Gallant: Cultivating Seclusion

Cultivating seclusion
From
Greed and distress
Towards the world

This is the recurring theme,
The current scheme
Around which
I organized today's activities

How does one
Seclude the mind
From craving such delights
As a bowl of gourmet stew?

When filthy pesky pigeons
Rudely intrude, getting in the way,
How does one seclude the mind
From greed and distress?

(And these occurrences
Are mere perturbances,
Minor day-to-day irritations,
Not even major catastrophic cataclysms!)

It's impossible of course
But having accepted that as well,
One is free to carry on,
Benefiting now and in the long term

These actions requiring much effort,
Nevertheless provide much temporary relief
From the daily grief
Of plodding through this flawed world

And this work may herald
Further gains:
Freedom from imperfection;
The end of samsaric bane

Gale: Blown Away

Well, I made it through
Various tasks,
In spite of many missteps,
Only to be sidetracked by
Other people's mistakes

No happy medium
Between drowsiness
And nervous wreck,
Mind running amok

Thoughts, sensations,
Wildly plunging
Mishmash
Downpour, splash

Imperfection reigns,
Even when rains
Turn into reins
There are no gains

Falling back?
Or return to normal?
No time to examine now,
Not even tomorrow!

Meanwhile, a scramble
With a howl and a grumble
I bumble and stumble
Trying to keep up

Much of what I planned to do
Is unlikely
Rather than accomplishing a lot
I carry on just slightly 

Quickly!  Quickly!
Run!  Run!
I really have to hurry now
To get anything done

Gainsay: Sideswiped by Insight

"Misery is back," I wrote
While I was lying in bed
But I had no pen or paper then
And so I lost that thread

Twas likely the best bit of poetry
I'd written for a long while
Thus on top of all
I had this to regret

But I had no time to waste
On this busy day
With too much to do
And behind schedule already

I had to be steady
Even though I felt wobbly,
Had to keep going
Although it was slow

Completing my tasks
With little enthusiasm,
Pushing through a wall of fatigue,
Feeling too hot in this unseasonable heat

But finally I pause
To consider the nature of the world,
Examining the conditioned phenomena
For signs of what I saw before

Is it there anymore?
Or was that just a dream,
Another state of mind?
Of course it was!

That's all I see:
Imperfect shadows,
Flashes of light;
Sideswiped by insight