Compelling: Spicy Repast

Getting mad about
Not being present:
Losing now
And finding it
In preparing supper;

Seeking meaning in
Chopping vegetables,
But discovering rage
And hacking away angrily;

This fury arose unbidden
From nowhere
And continued unabated,
Could not be sated;

And so, I waited impatiently
For the stew to cook,
This ire served up hot
And sticky;

Resentment, bitterness
Flavours this meal,
More spicy than the black pepper
That I shake into it;

Yet as empty as
The knife I cut with,
And as sharp as
The blade.

From whence does this irateness arise?
And when will it go?
To neither of these questions
Do I have the answer;

And so, I just keep watch
On the contents of the pot stirring,
And try lowering the temperature
To prevent the burning.

Compatible: Just What’s Happening

Cold coming on:
Sore throat,
Fatigue, malaise,
But eerily calm.

Sleeping poorly
But drowsily settling in,
Breezing through
Barely touching the ground,

Easing through,
Relaxing dreamily,
Seemingly sedate,
Too tired to be irate.

Listening to sounds,
Seeing shapes,
Feeling sensations,
Smelling somebody’s food cooking faraway.

Being with the body,
Noticing its rhythms;
Energy is lacking
But I’m still dancing.

Working steadily,
Enjoying the ride;
Reflecting on the reality
Through which we slide,

Putting that aside
To flow with the tide:
Making waves
And being one,

Floating along
Never far flung,
Staying in close
But not holding on.

Compassionate: Growth

A nothing day,
Difficult meditation
And deeply depressed mood
Broken finally by
A mantra:
Breathe, relax, open
To whatever is here,

Like the Hindu god Shiva,
Breaks open the egg
So that the baby bird
Can emerge
From there
To begin
A new life.

Then mindfulness
Of breathing commenced,
With everything else
In the background,
And the hatchling found shelter there,
Full presence given to
This being;

Offered comfort as well,
And then depression and anguish
Replaced by compassion
And understanding;
The fledgling stretched
Its wings towards the rising sun,
And basked in the warmth.

A nothing day transformed
Into a beautiful evening,
And a gentle night,
One of peace, ease and steadiness;
With confidence
That as the wings grow stronger
This bird will soar above the clouds.