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.