The then unanswered questions of my youth

now spring to me in my twilight years

I've found most were silly and uncalled for

a few I can address--without fears or tears

Lady waits by pier
her heart full of anxiety
when will he return?

The world is made for everyone

as for me, it's always one-to-one

I start with myself

      with others, next

      the two I string together

      I learn what to let by or annex-



     hard to say what's wrong or right

     both the old and the new I respect

     to the beginning I return at the end

     to a fresh direction my mind I reset

I've learnt a few things, have given up on past undesired parts,
I'm more selfish as I've neglected myself somewhat before,
but not at the expense of kindness, I'll deepen my love, grow in appreciation of the beauty of life, of nature and of the arts,
will be calmer and quieter, will listen empathetically, will not be judgmental, will give everyone a chance, will mind my own business but will not be insensitive to the suffering of others,
be content, grateful and humble, will live creatively as that's the essence of meaningful living, will never allow a single day to waste away as every moment is a gift, will look to the future with wonder and optimism, and never forget that it's kindness and humaneness which will make the world a better place.

My love, as you lie on your bed
the first morning rose I'll pick--upon
your gentle hair to deck
ere the day's sunshine is gone

Blue sky kisses hills

casts its shine on calm waters

watched by lonely trees

Autumn yawns o'er field

first light of moon to descend

lone farmer at work

Life and death, joy and sorrow- they belong to each other;
without one, the other doesn't exist.

Zen and Taoism accept the flow of life as it is-
the such-ness is the reality; to go against this flow
is to live in fear, suffering and ignorance.

If the mind is free from dualistic thinking,
there's peace, clarity and compassion.
In this self-liberation,  death is accepted in complete equanimity.

He who has not rid himself of the fear of death can't be a happy person.

( I have a chapter on mortality in my forthcoming 8th book which is on living purposefully in turbulent times, in response to Covid 19-
28,000 words?  Book will be sent to my publisher in Melbourne by December)

Melancholic heart

at loss of what words to say

night stirs up past love

At the deep end of life

there's a dark murky river

do you ever dare dive

into its forbidden water?



Oh, where is it, where?

I wonder and I wonder

it can't be found anywhere

I later realise-- it's at my heart's very corner.

In being alive

my heart opens to sing

all else I set aside

such joys does the moment bring-



in being alive

love blooms as in sweetest spring

in bliss I abide

there's splendour in everything

In my aloneness

peace I feel in calm silence

coffee makes my day

Everything in life
is unfinished business
even love and hate
joy and sadness

Words I have
as alive I am now
they stop on their own
when to the last farewell I bow

People talk of their strengths

       as for me,  my weaknesses I study

       life is a sharp ascent to better-hood

       what in future would I be?

Colours of autumn
speak of deep melancholy
of fragile beauty

What I am or not
none need to know--
in the public eye
I've nothing to show-

alone I live in some unknown fringe
where none would ever want to go
silence is ever my unfailing friend
by night the gentle stars for me they solely glow

Such gems to treasure   
    old books in unknown alleys   
    each carries a tale

“moonlight and mist caught in [woods] like lamb’s wool on bushes in a pasture.”
— Elizabeth Bishop, from “The Moose,” Geography III (Noonday Press, 1988)
Edinburgh, Scotland


Sweet melancholy
autumn mist and pale moonlight
gentle stream murmurs

My happiness
will spring like
a newborn flower
reaching out to the light
if you will love me
for what I am
all other things
set aside-

my heart knows
love is not my right
only that such
I deserve
and keep it bright
until the end of time
without the tiniest blight-

I stop, I don't know why
suddenly my words fail
and fall into the labyrinth
of my heart's twilight--

I'm sinking
I'm fading
like a flower
in withering
yet, there's
such sweetness
in my longing to die
for this burning love
I can't ever deny.

This is my reply:
            
            The waiting is the beauty
            the bud awaits for its blooming
     the love of my dream will come to me
          on that glorious shining morning

I am only at my start
me you shouldn't yet judge

It's a state of mind-

the future

the person speculates:

what is there to secure?

Eyes that can't see

one should be

donated to the blind freely

who will see life's timeless beauty

It seems to me the feminine Japanese mystique is more intriguing than its Western counterpart's ---it lies in its grace, naturalness, humility and demureness, depth in self-restraint and sobriety.

Early spring-garden
at first blush of clear morning
petals dance in breeze

Where the river is
there am I
such liberation
under the benign sky--

forget the wherefore
and the why
that which is born
is destined to die-

well have I lived
with both joy and sigh
the flow that's life
I accept and can't deny

He lived

he had his say

his time came

silently he left away-



despite his sorrow and pain

he never knew what it was to pray

the darkest hour he didn't fear

he pleaded not for a longer stay.

If it's that  hard and painful to love me

you should leave immediately being happy

than to remain with me in such misery--

love should never ever beg for another's pity

Oh no!  I don't choose to be different

it's that when the occasions demand

then my mind and heart in their honesty

propel me all at once to be a contrarian

Oil Painting “Waiting at the Old Boat Dock”

Old faithful vessel
at behest of its owner
ocean is their home

Dear John,  many thanks for sharing this. I like your candour.  Yes, we live in very troubled times and most of us have been affected somehow but bad things don't last forever and even C19 will someday fade away, though gradually.

As a Zen person,  I accept in patience and humility,

I don't want to swim against the tide, life is in perpetual flux, I am never in control, I roll with the punches and, in doing this, I am able to keep myself afloat and also acquire some tranquillity in letting go.

To feel fear is to surrender to a power outside us.

If we can move away from the self and look beyond our defensive attitude, fear seems to have lesser control over us.  And I think the best antidote against fear is to reach out to love to make our lives meaningful and , at the same time, to care for others
who suffer more than we and  are in immediate need for consolation.  Viktor Frankl was right---when there's meaning, suffering ceases.

I do know mental health has loomed as a huge issue these days and a large number of young people have been severely affected and urgent intervention is necessary.

Dear John, you are a very intelligent person and I know you will prevail.  

Kindest wishes from Melb

I love you

and you know

I'll not repeat

words are but a shadow



of the beauty that's lit

in our hearts' endless glow

when our life's story in old age does unfold

our love will still gloriously grow

Mosaic of beauty
  as colours come together
   perfect symmetry

Most of life

is repetition

but nothing should curb

your enthusiasm and inspiration

When I walk in a lonely place in the countryside, or by a lake or in a light forest, the silence often evokes some strange sadness or nostalgia which comes in a flash and leaves me in a state of awe.  
With such, there's a tinge of the transcendental.

I return home in a state of suspended wonder

Art Weiss
• 1st
Freelance Graphic Designer / Art Director / Illustrator / University Professor Emeritus
8h • 8 hours ago

Abstract Painting “Crowded Colors”

Haiku


Rush of bright colours
mosaic of exquisiteness
anthem of beauty

If you have learnt

to live with yourself

it's enough grace

you'd need little else

Dear Albert,  you are right but the truth is that I begin by identifying what I CAN'T.  This I have practised all my life---I was so poor in sports--I tried but nature never gave me any talent in this regard.

So, I escaped into books, reading mainly poetry. While my peers were having such great fun at the field, I was sitting under a shade, reading.  I was lonely but not sad. Nature determines my core being but I am not trapped as I have great curiosity---I taught myself to play the violin (you did better!), to sing tenor and in my winter-years, to compose light melodies.  

The I CAN is so much less than I CAN'T but I have been somewhat happy with my I CAN'T.



I remain

yours in perpetual admiration

Peter Can't

Give me someone who has NEVER lied to themselves
I would regard such a saint or a charlatan

Edward Hopper - Square Rock, Ogunquit　1914　oil on canvas Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (restot)





Haiku



Sea against old rocks

unending conversation

known not to humans

Soft Charcoal & Watercolor Painting “The Bridge Above”

a close up picture of a water bodyActivate link to view larger image.





Haiku

Hidden paradise

flowers , trees and stream they merge

watched by silent bridge

They dance in the breeze
tiny yellow and green leaves
dawn has just begun

The beauty and fear

life in such suspense they hold

future never clear

When your promises are larger
than your ability to fulfil
it signifies a great danger-
you'd have to swallow a bitter pill

Dear esteemed Philosopher, composer, musician,  artist, an intimate friend.

Many thanks for your kind words.

It has been a highlight of my life knowing you.

Me, never a master, only a keen life-observer, curious as a child, with a mind unformed, with a glass only 10% full, a **** among flowers, a worshipper of beauty and the sublime,  patiently waiting for my garden-heart to bloom some day, vox clamantis in deserto.

I know what I am and what I am not.
I am a moth and should not aim for the stars.
The best part of my life is to have learnt to love myself
although I didn't know how to in my younger days.

Life is a friend or enemy, most people tend to think so
but as for me,  a Zen-person,  I don't aim to define, classify or  categorise---
life is what it is, as the sky and the sea, the flowers and the fields as what they are ---
they exist but don't question why they exist.

Self-definition is mostly false as the person chooses the most beautiful words to describe themselves and the myth perpetuates.  As such, it's hard to think there's an 'intrinsic self' as mentioned by the philosophers, psychologists and sociologists.

If I were to choose a label of myself,
I would just mention these 3 simple words:
'I am human'.

Clustered together

flowers in sorority

mosaic of beauty

First light of morning

shedding its warmth over trees

nature's silent kiss

A prayer that's self-centred

will not be answered