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Saturday, October 1, 2016

SONG OF THE LOTUS

Zenny and Smokey
photo by Jon Merk


In the silence of the heart
grows the tender white lotus blossom
that is your life.
Water it gently with your tears.
Bathe it in the sunlight of your hopes
and the soft moonlight of your dreams.

Listen! for the trees are sighing,
holding out their arms as you approach,
hoping you will truly see them
at least one time
before you die,
will let them hold you gently
as you cry.

Behind your sleeping eyes
lies the Watcher In the Woods,
the one who nudges you this way and that,
who sighs wearily, when you do not
heed her call,
this One who knows you best of all,
who has picked you up after every fall.

As we draw closer to the end of things,
our spirits slow, our voices gentle;
we are not nearly as certain as we once
so vociferously were.
It is time for silence now,
and reflection,
for looking back and for remembering,
with love.

We need much silence now,
a silence of the heart
weary from making its own way.
We speak more softly, and less often,
the young won't listen anyway.
They have to find
their own befuddled way,
their own steep price
in pain to pay.

Our song now is a murmuring brook
trickling over some knotted roots;
we are content to meander whimsically
through this golden autumn-before-winter,
letting go like the last withered leaf
on the gnarled old maple,
twirling dreamily down
to the mossy bank,
where we sit for a spell,
lulled by the water's flow.
So soft, its voice, as soft
as the somnolent song of our lives
the last notes sounding,
holding death at bay,
before they gently, softly, finally
fade away.


One from the autumn of 2015, shared with the Poetry Pantry at Poets United, where there is always good reading on Sunday morning. Do join us there.

27 comments:

  1. This is so wonderfully tender and soft I especially love that last stanza, and feel a pull to sit down and just wait.

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  2. Such a gentle and reflective poem. So true that everyone needs a silence of the heart.

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  3. A tender romantic verse/song which comes to a crescendo in the last thoughts. Wonderfully inspired

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  4. What a beautiful gentle sad poem of life in woodland setting. How relaxing it was.

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  5. the poem reminds of a calm sea, deep, vast and without waves...so beautiful Sherry...

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  6. What a soft rumination Sherry...like the white lotus bloom...

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  7. Such a culmination of thought and being - i love the idea of our voices slowing and become more unsure - i suppose understanding the world can sometimes mean asking more questions and accepting there aren't always answers

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  8. Water it gently with your tears.
    Bathe it in the sunlight of your hopes
    and the soft moonlight of your dreams.

    This is absolutely gorgeous, Sherry ❤️
    Sigh... an unforgettable write ❤️

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  9. I love the opening lines which set the the tone of serenity for the entire piece. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. so tender and reflective. really reminds us to slow down and take a breath.

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  11. i like your autumn allegory of anticipation before sleep
    This is a lovely fulfilling poem, where retrospect is gentle and forgiving

    Happy Sunday Sherry

    much love...

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  12. Serenity in the last years of life is the optimum goal.If you do not live alone I cannot see it as ever being achievable:)Lovely serene poem.

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  13. The last part is very poignant, Sherry. It really touched me because it's closest to the reality. No other option - just to wait. :)

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  14. Well captured, Sherry. I'm there :)
    ZQ

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  15. this is so inspiring!
    i am moved by the references of nature to the human spirit.

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  16. By the end of this--my new favorite Wild Woman poem0--I had tears, the very ones suggested in the opening to sustain life (the lotus!):
    "Water it gently with your tears.
    Bathe it in the sunlight of your hopes
    and the soft moonlight of your dreams."
    I love this imagery and all of it through the poem, We need to be silent for a while to look, listen, learn, hope and dream. Do the woods no longer expect us to act? Is it too late? The acceptence of the winding down of nature is sad, more than sad. Sigh.

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  17. Holy Moly! Wonderful writing: lovely and introspective and wise. Indelible lines of poetry. Work, such as this, sets the poetic "bench mark" very high, indeed.

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  18. Soothing melody of life that will agin rejuvinate in spring.

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  19. this speaks of my every step now days. you have captured beautifully my solemnity, spirit, especially with recent passing of life these last few months. gracias mi amiga

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  20. Thanks, Sherry. We do not take enough care of how our life passes. Thanks for the reminder. k.

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  21. "the young won't listen anyway"

    I know that to be true, because I was young once upon a time!

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  22. this is lovely...I love the image of the Watcher in the Woods...the calling of the season and the self to move on forever watching our moves...bkm

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  23. This is absolutely beautiful to me. I love what it says and how it says it. My favorite so far today. Just love it.

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  24. You have captured the beauty of autumn the song in the last stanza is a wonderful melody of thoughts.

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