Forests of Chernobyl

-------Forests of Chernobyl-------

It once stood tall over the city, an idol

to progress upon the laws of physics,

and now the subject of entropy.

It's restless,

compulsive in a way,

our relations with progress.

Like a kid with too many presents to open

we can't sit still for just one minute

and enjoy what we already have,

before we're off again

opening more boxes,

new doors.

Doors to worlds

and responsibilities

we're not quite ready to accept.

And in the excitement of discovery

we open one too many, and

give life to a power that can take away our very own.

But there is something strangely hopeful

thats found its way

up through the rubble.

Around the foundations

of an old, worn-out,

empty promise

dig roots and climb the vines

of oak and alders,

ferns and pine.

The Will 

that it took to build the beast

is the same Will it'll take to let it go;

to let fall what never should have stood so tall

and to let rise 

the forest in its ashes.

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Remain in Light

-------Remain in Light-------

Just one moment of Gratitude

is enough to know

that it will always be there, 

for you and I,

a most simple of ways

to remain in light

on the cold and snowy days.

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Means to Meditate

-------Means to Meditate-------

It's only us

we fear the most.

Fear in thought

create the ghosts.

A frenzied stress;

forgotten peace.

Give the mind to rest;

release.

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Forgiveness

-------Forgiveness-------

Gather your bones, Brother,

your strength,

and stand up to that bully which is Guilt.

Throw your arms 

around its puffed-out chest 

and hold on tight.

For it wants nothing to do 

with the Loving Kind 

and it will fight to keep 

the Act of its Becoming a "mistake" in your mind,

for you to dwell over 

and tire out all the good you have ever done.

Give it power with blame and doubt.

Make it bigger than it needs to be,

and Guilt will bury you in your own despair.

Or, 

take the Act as the beginning 

of a chance to practice righteousness:

let go protecting your pride

and the judgments 

which tie you to regret;

with all you are 

feel 

just one memory of contentment,

and commit your every day

in bringing to life that peace you have known, 

and can know again.

Persistence alone through grief

will build the Will,

but soon your arms grow tired.

It is True Love

and a Perfect Faith

that goodness is at the heart of everything, 

which will hold you hugging the Beast

until its eyes 

and anger soften.

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Despair and Its Hope

-------Despair and Its Hope-------

A night witnessed 

the shouting grow too loud for a boy to take,

and I put a hole in the wall.

A wall 

in the home 

that for years had held me like a son

and I now too weak 

to bring to life those memories 

of playing and joy within it.

It's the lonely, 

violent side of sorrow,

depression is,

and but one form 

taken by complacency

under the rule and demands of another.

Isolating oneself in this way 

from the world

is not the principle of solitude shared by the mystics,

but it is on what vice 

and the injustices which act upon them 

depend.

Being told for too long what to do

frustrates the mind to anger

with a fist,

and holes are driven

into and across

the earth.

Years, 

and many holes later

I still hold that sorrow.

But it is its other side - of

humility and compassion,

patience

that I now let guide 

what I do with my hands -

to make a place for seeds to grow 

and faith to forever remember

that every problem 

we will ever know

carries 

on its back 

its own solution.

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Dig

-------Dig-------

Our story 

is buried beneath 

a pile of books.

Books filled with a kind of knowledge 

so depending on the moral state

of the author, the editor and of the time within which it was written.

But a story.

A story 

is timeless.

It can be told and retold 

over, around, through 

and foreverly over again.

For the moral of the story, 

like history 

itself repeats in principle;

transcending beyond 

individual moments and belief

into the commons.

There are no best-sellers in the story world,

just one's we'll remember; one's that get us dirty in a good way,

like grass stains on a pair of khaki pants.

And so when things get too serious 

and the days begin to pass 

without their brilliance,

remember the story underneath, 

take off your gloves 

and with your bare hands

start digging.

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Harmony’s Sweater

-------Harmony’s Sweater-------

A mind at peace

clear 

and 

beautiful

will keep the body warm

through the coldest of days.

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