Notes found on the refrigerator: Sept. 1st. & 2nd. 2020: Quar

     A butterfly visited the sun flowers, kissing only a few, before she flew away. I guess the others are taking their turns.

first flower to pick

leaving the others to bloom

all to pick smiling

Sept. 2^nd.  2020: Quar

 

Oh, blissful ignorance:

     In Wilmington, Vt. watching the sun sinking behind the trees.

There is a soft breeze that exhales and inhales around me.

So, should I?

To settle this day down

And let the evenings starlight

with the moon peeking

through the clouds announce

its closure at Midnight?

grasshoppers still chirp

before the incoming frost

that moon sweeps away

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Notes found on the refrigerator Aug. 18th 2020 (QUAR)

I opened the door at dusk and caught a good size flash

of white fly in ahead of me.

 I close the door and I’m still not sure

 if it was a big moth or Tinkerbelle…

                                                           

     The plants wave and sway when I sit down among them, often, even without a breeze. At dusk, at that time, they do get a little bold, as their suitors are asleep counting their blessings..

     From dandelions, petunias, coleus, other’s that I threw the tag away at planting, and of course, the neighboring  wild daisies; we all seem to have a mutual understanding for each other.

     As sunset glows, stopping to affirm our relationship, a humming bird stops by and takes a sip of summer’s last flowers. And as a card in the spokes of a bicycle, flies away as loud as a snore.

crickets rejoice night

settling the day gracefully

awakening dew

 

~Pine Cone Diary~ March 2020

     **********

There is a sickness in the air

Tree tops are passing the news

To the stones and the soil

To prepare the paths

Through the forest

And into the valleys

To the villages of compassion;

To be cured .

 

     **********

 

Above darkening gray clouds

The dim glowing sun

Caught my eye.

I started to hum,

“Everything’s gonna’ be alright.”

As dusk, settled on my chair.

I silenced it with a sigh.

 

 **********

 

From ground to empty stoneware pottery,

my soul poured out my life

into my morning’s coffee cup;

existence to non-existence.

Oh, then to remembrance;

of knowledge, when I first held out my hand

—holding, the first summer’s rose.

I emptied my cup

holding empty stoneware pottery

waiting in anticipation for tomorrow’s coffee..

 

 

 

Notes Found on the Refrigerator September 2018

Gossip vs Truth   [Koan]

Some sort of melodic minor,

the only note a hummingbird leaves;

fluttering away with the nectar

before the buzz of the bees.

*****

Oh quite down Fido!

You’ll have a heart attack.

*****

A Peaceful Exhale

Sometimes when I deeply inhale,

my body stands still to hear

the soft distant sound of chanting voices,

tuning in rehearsal

for their first and last symphony.

I, as the conductor, seem to arrive late.

However, each time I do the chanting stops

as I search for another apology.

A perfect crescendo in all voices

breaks out exclaiming,

“Stand still,

free refreshments are on the way!”

I take the podium asking all to rise

on the other side, in a peaceful exhale

In tuning. 

Epilogue:

Each time when I may disagree,

 I take a deep breath and cross over to the other side… another place to go

 to understand, to stand, and to carry my thoughts from compromise to truth;

I have  found myself on a mutual  side, having discarded ego .

 

 

The Glass Sword

[Children all over the world are being slain without an enemy, other than ours.]

Each evening puts tears in our eyes

as we watch the world

with arrogance, stupidity, and greed

carnage souls and minds.

***

I know we are getting old.

But, what did we teach them?

Are they awake? What have they learned?

***

I thought we buried the sword!

If we have left the handle above the ground

—place it back on the slain bodies deep,

and shatter it where it was found.

***

Kneel and be still.

Then rise, as the new day, with bright eyes.

And, continue to teach each other;

why we all, see the beauty of each sun set

—and why we all, look forward to each sun rise.

~

 “Children are our second chance to have a great parent-child relationship.”

 Laura Schlessinger

 

Five Verses From a Brief Visit This Solstice With Ch’an

On Judgment:

“If we didn’t see things fine and coarse

How could prejudice exist?”

~Relying on Mind~ Ch’an master Seng-Ts’an (J., Sozan)

 

~~~~~

I practiced non-discrimination

and had smiled often at my gestures—

until I was slapped by a whisk.

~~~~~

I understand how wrong I’ve been

and the shame I have brought to the other—

Each day wakes me quieter  —clearer than ever.

~

Moments may be still –yet moves forever.

~~~~~

Causes are great —equal to the clouds

one may be greater than the other.

Dew is clear as no sound is loud.

~~~~~

What is it that I see— to bench myself in judgment?

Opinions are statutes!

Saddle my horse—

Giddy-up! I shall ride with the outlaws.

~~~~~

How does one heal from history

With its invisible scars and drooping eyes?

Thatch a new roof— and shush the flies.

“Jesus said:

If two make peace with each other

In this single house,

They will say to the mountain

“Move away”

And it shall move.””

 

~The Gospel of Thomas~[48p n] presented by Huge McGregor Ross

 

 

 ~Pine Cone Diary~ -proof 2018

 

Notes found on the refrigerator November 2017

Although I enjoy the ease of a sidewalk

I often preferred cutting across the lawn

     *****

I can only do one thing at a time

Even if takes me two

Or three tries

 

I was listening to music on my earphones

And found the sound unclear—

I adjusted the volume

—nothing

I went to the settings

—no adjustment required.

Suggested, I plug them in

And printed,

Did you find this helpful?

Yes, I knew I should be grocery shopping

     *****

A Writer’s Confession:

     As a writer, I may not necessarily write about my own personal experiences.

 Although they influence perception and understanding, they often are not themselves; the words that are written. They are only reflections of me as a writer.

     My characters  are in constant flux… as I… also see and feel my way through each moment—

experiencing what others and what I see, and what  is being  seen —what we universally have in common ambiguity. Often I am just a humble hapless observer making it written into words as only it could be, from the source of a perceptive and creative writer.

     *****

How are we able to see the darkness

in the center of the light

and be able to see the light

in the center of darkness?

We see its impermanence.

as in all nature

every day is greater

doing what you need

 

Notes found on the refrigerator October 2017

Contemporary Poetry has un-cuffed many creative minds

As the tide washes the shore with an ever-changing sea

As the ships sail away with Shakespeare and Yeats

Leaving us with Ferlinghetti*

“… Ferlinghetti,  felt strongly that art should be accessible to all people, not just a handful of highly educated intellectuals”.  

*****

A storm is coming! What shall we do?

Where should we go?

“Go home!

Take care of things.

 –Then safely and honorably leave.

—Settle in where you are now

Away from the path of the storm”.

A path we both have weaved

Crumbling—  flooding— grabbing

 The unborn, above the Holy indiscriminate stream.

 

A storm is coming! What shall we do?

Where should we go?

Let us follow our hearts

And mind

With the light of our soul.

*****

 

When your heart and mind are in tune*

being Holy is being human.

*Tuning is the experiences between right and wrong

Celebrated and balanced without guilt or animosity.

  *****

 

Autumn Haiku(s) 2017

 

I taste food at dusk

I eat my meal in the light

by shadow of moon

 

Blue Haiku(s)

Blue mussels cling rocks

Tide and moon are true lovers

Boiling for supper

****

Blue skies parting leaves

Green grass below aging feet

Balance beneath me

****

Blue birds sang in spring

Announcing flower trumpets

Shook summer to rise

****

Morning Glory blue

Summer’s last call before fall

Welcomes winter frost

****

 

Note Found On The Refrigerator 3/19/2017

Don’t Shout!

            Shhhhhhhsh, your mind—

            For as long as it takes—

            Understanding the needs, we relieve

            Within our presence.

            Our life’s last ground is guided

By our first chance.

            You know we hold each other

            Responsible for our love.