A poetry thread.

A place to discuss casual topics amongst spiritual friends.
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Crazy cloud
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Re: A poetry thread.

Post by Crazy cloud »

Always Mine!

by Emily Dickinson


Original Language English

Always Mine!
No more Vacation!
Term of Light this Day begun!
Failless as the fair rotation
Of the Seasons and the Sun.

Old the Grace, but new the Subjects --
Old, indeed, the East,
Yet upon His Purple Programme
Every Dawn, is first.

:candle:
If you didn't care
What happened to me
And I didn't care for you

We would zig-zag our way
Through the boredom and pain
Occasionally glancing up through the rain

Wondering which of the
Buggers to blame
And watching for pigs on the wing
- Roger Waters
Leon-nl
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Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2012 11:44 pm

Re: A poetry thread.

Post by Leon-nl »

boris wrote:
Leon-nl wrote: An eternity of fire in your Hell
Is better than your life of ice on Earth
Very unintelligent. There is only one worse thing than hell, that is not knowledge of The Four Noble Truths.

And here, problem comes, what if homosexuality is wrong kind of sexual behavior? In this case our religious man would be right knowing properly what is good and what is bad for him as well for others.

Of course, he may be wrong. Unfortunately this cannot be known to us, we can only believe in this or that. We can read Suttas in order to understand how things are, what Lord Buddha says on this topic and as a matter of fact there is nothing in Suttas which could justify idea that homosexuality is quite innocent activity. Certain ajahn says that the opposite is also true, but since any kind of sexual activity is rather on the side of akusala since is connected with desire and lust mentioned above ajahn should not be trusted greatly.

But perhaps an author just simply does not take seriously danger of hell. For him word "hell" is just poetical expression which does not correspond with anything real. This is his belief. I can rightly be classified as religious fundamentalist, but it does not mean my belief in hell is wrong. We will see. :smile:
Boris, I already said:

"Not really Buddhist but I want to share it anyway as I think it is beautiful."

Obviously, this poem was written against religious fundamentalists of the Abrahamic religions and their concept of hell.
In Buddhism there is no reason to treat gays and lesbians differently (as compared to straight people).
And that goes for both sexual and non-sexual activities.
I think it is striking that you immediately started talking about sexual activities - being gay or lesbian is more than that.

Boris is your name.... you're from Russia?
“Look on the world as empty, Mogharāja, being always mindful.
Having removed wrong view of self, in this way one will cross beyond Death.
When looking on the world in this way the king of Death does not see one.” - Sn 5.15
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ryanM
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Re: A poetry thread.

Post by ryanM »

The Mother

When your mother has grown older,
When her dear, faithful eyes
no longer see life as they once did,
When her feet, grown tired,
No longer want to carry her as she walks –

Then lend her your arm in support,
Escort her with happy pleasure.
The hour will come when, weeping, you
Must accompany her on her final walk.

And if she asks you something,
Then give her an answer.
And if she asks again, then speak!
And if she asks yet again, respond to her,
Not impatiently, but with gentle calm.

And if she cannot understand you properly
Explain all to her happily.
The hour will come, the bitter hour,
When her mouth asks for nothing more.
Adolf Hitler, 1923.
sabbe dhammā nālaṃ abhinivesāya

"nothing whatsoever should be clung to"
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Nicholas Weeks
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Re: A Halloween poem

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Two Ghosts Converse by Emily Dickinson
I died for beauty, but was scarce
Adjusted in the tomb,
When one who died for truth was lain
In an adjoining room.

He questioned softly why I failed?
‘For beauty,’ I replied.
‘And I for truth, — the two are one;
We brethren are,’ he said.

And so, as kinsmen met at night,
We talked between the rooms,
Until the moss had reached our lips,
And covered up our names.
Good and evil have no fixed form. It's as easy to turn from doing bad to doing good as it is to flip over the hand from the back to the palm. It's simply up to us to do it. Master Hsuan Hua.
jeanschreib
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Re: A poetry thread.

Post by jeanschreib »

there is no god on this mountain top; the fires
were
put out long ago

by the Tathagata’s hush. The stone altar

clear of blood
is cooled

to the touch--
a nerve ending.
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Nicholas Weeks
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Re: A poetry thread.

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Awakening

The lights shone down the street
In the long blue close of day:
A boy's heart beat sweet, sweet,
As it flowered in its dreamy clay.

Beyond the dazzling throng
And above the towers of men
The stars made him long, long,
To return to their light again.

They lit the wondrous years
And his heart within was gay;
But a life of tears, tears,
He had won for himself that day.
A.E. (George William Russell)
Good and evil have no fixed form. It's as easy to turn from doing bad to doing good as it is to flip over the hand from the back to the palm. It's simply up to us to do it. Master Hsuan Hua.
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cappuccino
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Re: A poetry thread.

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Nicholas Weeks
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Re: A poetry thread.

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

By The Margin Of The Great Deep

When the breath of twilight blows to flame
the misty skies,
All its vaporous sapphire, violet glow and
silver gleam
With their magic flood me through the
gateway of the eyes;
I am one with the twilight's dream.

When the trees and skies and fields are one
in dusky mood,
Every heart of man is rapt within the
mother's breast:
Full of peace and sleep and dreams in the
vasty quietude,
I am one with their hearts at rest.

From our immemorial joys of hearth and
home and love
Strayed away along the margin of the
unknown tide,
All its reach of soundless calm can thrill me
far above
Word or touch from the lips beside.

Aye, and deep and deep and deeper let me
drink and draw
From the olden fountain more than light or
peace or dream,
Such primeval being as o'erfills the heart with
awe,
Growing one with its silent stream.
A.E.
Good and evil have no fixed form. It's as easy to turn from doing bad to doing good as it is to flip over the hand from the back to the palm. It's simply up to us to do it. Master Hsuan Hua.
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Nicholas Weeks
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Location: USA West Coast

Re: A poetry thread.

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

The Unknown God

Far up the dim twilight fluttered
Moth-wings of vapour and flame:
The lights danced over the mountains,
Star after star they came.

The lights grew thicker unheeded,
For silent and still were we;
Our hearts were drunk with a beauty
Our eyes could never see.
A.E.
Good and evil have no fixed form. It's as easy to turn from doing bad to doing good as it is to flip over the hand from the back to the palm. It's simply up to us to do it. Master Hsuan Hua.
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Mahabrahma
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Re: A poetry thread.

Post by Mahabrahma »

Green grass
Cascaded by the fire

Of things that have come to pass
Of a long tarnation's trek we've tried

Is this the last one?
No one who came here can think so

So look alas to the burnt tones
Of a world suffering despite our treasure troves

One doesn't learn in order to burn
One doesn't swim in order to drown

So get-a-raking this old grass to be thrown
Into a wailing pile, because these days will come all back again

What do you know?
An even throw

We'll work forever
Just like the Bodhisattva Who Disparaged--Never!

Until the rains will come
And then we'll finally have some fun...
-my old odd ways of writing poetry.
Last edited by Mahabrahma on Fri Dec 29, 2023 2:16 am, edited 3 times in total.
That sage who has perfect insight,
at the summit of spiritual perfection:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

-Dhammapada.
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Nicholas Weeks
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Re: A poetry thread.

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

God, Give Us Men !
God give us men! A time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands.
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking;
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty and in private thinking;
For while the rabble with their thumb-worn creeds,
Their large profession and their little deeds
Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps.
Josiah G. Holland
Good and evil have no fixed form. It's as easy to turn from doing bad to doing good as it is to flip over the hand from the back to the palm. It's simply up to us to do it. Master Hsuan Hua.
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Nicholas Weeks
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Re: A poetry thread.

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

The Hermit

Now the quietude of earth
Nestles deep my heart within;
Friendships new and strange have birth
Since I left the city's din.

Here the tempest stays its guile,
Like a big kind brother plays,
Romps and pauses here awhile
From its immemorial ways.

Now the silver light of dawn,
Slipping through the leaves that fleck
My one window, hurries on,
Throws its arms around my neck.

Darkness to my doorway hies,
Lays her chin upon the roof,
And her burning seraph eyes
Now no longer keep aloof.

And the ancient mystery
Holds its hands out day by day,
Takes a chair and croons with me
By my cabin built of clay.

When the dusky shadow flits,
By the chimney nook I see
Where the old enchanter sits,
Smiles and waves and beckons me.
A.E.
Good and evil have no fixed form. It's as easy to turn from doing bad to doing good as it is to flip over the hand from the back to the palm. It's simply up to us to do it. Master Hsuan Hua.
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Nicholas Weeks
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Re: A poetry thread.

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Oversoul

I am Beauty itself among beautiful things.
Bhagavad-Gita.

The East was crowned with snow-cold bloom
And hung with veils of pearly fleece :
They died away into the gloom,
Vistas of peace—and deeper peace.

And earth and air and wave and fire
In awe and breathless silence stood ;
For One who passed into their choir
Linked them in mystic brotherhood.

Twilight of amethyst, amid
Thy few strange stars that lit the heights,
Where was the secret spirit hid ?
Where was Thy place, O Light of Lights ?

The flame of Beauty far in space—
Where rose the fire : in Thee ? in Me ?
Which bowed the elemental race
To adoration silently ?
A.E.
Good and evil have no fixed form. It's as easy to turn from doing bad to doing good as it is to flip over the hand from the back to the palm. It's simply up to us to do it. Master Hsuan Hua.
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Nicholas Weeks
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Re: A poetry thread.

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

The Great Breath

Its edges foamed with amethyst and rose,
Withers once more the old blue flower of day :
There where the ether like a diamond glows
Its petals fade away.

A shadowy tumult stirs the dusky air;
Sparkle the delicate dews, the distant snows ;
The great deep thrills, for through it everywhere
The breath of Beauty blows.

I saw how all the trembling ages past,
Moulded to her by deep and deeper breath,
Neared to the hour when Beauty breathes her last
And knows herself in death.
A.E.
Good and evil have no fixed form. It's as easy to turn from doing bad to doing good as it is to flip over the hand from the back to the palm. It's simply up to us to do it. Master Hsuan Hua.
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cappuccino
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Re: A poetry thread.

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