like water against the stone

who’ll hold me up
when I can’t sustain u any longer?

i’m a constant rock
who’s been buffeted for so long
by the forces that sap my strength
and wear away that tough veneer

like water against a stone
this stone
is not so far
from becoming sand

sand the wind picks up and blows
to another land

who’ll be strong for the rock?
who will uphold the stone
when the stone is no longer the dependable one?

and yet…

someway

somehow

the heart of the rock remains
it remains to be strong another day

just not today

written by Bryan T. Bowen

why do i revel in the ridiculous?
immerse in the insignificant
wallow in the mundane

everyday life has its concerns

yet there he sits

Katrina has wiped out
the gulf coast

he doesn’t move

zarqawi is blown up by an F-14

is he breathing?

i struggle to make ends meet
working to pay bills
cutting fun with the kids on hold
i sulk cause I can’t go to dave & busters with emily

Bomjon hasn’t moved from a Nepalese tree
…in 9 months
or eaten…
or drank water…

no wait..
there he goes now

on a six-year retreat
from the cacophony surrounding his tree
deeper into the forest
deeper into an understanding of
the divine transcendent one

hidden mysteries i could discover for myself
if i could stop immersing in the insignificant

Be still and know that I am God
(see in you in 2012)

btb
9 june 2006

i wish no ill on you
but I’m not the one you have to fear
the one who doesn’t fear you
the one who rejoices when bad things happen to you
the one holding the gun in her holy jihad
she’s the one you must fear
with hundreds in the security force surrounding you
you’re encapsulated in a bubble of protection
but in the unsuspecting moment
when you least expected…expect it
the bubble has burst

i wish you no ill w
theres no doubt the world is a more dangerous place
since you responded the way you did
after the towers fell
you started the war on terror
but how do you battle an ideology or a concept?
as we’ve learned the hard way in iraq
it ain’t the same as battling a country

i wish you no ill w
but I’m not the one behind the ambush

btb 3/4/06

i care for you so much
perhaps I should push you away
cut you down now
before the fire I might be immersed in  
singes you
harms you
burns you
brings you down in flames
right beside me

i once found true love
as a rose in bloom
and the rose cowered from me
because I wanted to place the flower
in my own garden
before it had fully opened its petals
to embrace the sun

i won’t let another lovely fragrant flower
cease to receive the rain
the light
or let it remain firmly rooted
in the fertile soil
simply because the overzealous gardener
i try to be
blessed to have the honor of
nourishing and caring for the flower
to its glorious end
uprooted her too soon
before her time

it’s so much better
to let the rain immerse you
watch your petals
embrace the warm sunlight

until the entire garden beholds
the splendor
the grace
the fragrance
the beauty
of a rose fully bloomed

btb 12/9/06

Cool
Mellow
It’s cool to be alone with my thoughts
Once the hectic pace of every day life
Stops

Actually it’s more like a pause
A pause for the cause of solitude

Solitude that’s challenging
If not impossible to snare
When my thoughts are accompanied
By so many other distractions

The vicissitudes of life
The kids
The job
The bills
The schedules
The responsibilities

But I’ve snared it now
Cause I’ve paused for the cause of solitude
Serenity
Stillness

In this quiet place
With a gentle breeze
Against my face
The blades of grass
Peeking through my toes
The pines swaying gently above

With not a soul in sight
I lay under a cloudless sky
On a warm august afternoon

Alone with my thoughts


Btb   august 2006