Poetry

21 defeated gestures

Cause I become the night effect
And that which falls always
Apart from pain is the memory
Of this which is and that insists
But I am at the edge of comfort
And at the end of the long line of fear
Loss meaningless and gain discomfort;

Cause I know the day is lost
Tomorrows have lessened their demand
And the moments before and after
Have fallen in the hopeless gap of what is
Lost in the place found in a storm
Patience pretends to gift gratitude
But necessity tumbles pushing me from here to here;

This story is a frameless vista
Without a convincing background
Or an adequate reason for existence
Meanwhile all the gossip points to an outcome
That is neither desirable nor undesirable
Sitting calmly in conversation with the opposition
Demanding less and receiving nothing.

November 23, 2012

Visible or Not

Translated from original poem by Tsangyang Gyatso

Visible or not,
I am ever present
Neither sorrowful nor rejoicing;

Longed for or not,
I am ever desirous
Neither attract nor repel;

Loved or ignored,
I am all loving
Beyond increase or demise;

Disciple or not,
I am your eternal guide
Neither lost nor leaving;

In our embrace
Discover your eternal heart,
In Silence there is only Love
In Stillness, only Joy.

Every Single Oak in Paradise

When the towering oaks fell,
My heart ablaze,
O comfort Lord
Thy beloved in passion;
 
When the innocent fell
In the midst of fire, tall,
Lift the souls of my brothers
In the halls where no one could call
Justice, but truth knows all;
 
When I am afraid
Tell how He is there
With all the seedlings
That are the mighty oaks
In the fall, I know
That the fire burns all;
 
All my heart thus I give,
All that nothing else remains;
May His comfort raise thee now
Every single oak in Paradise.
 

To the memory of all the fallen and raised in
The Virginia Tech Tragedy of April 16, 2007

Published in Trellis Magazine