poetry

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.

Mat-Eternity

Beyond the nursing

Diaper changing

Feeding, bathing

The endless list of verb-ing

A mother subliminally shares

The deepest bond 

Where emotions are perceived 

Dreams, aspirations are known

Fears and regrets are soothed

She is a super hero

Magical strength

Far reaching vision

Always recognizing 

All you need

All she can do 

And to do it 

With an unshakable love.

How does the saying go?

Mothers are angels

Without wings 

Sent by God

How fortunate 

That each and everyone of us 

Is-was blessed

Not without but with our very own angel.

And even when

No longer Earthly

She stays close to our heart

Whispering day and night

Sweetness second to none

Encouragement and praise showered as

Only a mother can and will.

So hold your child

Cherish your mother 

As everyday’s a gift 

And take not for granted 

To mother or be mothered.

Goodbye

How did you manage

In such a short time 

Two weeks of my time

Give me a life time of yours

Approached with anxiety

Perhaps even trepidation 

A nervous excitement 

A sort of delirium 

With the softest of landings

Then scooped into the Shinkansen 

The magnetism began

As the tracks journeyed straight to my heart

With each embraced tradition

Whisking matcha tea

Adorned in geisha gowns 

Surrendering into healing Onsens

Stepping bowed headed

Into Shrines and Temples

Ringing bells

Unfolding fortunes

Tasting pickles

Slurping ramen 

Drinking plum wine

‘Gochisousama’

Back now in my own land

I savor my mochi

Cook my own ramen

Soak in my bathtub 

Feeling a loss

Harboring a longing

Miss feeling your kindness

Your welcome each morning

With awe for all your humility 

Your grace, your simple joyfulness

I kneel and surrender 

In thankfulness that we met. 

The Geisha

The Geisha

This artful entertainment,

Began in the 7th century 

With male exclusivity. 

1751 saw the entry of females

From where developed a most respected Japanese female professional.

Historically by the strikingly beautiful,

The most obedient and apt 

For learning and discipline, 

As many a sacrifice required. 

From physic maintenance

To unquestioned availability 

With renouncement of any personal life.

Learning of the arts,

Developing intellectual prowess,

All for the utmost professional engagement

Yet individualized and tailored hostessing.

Once taken/sold into a Hanaachi, Flower Town,

Becoming part of an Okiya*

Training began, sometimes as early as in the pre-teens.

As a maiko*

Learning to dance, sing

Perhaps play the samisen*

Navigate the host and his guests;

Each geisha working to develop

A customer base

Loyal for her particular services.

As such, Mineko Iwasaki, 

Became the most renown giesha

At the young age of 21years. 

Today, a mere 1000 exist 

Primarily in the Gion district of Kyoto.

With white powdered face

Stature of a queen, 

Maided by her maiko

Chauffeured to her teahouse.

An upheld culture,

By those even more dedicated 

Than their predecessors,

To a heritage and history

As modern technologies, tourism,

Misunderstandings invade 

Their traditions and values.

Privileged to witness

Such an art, a dedication 

By women with stout independence.

I’m humbled in their presence 

For sustaining a feminine standard 

Of the highest integrity and honor. 

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.

  • 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!

  • Redo or not?!

    The one thing I would redo…

    At 58 I sit and ponder

    What would I redo?

    Would I redo the daisy chains made on my middle school fields

    Would I redo the endless questions posed to my mother about the hows and what fors of nature

    Would I redo the cooking explosions making pasties and cakes in my besties’ mom’s kitchen

    Would I re do the pains of teen metamorphosis 

    Would I redo the fantasies of first love

    Would I redo the dreams of who I wanted to be

    Would I redo the endless tears struggling with health, the I’m not good enoughs 

    Would I redo the fears and doubts of immigrant life 

    Would I redo the losses of loved ones too dear to name

    NO!!!

    None would I redo 

    As they broke the mold

    They blazed a furnace 

    And created the me today

    With humility and gratitude

    A serene peace 

    A most thankful heart 

    I am here today 

    As the grace of life continues to be gifted

    With a knowing that prevails 

    All is just how it needs to be for me 

    Thankyou for all your lovely birthday wishes this 2025!