poetry

Volcano to Sun

Hollow and deep

Bubbling and boiling 

Brewing beneath the surface 

Puffing, spewing, pouring 

Mount Vesuvius, St.Helens, Kilimanjaro.

Eternally ignited 

Sizzling globe

Furnace of power 

Brighter than bright

Our greatest star the Sun.

Both ominously glorious

Nature’s universal creations

Gargantuously majestic 

Purpose essential 

To this ecosystem of life.

Qualities of both

The Sun

The volcanoes 

Beholden in each and every human.

Some bright and glowing 

Sharing their light

Impartial, inclusive 

Rising above the nonsense.

Some are shy, reserved 

Yet their depth can be sensed

As power resides 

At the core of their being.

With the stroke of kindness

Peppering of understanding 

The human can rise

From dormant volcano 

To enigmatic candle.

Shared is this earth, this time 

So realize, capture 

The preciousness 

Of this merciful gift of existence.

What an experience, this human life

From mundane and tiresome 

To privileged and magical

As the switch so simple

When each breath, each moment 

Is valued as priceless.

Plenitude

Magnificent simplicity 

Delicately glorious 

Profoundly present 

Regally virtuous 

Composition unique 

Yet familiarity opens

My heart once more

And a warmth released

How far we stray

In this world 

Of asphalt and tar

Where trees are cleared

Where creatures made homeless 

And man banks

Another buck

And builds yet another city

When will we learn

When will we remember 

The ecosystem 

The cosmos 

All rotate, revolve 

In a natural order

When a simple rose

One of a million

Can tell the story

Of a divine perfection 

And inspire a gratuitous love

From your deepest vault

This is the gift

Not of a dozen roses

But merely just one

As housed in her

The depth of a beauty

Is the same for me 

The same for you

Glow and yield

To what is nature’s 

Rhyme and reason

Love and grace

And accept the abundant plenitude 

Epitome of being Loved

The universe has conspired

Conspired for your existence

Not against you but for you

The coming together of time

The alignment of elements

Molecules, atoms,

Wind, air, dirt

Yes it has all conspired

That you may be here

That you may feel, see, think, love

Do you feel your existence

The rhythm in which you sway

Can you connect to your source

Can you find the wavelength

Where the eternal sits within you

Be still, be quiet

And the space will find you, hold you

….fulness….

Ironically coined is ‘mind-ful-ness’

As we know only too well

How to continuously over think

And invariably this leads to confusion

Doubt

And ultimately is limiting, crippling

Perhaps we need to be

More of ‘heart-ful-ness’

And less of mind

Heartfulness brings 

Fruition to feelings 

Of empathy, friendship, trust

Naturally bringing forth

Kindness, love, compassion

Unity and oneness

Which then allows a joyful contentment

A happy gratefulness

An ultimate peacefulness

Such a short distance

From heart to mind

Yet at times they seem as if a million miles apart

Sometimes we even confuse

One for the other

Do you know the difference in their voices?

One will say you must do this or that

The other will say nothing

Letting you feel your way there

Perhaps there are no right or wrongs

But be assured

When you listen to your heart

The answers will be waiting

And your peace and sanity

Have the chance to be restored

Ancient Beads 


From a simple ritual
To the practicing yogi,
The one hundred and eight beads
Constitutes a time for intentional focus.

Initiated in the 8th century BC,
These spiritual beads in Hinduism
Now are used through Islam, Christianity
Buddhism, 2/3rds of the world’s population. 

Whether wood, seed or stone
They shall deliver
Properties of healing, protection
And most commonly, spiritual practice.

I gift this to you,
So you can intentionally 
Breathe 108 times
With vitality, feeling vibrancy.

Speak a mantra
Drawing you inwards.
Feel the earthly element 
Connecting you to Mother Earth.

Simply put, I wish you
108 blessings,
108 guardians,
108 freed moments 
Each and every day.

May you hold this mala
With the clarity it was made,
With the love it is sent,
And wisdom with which you shall use.

Breath

A simple puff of air
More magnanimous 
Than the greatest 
Of grandest gestures
 
You hold the essential
Of all that is
All that was 
And all that will be
 
Present as a mere undertone
An undercurrent 
Rarely front and center
Yet there is no me without you
 
Your ebb and flow
My love and joy
Your to and fro
My gift and glow
 
Within this cycle
Lays all that can be
Right here, right now
Not before nor after
 
So thankful for the reminders
So grateful for the chances
To feel present in letting go
To feel held in bowing low

Butterflies

Art by Svetlana Yunusova


The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering ..

~ Ben Okri ~


To rise past all

That’s dares to smoother

The layers on layers

Commitments and constraints

 

To float above

The threat that tugs

The ties and chains

Of bonds and relations

 

To fly over

The snares invisible

The smoke and mirrors

The lies and illusions

 

Ah what relief

When the truth be known

To free my wings

To uncage my heart