Amidst the barren Trees, and dark threatening clouds, Gentle light prevails
A Winter’s Eve
Nature
Three Trees
Three trees?
Yes, three trees
The first, obvious
Standing upon the earth
Erect, strong, reaching
Providing shelter
Forever changing
The second, elusive
Etched upon the ground
Magical, intricate, delicate
Providing intrigue
Forever illusionary
The third, critical
Digging deep into the terra
Quiet, obscure yet resilient
Providing sustenance
Forever constant
Likewise, we too
Have three forms
This body
Owned and operated
The self image
Imagined and sought
This inner spirit
Forgotten or unknown
We are preoccupied
With one and two, are we not?
But perhaps switching the focus
To delve beneath the surface
Find those stabilizing forces
We too, can stand tall
Beautiful and worthy
Of this ecosystem
Here upon the Earth
Dawn Sky
All facets of life
Incapsulated in a moment,
From undoubted beauty
To looming fears.
Voluminous clouds
Mightily they float,
Threatening to spew
And drown you out!
Yet the intrigue
Of color and form,
Capture both heart and breath,
A moment now, forever lived.
Do we more often
Get lost in fear?
Of what may come?
What may happen?
Forfeiting the present
In which we can feel
Simple joys,
Gratitude and inspirations.
This grand gesture of beauty
Is bequeathed each day,
As the love from within
Will shine in our eyes.
That guiding presence
Then shapes your day
As you see the treasure
Lined up for your pleasure.
Rakshabandan
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!
Beauty of Remembrance
Oh poppy, you rise to bloom
With petals of royal red
And the deepest dark core
Giving unambiguous symbolism
Signature of reverence
For those never to be forgotten
You embody a pained dignity
In the midst
Of life’s most difficult times
You show me strength
With your inherent form
As you adorn my lapel
You drive me to confront
My challenges
And learn from your qualities
Remembrance:
Painful to embrace
But laced, she is, with deep love
Dignity:
Humanity’s stature
Measured by compassion
Clarity:
The fruit of growth
Despite the desire to revert
Poppy dear,
You’re nature’s gift
As you grace my garden
And bring gratitude to my heart.
Mates of the same soul…
For some,
I am a representation
Of their enamor with another.
For some,
They see me but fear my thorns.
For others
I’m too dainty to touch or unreachable.
But you,
You find me though I hide.
You see
Not only my contours, hues and parts,
But my longing, luster and love.
With your lens and your gaze,
You cast away my shadows.
Make my surrounding disappear,
Give me center stage
Bringing me into existence,
And then make me immortal.
Hovering and circling
You embrace
Even dance me.
Moving from a steadfast stance
To glorious highs of the smoothest rhythms.
Finally, we find our place
Where the moment is captured,
With a knowing that the frame,
Shows how we are mates
Of the same soul.
Blessedly Alive
Deepened blue to grey mingle
Streaking the clouded sky
Robbing of luminosity;
Nature’s foreboding way.
With unseeable cracks
The leakage begins,
Pitter patter, a sweet sprinkle
A gentle caress.
With wind accompaniment
Shifting cumulus and nimbus,
A rhythm ensues
Giving signs of greater offerings.
In awe of what has no actual form
Yet holds a thunderous roar,
Comes forth as precipitation
A dance of both fear and hope.
To witness is to be entranced,
This illusionary masterpiece,
Magical to monstrous
From one moment to next.
Connections click
Like cogs deep inside,
My engines kick start
With a heat of ancient knowing.
With droplets delivered to every pore
My being stirred to a glow,
With no measure, no timing
No rhythm, no rhyme
This feeling bestowed
By the mightiest hand.
Making my being
So blessedly alive.
Rain or shine
Thunder or lightning,
Drizzle or torrents
My life is afoot!
Each second
Each day
This mighty breath,
My rain so delivered.
With; everything is possible
Without; the clock has struck out.
So,
Blessed are all moments,
And may only ‘breath’ be the one
That ‘takes my breath away’!
Name that vase: Natronia
Produced and posted by The Alchemist’s Studio, http://rakupottery.ca/2019/01/08/name-that-vase/ with request for naming and writings.
The inspiration for naming your #44 comes from its immediate ability to draw me back to Tanzania where i experienced Lake Natron, a mineral-rich soda lake which sits below the ‘Mountain of God’, Ol Dionyo Lengai, an active volcano that spews a dark silvery carbonatite ‘cold’ lava at 500-550 celsius.
Your vase reminds me of the colors, textures and unlikely combination of life and death at this lake. The story is real but your vase is the mythical symbolization, Natronia, to me!
Natronia
Oh ‘Golden’ one
Think yourself so mighty,
Robbing me of my waters
Running me dry to the bed.
My visiting flamingoes may flee
And the fish eagle saved
As my alkaline petrifying
and volcanic waters vanish.
But perhaps you leave
Behind, my most renown
Beauty of all,
My crystaline core.
Varied hues of ruby
Azure and seagreen,
All mingle and run in and over
My contours, cracks and crevices.
See my form now!
Matched by none,
As I am the one and only
Lake, Lake Natron.
With me you will find
Life and death
On and in me,
Both like nowhere else.
When waters swell
My salts are savored,
My ruby red
Never feared.
Yet with pH high
I cannot help
To immortalize those poor creatures
Who know not what is wise.
I lay witness to mighty God,
Ol Dionya Lengai.
Beauty is my nature
Protect those that come to my shore.
Pictures curtesy of Nick Brandt and Depositphoto.com.
Ngorongoro
Above : Curtesy National Geographic
Winding down the ridge
From the dense thickets
Acacias, vines, tall grasses and more
Decent steep and curvaceous
Bronzed red earth guides
Deep to the crater
Belly of the volcano
Flat with vast plains of grass
Pools and alkaline lakes
Predators gorge
Lions, hyenas, jackals
Hunting and scavenging
Prey
Wildebeest, gazelle, zebra
Languidly lounge
Or frolick and prance
Birds flutter like Fischer lovebirds
Trot like gineafowl
Wade, treading water as pelicans
Fly and swoop those vultures and cranes
Asantesana-Thankyou
For my opportunity to bear witness
To gatherings of lifeforms innumerable
To the world largest ecosystem
Asantesana
To the powers of this universe
Sun, moon and Earth
Bringing life
Sustaining life
Recycling life
The Baobab Tree
You may not tower
But stand you do
Strong and grounded
With reassuring girth
Your vertical ripples
And segmental trunking
Branch up symmetrically
Dispersed across the plains
You lend life to many
Hosting beehives
Nesting Superb starlings
With dried out river beds
Elephants gnaw deep into your trunk
Sucking your rich sap
Parasitic plant life
Twine around and into your branches
No harm done
As your longevity is into the hundreds
Oh mighty tree
Humble and kind
In this arid bush land
You stand giant-like
Sharing all you are
Giving house and nutrients
Denying not even the termites
In awe of your qualities
Humbled by your lessons
You teach it is possible
To live with all who share your space
