My heart yearns toward a monk's cell
perched on the edge of a mountain cliff,
halfway between here and heaven.
Yet here I am, in a grey little town
in the valley,
trying to fashion my unwieldy life
into something
that does not give offence.
My challenge, the cliff-walk
of understanding the distance
between where you are
and where I long to be.
My practice, the lighting of incense
and, sometimes, hearts,
with the weaving of words.
My sorrow, the mantra of my soul:
how to tame
the tiger's nest of
keening for all that was,
all that may never be again,
so it may bed down
in peace.
A poem from 2015, that I am reminded of because I am reading about a woman travelling to monasteries around the world in search of peace. This one is the Tiger's Nest Monastery in Bhutan. When I wrote this poem, I was still living in Port Alberni, missing both Tofino, my wolf dog and our lost wilderness.
how to tame
ReplyDeletethe tiger's nest of
keening for all that was,
all that may never be again - Wow!! I visited Bhutan in 2007 - and climbed up to Tiger's nest. And I too wrote a poem about it - which is in the new book that will hopefully be out in June!!!!
Truly a timeless poem filled with yearning and awareness of what is and what one wishes to become. The view must be spectacular "halfway between here and heaven"
ReplyDeleteI attended a Fire Puja ceremony once by invitation of a friend. It was a time of deep cleansing of the mind, body and spirit. Your poem took me back to that humbling experience. Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem again.