Arrivals and Departures

Once again this year, I journeyed to Ireland. Something about the land fires my imagination and feeds my soul, and I will be posting poems written during my trip in days to follow. This morning, though, my poem is a response to meeting life's goals... and setting new ones.

When you get to where you are going,

And you will,

Celebrate it,

Sing it,

Take wing and BE it.

Let that feeling sink into your marrow

Then, with joy in your soul

Look down the long hallway of your life.

You will see a door

Adorned with sparkles and draped with party streamers.

This is your next goal.

Go forward with glee.

Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

Journey to Ireland

A light like long ago hearth fires

Wind that echoes chants of ancient clans

Green like comfort wrapping flowered jewels

Smiles that speak soulfully before words are said

These are my memories of Ireland

Soon I will know if there's something I've forgotten

Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

The Paradox at the Center of Creation

All one, all one,

Let's get together and sing this song

And if your tune differs from mine,

We will settle it with a war

For we all must sing in unison

To make the glorious noise....

What, you disagree?

How can we resolve this, for

It is at the very heart of all?

But then, perhaps it is not the song that sings the praises,

No, not the song at all, but only the singing. 

And if one sings of this and another of that

But we all learn to sing so our own light shines forth,

The most glorious noise of all will fill the halls of creation.

Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

Questions

The student queried teacher, asking, "Who am I, what is my place?"

Teacher answered this way:

 

The rock on the hillside stands solid,

A silent sentinel to life in the valley

Until wind and water wash him away.

He doesn't ask why.

 

The mockingbird sings a sweet song

Learning new songs from others around him.

He doesn't hesitate to sing,

Never asks, "which song is mine?"

 

The water in the spring bubbles forth

Flows into a journeying river

Then later becomes a lake.

Yet water asks neither his name nor his place

 

You, my student, with your mind alight with knowing,

You can be any of these you desire.

Cast your thought outward,

Be the sentinel on the hill, the voice in the sky, the water bubbling forth

For you share the consciousness of all.

Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

Solstice Song

Today stretches before me

The longest day of the year -

What will I do with it?

What part of my being will I give 

   in an effort to build life?

What intention will I send forth into the future?

This is my creation story,

Played out on the canvas of my life

If I keep my colors wibrant,

If I mix them with care,

If I show my work in the light of hope and joy

It could be a masterpiece.

Today is an important day

In my creation story

Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

Every Particle

Since tomorrow is my birthday, it seems appropriate to give birth to a new poem here today. Here goes:

We see symmetry in the wings of a butterfly

And the face of a child,

Balance in the branches of a tree

And the weight of its leaves.

We freeze the images in our minds

And call them perfection.

Yet there is change in life,

Shiftings, endings, beginnings

Like glass in a kaleidoscope

We rearrange as we change.

We call this Creation.

And as the master painter blends color on his palette

To create new hues,

And the poet seeks new metaphors

To bring meaning into light,

So nature builds from tiny particles,

Each particle essential to the universe

Even as they come and go.
Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

Wisdom of Roses and Stones

What have you seen, what have you seen
Great stone that stands on the mountain
Your term is much longer than mine
Your view is much broader than mine
What have you seen?

I have seen much that's come and gone
I have seen birds, and heard their song
All that I've seen I have gathered within
Come, touch me and learn what I know

What have you seen, what have you seen
Sparkling rose that blooms 'neath my window
Such a short time is given to you
Such a small space encompasses you
What have you seen?

 I have made love with spiders and bees
In return I give scent to the breeze
My soft petals will fall full of sweet memories
Come touch them then you, too, will know

And I do know that here within me
Are the views of the stone and the heart of the rose
Between them I walk, united with each
Calling their wisdom my own
Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

Belief

I've been thinking about what next to post here. Given what is going on around us - market crashes, floods, the spewing of oil into fragile spaces on a scale bringing destruction we can't even fathom - it is sometimes difficult to reach for thoughts of joy and peace. And yet, I think that is exactly what we should be doing, now perhaps more than ever. I am a believer that thought creates reality. I am a believer in hope.

My poem today is an answer to a question we all must sooner or later ask.

What is it I believe?

  I believe that belief itself is our most powerful tool of creation

  I believe we can hold fast to what we want, knowing it must come

  I believe that, however dark the times,

    our beliefs bring light to illumine what is good

  I believe that, in force, our beliefs unite for purpose

    and we manifest what next is seen to be true

  I believe in love of mother and fathers and sisters and brothers

    and of our singular mother, Earth

May our beliefs bring light to dark places and joy to our days

So that well-being must be felt even by those who doubt.

Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

If We Listen

If we listen,

We first will hear the silence

Of the secret place within us

That awaits the lesson

If we listen, 

We next will hear a song,

A melody that sings with us

And is ours to keep

If we listen,

And share our new found melody

All the wisdom locked in nature

Will suddenly seem clear

Shall we listen?

Give ourselves to messages of soul?

If we do, we fill our secret reservoir

With all we need to know

Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

May We Know Peace

Today I once again write about peace, but this time with a more prayerful approach.

May we see the peace that is the center of All

May we hear the music of daily creation

May we feel the joy at the core of our being

May we taste the abundance that sustains us

And smell the perfume of our earth

May all our earthly senses open to what is manifest

So that our broader sense may know

Our connection to the universe

It is then that we will understand that

Peace truly is the center of All

Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

Center of Peace

I walk outside,

Stretch in the early sunshine,

Give thanks for the spring warmth

That has awakened my roses.

I am feeling the oneness with...

     Hey, why can't my neighbor's gardener

     clear the damn leaves without

     the infernal racket of that

     unholy air blowing machine?

I pause,

Catch the rancor of my thought,

Notice that the rose is still bright

And the warbling bird still calls for his mate.

At this, I realize the

Center of Peace must be within me.

Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

Elemental Staircase

It's been a long climb up the staircase
Leaving the perils of nature behind
We no longer suffer the cold or the dark
Nor need fear the predator's teeth

We've come a long way from our past
We've abandoned our rough pagan ways
Divorced from the need for pure faith
We listen when scientists speak

But what have we left by the wayside?
What pleasures are now beyond reach?
Can we still see that God is beside us?
Can we still hear the truth in a breeze?

Yes, the climb here has served us well
Brought us comfort and riches and ease
Yet so often we find ourselves reaching
For the life of our long ago days

Still, the staircase we mounted remains
It can serve in a different way
Remembering such structures stretch both up and down
We can reclaim the truths at its base

Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

Varieties

Today I went through some of the writings that have been shared during the morning meditation calls I participate in when I have a chance. I'll share another poem of mine here, and follow with others in the next few days. But I would like to recommend another poetry blog written by another participant in our meditations. The poet is Anna Grossnnickle Hines, who also writes books for children. You can find her blog at www.aghines.blogspot.com.

Now, here is my poem for the day.

Varieties

Stones under my feet

Infinite variety of color, coarseness, texture

Some so hard we cannot break them

Some so soft they crumble beneath our step

Flowers in our gardens

Blossoms of endless beauty, season, tenure

Bright gaudy elegance in autumn

Sweet-scented pastel peace in spring

Animals walking with us

So different from each other and from us

Only strong lenses let us see the smallest

Yet the strength and size of others makes us small

Our world is made of wonders beyond knowing -

Rocks and blooms and beasts each with their place

May we celebrate our own place here amongst them

And honor the wide varieties of man

Copyright (c) 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

Paradox

I cannot tell a truth
As pure as the truth of a rose
All of the words that I know
Would fall far short of its beauty

I cannot define a limit
To the life of a deepening forest
Nor can I speak with the breath
Of a glistening mountain lake

Yet I do not stand outside
Of the truth or the breath or the beauty
For in nature is held in full
The essence of all that I am

Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

Friends Stay with Us Always

The other day, while waiting for a friend in a coffee shop, I pulled out a notebook and opened it at random to a poem I haven't thought of in some time. Later, as I spoke to my friend, I realized that the poem was exactly appropriate for the topic on her mind. Poems are like that... they like to answer questions before we know to ask them. This is the poem that spoke to my friend. Perhaps it will speak to you as well.

In Memory of Lost Friends

They are alive in me –
Everyone I’ve known –
Perhaps not as themselves
Through changes to my thoughts.
But alive in me they stay
Even those who’ve passed
It is a truth I welcome
For the comfort that it offers.
And since they are alive,
Are thriving in my thoughts,
I hope to find the joy in them
That stokes the joy in me.
And when someone new comes
To homestead in my heart
I’ll seek the best in them
For they will ever after live in me.
Copyright © 2009 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

Back with a Spate of Poems

It has been a long time since I have written here. I have a wealth of excuses, ranging from too many things to do to my husband going through a serious illness. But, they are all excuses. Suffice it to say that poetry still lives within me and fights to get out when I ignore it. For my first posting in months, here are a series of poems written in response to morning meditations based on excerpts from "Religions of the World and Ecology," published by Harvard University Press. The excerpts were compiled by Peggy Nash Rubin, extraordinary teacher/actor/human and part of Jean Houston's Mystery School. Thanks also to Elizabeth Austin, mentor and friend, for leading the meditations each day.

I
On the airwaves
Sunday pundits field accusations from both sides
Caught up in the drama
I feel my stomach clench
Then I step outside,
Watch a bee plumb the depts of an early blossom.
Even in the small space of my yard
Sun illumines truth beyond rebuttal
And I reconnect with peace.


II
Everyday
To sustain our lives
We choose what else must die...
It is fact.

Everyday
To advance our wellbeing
We bend nature to our will
In the act.

My prayer
Is that I take only as I need
And that my choices hold respect
For all I alter.

III
Outside three birch trees stand aligned.
Every year I watch as two burst into green.
Every year I fear the third will fail to flourish.

Then, slowly,
Tips on bowing limbs begin to green
Reminding me
Each living thing knows its season
Showing me
There is no such thing as too early
Or too late.

These are lessons I want to embrace.
Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.

Enough for now. I will publish others on an ongoing basis. I promise not to be "away" so long again.