"illumining" poems
Duke said,
“People pray in many different languages
and God hears them all.”
I’m equally a Jew and Muslim,
both living in perfect peace within me.
I’m a little bit Baptist and a little bit Episcopal.
I yearn to swim in the living waters,
and hunger for the cup and bread.
I’m more of a Quaker then a Buddhist.
Only because I’m American and I can’t speak good Chinese yet.
But Buddha’s Lamp is my constant companion,
illumining my every step in this dark world.
I’m also equally composed of east and west Indies
and sometimes even druid.
The Great Spirit and Tantric arts
remain mysteries to me.
I only know them by feeling.
And yes our Afro Heritage.
The drums, the whistle, the dance,
synchronizes our heart beat
to The Beneficent One’s finger taps.
Yes we celebrate The Holy Spirit
with cymbal, voice and drum.
I am a full dues paying member
to the 2nd Hoboken Chapter
of the Unitarian Universal Catholic Church Respectively.
We meet down the block from Sinatra’s Synagogue.
We are all apostles and responsible
for our small spaces that we rent here on earth.
I know I’m 100% Zoroastrian.
I am mesmerized by the fire.
My heart aches for the light.
I tend tiny candles
and listen for the lonely fire
of Coltrane’s sax.
I’m a nun and
a Thelonious Monk.
We run an inn for weary and lost travelers.
We build hospitals to cure the infirm;
and schools to teach the golden rule of love.
We try to do things differently.
Dizzy practiced the Behai faith.
“OOM BOP SHE BAM” I pray.
Music Selection:
Dizzy Gillespie,
Swing Low Sweet Cadillac
jbm
Oakland
12/26/98
Mar 17, 2013
Mar 17, 2013 at 8:29 AM UTC
~
I sit on this lonely hillside,
a faint crescent moon smiles
in the silent sky
Gazing across the valley,
finding darkness as the village sleeps
Yet as if a beacon of hope,
a lone light in your window glows
and I wonder if your midnight thoughts ~
are of me
~
Standing at my window,
gazing at the stars
I see new constellations
lining up like arrows in the night sky,
all of them point to you
The crescent moon is smiling
as though it too knows where my heart belongs
My eyes follow the river outside my window,
as it flows in your direction,
carrying thoughts of you
~
I fade off as my imagination
floats me atop a slumbering tree line
soft branches guide me
along the curves of a shadowed river bank
Gently I come to rest outside your window,
mesmerized by beauty as your enchanting eyes
reflect the star laced heavens
An autumn chill finds me and I long to fold
into the comfort of your October caress
~
The wood in the fireplace
cracks and sizzles
I feel its ribbons of warmth
gathering, wrapping around me
like a lover's warm embrace
stirring those feelings in my heart
the longing for you,
to stop and to stay
the next time your journey
brings you my way
~
Enchanting flames flicker, illumining my path,
a nervous sensation engulfs my body
as only a heart deeply in love can,
when the door opens, you smile,
melting me where I stand
Soothing arms pull me in and we kiss,
passion evolves in star dust shimmers...
My eyes again open...I still sit this lonely hillside,
imagination fading with the light in your window
and I wonder if your midnight dreams ~ will be of us
Gently I close the curtains and
move away from the window
I stoke the fire,
its soothing heat
settling upon my face
my face, a smile flickering
as the embers of my heart glow anew
with thoughts of you, us
I glance deeply into my longing dreams
All things I need,
lead to you and me,
together
Oct 7, 2014
Oct 7, 2014 at 6:01 PM UTC
Ravi gratefully settled down on the cottage bed. It seemed
like centuries since he had slept in an actual bed. Up to now
he’d slept outside and on the thinly carpeted floor of a
Buddhist temple.
In fact, Ravi was very thankful to be alive after suffering
a serious stroke and subsequent amnesia for almost 3 years.
He was discovered sleeping on the steps of a Hindu temple
by a kind priest, named Swami Krishna.
After several inquiries, Ravi was finally given refuge by
a compassionate monk at a local Buddhist temple in Melbourne.
When my hubby David and I first met Ravi there was
an instant connection.
His humble, soft spoken nature touched our
souls as he shared his heart wrenching story. During the
period of his stroke, he lost almost everything,
most of his possessions, his wife and his memory.
Wandering the streets of Melbourne desolate and
forsaken by man, he was never forsaken by God.
It was a beautiful night, stars shimmered above the
colossal golden Buddha statue. As Ravi related his story,
David offered to help him recover his life. We all prayed
fervently to Lord Ganesh to remove all obstacles on his path.
In the coming months, Ravi and David were able to piece
together the fragments of his shattered life.
Marvelously, Ravi was also able to connect with his
parents in India who had not heard from their only son
in three years! Imagine the relief, joy and
ecstasy when they heard his familiar voice.
The other day we invited Ravi to our house for lunch.
Entering the puja room, we made sure to offer
thankful prayers to Lord Ganesh. The huge photograph
of Sai Avatar illumining the puja room smiled benevolently
at our precious guest.
Ravi chuckled almost tearfully when he told me he had
finally gotten his own bed. He recalled in the past how
he had purchased a $4000 bed for his ex-wife and
now he was so blissfully grateful for this simple cot.
As I reflected on Ravi’s story I thought to myself how
unpredictable life is. Wealth, property, spouses,
everything in this world is subject to change and loss.
It is so important to wake up from this
long, arduous dream and embrace the beautiful,
golden, eternal kiss of God and realize who we are now.
Feb 21, 2018
Feb 21, 2018 at 9:57 PM UTC
~
Angel you came to my window
watching me as I slept
tapping gently on the glass
until I opened my eyes seeing
the full moon illumining your face
as you blew me a kiss
and I smiled for I knew
my dream had come true
Jun 30, 2015
Jun 30, 2015 at 1:48 PM UTC
There was a man spent decades off to sea
Adrift in whorls and waves of augur flights
Something in his existence bid him flee
To avoid long and lonely fear-fraught nights
But now he is sharp’ning his iron will
And keeping his feet aground, firmly planted
He’s leaning on his gods with a secret thrill
For he’s learned to love all things enchanted
—-
Awakenings cut through thickest fog
Like light beams pierce through darkest night
Illumining all of Gog and Magog,
Winning them back at the end of the fight
He chose to believe and claimed the change
That sprouted within his weary chest
Went forth not knowing domain or range
And put-off longer his final rest
—-
A fond acquaintance said, “One suspects
No one really believes in God at their core...
Else if they believed in the fiery effects,
They’d be monsters not to proselytize more!”
So deep did it cut him, to hear this said,
That he cried as he held his acquaintance’s face,
And spoke, “Yes, and it’s I that should be dead,
If not for the glory and brilliance of grace”
Jan 14, 2018
Jan 14, 2018 at 8:10 PM UTC
Red stimulates my world
More than just my pants
The sound of its music
Makes me crazed and dangerous
I can hear it scream my name
My heart becomes suicidal
Do I say what l feel
No feelings are for the doc
I anit got time for this
No I would rather watch golf
Suddenly blue enters the picture
Consuming my whole
Knocking on my door
I run to answer it
It takes me in its arms
Gives me a good night
Turns around and ***** on my face
Tells me I’m pretty
And then lives me to die
Yellow passes by and shows me a good time
Gives me what I wanted
In exchange for its heart
I know I should care
But I care for it like ****** cares for Jews
I crushed it
But it feel good beneath my heel
Especially when Blue reared its handsome head
Green came in my hour of need
Blue broke my heart and left me barren
In the lights of the city
Green nursed me back to health
Illumining what was dead within
Out of rage I found it
Put in pleasure I praised the moment
Green was gone never to be seen again
Purple was violent with my soul
Striping me of innocence
Leaving me wounded and bleeding
God condemned me there
Or at least his idea did
When I think of purple
Armies of rage erupt in fire
No matter the hue Blue will return
Courting me to ecstasy
Robbing me of pride
The cursing my name
Yet red doesn’t not do this
It brings me to euphoria
Blue fights for my body
Red longs for my heart
Hear I stand a stagnate white
Caught in the spectrum
That Colors my world
Oct 21, 2014
Oct 21, 2014 at 11:41 AM UTC
You were my starlight,
like a shining sirius,
illumining my empty voids,
and filling me with light.
You gave me form,
you gave me shape,
you made me more
than just dark matter.
You made me matter.
You were so bright,
beaming with light,
like Castor to Pollux,
I could see you shine
from the depths of space
All those years we had,
all those laughs we made,
all those suns we watched
cool and slowly fade away.
I never thought that
it could happen to you,
never thought you
would leave me,
like a supernova.
One day here,
and the next, gone.
So I am left alone,
left in my darkness,
like a supermassive
black hole.
Jul 2, 2016
Jul 2, 2016 at 10:58 PM UTC
Swami Krishna's eyes flashed
lightning bolts illumining his round, brahmin
raincloud colored face.
Igniting logs in the huge fire pit
for our ancestral puja
he chanted ancient vedic hymns,
it was a beautiful offering on
this venerable Sunday morning.
Rites for remembering ancestors
is a tradition in many cultures,
not so much in the west.
Swami Krishna elaborated on its
importance:
We thank them for the good,
for laying the groundwork and support of
our lineage.
We remember them with
love and gratitude,
he stated, wrapping the yellow and red
priestly shawl closer to his body.
Strong, musky, acrid, odor of wood burning
stung our nostrils
one by one, ritualistically we added
ghee, incense sticks, flowers, herbs
and rice to the auspicious serpentine
flames
I could sense my mother near
spicy whiff of curry and channel no. 5
mixing with clouds of smoke
A secret door slowly opened in the heavens
as a procession of ghostly relatives
took their place around the blazing havan
It was almost high noon
and Surya, the Sun God
halted His brilliant chariot
driven by 7 rainbow hued horses
Hovering mid-air over our holy gathering
He raised His Golden Hands in Blessing
Dec 16, 2018
Dec 16, 2018 at 3:53 PM UTC
My beloved body
How many hours have I toiled over you
Washing, scrubbing, ironing out the wrinkles
so inevitable
Straightening, dyeing, styling crown & glory
destined to burn like logs on a funeral pyre
Every ache, every pain, every bump on the road
attended to with meticulous obsession
Pumping in vitamins, all 18 caps,
hoping to live forever
and lets not forget the apparel runway
my walk-in closet a testament to that
Sunlight falls across the altar
a small star illumining dark corner
of my room
my Soul calls softly
Suddenly I remember
Who I Am
Sep 9, 2018
Sep 9, 2018 at 10:21 AM UTC