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The breeze stretches and cools the season
along the country road
variegated light, leaf-filtered
from trees that lean
in rivalry for my eager eyes.

Their foliaged arms dangle, then drop
an amber snowfall all around
as if to awaken me
to the autumn creep
into my bones that click and tick
with each tottery step.

Earth awakens me to the beauty
in this splendorous season
of the gliding swaying passage
of life in alteration
and spiritual invitation
to bathe in the slow current of creation
along this road
and its cool and bright possibilities.
If I could
Be one with the mountain,
Or one with the sun,
I would.

If I could
Send love
To flowers,
Bloom them for hours,
I would.

If I could
Cherish the waters,
Clean them with my bare hands.
Count every grain
Of undying sands,
I would.

For nature,
Is given.
A present
Tied gently with a ribbon.

As the beauty of living,
Is seeing Earth's vision.
This poem is a personal one for me, as I have connected greatly with nature and wish to appreciate every aspect of it. I hope you all enjoy it!
B Nov 16
Something unforgivable
blood in the wool of a lamb
you said I'd be this way forever
I am. I am. I am.

You're quiet as a child sings a hymn
someone so soft and angelic
shouldn't witness such a sin.
Where is your shepherd,
where is your father?
Can all really be healed
with just holy water?
girl diffused Nov 11
The workman told you to bury a curled dark lock

Of your dead baby’s hair in the earth,

A quiet offering to a quieter god

You spent several months weeping to the sky

Your small hands curled into your white frock



Work was left unattended in your colorful house

No food on the stove,

No boiling salt fish, or softened dumplings in murky white water

The pungent smell of cured fish filling the quieter home

The home, austere and shrinking into the long street

Your helper comes to do all this

Your children understand in their small ways



You covered the lock of dark hair with fresh dark soil

Palm fronds wave in the wind

Salty sea air kisses your wet skin

Tears make tracks on your cheeks like a map pointing to

Nothingness, like a page of a book with words of moroseness



Once you had my mother, birthed her into a world of noise

The sure and strong hands of the matriarchal mother,

Your mother, who’d delivered more babies than she’d had her numerous children

Then you cooked, you toiled, swept the veranda with your broom

Left the buried lock of hair in the locked cabinet of your mind



Now, when I make the saltfish, I do it with stilted preparation

My hands form lumpy misshapen cornmeal dumplings

I fry the little ***** of dough for too long, they come out dry

I pop one into my mouth and chew

There, the fragrant smell of your perfume,

Sweet lull of your voice, your birdlike hands.
A/n: A rejected submission to a poetry magazine. Hopefully it finds its home here. Thank you for reading in advance everyone.
Francis Oct 26
The Sacristy

A pastoral palace
A haven for servants of God
A prep room for the clergyman.
A probationary clergyman,
At his knees in prayer before the lord.

Roars of thunder rattle the room,
Clashes of lightening illuminate,
Through a stained-glass window.  
He is alone,
Father Bernard Benedict,
At the mercy of the lord.

Bernard

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned greatly,
Questioning his own fate,
never before today.
I am full of fear, Father.
Terrified of what will become of me,
if my betrayal of you progresses.
I’m scared of what won’t become of me,
if I remain loyal.

Father, all I know for sure,
is that I’m very confused,
And I need guidance.
It is a sin to deny thy lord,
in any circumstance,
but it is my own twisted irony
to have doubts and...
To have doubts,
And yet seek your guidance...

The Voice

And just what kind of doubts are you having,
my son?
What is it that you seek?
Confide in thy father,
As you are my child,
My dearest little one.
Unleash your desires,
Unravel your pain,
Lend me your soul.

Bernard

…Father?

The Voice

Yes, my son?
My son,
I’m here.
Speak to me,
All ears are wide,
Wide and open.

Bernard

It is you, isn’t it?
May I see your face?

The Voice

I’m afraid that is not possible,
I’m afraid it is not so.
I do apologize,
My son.

Bernard

Why?
Is my wish not your command?
Is it not your mission,
To aid in my suffering?
Why is it that I cannot see you?
Why is it that I cannot experience you?

The Voice

Because I don’t exist.

Bernard

Just what kind of a game,
Just what kind of a game are trying to play?
Father?
Manifest yourself!
Allow me to lay my tearful eyes,
Upon your entity.

The Voice

...If you insist...

The Storm
Wooshing,
Roaring,
Angrily little clouds,
Zigzags of electric,
Blowing window shrouds.

Maroon Man

Howdy do,
Father Bernard,
Hiya,
Howdy do?

Bernard

Who…
Who are you?
Who are you,
And how did you…
Do?

Maroon Man

I’m him,
I’m him,
He,
Who is I.

Bernard

Father?
Son?
Holy Ghost?
Of any, all,
And everything at most?
Dressed to the nines,
Maroon and Red shoes,
That shine?

Maroon Man

Him?
Him?
Oh, please,
Heavens, no.
I’m merely that,
Other him,
You know,
He who should not be named.

Bernard

It can’t be,
Possibly,
Can’t be,
He,
The monster in my nightmares,
The monster of my dreams.
You’re not…

Maroon Man

Carrying a pitchfork?
Hovering with horns?
I left such things at home.
Silly little stereotypes,
Little legends in the books.

Bernard

What is it that you want from me?
What is it that you seek?
I’m merely faithful to my lord,
Not you, that man,
So foul,
You reek.

Maroon Man

I want to talk about your plans,
I want to talk your pain,
I want to talk your suffering,
Your losses and your gain.
Unleash your lonely grievances,
Unload your pesky thoughts.

Bernard

I don’t condone your evil,
I don’t condone your sin,
Allow me to my thoughts in peace,
And never tread within.

Maroon Man

No,
No,
Of course, you don’t condone me,
That’s why you’re so conflicted,
Struggling and buckling,
about your future,
spreading the good love of faith,
because you’re dead-set on,
not disobeying the almighty.

Bernard

Why,
Oh why,
Why is it that you’re here?

Maroon Man

I’m here to merely guide you,
I’m here to simply help,
My son you haven’t yet seen,
The things that I can do.


Bernard  

I don’t need your guidance,
Not your friendship,
Or your help,
Banished from this House of God,
Exiled from this home of holy.

Maroon Man

Don’t you?
Do you?
I hear you’re at a crossroad,
You need guidance,
You DO need guidance,
correct?



Bernard

Not from you,
Never from you,
I’d rather convert or follow none,
Than worship the likes of you.

Maroon Man

Why is that?

Bernard

Because you’re wicked.
You’re ghastly,
You are the symbol,
of all evil.
You are the reason why there is suffering,
and death in this sinful world.
You construct hate and pain,
and spread it like a virus.
You are a virus.

Maroon Man

Flattery will get you nowhere,
Father Benedict.
You’re merely reading,
A resume,
An eternity of achievement.

Bernard

I don’t care what you have to say,
I can’t indulge you,
I won’t indulge you,
To indulge you,
Is to lose me,
And to lose him.

Maroon Man

From what I can tell,
you’re uncertain of your faith.
Isn’t that correct?
Isn’t that so?
Tell me I’m wrong.

Bernard

No,
Not at all,
Not entirely so.
I know what I believe in,
I know what is so,
I just don’t...

Maroon Man

Just don’t,
what?
Speak!
Release what it is,
That has you in such shambles.

Bernard

I just don’t know,
I just don’t know,
if I want to devote my life,
to my faith.
My faith,
My faith,
Where’s the faith in me?
To devote this life,
To everything,
In terms of he?
I feel this way,
And ache this way,
Knowing full well,
That I will burn in hell,
For feeling this way.

Maroon Man

What is it that you have to sacrifice,
in order to become a soldier of Christ?
What is it that you give,
What is it that you gift?

Bernard

Time,
Time,
And life after time.

Maroon Man

Time, yes,
But there’s more to it,
than just time,
What else are you risking?
What is that you sacrifice?
We both know the answer to that,
We both know it true,
You’re risking freedom, you see,
if you pursue a life of pure faith,
you will never know what the beauty of…
pleasure is like.
Freedom is pleasurable,
isn’t it?
Pleasure,
Fulfillment,
Taking that first sip of bourbon in the morning-time,
Taking that long drag from a burning cigarette,
Truly knowing what it’s like,
to make love to a woman,
feeling every bit of passion and pleasure that…
comes with it.
You lack character in this world
and that’s because you are
unfulfilled.

Bernard

You...
You see right through me,
You see right through my pain,
Every ounce and every air,
Of all that I fail to obtain.

Maroon Man

Even he can,
He isn’t stupid,
He knows these are things you want,
But is he allowing you to do so?
No,
his words forbid such action.
Why?
Because,
all he really wants is recognition and obedience.

Bernard

You lie,
You lie,
and you lie,
You can’t possibly know,
what the lord truly wants.

Maroon Man

Don’t forget,
Don’t you ever lose sight,
I once fought alongside him,
the same way you are now,
and look where it got me,
once I realized that there is more,
more to it than just spreading peace,
and tranquility through him.
True peace is in pleasure.
He hates pleasure.
He craves order.

Bernard

And what makes you think,
that I want anything more than,
peace and tranquility?

Maroon Man

Because you wouldn’t be doubting,
your path to priesthood,
if you didn’t desire the very things,
He tells you not to desire.
Even desiring is a sin, you see.
To him,
desire is greed.
Take some initiative for yourself,
and humor me.

Bernard

I can’t.

Maroon Man

Why not?
You can,
Don’t you see?
I can show you.
I can show you,
Fruitful things.
I can show you all,
That he forbids.
Remember the girl?

Bernard

What girl?

Maroon Man

You know,
You know what girl,
Don’t tell me that,
You don’t remember,
The girl.

The Photograph

A framed image,
A portrait of beauty,
Her,
Gorgeous blonde locks,
A lovely little maiden,
Her,
God’s crafted angel,
Dearly Departed,
Cecelia.

Maroon Man

Cecilia,
She is why you are doing this,
aren’t you?
She died,
Tragically,
Overdosed, even.
A talented musician,
who got wiped away,
because of her desires.
Like blowing out a candle.
You think it was me?
You think it was me,
who took her away from you?

Bernard

Yes,
Yes,
I blame you,
You,
Foul old you,
You’re the reason why she’s gone,
You are the cause of pain.

Maroon Man

Wrong,
Wrong,
Wrong again, Bernard,
It was him, Bernard.
He who forbade,
Pleasure,
Mortality was her punishment,
for seeking such pleasures.
It was him, Bernard.
It’s much too easy,
Too easy to pin the blame on anyone,
but the true culprit.
It’s no coincidence,
that I’m here this evening,
Bernard.
I’ve been watching you,
I know you inside and out,
Better than you know yourself.
Do you now trust me?
We’re waiting, Father!
(beat)
Just as I thought.
You know that it’s better to have loved,
and lost,
then to never have loved at all.



Bernard

****… you…

Maroon Man

Profanity,
Profanity,
Is profanity not a sin?

Bernard

Why are you doing this to me?
Why are you here?
What is it that you aim to accomplish,
Foul, ghostly beast?

Maroon Man

If you’d just humor me,
If you’d just listen,
If you’d just dip your toes,
Into my point of view,
I can give you it all.

Bernard

What is it,
that you’ll do,
if I indulge you?

Maroon Man

You can have her,
She would be yours
for all eternity,
You can have everything,
you desire.
Only if you come with me.

Bernard

Can I talk to her?
Can I hold her?
Can I smell her scent?
Can I taste her lips?
Can I…

The Action

Maroon Man smiles,
Maroon Man nods,
Maroon Man grants,
And twirls his fingers,
At invisible atmospheric dials.

Outside the window,
Stood Cecelia dressed in black,
Bernard sniffs a soulful tear,
His love and lust had come for her,
It had unapologetically come back.

He raced outside the holy place,
And wandered in the fields,
To find his lovely little,
Cecelia May,
Waiting for his warm embrace.
I converted an old old old old old short screenplay to poetry, if you can call this a poem. It's not prose, nor is it technically poetry. But it works. Enjoy!
Do you want to be Happy? Do you want to Smile? Do you want to remain in Bliss, all the while?
Do you want to Discover, how to always be Glad?
Do you want Freedom from being miserable and sad?
Then, just follow the A to Z of Happiness
And you will reach the state of Eternal Bliss


What is happiness? Do you even know?
It's about that Smile that gives your face a glow
It is being Joyous, it is being Blissful
It is being Peaceful, it is being Cheerful
True Happiness is being free from misery and stress
It is Eternal Happiness that comes from Truth Consciousness

We have been taught that Happiness is Pleasure
Believing in this myth, we have lost the Treasure!
We believe that Success is Happiness and seek Achievement
We don’t realize that true Happiness is Fulfilment!
We are so lost in a life of excitement
We don’t discover the ultimate peak of Enlightenment


Happiness is not Pleasure that comes from winning a race
When will we get out of the anxiety of the chase?
True Happiness is living in Tranquillity and Peace
It is a state where all miseries cease
The Truly Happy one discovers the Purpose of his Birth
Blissful is he, who knows why he came to earth!

We all seek Pleasure, we don’t want Pain
But why do we become unhappy, again and again?
We want to experience Peace, Love and Bliss
But we live in Fear, Anxiety and Unhappiness!
Little do we realize that the culprit is the Mind
It steals our Joy and Peace, making us Blind!

If we want to be Happy, we must flip from NEP to PEP
From Negative to Positive, first, we must take this step
We must **** the Mind that says, it’s King
Still the monkey that causes suffering!
We must pull the Triggers that will make us Glad
And eliminate those Joy Stealers that make us Sad!

There is a way to be Happy, at all times
It is not just about Money, Nickels and Dimes!
Of course, Money can give us Pleasure, it can make us Smile
But Money can’t buy Happiness, all the while!
If we want that state of Ultimate Happiness
We must flip from Mind to Consciousness


Let us learn the Secrets that can create Bliss
Make others Happy and you can have Happiness
We can be Happy if we Give before we are gone
And not be miserable and again be Reborn!
If we discover Karma, the Law of Action
We can learn to be Happy without a toxic Reaction

The Secret of Happiness is to Accept, not to Wonder
To eliminate all Hope and live in Surrender
Happiness is neither in a ‘Yesterday’ that is gone
Nor is Happiness in ‘Tomorrow’, not yet born!
Truly Happy is the one who makes this vow
He will be Happy, ‘Today’, living in the ‘Now’

If you want Eternal Happiness, start a Quest
Unlearn what you have learned, put your beliefs to test
Happiness is something else, get to the root
Overcome Ignorance and realize the Truth
To be Happy, first tame your Monkey Mind
Then, Bliss, Love and Peace, you will Find!

Eternal Happiness is when we discover the Purpose of Life
Then, we are free from all misery and strife
When we realize, we are not the Body, Ego or the Mind
We are the Divine Soul, when this Truth we find
Then, we are Liberated from the Triple Suffering on earth
We can sing, dance and live with Mirth


To be Truly Happy, we must achieve this Goal
Not live as the Body or Mind but as the Soul
We must realize this world is a Leela, a Cosmic Show
We are mere actors, we come and we go
When we realize that everything is Maya, a Cosmic Illusion
Then, we escape from all sadness and delusion!

Enlightenment is the Ultimate Peak of Bliss, of Happiness
It is a state of living in Consciousness
It is living like a Yogi, in Eternal Bliss
United with the Divine, free from unhappiness
Just learn the Happy Mantra and live in Bliss Just follow The A to Z of Happiness

Happiness is a Paradox, don’t try to be Glad
‘I want to be Happy!’ this will make you Sad
Happiness is within, for Bliss, do not search
Don’t think you will be Happy in a temple or a church
Rejoice in ‘Today’! Don’t think you will be Happy ‘Tomorrow’!
Just choose to be Happy and wipe away all Sorrow

If you really want to be Happy, just listen to me!
For I have learned how, from Misery, to be Free!
I have myself evolved from Achievement to Fulfilment
I have experienced the Bliss that comes from Enlightenment
Just follow me and you are sure to live with a Smile
My A to Z will give you Bliss, all the while!
Francis Oct 23
The pearly gates seem foreign,
A daydream away from today,
He talked about Hades like Sin,
But what he neglected to mention,
Is that Hell is from within.

A dystopian travesty,
Civilizations amuck,
We fight,
We ****,
In pursuit of happiness,
Whatever that is.
What if this is hell?
George Krokos Aug 24
If we sing the Master’s praises
with a sincere and loving heart
the fire of love inside us blazes
and so then we don’t feel apart.
____
From 'The Quatrains' ongoing writings since the early '90's.
George Krokos Aug 24
I'm all for love in case you haven't yet been told
and not for any amount of money can it be sold.
You may well ask what price this love would fetch
if traded on the open market by a hand to stretch?
The answer would be that on whatever given day
this love in my heart isn't for sale at all anyway.

No one, except God, could have access to the source
out of where love springs from and knows its course.
Attraction and repulsion are the main forces at play
and determine at what distance one's love will stay.
An awakened spirituality is based on universal love
that's blooming in the heart with a light from above.

We all have an urge to go beyond a certain limitation
that's been holding us down without any justification.
Past life impressions hidden in the subconscious mind
can play a significant role in life that's mainly to bind.
Pure love freely given can have a transforming effect
on all those around who imbibe its goodness to affect.
_______
Written July-August, 2020
Megan Pasnik Aug 24
An eternal dance of creation.

One can not exist without the other.

Sun and Moon
Life and Death
Heaven and Hell
Man and Woman
Light and Dark

Creating something new
With each step

Birthing new worlds
With every embrace

Push, pull
In a trance

Weaving threads of time and space
The physical and invisible

This cosmic duality dances together
And from union
Comes creation.
Poem from my book "Call The Light"
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