

All that’s created here 

To be left here

Returning to a neutral purity.

As we came, shall we return.

No baggage,

But definitely not empty handed. 

As what was the purpose

Of this interlude

Between birth and death, 

‘Life’ as we call it, 

This opportunity, this experience.

To have take form of the ‘Source’.

And then to walk, to wander,

To wonder, to revel

In this creation 

Beyond comprehension. 

What minuscule chance 

We have to exist

Where galaxies and universes reign.

Yet here we are.

Be sure to query and question,

To spark your thirst 

To to find your why,

And finally ‘KNOW’ thyself.

As your ‘fall’ fades 

And the winter will ensue 

Be sure to have built 

The one relation standing firm to the end.

  • Retirement

    Laurie


    So many paths crossed,
    Personally
    Professionally.

    May times
    The lines
    Have blurred.

    Why?
    Open acceptance
    Active listening,

    Sparking trust,
    Becoming
    A confidant.

    Inspiring possibilities,
    Nurturing
    Unfurling others’ wings.

    You leave
    A legacy
    Of time, dedication.

    You traveled
    Selflessly
    And not alone.

    Endless recruiting;
    Had a family
    Not of blood

    But of a greater testimony,
    One of voluntarily
    Empowering.

    You leave behind
    A force!
    Women believing

    In themselves,
    Each other,
    The value of team.

    Co-worker
    Boss
    Friend;

    More the ‘Godmother’!
    I embrace
    Applaud

    Value
    Appreciate
    Our paths crossing.

    Now sail
    Into retirement.

    But my friend,
    Your ‘work’ of forging sustaining relations
    Is not yet done;

    As this remains your core characteristic,
    And retirement does not stop the clock;
    Only where you go.

  • Truth of Confusion

    Truth,

    What is.

    Confusion,

    Everything else..

    Concepts

    Perceptions

    Conditioning.

    Fear

    Guilt

    Insecurities.

    Imagination 

    Learnt behaviors

    Expectations.

    All run you wild 

    Physically

    Mentally.

    Driven by 

    Cortisol

    Adrenalin.

    Slowing, 

    Applying 

    The brakes 

    Takes 

    Practice,

    Self talk

    In kindness,

    Forgiveness

    Self worthiness.

    Truth,

    You are.

    Confusion,

    Transient attributes.

    Whether 

    Actual

    Or not.

    Truth,

    Your are dynamic.

    Confusion,

    You want definition.

    Truth,

    You are free.

    Confusion,

    You feel tied.

    Breathe

    Breath.

    Feel 

    Flow. 

    This the 

    Only

    Possible

    Truth there is.

    You

    Need 

    To know.

  • Marvel

    A New Year, 

    A new day

    A new second

    The human perspective 

    So small

    So narrow

    When the universe 

    So ginormous 

    So vast.

    Discoveries at their peak

    With the use of the Hubble 

    To James Webb telescopes 

    Existence 

    Distance

    Evolution 

    Now seen or understood 

    In limitless beauty 

    And the mastery of design.

    We,

    The entire history of our human race,

    Here 

    For even less than a minute,

    If all existance 

    Scaled into an appreciation of a day. 

    And yet we still 

    Marvel at the beginning 

    And end of a ‘year’

    Rhetoric of the ‘Now’

    Being ‘Present’

    All commercialized, trendified!

    Yet here lies

    Every possibility that can be had.

    Look no further 

    Look not to the vastness of the skies

    But into the realm of your heart,

    You encapsulated yet circulate

    In both universes

    Inside and out.

    Only one can be truly 

    Felt, understood 

    Beyond any doubt, 

    That you are as magnificent as

    All the stars, galaxies 

    Milkyways

    And Universe.

    You are the drop 

    In the ocean,

    Yet that ocean

    Is within you.

    Marvel, not at the New Year, 

    Marvel at You!

    You are existence 

    In all it’s beauty,

    Magnificence 

    And all possibilities.

    Happy recognition 

    Of Now, 

    The day

    And of You!

  • Ignorance

    Man’s greatest curse 

    Ignorance of who he is.

    So what are we!?

    We are dust that has come alive 

    Dust that is impregnated 

    By the ultimate 

    Giving movement, thought and spirit 

    Beyond imaginable incredibility.

    If for a moment we dare to appreciate 

    That we are drops of water, 

    Chemicals and their reactions,

    Unfathomable yet engineered 

    Into synchronicity and self regulation, 

    With nature’s bell curve 

    From infancy to geriatric demise, 

    Given the fortune of possibly seven decades or more.

    Where in this timeframe 

    Did we give credence

    To the liberty of life?

    Too busy distracted 

    With fear, greed, and a presumed freedom 

    When all along 

    The ultimate has been bestowed, 

    Day after day 

    Each a renewed opportunity 

    To participate, to glorify 

    Existance.

    For in a blink of an eye 

    And as your actual eyes close, 

    It will come to an end 

    And what will it have all meant? 

    Nothing!

    For it was only for you alone 

    To enjoy, to unfold, to acknowledge 

    This relationship 

    You, your existence, your sustainer.

    So don’t take lightly 

    Revel in your seasons,

    Reflect and learn your lessons 

    Grow and reach towards the light within.

    As only then 

    Will you beam and reflect

    A truth for yourself and your community 

    Both.

    Art by Catrin Welz-Stein

  • Silence

    Poetry Pharmacy – Silence 

    “How still, how happy! Now I feel 

    Where silence dwells is sweeter far

    Than laughing mirth’s most joyous swell

    However pure its raptures are.”

    Emily Brontë 

    Ahhhh this place of silence 

    Awaiting my arrival day and night 

    No appointments, no reservations 

    No declines, no rescheduling.

    Premium seat guaranteed 

    Reception perfectly suited 

    To wash away the tarnishing mind

    Silence with peaceful hum of breath 

    Music with depth greater than the heart 

    This the purest of joys!