Category: Poetry

Aug 05 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

The wise ones,

ever meditative and steadfastly persevering,

alone experience Nirvana,

the incomparable freedom from bondage.

–The Dhammapada, verse 23

Phenomena XXXI: musing

Seeds

What if?

What if rainbows

came in textures

and kaleidoscopes

played with sound

What if feelings

were for wearing

and thoughts weighed

each a pound

Would hope appear upward

and love feel cerise?

What would be the taste of freedom?

What would be the scent of peace?

Could I pay my rent

in moonbeams

when the future

becomes our toy?

When hate and greed

are left behind

could I measure wealth

in joy?

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–February 26, 2008

Muse in the Morning

Aug 04 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

if in day to day life you lead a good life,

honestly, with love, with compassion, with less selfishness,

then automatically it will lead to nirvana.

–Tenzin Gyatso (the fourteenth Dalai Lama),

from Religious Values and Human Society

Phenomena XXX: ephemeron

Searching for Fertile Ground

Leaving Nothing but Footsteps

I tread

lightly

though life

Soft footsteps

shaped like words

sown

like apple seeds

along the years

Applying color

like a butterfly’s wings

to attract the prey

Don’t be concerned

I will not harm you

I need only what allows

the next moment

and the hope that ideas

germinate

after I have passed

I have tread lightly

through life

and intend

to leave it lightly

as well

And maybe just

a little better

for my having

been here

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–April 11, 2008

Muse in the Morning

Aug 03 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

He who seeks happiness

by hurting those who seek happiness

will never find happiness

–M. K. Gandhi, from his poem, Violence

Phenomena XXIX: helping

Beyond the End

Fifty-two

Keep your mouth closed

and embrace a simple life,

and you will live carefree until the end of your days.

If you try to talk your way into a better life

there will be no end to your trouble

–from the Tao te Ching

–tr. by J. H. McDonald

I could embrace

a simpler life

might enjoy

being carefree

but…

…there would be people

some like me

and some not

with lives filled

with much concern

too many troubles

and my heart

is filled with care

Until they have

better lives

I must try

to talk the world

into a better way

Really

It’s no trouble

at all

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–March 30, 2008

Muse in the Morning

Aug 02 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Everyone has the seed of awakening

and insight within his or her heart.

Let us help each other touch these seeds in ourselves

so that everyone can have the courage to speak out.

–Thich Nhat Hanh

Phenomena XXVIII: planting

Relative Size

Small Moments

I am not John Chapman

But I’d be honored

if some of my words

were the seeds

for someone like him

If history

has taught me anything

it is that

it will not be me

who can spread those words

and the thoughts they express

It takes someone like you

rather than someone like me

All I can do is

interact with you

make a minor adjustment

in those small moments

that make change possible

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–June 6, 2008

Muse in the Morning

Jul 30 2010

Mue in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

For as long as space endures,

for as long as living beings remain,

until then may I too remain,

to dispel the misery of the world.

–Shantideva, The Bodhicaryavatara

(The Way of the Bodhisattva)

Phenomena XXVII: living

Spark

Short Circuit

Sapient spark

arc of life

light and heat

radiant energy

signifying something

So much potential

so often diminished

grounded through

selfishness and greed

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–February 4, 2008

Muse in the Morning

Jul 29 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

All that we are is the result

of what we have thought:

it is founded on our thoughts,

it is made up of our thoughts.

If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought,

pain follows him, as the wheel follows

the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.

–Dhammapada, verse 1

Phenomena XXVI: transgressing

Bruise

Torture

How much

information

did you get

from the fly

after you picked off

its wings?

What intelligence

did you gain

from the butterfly

when you

crushed it

with water?

Did the squirrel

divulge secrets

concerning

a ticking bomb

as you

dissected it

Did you

move on

to people?

Knocking

the corners off

those

with too many

sandblasting

the surface

of those

too different

forcing into focus

the fuzzy people

is how some people

spend too much time

It’s a short step

from here to torture

Is it forward or back?

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–April 18, 2008

Jul 28 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Words have the power

to both destroy and heal.

When words are both true and kind,

they can change our world

–Siddhartha Gautama

Phenomena XXV: words

Warp

The Cost of Speaking

So many

imagine they celebrate

the right to speak freely

while choosing

on the one hand

not to exercise

their ability to listen

closely and intently enough

to actually hear

and on the other hand

to avoid the responsibility

to respond

which ensures

that freedom

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–April 2, 2008

Jul 27 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Resist the pleasures of life

And the desire to hurt

‘Til sorrows vanish.

–the Dhammapada

Phenomena XXIV: resisting

Game Pieces

Entropy

Born into a game

I never wished to play

Predestined to lose

while someone else

controls the dice

Not born a winner

Whole industries created

to enticed me into not

breaking even

Escape from the game

impossible

I seek (in vain?)

to avoid becoming a pawn

on someone else’s board

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–June 27, 2008

Muse in the Morning

Jul 26 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Let no man ever take into consideration

whether a thing is pleasant or unpleasant.

The love of pleasure begets grief

and the dread of pain causes fear;

he who is free from the love of pleasure

and the dread of pain knows neither grief nor fear.

–Paul Carus, Chapter XLVIII: The Dhammapda, verse 29

The Gospel of Buddha: Complied from Ancient Records

Phenomena XXIII: dreading

Sky Ensnared

Beaten Down

The world so heavy

he can’t look up

shoulders sag

under the weight

of too many last straws

back bent

from too much sorrow

leaden legs drag bloody feet

painfully forward

until collapse is imminent

Rise up? How?

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–July 11, 2008

Muse in the Morning

Jul 23 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Those for whom there is no more acquisition,

who are fully aware of the nature of food,

whose dwelling place is an empty and imageless release,

the way of such people is hard to follow,

like the path of birds through the sky.

— The Dhammapada, 92

Phenomena XXII: perceiving

Window

Reflection and Refraction

I see the past

in the mirror

of tarnished memories

and often misaligned

contemplation

The future

on the other hand

is best seen

through the window

of imagination

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–June 1, 2008

Muse in the Morning

Jul 22 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Better than a thousand utterances,

comprising useless words,

is one single beneficial word,

by hearing which one attains peace.

Better than a thousand verses,

comprising useless words,

is one beneficial single line,

by hearing which one is pacified.

–Sahassavagga, The Dhammapada, 100-101

Phenomena XXI: hearing

A Thread

Tintinnabulation

Can you hear

the beating of the universe?

Have you experienced

the pulse, pulse, pulse of the world?

When was the last time

you put your ear to the planet?

Listen closely now

The hour is getting late

Can you hear

your thoughts

before they become words?

The bell of Truth rings

too thin a tinkle

to be called a peal

Can you hear

how it extols us

to move forward

not back

Can you hear

the vibrating stands

of the Tapestry?

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–May 23, 2008

Muse in the Morning

Jul 21 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Do not follow the ideas of others,

but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.

Your body and mind will become clear

and you will realize the unity of all things.

–Dogen Zenji

Phenomena XX: Belief

Etching

A Question of Relevance

I don’t worry about

whether or not

there exists

some omniscient

omnipresent

omnipotent being

who may or may not

be a creator

It’s a deal I made

back in the day

when I discovered folks

parsing people’s lives

as worthy

or not

If a god exists

why would it need

Tinkerbellian

belief from me?

How arrogant

would I have to be

to assume

some god

cares about my life

enough to keep a ledger?

So I don’t.

That deal that I made

is that I will live my life

doing as much

as I can

that is right, fair and just

as far as I can tell

If a god exists

that is enough

If no god exists

it is still enough

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–February 20, 2008