A coil of light/ patterns broken and remade/in the path to certitude
-Poem by June
“None have I sought nor any will I seek save Thee; no path have I trodden nor any will I tread but the path of Thy love. In the darksome night of despair, my eye turneth expectant and full of hope to the morn of Thy boundless favor…”
-‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Baha’i Prayers
For More Nineteen Months Inspirations NINETEEN MONTHS
Impressions
Monet
I
A cathedral attracts me
Day by Day
To find the way light
Falls.
I see gaps of darkness
Fade away,
But oh
How I long
For my garden
Red poppies
Flowing river
Waves in ponds
Bridges suspended over
Reflections
Of a garden in water.
Lotuses form lilies
Whispering to me
Mocking my blindness as
I look through glasses,
See strange tints
Reflecting outside
The way
Time falls.
II
I think you would have painted the cane
And built a garden in tropical terrain.
Your canvas would have contained the Ulysses
Fleeting life frozen on canvas.
You would have captured the Misty Mountains at every time of day
The golden gumboot would not have been your choice.
You would have liked a hut I see on the way to Cardwell
Or a tiny church I know that’s tucked away in the cane.
You might have spent some time camping on Dunk Island
And joined their artist’s colony.
You would have wandered the beach when you were blind
And listened to the songs of the dugong out at sea.
(c) June Perkins
I shared this poem once before, but only the first part. I began to speculate what would happen if Monet came to North Queensland.
From Robert Okaji’s blog O at the Edges.
Requiem II
To say what becomes: this word
bends in the wind of our
breath. Is this too simple to
say? Our bodies gather yet retain
nothing. Numbers, phrases, the way
the ocean rolls. Once I saw
a whale at dusk. Or rather I saw its
tail part the water and disappear
into darkness, an answer too complex
and sweet for tongues to comprehend.
But waves seldom explain. Imagine
something nearby but beyond reach.
Think of clouds and shrines, consider light.
Suzanne says, “I’m an artist and a writer. My current creative expressions include photography, digital imaging and writing haiku. I live in s.e Australia and spend as much time as possible in nature.” A big thanks to Suzanne for permission to share her poem for the light theme on this blog. Suzanne is the third poet in my light series and I have been following her blogging and haibun journey for sometime..
Thanks to AB for permission to reblog this poem. You can find more of his poetry at Perspectives on life, the universe and everything. AB is the second guest poet on the Light theme.
AB Writes:
When I was young I created a long list of things to do and places to visit. I also created a set of skills which I thought would greatly benefit me to live a fulfilling life. Finally I also promised myself that whatever happens I don’t want to live a life which is just ordinary. This is the place where I will tell you what extraordinary things are happening around me. ..’
Circle within circles, illumination store
Lightening beams spiralling out of a floor
Random thoughts, distractions immense
travelling through time, still wishing for more
This year I hope to share lots of poems from friends and myself on the theme of light. Why?
It is the International Year of Light.
Here is the first offering from Celia Berrell of science rhymes. ‘Stepping into the Limelight’
Stepping into the Limelight
Before the days
of dazzling electricity
nocturnal shadows
shrouded performers in gloom.
A candlelit room offered
only tepid flickering for bravados.
Then charismatic chemistry
came to the show.
Quicklime (calcium oxide)
seared to two and a half
thousand degrees Celsius
caused a sizzling sensation
at Covent Gardens in 1837.
Torched nodules of lime
radiate a fanfare of photons
that splash radiance on those
who dare to step into its limelight.
So eminently white
and applaudingly bright!
Now it’s our turn to shine.
(c) Celia Berrell
Celia says, ‘I’m celebrating the International Year of Light and light technologies by appreciating one of the aspects of our somewhat hazardous history of brilliance.’
For more of Celia’s work visit:
Website: www.sciencerhymes.com.au
Facebook: Celia Berrell’s Science Rhymes
Twitter: @ScienceRhymes
Ancient ones watch unseen
I never see them but others do.
They take them to be spirits that protect
and wonder that I can’t see them
when to them they’re so clear.
Uncle Neville comes to stay
tells me
‘there’s an old man watching outside your door.’
Later an old woman is listening to my poetry
as I stand in New Zealand before Maori women’s writing group
as their guest
Are they my bubus or are they more ancient still?
Where do they come from to remain unseen?
Do I feel their breath whenever I sing
calling to me
words to unpack the unknown?
Ancient ones form
invisible threads of light
stitch the bird song
the stars and insight.
(c) June Perkins, words and image
There are days when you can play
with shadows to see the light
you can find these on journeys
past cane and fallen down trees
Life has corners you can’t see
twists and turns
still photography.
Sometimes we don’t see connections
We go and miss
the shimmering.
Sometimes we don’t see the beauty
We’ve forgotten how to feel.
You can chase the sunlight
across the window panes.
You can turn it into
anything you want.
Climb and clamber
shine and Sway
in the forests
light the way.
Capture a glimpse of connection
dream of nature’s rhapsody
make this a day to remember.
Chase the shadows into light.
Sometimes we don’t see connections.
We go and miss the shimmerings
Sometimes we don’t see the beauty,
We’ve forgotten how to feel.
Make this a day to remember
Chase the shadows into light
(c) June Perkins, song lyric.
My heart cries for them by night.
My soul speaks to them by day and
my loving arms can never quite reach far and wide enough
to hold them all within my love.
They say – your time is precious and
your heart too weak to carry their burdens.
They say – take time for yourself,
don’t get in too deep;
but deep are the cuts they inflict on their frail and shaking wrists
deep, is the hole our society has dug for them and
deep is how far I will go in order to pull up the hands of those who need me.
They say you will burn out
but the only burning I feel is the fire of love in my heart.
The only burning I see are the tears
that burn tracks of sadness down their defeated faces.
My heart will burn endlessly for them like a candle,
like a candle that burns and sacrifices its wax,
only to give light to a dark room for a short time.
I will burn for them.
You are light – I want to tell them
You are beauty – I want them to see
You are all that you need and more
And you are the love inside of me.
Society has failed you
Your parents too tired to see,
Your own self you seem to have lost,
But you will find solace in me.
By Raffi Daliri
I read this beautiful poem from Raffi Daliri on facebook today and asked her if I could share it as it’s full of ripples light.
It reminds me of this quote ‘The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn’t been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.’ Pablo Casals (Spanish Cellist and Conductor)” – June Perkins
Ripple Poetry 