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Apr 2013 · 2.3k
Animal Kingdom
CharlesC Apr 2013
A rock enclosure
horseshoe formed..
walls display
eyes-faces-images
an animal kingdom:
serpent and tortoise
elephant and frog
a swift trout..
guarded by a
human appearing..
images stimulate
mind's search for
similarity without..
in finds out..
out is in and...
Apr 2013 · 847
Sixteen Swans
CharlesC Apr 2013
Rising in our morning
might we find a theme
an image which gathers
ragged edges of  day..

Before engaging take pains
reject defective creations..
surrender to one theme
emerging from shadow..

Then to survey many
mosaic pieces fallen..
and find on the floor
theme patterns reflect..

Must know our theme
is well hidden
arrives in variations
through ambiguous day..

Then in our depths
in ecstasy we know
the theme we created
is our creator also..

Recapitulation at evening
a symphony complete..
we explosively repeat:
Now it is good...!
"Today I saw sixteen swans.
God, what beauty!  They
circled over me for a long
time.  Disappeared into the
solar haze like a silver
ribbon."

--Jean Sibelius
while composing his
5th Symphony..
the ascending swans
his theme...
Apr 2013 · 847
Spring day
CharlesC Apr 2013
Chilly spring day
between winter and summer
winter bias...

Spring in the middle
seasons between
are good homes...

Those opposites
detract and demand
middle grounds...

Right and left
corpus joins callosum
I'll join you there...

The middle
is not muddle
is energizer..!

Between Awakens...!
Apr 2013 · 2.3k
Real cooking
CharlesC Apr 2013
chopping the carrots
and the onions
with tears..
this fragmenting
in linear time..
now dialogue ensues
carrots and onions
join other friends
ingredients unite..!
a community in heat
transforms and shapeshifts..
an aroma announces
a new creation
a quantum delicacy
before her eyes...
Apr 2013 · 1.7k
The Red Violin
CharlesC Apr 2013
is
perfection..
owner to owner
perfection is passed..
each owner nods
to this idol
with awestruck glee..
but perfection
interferes and disrupts
even poisoned once
an intimate encounter..
forgotten in this
and other tales
is human waking
shifting and reaching
of shadow and spirit...
ref the late
Roger Ebert's
review of the
1998 movie
Apr 2013 · 377
for Kathryn
CharlesC Apr 2013
Of a sudden
this shadow..
in this time
of our Knowing
she is not prepared
yet prepared..
we Know now
of her light
named and white..
and even now
as I pass these lines
for her comfort
each cell is flooded
fully wrapped
in Light...
for a friend with a resurgence
of cancer...
Apr 2013 · 480
Music two ways
CharlesC Apr 2013
One way expresses
music listening
not food for thought..
Another expressed by
a master pianist
88 notes and pedals
differences of sound
are infinite..
practice is love
finding those
illusive differences
coaxing secrets from
the secretive piano..
might a listener
also grasp
a measure
of difference in
her reverie...?
This seems similar to "Oneness."
The pianist is Joaquin Achucarro
Apr 2013 · 1.9k
Oneness
CharlesC Apr 2013
Where is it
experienced..?
with or without
the interruption
of distracting
thought..?
Might it be
stimulated
fulfilled
by those
distractions..?
Further
without distraction
no Oneness..?
Sunday musings...
Apr 2013 · 466
Thomas' doubt
CharlesC Apr 2013
He seems one of us
perhaps from Missouri..!
demand solid proof
senses supreme
trust for experiment
science is truth..

Do we mis-read..?
did he see more
than sight and touch..
his doubt his treasure
the real grounding
of  faith...
Apr 2013 · 741
The Red Stain
CharlesC Apr 2013
A vision aRose
of expansive yellow..
with careful sighting
a small but definite
Rose stain appears..
Her self-portrait
claims this identity..
She asks if I hear
the sound of a poem..
with careful listening
a violin string
the approaching sound
resembles most..
the string declares in
ecstatic pain and joy
new birth once more
coming of Spring...!
photo on polarityinplay.blogspot.com
Apr 2013 · 805
PolarityinPlay
CharlesC Apr 2013
Opposites or poles
look carefully inside
poles unify...


A poem draft
with nighttime delay
trims nicely...


Auto repairs
on path to rustpile
this delay...


Famous theologian
talk on scripture errors
spiritual hunger...?


A discussion
oppositions ride supreme
dialogue limps...
Apr 2013 · 947
Penned photos
CharlesC Apr 2013
Haiku
capturing the moment
penned photos...


Deer in clearing
photo difficult with movement
become the clearing...


Worry
a garment we wear
worryworn...


Bicycle tires
round on rocky trail
order on chaos...


Vertical alignment
sun and Peak and dead tree
declining Light...
Apr 2013 · 2.2k
Professions
CharlesC Apr 2013
Contemporary
some youth are wary
of the claims of
professions out there..
these seem to wrap
handcuff and chain..
a desperate need
for gifted tutelage
to locate precious
solitude..
knowing then that
each profession's byways
spring from this
place...
Apr 2013 · 1.1k
Wind and shadows
CharlesC Apr 2013
Earth and wind
gritty dust teeth sense
dry speaks...


Late day sun
small pebble multitude
each casts shadow...


Step up inhale
then down exhale
ladder anchor...


Children on trampoline
bodies straight then curved
life micro...


Sleeping bruises
a waking surprise
bruises bloomed...
Thanks to Mae
for her
"how the bruising bloomed"
Apr 2013 · 540
Transparent
CharlesC Apr 2013
When she arrives
in a city
where she is
altogether unknown..
a delicious treat
her light lightens
a joyful while..
but soon a
connection
her light thickens
rebirth...
Apr 2013 · 1.2k
April walk
CharlesC Apr 2013
Crepuscular rays
science name for beauty
filtered Light...


Two weak sprinklers
coaxing green from dry blades
desert futility...?  


Steady wind blows
roars in tree branches
motor noise amplifies...


Blue paint droppings
pavement lines and splotches
patterns imagined...


Breathless biker
yield passage on steep path
shared success...?


Uprooted tree
branches to sky reach out
same questions...?


Bright setting light
yucca spears dead and alive
both reflect...


Dead logs
piled and waiting
tree dust...
Apr 2013 · 1.0k
Dots
CharlesC Apr 2013
when connected
a story forms..
in the connecting
a certain glimpse
a spark divine..
illusive it is and
without notice the
dots grow dark
becoming shells..
we are wrapped
once more..
we hunger then
for new connecting
another glimpse..
with discoveries of
new dots and stories
hopefully we know
the life of a dot
is sweet and short..
but the connecting
is always sweet...
responding to Mae's
excellent poem,
"cocooned"
Apr 2013 · 759
Assortment
CharlesC Apr 2013
A haiku flash
this new toy at ready
dullness shatters...


Moment of violence
suddenness in tranquil field
deeper field prevails...


Unusual fog today
reminder of sameness in all
differences jump...


Sublime distant Peak
parking lot autos..light poles
constrictions disappoint...


Evening news
connects screaming dots
so few dots...
Apr 2013 · 1.5k
Mountains and Prairies
CharlesC Apr 2013
Prairie wide angle
skydome over vast flatness
top down...

Mountain peaks reach
interrupt skydome with ******
bottom up...

Mountains and Prairies
teach crucial lessons
interlaced perspectives...
Apr 2013 · 700
5 haiku
CharlesC Apr 2013
Cliff's shear face
sun's shadow recordings
endless pages...

Chips of glass
on pavement reflecting
not cutting now...

Time for haiku
new turbulence makes entry
quick light...

Spring sun warmth
winter chill seems past
fire danger...

Scrub oak branches
surprising elbows and turning
tree contains all...
Mar 2013 · 359
Center rising
CharlesC Mar 2013
it is the building
destroying repairing
joys and suffering..
at last awareness
of the fuels
and readiness
for the Center
and all Centers
in their time
to rise
and return...
Mar 2013 · 781
Saturday morning haiku
CharlesC Mar 2013
warmth in cornered sun
chirping birds nesting squabbles
street motor noise..errands...

A painting once seen
man in Sunday dress fishing
Easter morning river...

Tree shadows  11:28 AM
sun angle miniature projected
diminished in light...

Attention to breathing
exhale noise and nature and day
sunlight inhale...
Mar 2013 · 478
Deo's cloud
CharlesC Mar 2013
keeping company
Dan's found cat..
Dan to spend
Easter day away..
some soft food
a treat he awaits
then lengthy bath at
self-rendered pace..
retreat then to
a back bedroom
house quiet now..
a tick then tock..
recalling his story
Deo found Dan
not Dan this cat
chance encounter on
fated library step..
time now to depart
a bedroom glance:
Deo now enclouded
his white pad
floats...!
Deo photo @
polarityinplay.blogspot.com
:):)
Mar 2013 · 762
Filters (haiku)
CharlesC Mar 2013
Bare tree branches..
failed filters of morning light..
water restriction headlines...
Mar 2013 · 1.1k
Road Markers
CharlesC Mar 2013
on this road and
many roads headed
toward this weekend..
those palm branches
severed from roots..
cloaks cover paths
with joy above while
dark gathers below..
a vineyard parable  
finds narrow lenses..
then a coin
two sides a surface..
though these Markers
demand absorption
sleep still reigns..
will we and they
very soon Awaken..?
Gospel of Mark
Chapters 11-20
Mar 2013 · 773
A sparrow falls (haiku)
CharlesC Mar 2013
Morning sparrow story
Crying out..mate's auto collision..
Chainsaw buzz..spring trimming...
Mar 2013 · 1.1k
Parabolic escape
CharlesC Mar 2013
we are clothed
in our assumptions
the proverbial wool
over our eyes..
it's a matrix
holding us captive..
original lofty insights
in science religion
solidify in time
standards and creeds
then prevail..
our habits of life
in comfort enchains..
the torus movement
offers this solace:
all these assumptions
make wonderful fuel
for an upward
parabolic escape...!
Mar 2013 · 1.1k
Frosty trail
CharlesC Mar 2013
Just now returning
opening my door..
warming and retiring
a winter fireplace..

After a time on
a deserted trail..
watching other woods
fill with snow..

Large flakes floating
and sticking..
unique pattern each
building white depth..

Fleeting they live
only this moment..
isolate one flake
now joins whole..

New white body
defies imagination
only my footprints
set order now..

The village owner
I hope he reflects..
in such chaos
his negligible role..

This lacy flake
which made entrance
now unseen as
circle and center..

I then joined
that village owner
we're both ready
miles to go...
With apologies to RF....
Mar 2013 · 3.3k
Fires of enthusiasm
CharlesC Mar 2013
back then and
now
wishes for fire
to burn and break
the reality at hand..
a reality turned away
self-absorbed
frightful black caverns..
but then a caution
for greater patience
infinite patience..
advice rendered that
greatest revelation
appears now in our
cataclysmic dark...
CharlesC Mar 2013
In that first
hardly noticed
moment
to which you wake,
coming back
to this life
from the other
more secret,
moveable
and frighteningly
honest
world
where everything
began,
there is a small
opening
into the new day
which closes
the moment
you begin
your plans.

What you can plan
is too small
for you to live.

What you can live
wholeheartedly
will make plans
enough
for the vitality
hidden in your sleep.

To be human
is to become visible
while carrying
what is hidden
as a gift to others.

To remember
the other world
in this world
is to live in your
true inheritance.

You are not
a troubled guest
on this earth,
you are not
an accident
amidst other accidents
you were invited
from another and greater
night
than the one
from which
you have just emerged.

Now, looking through
the slanting light
of the morning
window toward
the mountain
presence
of everything
that can be,
what urgency
calls you to your
one love?  What shape
waits in the seed
of you to grow
and spread
its branches
against a future sky?

Is it waiting
in the fertile sea?
In the trees
beyond the house?
In the life
you can imagine
for yourself?
In the open
and lovely
white page
on the waiting desk?

~ David Whyte ~
Mar 2013 · 1.3k
Writing with Cranes
CharlesC Mar 2013
an empty white page
begins this recording
a writing exercise..
cold winter morning
9:47 AM overcast
snow to come..
standing eyes closed in
a dampened grass field..

lost eyesight gave way
to memory and
to senses remaining..
this spring migration
filled imaginations..
long beaks search
hidden insects within
a spongy earth..

cottonwoods wind-sheared
their vertical height
constricted and flattened
earth's jealous limits..
then we heard
a distinct high voice
the krrrh ascending
our perspectives reversed..

a singular high place
a timeless hovering
distant fields imagined
those earthen limits..
wings now extending
with expansive strength..
then remembering our
Shivering Discomfort..!

Enough..!
to sheltered warmth
we now fled...*

*Appreciation for writer
Susan J. Tweit
and her lesson at
the Crane Festival,
San Luis Valley,
Colorado
Mar 2013 · 2.4k
Journaling Cycle
CharlesC Mar 2013
our journaling discipline
formed in six steps:

Narration
some warmup words
perhaps drawing or photo
pen now at ready
where we jump in..

Emptying
first we list
what's to be emptied
put it all down
pleasures and pains..

Removing
these are obstacles
label future and past
futilities recognized
we've trimmed our list..

Anchoring
with shorter list
peering behind entries
find lurking there
Light of the moment..

Listening
this is Creation
WE are creating
cleansing the old
Writing new birth..

Reflecting
mind now diffused
a Cycle made clear
a Voice was heard
new Narration appears..

*Now WE step
into our day
riding our Cycle
pedaling our Way...!
after a journaling
presentation this
weekend....
Mar 2013 · 1.3k
My Torus (by Thelma)
CharlesC Mar 2013
Imagine, if you will, a swirling energy
Dancing around a core
Forever compelled to enter one end
Of a doughnut-like hole
Converging, traveling up and
Flinging out again in a creative burst
Spreading in all directions
But pulled by an irresistible force
To follow semi-circular paths
Back to the base
There to be reunited, renewed and then
Flow up and out again
And around and back
And up and out
And around and back
Again and again
And --

Can this Torus imaged energy be universal
Both encompassing the cosmos
And small carbon units like myself
Did my atoms arise from the core and
Manifest in a splendid journey
Through colorful space and finite time
And will my spirit go back
To coalesce in the core
And spring up again
And again and again
And --

Are black holes in space
Magnetized entrances into a doughnut hole
where compressed energy races up the core and
Spews out in a sprawling light show of universes
Until it is all called back to the base
To be fused again, transformed,
Recreated and sent up and out
And around and back
Again and again
And --
by a friend, Thelma
Mar 2013 · 705
the World lens
CharlesC Mar 2013
a mother's truth
with wide replication..
her own truth
finds a child's light..
she denies what
the world beholds..
and lives to suffer
in her separation..
and when the world
with rational lens
finds it compelling
to restrict enclose
denial is then
transformed to
tears...
see "He"
short story by
Katherine Anne Porter
Mar 2013 · 895
the Torus
CharlesC Mar 2013
we are prompted
in these hours
to find awareness..
awaken in the
dreams we live..
to recognize a
matrix disguise..

the matrix masks
hides our Reality
misleads our senses..
one simple form
of sacred geometry
gifts a key for
sought transform..

a torus in motion
may unclog
life's flowing stream..
the torus connects
light and shadow..
its motion cleanses
exposing new light..

the torus introduces
new energy sources
with-in and with-out
reaching intractable
hunger and pain..
torus is ancient
lost now remembered..

much yet to know
but a Torus may be
creeping into
our morning
meditations...
See the film
"THRIVE"
and much more at
www.thrivemovement.com
Mar 2013 · 985
Metamorphosis
CharlesC Mar 2013
cycles of life
vibrations in flow..
eating with vigor
ego's voracious growth..
the environment's gift
our nurturing home..
skins are shed
in healthy growth
new skins spread to
catch new light..
internal transformations
fearsome and ugly
but we must restrain
a caterpillar demise..
those processes within
plant beauty outside..
blood to our wings
then we fly
cosmos and each
and all...
Mar 2013 · 665
Jolene
CharlesC Mar 2013
She waited tables in
storied valley manor..
to a train strummer
she was mated..
fixer of hair with
energy and mystery
just these Lifedots..
revisiting the manor
Jolene since departed
no one remembered
her wispy details..
many Jolenes
only imagination
fills in...
Mar 2013 · 1.0k
Maggie
CharlesC Mar 2013
her warning unheeded
he strayed and departed..
she built a life
cycles with helmet
opening to strangers
love and light..
her daughters' paths
one home attached
the other on border..
union with splits
this prodigal fractal
creation's repeatings...
Mar 2013 · 559
Winter road
CharlesC Mar 2013
Sun sparkled snow
on lined peaks
western storm clouds
inexact forecast overlay
shifting patterns of
warnings and watches
fractals of life
glimpses of light
chaotic ground swirls
this the Middle
breathing...
Mar 2013 · 720
Mr. Dawkins' vessel
CharlesC Mar 2013
life can overwhelm
our brains soon stall
overloaded with that
confusion out there..
changes and edges
these matter most..
in natural selection
differences do rule..
patterns repeating
must be discarded
same old sameness..
survival succeeds
his elegant view..

thus a long chapter
bringing this day..
has time now arrived
to finally meet those
patterns of old..?
patterns most humble
enfolding of change..
fiercely holistic and
formed as images
in many dimensions..
their sharp message:
sorry.. without us
nothing would be...
this is based on
Richard Dawkins,
"Redundancy Reduction
and Pattern Recognition"
easily found on Google..
I hope my reading
is reasonably accurate..
if not, apologies to Mr. D..!
Mar 2013 · 773
Psalm Light
CharlesC Mar 2013
A deeply centered Light
filtered and broken
enlivens all creation..
we need assistance
for our recognition..
humility to imagine:
multitude reflections
sensing one pattern
of center and mirrors
an awareness leap
fear births awe...
for Hilda and
her posting of
Psalm 67
Mar 2013 · 6.5k
Approaching loss
CharlesC Mar 2013
finding this morning
awareness of loss
the obituary entry
this physical sense..
those lesser deaths
portrayed as loss
fill electronic news..
Approaching loss
or loss Approaching..?
loss seems woven
into our fabric..
our morning Nutrition:
approaching is longing
to locate disclosures
of buried light
under the garments
we wear...
Mar 2013 · 805
I am Bette..
CharlesC Mar 2013
and I am fine..
she speaks first
this her report
each Monday noon
when our group
Soup Salad Scripture
convenes to her
weekly de-light..
Visiting her home we
met precision and grace..
a white decor reflects
her sun-lightened hair..
in her elevated space
we imagined the Peak
closer than before..
her walls portray
her art fascination
a loving life partner
all in this Moment
times in Alaska
and the wide world..
with all this
she served us wine..
we know now
she is Bette
and she is fine...
A tribute to a ninety-one year young friend.....
Mar 2013 · 4.0k
a STARBUCKS revisit
CharlesC Mar 2013
Over the centuries
a transforming logo
promoting and shaping
our dance with coffee..
a seafaring birth
fifteenth century siren
exposed and sensuous
twin-tailed mermaid..
her seductive history
reached to Seattle
with nautical theme..
one lasting effect
many centuries told
with modified modesty
her crown remains..
this enduring connection
upper and lower
crown and creation
transcends the coffee..
the logo reminds us:
senses through time
stimulate and attract
crowned light above...
Feb 2013 · 3.4k
a stop at STARBUCKS
CharlesC Feb 2013
this American crossroads
on a cold winter night..
parallel people observed
their laptops and smartphones
foci of isolated attention
connecting to elsewhere..
no central cheer
as might be conjured
in older places with
a warm central stove..
coffee art on the wall
seemed stagnant ignored..
youthful waiters serve up
Gold Coast Joe
Blonde Roast
to customers soon to
sit down and withdraw..
headlines in the NYT rack
reports political struggles
parallels of scale..
a barrenness..
these are parallel times...
Feb 2013 · 1.6k
Dialogue
CharlesC Feb 2013
is about WE..
promising new identity
for 2013..
WE brings peace as
Me serves conflict..
yet each Me serves
unique Self identity..
we might then say:
Some fondly wish for
blessed peace with
Self well preserved..
then this Question:
is it possible
when becoming WE
Self becomes Great..?
simple mirror reflections
among WEs of a group
brightens uniqueness of
each member Self..
this consciousness leap
a dialogue possibility
for 2013...
Feb 2013 · 845
the Saga
CharlesC Feb 2013
Nature's many centers
in each found
Inception and Division
forming potent seeds..
from a tiny Symmetry
living asymmetry shoots
proud differences reign
sameness lies hidden..
until  a longing
grows to imperative
for return home..
this quite brief
creation Saga...
Feb 2013 · 4.8k
Quilt worthy
CharlesC Feb 2013
Those who quilt
have their secrets..
emerging patterns
laced together..
an initiating flash
then flow of thread
filling the symmetry
with surprise..!
pained reluctance
those corrections..
finally uplifting joy..
Those who quilt
then ask this question:
does the recipient
of this labored gift
resonate with even
one-tenth appreciation..?
is she really
Quilt worthy...?
Feb 2013 · 3.6k
Mother Nature
CharlesC Feb 2013
Our many voyages
of desert and sea
the harshness observed..
smooth cushioned water
becomes raging storm..
a splitting violence
this external turbulence
kindles jolts of anger
then fear and supplication..
finally the Question..

tumult and danger
seem forceful prompts
suggesting surrender to
veils of indifference..
yet some find now
new possibility arising
to trace one's journey:
jagged roaring storm
stimulates and brightens
fading light within..

in these extremes
depths awaken heights
new sisterhood appears..
in one's journey log
a backward look
records hidden leaps
of courage and faith..
real awareness
of one's precarious
life String...
see Stephen Crane
"The Open Boat"
Feb 2013 · 3.2k
Near-Death-Experience
CharlesC Feb 2013
a morning conversation
with surprising anecdotes
of unique explorations..
reported confrontations
by science practitioners'
sudden dates with death..
now authoring testimonies
of their dimensional truth..
much comfort growing
from  ample recordings of
bright tunnel experience..
let us now inquire
are these flashing NDE's
consciousness leaps..?
might they point
to death's vital role..
at last finding
real self-awareness..
life in this moment..?

asking then..
is not each breath
our moment experience
of near death...?
See Dr. Eban Alexander
Proof of Heaven
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