Poem: False Love

I do not understand

This love affair with death

When young, we kiss the snake,

Initiatory

Survivors come away

Muscles strong from the struggle

Some elude the coils altogether

Some grasp the tail, whipped

Against hard ground until

One day, eyes open

They find themselves

Thrown onto desert sands, death

Slipped away, leaving

A slender trail behind

Others, caught in her coils

Succumb while young, lost souls

No chance at Life

The trail she leaves is a reminder

Of her kiss; intrigued

Some turn back, following ethereal

Memory, they seek her embrace

Before their time

They find her wonderful, in guises

Both beautiful and terrible

They cannot turn away

Older now, I see her ploy

To lure us away before our time,

Deny our right to Glorious Life

I do not understand

This love affair with death,

For she is not real, this impostor

Begging garlands placed before her,

Gifts of lives gathered from the

Blossoms of their souls

True Death looks upon us from afar

Lovingly awaiting our embrace

She knows Her day

She wants us whole, snakebites

Healed by time and Love for one another

Our souls decked out in Happiness and

The trail to the false one’s lair

A memory best forgotten

© 20 May 2016

In But Not Of: Lao-tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 12

Colors blind the eye.
Sounds deafen the ear.
Flavors numb the taste.
Thoughts weaken the mind.
Desires wither the heart.

The Master observes the world
but trusts his inner vision.
He allows things to come and go.
His heart is open as the sky.

 – Lao-tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 12

Translation by S. Mitchell

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/taote-v3.html#12

In, But Not Of

In the midst of discord

Words spoken thoughtless

Another day passed

Creatures scuttle underfoot

Elsewhere, hungry bellies

Cry, unheard but for 

The vultures overhead

Children of privilege hear

Lullabies from the mouths

Of jeweled parents, feeding

From cardboard and aluminum

Yet overhead, raspberry skies

Glow soft over ravaged lands

And pure alike; no color brings

Peace or happiness to those

Who know not love...

...Love sits barefoot on damp grass

Eyes closed to the bright

Cacophany of arrogant humanity

Within the heart, Love steps out

Of comfort and eternal peace,

Feeding those whose hearts

Yearn for the food the hungry

Cannot imagine, cannot understand

Until Love's hands open,

Inviting them to the feast,

Offering that one smile

In that one moment

When it is most needed

(c) 2 August 2012