Sunday, February 07, 2010 10:44 pm
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Reflections of a New Year (Wendy Block)
When the light of the blue moon
Shines through that glistening orange tree
Just ripe for picking.
When we walked together silently
to greet the New Year
Arms open
to embrace the heart of another,
I ask you
is it possible
to hear all things that could be said
and all things
never uttered by man or woman
on a dark clear night?
As foot steps boldly
into New Year
surrounded by moonlight
We laugh loudly
and then meet again in silent embrace.
Oh dear one,
A prayer for this old new year:
Question everything that is thought,
Shake free of doubt
Howl if you need to
Wake up.
And then,
bow at the door of gratitude
for this one wild and precious
thing
called life.
What else is there to do?
By light of day
Or by dark clear night.
Singular Heart (Alison Cameron)
The beautiful quote that inspired the poem:
“The wise enshrine the miraculous bones of the ancients within
themselves.”
We converge in the early morning,
singular minds and sturdy bodies
settling on our separate mats,
clutching our complicated stories,
social smiles pasted on wary faces.
We shield our battered hearts and
hide our collective eye.
As watery sun inches across pellucid sky
we sit and walk
and walk and sit
with measured step and even breath
training monkey mind.
Slowly, imperceptibly,
the marrow of our ancestors
infuses our bones as
we show our soft underbelly
stretched out like the dead.
Trust, says our Teacher,
Turn the Light within.
Sitting tall at close of day
the barking dog is still.
The sweet song
of a singular bird
calls out with her small clear voice.
As if in response,
our singular selves rise up and merge
to fill the room with one singular mind
thrumming like a tuning fork
to the communion of sorrow shared in our silent world.
Our light shines -
no, blinds -
through the cracks in our vulnerable hearts.
I am undone.
Please click on Retreat Reflections.
The Heart Sutra: written and performed by Victor Byrd. Image accompaniment by Andrew Reitsma. Song produced by Tim Hays.