Poetry, faith and the human experience

A couple of poetry books I've been reading and can recommend; the first is an anthology of sacred poetry from world faiths and the second is a translation of poems written by the Buddhist monk, Stonehouse. 

The Longing in Between, a Poetry Chaikhana anthology - 

Sacred poetry from around the world edited with commentary by Ivan M. Granger

The Mountain Poems of Stonehouse -

translation and commentary by Red Pine

                                                       (Glastonbury Tor, Somerset) 

The Window

More than ever now

My life

A stained glass window

Of interconnecting facets

All I have seen

All I have felt

All I have known

How can I make sense of this kaleidoscope

Of light and shade

Am I the sum of all these parts

A patchwork cemented in time and place

Yet, when examined, it seems

I am no more than

The play of light through a window

The Call

The breeze lifts on the lake
And the leaves do not hesitate
To echo the call
Trembling breath

I am on the mountain
And the flags are praying
And the breeze is saying
Find this love
Open your heart
And I lift my life to the sky
And catch the light of the world in my eyes
The key is always in me
With all my love
With all my love

If you have forgotten, I will find
If you are uncertain, I will reassure
If you are sad, I will comfort
With all my love
With all my love

The breeze lifts on the lake
And the leaves do not hesitate
To echo the call
Trembling breath

danse macabre

~

No matter how bright the light shines
We'll never escape the danse macabre

~

this journey

~

Over the years - this journey
I have walked these steps
Taken to find a place inside

The quiet spaces
The loud ringing sounds -
Thoughts and words

All and nothing

~

River/Ocean

~

River/Ocean
Start/Finish
Life/Death

~

The flow of the water is always to the sea, whether over rapids or through slow pools, the journey is the life of the river and the ocean is where the river becomes one with all rivers, regardless of where they started or what they became.

~

ripplestone

~

What we learn from
What we nurture and grow
What stand we take
These three things define us
And shape our world

~