Guest guest Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 A week end Poem from Ivan. Somewhat complex, but his notes are worth reading. His thought for the day is right to the point! Best wishes for a happy and auspicious week end to all. Alan --- On Fri, 27/2/09, Poetry Chaikhana <ivan wrote: Poetry Chaikhana <ivan[Poetry Chaikhana] Denise Levertov - Scraps of moonalanadamsjacobsDate: Friday, 27 February, 2009, 6:11 PM Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana -- Scraps of moon By Denise Levertov(1923 - 1997) Scraps of moonbobbing discarded on broken waterbut sky-mooncomplete, transcendingall violationHere she seems to be talking to herself aboutthe shape of a life:Only OnceAll which, because it wasflame and song and granted usjoy, we thought we'd do, be, revisit,turns out to have been what it wasthat once, only; every invitationdid not begina series, a build-up: the marvelousdid not happen in our lives, our storiesare not drab with its absence: but don'texpect to return for more. Whatever morethere will be will beunique as those were unique. Tryto acknowledge the nextsong in its body-halo of flames as utterlypresent, as now or never. -- from The Great Unknowing: Last Poems, by Denise Levertov Amazon.com / Photo by Irargerich / ============ Thought for the Day: Ask--Who is this mysterious beingwearing my face, looking through my eyes,answering to my name? ============ Here's your Daily Music selection -- Kareem Roustom and El-Zafeer Ensemble Almitra's Question Listen - Purchase More Music Selections Hi Alan -Isn't that a wonderful opening image Denise Levertov gives us? We see "Scraps of moon / bobbing discarded on broken water" -- an image of the night sky scattered into separate, constantly moving pieces by the moving surface the water. But she follows with the statement, "sky-moon complete, transcending / all violation."She is building on the meditator's metaphor of the mind being like water reflecting the vision of the heavens. When the mind is agitated, it reflects an image of reality that is fragmented, chaotic, broken into separate objects. But when the mind is brought to a state of serene stillness, it then reflects the wholeness. Even the moon itself is not separate from the sky, but a part of the single continuity that is the sky-moon.Reality is not composed of separate objects and people. It is an interpenetrating oneness. This is the vision the still mind receives, "transcending / all violation."And from that starting point, Levertov drops into the awareness that "the shape of life" is "Only Once." Within this wholeness, the present moment is always unique, a profound mystery, and never to be missed. Each glimmering upon the surface of awareness, each experience, each moment is unfolding now -- not in the past, not in the future -- and therefore it is occurring only once. Never repeated.Somewhere in adolescence we start to mutter that mantra, "Been there, done that," and we put ourselves on auto-pilot. Been there, done that is never true -- not ever. Each experience is new, utterly itself and not from the past or to be repeated in the future. Even when an event occurs a second time, it is not the exact same event, but a new world unto itself.Denise Levertov's advice comes from a place of deep wisdom:...Tryto acknowledge the nextsong in its body-halo of flames as utterlypresent, as now or never.Have a beautiful weekend!Ivan Share Your Thoughts on today's poem or my commentary... New on the Poetry Chaikhana BlogIn addition to the daily poem, other recent blog posts include: Lover & Beloved - 3. A Taste of Bhakti - Comments (5) This isn’t a vague, bland, intellectual, or prim sort of love. The Bhakti’s love is passionate, powerful, all-consuming... More Video & Poetry - Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Come and Dance - Comments (1) The Buddhas say, “Come and dance!†A beautiful video of Tibetan Buddhist culture and dance, set to a gentle trance groove, and the modern Buddhist teacher Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche reading one of his poems. I think you’ll like this one. More Video - Inspiration - A fascinating, experimental animated short about the struggles and breakthroughs of the creative process. More Donations to the Poetry ChaikhanaI want to send out a sincere thank you to each one of you who contributed some of your hard-earned money in the last week:- Jeannine (TX), Alan (UK)...and the generous folks at Sattwa Chai in OregonAnd thank you to the new rs who signed up to contribute a regular amount each month.-Sharon, KoshinEach and every contribution makes a big difference in maintaining the Poetry Chaikhana.---A few reasons to consider making a donation of your own... More than 300 sacred poets. Timelines, traditions, poetic themes. Ivan's musings and comments. 'Nuff said. Donating is easy: Just drop a check in the mail, or take a minute online with PayPal. Ivan is always purchasing poetry books in search of new poets and good translations. Your contribution helps expand the library. A voluntary monthly subscription doesn't need to be forever. You can cancel the automatic donation at any time -- and still continue to receive the daily poem. Save the sacred poets! Ivan spends a certain amount of time each month searching for translations of poets and saints throughout history. Your donation helps him to continue this work. Support the Poetry Chaikhana Donations to the Poetry Chaikhana in any amount are always welcome. Thank you! Click here You can also support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you! Click here A small amount each month makes a big difference. Become a voluntary Subscriber for just $2/mo. Click here Help the Poetry Chaikhana reach more people. Become a Supporter for just $10/mo. Poetry Chaikhana HomeNew | Books | Music | Teahouse | About | ContactPoets by: Name| Tradition | Timeline Poetry by: Theme | CommentaryBlog | Forum | Video Channel www.Poetry-Chaikhana.com Poetry ChaikhanaP.O. Box 2320Boulder, CO 80306 Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers. ============ Plain Text: If you have any difficulty reading this HTML formatted email, please let me know and I can send you plain text emails instead. Cancelling: If you wish to stop receiving this Daily Poem email from the Poetry Chaikhana, simply reply to this email and change the Subject to "Cancel". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.