Some Regal Choices

SOME REGAL CHOICES

One may refrain
From clinging to
An abandoned
Past dwelling
Maybe hovel
Maybe palace
Or simply dreamt

One may refrain
From dwelling
On what may
Or may not
Befall one
In some yet
Imagined future

Or instead
Eschewing either
Call a halt
Place one’s
Frail attention
On an awareness
Of the current moment

For time
Like a river
Has a current
And each moment
An opportunity
Before it has gone
… Forever

The Legend Of The Moon’s Reflection (Republished)

THE LEGEND OF THE MOON’S REFLECTION

Deep in the Northern mountains’ silence
Once long ago
Far from the lands of men there lived a Prince
Cold as snow
All day long he would wander
Like a man possessed
As he went he would ponder
His life’s helplessness

Why it was that what he loved the most grew old and died
Why he found no place of rest however hard he tried
And he threw himself upon the mountainside
And knew himself to be alone and bitterly began to cry

And in his misery he saw
As if in a dream
That where his tears fell to the ground
There sprang forth a stream
And the stream fed a river
That flowed glad and free
From the hills to the lowlands
And so reached the sea

River and seawater
Flowing down together
Though the river ends
The sea lives on forever

And by means of this vision
The Prince was set free
And in his dying moments
At last he could see

Why it is that what we love the most must disappear
Where that place of rest is that is always free from fear
And he flowed into the river with his tears
And knew himself to be the sea without a knower or a seer

And if you gaze far out to sea at night
So they say
Sometimes you’ ll see his face shine in the moon
Far away
And the river still flows
From the hills to the plain
And the sea feeds the river
With drops from the rain

River and seawater
Flowing down together
Though the river ends
The sea lives on forever …

Pith Helmet De Rigueur

PITH HELMET DE RIGUEUR

X-plore X-pect X-dreams
Went deep, went wide, went wild
Some say went insane
But then what do they know?

Central question:
Best and worst quality?

Worst? Easy
Anger and intolerance

Best? On reflection
Tolerance and acceptance

Mutually contradictory
Agreed, but then you see
What did you expect?
A neat sign-off and full marks?

Advice On Thieving

“If some poor devil steals a belt buckle, he is decapitated. If a powerful politician takes possession of a whole country, the professional moralisers flock to him to put their “wisdom” at his disposal. The logical conclusion is that, rather than wasting one’s time with small thefts, one should steal a whole country. Then one will not have to go to the trouble of further thefts or have to fear the executioner’s axe.” – Chuang Tzu.

(Taken from “Taoist Wisdom: Daily Teachings From The Taoist Sages” – Timothr Freke.)

The Get-together

THE GET-TOGETHER

Meet your family.
Here is your brother Andyet;
Your sister Maybe.
Your cousin Alltheanswers’s
Not here yet. Her plane’s delayed.

Tryst (Republished)

TRYST

A moonlit Autumn evening
Waiting alone beside the river
No birdsong disturbs the air
A faint whisper of cloud

Gathers a handful of stones
Shies them skipping
Reflecting
Musing
Just how much water
Has passed under her bridge
Since they last met?

A rustle in the bushes
But no one emerges
Checks the time
Gives a deep sigh
Turns and walks away
Disappointment

Or else relief?

Take Time

TAKE TIME

Intimate stranger
Unknown friend
Stop dead
Take time
Take time

Look around
Out there
In here
Reflect … consider
Your input

After that
Consider this
This day
May be
Your last

Glass Upon Glass

GLASS UPON GLASS

One glass reflects
Another glass refracts
Another sends us spinning
Adrift in a hall of mirrors

And in the ashes … phoenix

Terminal

TERMINAL

The conductor cries
“End of the line! All change please!”
Passengers wake up
Look round for their possessions
But no pockets in a shroud

Quote Of The Day 2

“Some people think they can find satisfaction in good food, fine clothes, lively music, and sexual pleasure. However, when they have all these things, they are not satisfied. They realize happiness is not simply having their material needs met. Thus, society has set up a system of rewards that go beyond material goods. These include titles, social recognition, status, and political power, all wrapped up in a package called self-fulfillment. Attracted by these prizes and goaded on by social pressure, people spend their short lives tiring body and mind to chase after these goals. Perhaps this gives them the feeling that they have achieved something in their lives, but in reality they have sacrificed a lot in life. They can no longer see, hear, act, feel, or think from their hearts. Everything they do is dictated by whether it can get them social gains. In the end, they’ve spent their lives following other people’s demands and never lived a life of their own. How different is this from the life of a slave or a prisoner?”

― Liezi, Lieh-tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living

(https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/562579-lieh-tzu-a-taoist-guide-to-practical-living)