GoZen Round
”Who says my poems are poems?
These poems are not poems.
When you can understand this,
then we can begin to speak of poetry.”
- Ryokan
These poems are not poems.
When you can understand this,
then we can begin to speak of poetry.”
- Ryokan
(If you understand they are not poetry...) – if we get beyond the definition of poetry, if we stop using our concept of poetry, whatever we were conditioned and taught to think poetry was/is and simply go into the place that it speaks of... allowing the words, like paint, to create the canvas on a blank slate of the imagination... (...then you see the poetry) The rhythm, the flow, the pulse bringing to life the words... those utterances from within, passing thru the throat, vibrating sounds that convey feelings... understanding, knowing, communicating with fellow beings in order to also be, becomes the poetry.
The written word is the transference of our utterances into symbols representing those sounds. The art is not in the words chosen, but words placed... a mental path directing the reader thru the world the writer is visualizing. Between each word is space, just as each word we say out loud is defined by the emptiness between each sound. We read, we hear our minds speaking each word that we see, but there is no sound... only the quite sound within. We speak to and listen to our inner silence, but silence is an incorrect word, isn’t it? We do ‘hear’ our thoughts, but without sound. We ‘talk’ in thought, speaking like we do on the ‘outside’, but those words we speak – they are spoken without sound. But we ‘hear’ those sounds, we put inflections, (emotions), to those un-spoken words.
We do not speak in silence, but speak quietly within silence. Silence is not simply the absence of sound, but the space between sound, the eternal silence that contains matter, sound, thought... all things. The poetry of life, a poetic way of attempting to define the experience. Without silence there would be no thing.
Silence births existence. Within silence burns the smokeless flame – the eternal Light, radiating in full giving, expecting nothing in return, but simply illuminating, illuminating, illuminating. How can we relate an experience larger than Mind? The experience, the realization happens outside Mind. Mind is limited in understanding. That is why mind performs... it has a need to know, because mind doesn’t know. Mind never learns every thing. It would not be Mind if it did. ind wasn’t given to man to know all, but to understand our life, our survival... our potential. Imagine if Mind knew it all – it would cease functioning, its purpose fulfilled.
We are still evolving. Mind assists us to evolve. We have a long way to go. We are a dust mote in the universe on a journey that we attempt to understand. How many of us are guilty of spending too much time trying to know and not enough time simply enjoying? Our egos are so excitable... the information overload in our society pumping out facts and figures, needs and desires, religions and philosophies... billions of words pumped out daily, worldwide, to educate, entertain and enlighten our lives. It’s amazing that we can put words together that are able to identify ourselves. Out of all the words used, it is the placement and the choice together with the word and the silence between that defines us, making that ego-life, which is our own identity, our own potential, our authenticity.
We are all unique amongst ourselves, just as in nature no one flower is identical to another, no tree sharing the same space as another, no river the same as another. Even oceans share the same waters but have a unique space which is there own identity. Only one earth, one solar system as this, within one constellation... unique with it's own identity. Mind calls this amazing thing ‘amazing’... another may call it ‘a mystery’ or ‘wonderful.’ Thousands of words in every language.... each description unique.
Do we have any choice in being anything but ourselves? Choice is not what we are, but what we do. This is what we are given at the moment of birth, we grow and become what we are born to be by doing. This doing is initially instinctive before we become socialized. We have choices, we have directions, we have things we must do, things we enjoy, things we endure, things we build and destroy – taking from one to make another, transference of matter into another purpose. All Life does this. Transforming, growing, reproducing... within Life we give, within Life we take. Matter, thought, emotion, each expressing its being through the tools of the matter it inhabits... life changing as it will as it does.
___________
it is not the wheel
but the center of
the wheel
that takes us on
our journey
the center of being
where our force
drives us to
our potential
each moment
a pulse
between the
silent calm
suspending
Self
its purpose
its being
always for good
giving
giving
giving
for us to become
that which we are
within our center
where all things
have come
and all things
shall return
goZen round
and round and round
the wheel
we go
within/without
into being
a poem
sharing
sharing
sharing
what life
is giving
now
.
now
.
now
___________
it is not the wheel
but the center of
the wheel
that takes us on
our journey
the center of being
where our force
drives us to
our potential
each moment
a pulse
between the
silent calm
suspending
Self
its purpose
its being
always for good
giving
giving
giving
for us to become
that which we are
within our center
where all things
have come
and all things
shall return
goZen round
and round and round
the wheel
we go
within/without
into being
a poem
sharing
sharing
sharing
what life
is giving
now
.
now
.
now
___________
cecil
13 july 2008
[originally written 02 may 2004... tweaked for today]
