Category Archives: Poetry

Peach Blossoms

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Sometimes the only healing modality for all this stress and anxiety is to go outside and work in the garden. Flowers don’t care if democracy is crumbling; there is regenerative rebirth every spring, no matter what or whom is orchestrating our demise.

After the rain, all my fruit trees burst forth with glorious flowers. It’s a small tree, but full of life. I’m continually fascinated with photographing raindrops.

Infinite peach-blossom shades,
her rouged and powdered cheeks.

Spring breezes help her break my heart,
blowing peach petals from her dress. — Yuan Zhen 

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

Poetic Truth : Pity The Nation

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We are living in sad and scary times. Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote the poem “Pity the Nation” in 2007, drawing inspiration from Khalil Gibran’s original work of the same title, published in 1933. Their words are a reminder about the cycles of history.  

We’ve been warned.

PITY THE NATION

Pity the nation whose people are sheep
   And whose shepherds mislead them
 Pity the nation whose leaders are liars
            Whose sages are silenced
  And whose bigots haunt the airwaves
 Pity the nation that raises not its voice
          Except to praise conquerers
       And acclaim the bully as hero
          And aims to rule the world
              By force and by torture
          Pity the nation that knows
        No other language but its own
      And no other culture but its own
 Pity the nation whose breath is money
 And sleeps the sleep of the too well fed
      Pity the nation oh pity the people
        who allow their rights to erode
   and their freedoms to be washed away
               My country, tears of thee
                   Sweet land of liberty!
 Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 2007

                         

PITY THE NATION
By Khalil Gibran, 1933

Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.

Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press.

Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.

Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.

Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins, and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.

Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.

Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again.

Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.

Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.

I See You

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I had another lucid dream about my kitty, Bandit. She was seated on the sofa, paws tucked up under her body, and she was simply looking at me.

When she was alive, she would often stare at me, right through to my bones, with such intense love in her eyes that I’d have to stop whatever I was doing and bask in the feeling of being so very loved. SIGH. I surely do miss that girl.

And, there
In the mists of my memory
I see you.
And, there
In the mists of my memory
You shall always be.

A little poem written by Athey Thompson

A Thousand Ways

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There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground;
there are a thousand ways to go home again.
Rumi

“There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground;
there are a thousand ways to go home again.”
Rumi

Photo credit Enchanted Seashells

Sea Heart

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Photo credit Enchanted Seashells

“Heart is sea,
Language is shore,
whatever sea includes,
will hit the shore.” Rumi

Reach For The Light

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When things are as bad as they appear to be here in the US, and with growing anxiety every day, sometimes all we can do is breathe and reach for the light wherever we can.

Light is the thing we seek
Within the darkest of day,
let it show us the way.

Little words by Athey Thompson
“Reaching for that Star” by Florian Ceglarek

Little Ghost Cat

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I’m trying to distract myself from all the horrible events going on in this country — too many to talk about — with memories of beautiful Bandit, who still visits me in my dreams. She was the real princess, not me.

“Hello, my love…”

Little Ghost Cat,
Sometimes, I hear your gentle purr
And feel the soft touch of your fur.
Then, late at night, old memories stir
Of the friend I loved and lost.

Little Ghost Cat,
By moonlight, now you come and go
Unseen and like moving water flow
O friend I loved and lost.

(I believe this poem is attributed to Barbara Parkhill Hall)

Follow Your Dreams

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She anchored her heart to a shooting star and followed her dreams.

Of all the stars I admired, drenched
in various rivers and mists,
I chose only the one I love,
Since then I sleep with the night.
Pablo Neruda

McMillanArtStudio

Look up!

Starting tonight, there’s a spectacular celestial event in the night sky as six planets—Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and Venus—align in an exciting planetary parade.

On January 29, the New Moon will turn the skies even darker, enhancing visibility for all planets and stars. A telescope or binoculars will reveal the finer details of Uranus and Neptune, while the other planets shine brilliantly on their own. Curated from Alex Myles

When planets align—that’s when magic can happen. As above, so below!

Heart/Light

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The first full moon of 2025 — the Wolf Moon in Cancer — emphasizes emotional depth, renewal, and balance. Associated with heightened awareness and introspection, this full moon is a gentle reminder about how important it is to provide our deepest inner feelings space to bloom. Don’t forget that Mars is still in retrograde until February 23, 2025.

As above, so below…

BEST Mantra for 2025: Ho’oponopono

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2025 looks to be a turbulent year, at least politically, and it’s going to take the positive intentions of ho’oponopono to counteract this impending toxicity.

We’re also impacted by the energies of the rare black moon in Capricorn. Today is the second new moon of December which is sometimes called a “black moon,” just as the second of two full moons in a month is referred to as a “blue moon”.

We can anticipate positive amplified new beginnings, shadow work and self-reflection, heightened manifestation and transformations, and spiritual protection.

This is a perfect time to activate ho’oponopono.

Photo of Kauai by Pascal Ingelrest on Pexels.com

Ho’oponopono, the ancient practice of forgiveness, works by focusing on self-reflection and
by repeating a simple mantra:

I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you, I love you.

This will cleanse negative energy within oneself and promote healing and reconciliation with others.

Ho’oponopono is based on the principle of taking total responsibility for one’s own experiences and the belief that we are all interconnected. By working on ourselves, we can positively impact the situations and people around us.

The word ho’oponopono roughly translates to “cause things to move back in balance” or to “make things right.” It’s a very zen concept. In native Hawaiian language, “pono” means balance, in the sense of life.

There are a few haoles (non-native, mostly white people) who seek to monetarily capitalize on this Hawaiian ritual by charging money to become certified in ho’oponopono. This is a pretty disgusting form of cultural appropriation and wholly unneccesary. The beauty of this practice is in its simplicity. Anyone can access the healing benefits by repeating the four sentences, silently or out loud.

I’m sorry
please forgive me
thank you
I love you