Categories
Poetry

Common Denominator

Intelligence and wisdom are rare
uncommon
problems and suffering are abundant
common

When taking stock of your own burdens
count what beasts find refuge in your flock
find the sum of your denominator
this path is carved from jagged rock

There is a division to set you free
based in what is always true
you can’t spell it without “m” and “e”
but it doesn’t exist without “you”

And if you feel this you is everlasting
you might wish for sweet release
but there’s only one place you find escape
in the depths of your mind . . . already at peace

Such a subtle inner destination
difficult without faith to find
absorbed in gross cessation
a very subtle wind will move a very subtle mind

Only a child dreams that death’s jaws
should be an automatic portal
to a supposed better place – or even an end

It would
be, could be
wiser to pretend
we are already happy
with strength to contend
showing a better character
moral discipline and restraint
with bravery and heart not feint
an honour for which all others thirst
and a mind that always puts others first

To figure out what’s common
to the denominator of your life
you just have to find a wisdom mirror
and let go of mindmade strife

The quality we wish to see
is already present –
       it’s just buried beneath
aeons of bad habits . . .
        and misguided familiarity

divide it out
for there is no
/me   

Categories
Poetry

Tired, but waking up

I’m tired of being blamed for the
inadequacies of others

reflected back at them
glaring

omissions come to light

you hate it, yes,
but it’s your mind’s appearance

though you cannot concede,
conceive
               such truth

let the mirror show

I am tired

and so not accountable

for you

for me,
             I take full responsibility
though I depend
completely
   upon the kindness of all beings
                 for every   little   thing

for my actions – wait
       — ha-ha, I see!

now just what they have
done to me

I, too, have reflections
   staring back
        challenging
             to acknowledge, purify

and why not rejoice
while at it

lucky   tired   me
I am my own mirror

clearly,
             I see.

Categories
Firescape Fridays Poetry

My Mask Slips | FF 8

I have begun to forget my mask

I have started longing to be open about my dissent
from new normal

I am not a pawn to progress political agendas
and power struggles

Just a person longing for the rights & freedoms &
peace of her parents

Was divorce a prediction of politicians’
same social strategies?

Yelling, arguing toward dominion
never peace

If we remove the masks we hide behind &
relent our ruthless blaming

Can we find another way,
more loving, to behave?

Categories
Philosophy Poetry

The Ease of Difficulty

It is difficult to admit
to being the victim
of biological warfare

It is difficult to admit
to being violated
by those you have never met

It is easy to wish
for an absence of vulnerability
in times of relentless ignorance

where an elusive truth
escapes all who reach for it
eviscerated in smoke and mirrors

It is easy to blame
the people in front of us
for the games the elite play

It is difficult to be
serf, prey, and plaything
for those who vie for our extinction

It is difficult to admit
we freely offer our futures to those
who will celebrate our destruction.

Categories
Poetry

The Clouds Have Come

I thought I was the sun
And I helped your garden grow
But without the rain, without reprieve
I scorched it to dust
And nothing more could thrive
Because I was relentless

Categories
Buddhism Poetry

Responsibility

Won’t it be wonderful
when we finally understand
cause and effect

Suddenly blame will not be
so effortless

by K. Samways