Hallway to Nowhere

Category: poetry

  • Weight Of Samsara (Poem)

    How to develop a lighter mind,

    Able to easily drift on the winds of change?

    All my attitudes hinder this,

    Causing me to adhere to every sticking point.

    Rather than a clear openness,

    I find the constant film of selfishness.

    Sometimes this momentarily fades,

    Through diligent application of appropriate means.

    My attention waxes and wanes,

    With the result that the tarnish returns.

    Once again I sink under the grimy wash.

    If I could but realize that this be illusion,

    I could float freely as the leaf and cloud.

  • How To Walk (Poem)

    Let me go for a walk. How do I begin?

    By starting from where I am.

    I put one foot in front of the other.

    Over and over and over.

    I alone can do this.

    I cannot ask: Would you move for me?

    (I could, but this is nonsensical.)

    If I want to trek to whatever destination,

    I must commence.

    Now is the only time;

    These steps are the perfect means.

    I embark upon the journey.

  • Spacious Mind (Poem)

    What is the beginning of wisdom?

    Simply this. To say

    I do not know.

    Nothing more. This hard thing.

    A sentence to utter often.

    Practice articulating these words.

    In solitude at first if need be, for familiarization.

    One brief declaration, then stop.

    Listen to what follows.

    Open mind. Open heart.

  • Where I Live (Poem)

    Where do I take refuge?

    If I build my happiness on external factors,

    I will lose this. Always.

    A futile task, as this brings short-term satisfaction

    Which leaves me wondering where to go next.

    My home will present problems

    So that I move to find a better place. Again and again and again.

    I think surely this time I will be content.

    But there I am, and I remain the same.

    I cannot leave myself behind

    Yet I cast my unease as resulting from the wrong circumstances.

    I want to stay in the place where I dwell

    Without adding to my own suffering.

    Just being alive can bring pain enough.

    Let me learn wisdom, practice kindness,

    Thereby to find peace.

  • Reality Tea Cup (Poem)

    Steam rises from the tea.

    Consider these things.

    When I lift the tea cup, I do so with wonder.

    I do not think, “oh, if only I had a different vessel!”

    When I sip the tea, I do so with appreciation.

    I do not think, “oh, if only this were a different drink!”

    This is the cup; this is the tea.

    Right here; right now; where I am in this moment.

    I drink with gratitude and enjoyment.

  • Mise En Scene (Poem For Feb 27-PouncePunk22)

    Consider your landscape and your place therein:

    How do you move within this tableau?

    A masterful stride that crushes underfoot, unheeding and careless?

    A mindful walk that considers terrain, thoughtful and considerate?

    Are you owner of all or simply another piece of this whole?

    The answers we give delineate and determine our surroundings.

    Interior and exterior, these are intertwined and essentially the same.

    Trample unseeing the grass and insects; build without ceasing regardless of cost.

    This befouls your very air and your indifferent heart. Death comes in many forms.

    Remember other denizens have equal claim; think upon the welfare of earth, sea, and sky.

    Understand this enables all to breathe with comfort in concert.

    Easy? No. Your replies, my replies, our replies shape the common ground.

    Think. Be aware. Transform your mind.

  • For Ukraine (Poem For Feb 25-PouncePunk22)

    Let us gather chrysanthemums

    For mourning in these perilous times.

    Weave them into crowns of sorrow

    For grief at lives taken in brutal war.

    Scatter their petals on the wind

    For sympathy with those who remain.

    These are but the slightest gestures,

    Tiny funereal floral tributes.

    Do more where we can.

  • Abstractus (Poem For Feb 22-PouncePunk22)

    What do we take from our daily experience?

    The constant barrage of information, be it correct or not,

    Loudly demands we pay attention.

    Rather than fostering any noetic pause for processing,

    This noise by design fuels ongoing addiction

    To strong emotion, usually of a negative character.

    We need regulation to combat this, both societal and individual.

    Let us learn to become responsible, not merely responsive.

    We are both curators and creators of our inner world.

    This cannot be separated from the outer.

    How then shall we choose to live?

  • Glitch (Poem-Feb 13 PouncePunk Art Challenge)

    Start. Stutter. Stop. Start again. Stutter. Another stop.

    This is how we live, with bardos all around.

    We try to build bridges between all the gaps,

    Seeing them as problematic malfunctions.

    What if we relate them as opportunities instead,

    Learning to explore them and what they offer?

    We might trade considerable anxiety for a more spacious mind,

    Relaxing our many intermittent frustrations into playful curiosity.

    Breathe. Now begin.

  • Drink Me (Poem-Feb 12 PouncePunk Art Challenge)

    I sat in deep meditation and then.

    I fell through a rabbit hole.

    When I opened my eyes, I saw a bottle labeled “DRINK ME.”

    I noted the beautiful label and examined it.

    It smelled of cherry-tart, custard, and hot buttered toast.

    I was tempted by this intriguing offer but hesitated.

    A fierce rabbit appeared with a ticking watch and a mala.

    I heard the deep tone of a singing bowl and awakened.

    I see through the delusions of Mara.

    Poisons often come in pleasant forms.