Hallway to Nowhere

  • Integument (Poem For Feb 23-PouncePunk Art Challenge)

    This fragile skin encloses us all.

    A tender veil of different hues shelters each from harm.

    Pierce it, and the results come regardless of appearance.

    A common membrane ensures our well-being.

    And yet. This also defines us.

    We do not see another living being that is just like us.

    We focus on the myriad manifestations of this mortal wrap.

    You are this because. I am that because. We are not alike.

    Judgement and separation. We have built our world hence.

    Can we learn to undo this? To realize our selfsameness?

    Remake the swords of disconnection into ploughshares of compassion.

    Remove the veil of ignorance that prevents clear sight.

    Everyone and all things shine with the same pure light.

    Teach your children well.

  • 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?

  • Body (Poem For Feb 20-PouncePunk22)

    I once disdained my corporeal being,

    Viewing it as just an unfortunate shell.

    The important me, the real me, was solely my mind.

    As I’ve gotten older and perhaps a bit wiser,

    I’ve come to appreciate this tangible form.

    No mere vehicle to house my essential nature,

    But a vital and requisite necessity for identity and action.

    The body gives rise to the mind; the mind informs the body.

    I no longer despise what it offers, including sensations of pain.

    Instead I embrace all I experience, for this constitutes who I am.

    And with gratitude, I offer thanks.

  • Written On My Hand (Poem For Feb 19-Pouncepunk22)

    Written On My Hand (Poem For Feb 19-Pouncepunk22)

    Written on my hand

    Find the stories of my life.

    Passages from infant to child to adult to elder.

    With multicolored inks, myriad scripts, and various languages.

    Changes detailed in wondrous words

    Unseen unless you care to look.

    I carry these always.

    Occasionally they find their way into plain view.

    Bleeding onto poems and tales.

    Even flavoring cups of tea.

    (Kindness tastes of honey.)

  • Messenger (Poem For Feb 18-PouncePunk22)

    Dark aspect and terrifying mien.

    Wings of skin and bone with barbed points.

    Grey-scaled limbs with daggered claws.

    Fiery eyes with glaring stare.

    Chilling voice with harrowing words.

    Speaking thus:

    “You are responsible for your own enlightenment.

    You are also responsible for all other beings.

    Hear these words and open yourself.”

    Are you sure you want to meet an angel?

  • Stillness & Movement (Poem-PouncePunk Art Challenge)

    How to find a still mind?

    Try being aware of movement,

    The ever-flowing change that is always occurring.

    Take the body, for example.

    Even in the midst of the deepest meditation or dreamless state,

    There are infinite shifts taking place.

    Cells replace themselves; breath moves in and out; the heart beats; and so on.

    Similar processes happen across the physical world,

    From the most minute particles all the way to vaster aspects of slow relentless geologic change.

    Accepting this impermanence with equanimity

    And relinquishing the notion that this will stop in any way

    Provides a space to relax and rest with a sense of ease.

    This will also evolve but observe with detachment.

    Nothing (and everything) lasts forever. This need not cause suffering.

    Find the path to peace and joy.

  • A Horror Story (Poem-PouncePunk Art Challenge)

    This is a true story. It actually happened to me.

    I was much younger at the time, which is neither here nor there.

    Bedbugs invaded my residence. How? I never knew.

    This is still a mystery, as my home adjoined no other abode.

    I suspect I unwittingly imported them via mail but don’t know.

    While I had the house treated, I went to a cheap motel.

    I awakened the next morning with familiar bites.

    The room (and the entire motel) was similarly infested.

    Wherever you go, there you are. Changing places doesn’t always change circumstances.

    A valuable lesson, indeed.

  • 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.

  • Power & Light (Poem- Feb 9 PouncePunk Art Challenge)

    How do you survive when the power goes out?

    Thus: During the frigid night, I piled up every blanket I owned on the bed

    While Miss P and I shared our warmth underneath.

    The next morning my taxi driver knocked on my door unannounced

    To buy us both breakfast in a restaurant that somehow had restored function.

    When we returned home, I found someone had shoveled snow from my door.

    Finally the electricity was restored. But I had learned that light

    Does not depend on wires or current. It shines continuously and all around.

    Power is not a utility; power is community. Thank you all for opening my eyes.