Photograph by Barry Berger Copyright 2013
the v-shape of airborne ducks moves my heart Katrina Larsen © 2013 Night shifts to day Sun rises over clouds A new beginning. S.D. © 2013 God is the shortest axis From naught to infinity, Manifest to void. S.D. © 2013 
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THE POETIC HEART MYSTICISM, SPIRITUALITY & HAIKU POEMS, SONG LYRICS AND QUOTES page 1..2,3 . . . . .. SHINTO PRAYER FOR PEACE Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe are all our brothers and sisters, Why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the oceans surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains. . . . "Great men are they who see that the spiritual is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world." - Ralph Waldo Emerson , . "You are the universe, expressing itself as a human for a little while." - Eckhart Tolle . |
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"Even a small star shines in the darkness." - Finnish Proverb
. Onward and Upward
I pass the vale. I breast the steep. I bear the cross: the cross bears me Light leads me on to light. I weep For joy at what I hope to see When, scaled at last the arduous height, For every painful step I trod, I traverse worlds on worlds of light, And pierce some deeper depth of God - John Charles Earle 1917 
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THE STORY OF A PEARL excerpt from The Bustan of Sa’ di A single drop of rain fell from a cloud in the sky, But was filled with shame when it saw the sea so wide. ‘Next to the sea then, who am I? If the sea exists, then how can I?’ While looking down on itself With the eyes of contempt, An oyster in its shell, Took it in for nourishment. And so it was, that its fate was sealed by this event, And it became a famous pearl fit to adorn a king’s head. Having descended to the depths, It was now exalted to the heights. On the portal of non-existence it went knocking, Until it finally was transformed into being. Islamic (Sufi) Mystic and Poet Al-Din Sa’di (1175-1291) “Learn to self-conquest, persevere thus for a time, and you will perceive very clearly the advantage which you gain from it. As soon you apply yourself to orison (prayer), you will at once feel your senses gather themselves together.“ - St Theresa . From One-Handed Basket Weaving by Rumi (1369-1420) Too hot in summer and too cold in winter. But the body's desires, in another way, are like an unpredictable associate, whom you must be patient with. And that companion is helpful, because patience expands your capacity to love and feel peace. The patience of a rose close to a thorn keeps its fragrance. The beauty of careful sewing on a shirt is the patience it contains.From the unlocked cage of my heart White doves of love go winging Wild larks of sunrise singing The ice of my heart is broken, broken Joys fountain leaps in the air And all the while no word was spoken I only looked at something fair Unknown Tibetan Buddhist) Let your life be that of a rose Love and care for every soul, Assist everyone, Be cheerful, Be courteous, Be a dynamo of irrepressible happiness. See God and good in every face, There is no saint without a past, There is no sinner without a future, Praise every soul, If you cannot praise someone, Let them pass out of your life. Be original, Be inventive, Dare, dare, and then dare more, Do not imitate, Stand on your own ground, Do not lean on the borrowed staff of others, Think your own thoughts. Be yourself Let your life be that of a rose, Through silence it speaks in the language of fragrance. - Poem attributed to Babaji, Himalayan Saint ----------------------------------- TO THE EVENING STAR by William Blake Thou fair-hair’d angel of the evening, Now, whilst the sun rests on the mountains, light Thy bright torch of love; they radiant crown Put on, and smile upon our evening bed! Smile on our loves, and while thou drawest the Blue curtains of the sky, scatter they silver dew On every flower that shuts its sweet eyes In timely sleep. Let thy west wind sleep on The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes, And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full soon, Dost thou withdraw; then the wolf rages wide, And the lion glares thro’ the dun forest: The fleeces of our flocks are cover’d with Thy sacred dew: protect them with thine influence. NATIVE AMERICAN PRAYER FOR PEACE Oh Great Spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my pipe to you. To your messengers the four winds, and to Mother Earth who provides for your children. Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to respect, and to be kind to each other so that they may grow with Peace of mind. Let us learn to share all good things that you provide for us on this Earth. CHRISTIAN PRAYER FOR PEACE Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS, for they shall be known as the Children of God. But I say to you that hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To those that strike you on the cheek, offer the other one also, And from those who take away your cloak, do not withhold your coat as well. Give to everyone who begs from you, And of those who take away your goods, do not ask for them again. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. MAYAN PRAYER TO THE SEVEN DIRECTIONS From the East, House of Light May wisdom dawn in us so we may see all things in clarity. From the North, House of Night May wisdom ripen in us so we may know all from within. From the West, House of Transformation May wisdom be transformed into right action so we may do what must be done. From the South, House of the Eternal Sun May right action reap the harvest so we may enjoy the fruits of planetary being. From above, House of Heaven. Where star people and ancestors father, may their blessings come to us now. From below, House of Earth May the heartbeat of her crystal core bless us with harmonies to end all war. From the Centre, Galactic Source, which is everywhere at once, Mary everything be known as the Light of Mutual love. Oh Yum Hunab Ku Evam Maya E Ma Ho (Oh Great One, Giver of Movement and Measure, All Hail the Unity of Mind and Measure) 
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From Conference of the Birds (1177 AD) by Farid al-din Attar, Islamic Saint and Mystic
“Come, you lost atoms, to your Centre draw, And be the Eternal Mirror that you saw: Rays that have wandered into darkness wide, Return, and back into your Sun subside. . ”Is there another life? Shall I awake and find all this a dream? There must be, we cannot be created for this sort of suffering.” - John Keats What Zen does, is to delineate itself on the infinite canvas of time and space, the way flying wild geese cast their shadow on the water below without any idea of doing so, while the water reflects the geese just as naturally and unintentionally.” - D. T. Suzuki 
balmy night the possessions of the homeless bundled up neatly Katrina Larsen © 2013 The old rice field; a frog gets devoured - the silence of the water Katrina Larsen © 2013 Without warning as a whirlwind swoops on an oak Love shakes my heart - Sappho “Zen makes a religion of tranquility. Zen is not a religion which arouses emotions, causing tears to race down the face from our eyes or stirring us to shout aloud the name of God.” - Sokei-an Excerpt from a poem on diversity and unity by Rumi—Islamic Mystic and Poet Come again, please, come again, Whoever you are. Religious, infidel, heretic or pagan. Even if you promised a hundred times And a hundred times you broke your promise, This door is not the door Of hopelessness and frustration. This door is open for everybody. Come, come as you are." "The whole universe spreads out in front of you. And anything is possible in this very moment. Make this day a beautiful and memorable one. Then repeat the process, again and again, for each new day that comes your way." -- Ralph Marston Excerpt from poem by Michelangelo I'm envious, Love, I swear (why hide it?) of the dead, a panicky muddle-head, my soul in terror of its sensual tie. Lord, as the last hours fly, stretch out in mercy your two arms; make me less what I've been, more what you'd have me be. "The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has". - Michelangelo Make your work to be in keeping with your purpose.—Leonardo Da Vinci "Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind." —Leonardo Da Vinci NATIVE AFRICAN PRAYER FOR PEACE Almighty God, the Great Thumb we cannot evade to tie any knot; The Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees; The all-seeing Lord up on high who sees even the footprints of an antelope on a rock mass here on Earth. You are the one who does not hesitate to respond to our call. You are the cornerstone of Peace. JAINIST PRAYER FOR PEACE Peace and Universal Love is the essence of the Gospel preached by all Enlightened Ones The Lord has preached that equanimity is the Dharma. Forgive do I creatures all, and let all creatures forgive me. Unto all have I amity, and unto non enmity. Know that violence is the root cause of all miseries in the world. Violence, in fact, is the knot of bondage. "Do not injure any living being." This is the eternal, perennial, and unalterable way of spiritual life. A weapon, howsoever powerful it may be, can always be superseded by a superior one; But no weapon can, however, be superior to non-violence and Love. ZOROASTRIAN PRAYER FOR PEACE We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in the world; That understanding triumph over ignorance; That generosity triumph over indifference; That trust triumph over contempt; And that truth triumph over falsehood MUSLIM PRAYER FOR PEACE In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us and made us into tribes and nations. That we may know each other, not that we may despise each other. If the enemy incline towards Peace, do thou also incline toward Peace. And trust God, for the Lord is the one that heareth and knoweth all things. And the servants of God, most gracious are those who walk on the Earth in humility, And when we address them, we say, "Peace." JEWISH PRAYER FOR PEACE Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that we may walk the paths of the Most High. And we shall beat our swords into plowshares, and our spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation - neither shall they learn war anymore. And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken. 
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ZEN ANGELS by Lee Evans @ 2013
In the Third Heaven they laugh, naked, innocent-- as Master Suzuki holds up a spoon. To intellectuals they remain enigmas, maybe heretics-- unconscious in the Godhead, their desert cemetery. You who are only partially dead cannot enjoy the Resurrection: Slain in Christ, they have attained to Nothing. For all you know, they could be your next door neighbors! Why not invite them over for a cup of tea? THE DREAM A man lay on his bed at the end of his life waiting to die. His dream came to pay his last respects and bid farewell to the man who had never used it. As it entered the room, the man looked down in shame. “Why did you not realise me?” the dream asked. “Because I was afraid,” the man said. “Afraid of what?” said the dream. “I was afraid I would fail.” “But haven’t you failed by not attempting to use me?”. “Yes I did, but I always thought there would be tomorrow.” “You Fool!” said the dream. “Did it never occur to you that there was only ever today? The moment that you are in right now? Do you think that now that death is here that you can put it off until tomorrow?”. “No”, said the man, a tear gently rolling down his cheek. The dream was softer now, because it knew that there were two types of pain, the pain of discipline and the pain of regret, and while discipline weighs ounces, regret weighs pounds. Then the dream leant forward to gently wipe away the tear and said, “You need only have taken the first step and I would have taken one to meet you, for the only thing that ever separated us was the belief in your mind that you couldn’t have me”. Then they said goodbye and they both died. Mark Baker©2013 DRAGON OF THE CLOUDS by Lee Evans © 2013 Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further. Job 38:11 You have seen him in your wildest dreams, Flames shooting from his mouth Like lightning through the shuddering sky. Those talons! Those scales! That phantasmagorical tail, Vanishing into the Imagination! Have you ever stared into yourself As piercingly as he stares? He descends to earth in an unknown form. The havoc that he wreaks with your norms Is the means of your salvation. He contemplates the liquidity of things Till he becomes like a rotten taproot teeming with ants. He is the void itself, comprehending all, Intangible to all except his Chosen Ones. He breaks the laws that criminals have made; He worships all Gods and denies their divinity; He covets and he steals his neighbors’ property, Bestowing it upon all those who are in need. His brother’s blood cries out to him From the bowels of Mother Earth; He takes murderers lives in his own hands, And remodels them in his image like clay. He heals the sick on the Sabbath, And yet whiles away the weekdays in Taoist repose. His neighbor’s wives become disciples, And copulate with him in the embrace of yang and yin. He bears false witness in a courtroom of liars, And violates all commandments carved in stone. No being can reject him, Or guess his whereabouts, Or seize him in the act of his transgressions. Look there! The heavens yawn, afire with his breathing! His eyes are the sun and moon, The stars his glittering fangs, His nostrils billow forth profundities that are his veil! Indicted by the Saints for his crimes against morality, He is condemned to death, But escapes their righteous wrath by arising from the grave. He mocks your realities, Surrendering to his own almighty will, Gliding among cerebral cumulous, lost to your conditions, But never losing sight of what you really are in him. This Dragon of the Clouds: You can no more control him Than the Inner Light that casts you as its shadow. Those talons! Those scales! That phantasmagorical tail, Vanishing into the Imagination! Have you ever stared into yourself As piercingly as he stares? |
SIKH PRAYER FOR PEACE
God adjudges us according to our deeds, not the coat that we wear; That truth is above everything, But higher still is truthful living. Know that we attaineth God when we loveth, And only victory endures in consequences of which no one is defeated. By Edgar A. Guest I have to live with myself, and so I want to be fit for myself to know. I want to be able, as days go by, always to look myself straight in the eye. I don't want to stand with the setting sun, and hate myself for things I have done. I don't want to keep on a closet shelf a lot of secrets about myself, And fool myself, as I come and go, Into thinking that nobody else will know The kind of a woman I really am; I don't want to dress up myself in shame. I want to go out with my head erect, I want to deserve all men's respect; But here in the struggle for fame and wealth I want to be able to like myself. I don't want to look at myself and know that I'm bluster and bluff, an empty show. I can never hide myself from me; I see what others may never see. I know what others may never know, I never can fool myself, and so, Whatever happens, I want to be Self-respecting and conscience free. "All things must come to the soul from its roots, from where it is planted."—St Teresa of Avila "Be gentle to all and stern with yourself."—St Teresa of Avila "Our body has this defect that, the more it is provided care and comforts, the more needs and desires it finds."—St Teresa of Avila "Pain is never permanent."—St Teresa of Avila "The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too."—St Teresa of Avila "There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers."—St Teresa of Avila . “The only Zen you find on the top of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.” - Robert M. Pirsig “Zen is a way of liberation, concerned not with good or bad or advantageous, but what is.” - Alan Watts THE DIVINE IMAGE By William Blake To Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love All pray in their distress; And to these virtues of delight Return their thankfulness. For Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love Is God, our father dear, And Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love Is Man, his child and care. For Mercy has a human heart, Pity, a human face, And Love, the human form divine, And Peace, the human dress. Then every man of every clime That prays to the human form divine: Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace. And all must love the human form In heathen, turk or jew. Where Mercy, Love & Pity dwell There God is dwelling too. 
All poems appearing in The Poetic Heart are protected by copyright and should not be reprinted without permission. 
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"May the stars carry your sadness away,May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,May hope forever wipe away your tears,And, above all, may silence make you strong."- Chief Dan George
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