Flower On The Water
March 30, 2009
Beauty meets beauty
As flower meets water
And the floating color
With petals in strong shelters
Drifts along
Beauty meets beauty
As the two lovers of life
Join together
One carried by the other
Having been dependent
Now immersed
Beauty meets beauty
As soul rests in spirit
As the flower is committed
To the life that sustains it
And dreams are left to fate
To the flow of the current
And to chance meetings
With the water’s edge
Beauty meets beauty
As the flower floats along
And the possibility still exists
That the water will choose
To overtake the flower
Or to carry it far away
These are the risks you take
When placing a flower
On the water
~wbv
The Rose Without Thorns
March 19, 2009
Behold the rose
The rose without thorns
Not because it started this way
And not because it will always be this way
But because the Keeper takes great care
In tending to every thorn as it is found
And the thorns that would hurt those
Who reach for this rose
Are slowly and steadily whittled down
See this thorn of fear
It can be removed by faith
By the trust of deeper meaning
And the comfort of knowing
That love remains
See this thorn of hurt
It can be removed by forgiveness
By the seed of tender mercy
And the sincerity that stems from
Having loved so deeply
See this thorn of anger
It can be removed by simple kindness
By the honest and open heart
Clinging to the knowledge that
Love can withstand conflict
See this thorn of entanglement
It can be removed by embracing freedom
By the soul determined to be free
And the realization that
Love can be as free as laughter
See this thorn of tension
It can be removed by peace
By the inner strength that comes from knowing
That the spirit can rest safely
In the crevice of faith and love
See this thorn of hampered expression
It can be removed by the quiet song of truth
By the gradual unfolding of what’s in the heart
And the slow and steady softening
Of the receiving vessel, through love
See this thorn of unmet needs
It can be removed by sharing those needs
With the right person, at the right time
And with the kind of humility that
Will allow others to truly love you
See this thorn of inner conflict
It can be removed by learning to love passionately
Those parts of you that seem to battle
By appreciating the depth and diversity
Of the love that you hold in your heart
See this thorn of wanting to hide
It can be removed by allowing yourself to be known
By understanding that you are a precious jewel
And that those who can’t see your implicit value
Don’t deserve to look upon your infinite beauty
See this thorn of unknown troubles
It can be removed by patience
By calm anticipation
And by allowing yourself to be immersed
In the love that endures all things
See this thorn of distance
It can be removed by coming close
By finding a deeper connection to
Those parts to which you wish to draw near
By love, by spirit, by the joining of souls
See this thorn of loneliness
It can be removed by enduring friendship
With the kind of friend who would die for you
Or live for you just as well
A friend who loves first
See this thorn of sadness
It can be removed by happiness
By the joy of knowing that
Where thorns have once grown
Loving kindness now prevails
Behold this rose without thorns
Where the layers of cover have been removed
Naked and pure, the rose sits waiting
Without thorns; full of love and beauty
Waiting to be seen
Waiting to be held
You are free, oh rose without thorns
To know, to love, to feel, to thrive, to see
You need not your thorns for protection
You need only to live, and to be
~wbv
That Window
February 13, 2009
I wish I could be in that window,
You know, from the reflection in your eye,
The one beside the door that
I wish I could walk through,
The one in the wall that
I wish weren’t between us.
I wish I could be in that window,
The one that’s part of the house I don’t live in,
You know the house…
It’s the one on the street I don’t walk down.
I wish I could be in that window,
And be part of your scenery,
Part of what you see and hear,
Part of the world you rely on,
Part of your everyday life.
~wbv
Why Flowers
December 30, 2008
A flower is precious
And we give it away
We give it away
Not because we don’t care for it
But because we do.
We give it away
Because it’s the loving thing
Because if we hang on forever,
It will eventually die.
We give it away
Because we love the flower
Because we have to
Because we need to
We give it away
Because we want it
To be given to us
And giving it away
Is the next best thing
~wbv
Forgotten
December 19, 2008
I’m talking to you
But you’re not listening
I’m speaking words
But you’re not hearing
I’m singing songs
But you can’t hear them
I’m dying inside
And you don’t seem to care
I’m looking for you,
But I can’t find you
My eyes are searching
But you are hidden away
I watch without resting
But you won’t be found
I’m dying inside
And you’re not here to notice.
I’m dreaming of you
But your essence eludes me
You are fresh on my mind
Yet I’ve forgotten your face
My heart is screaming
But my agony is useless
I’m dying inside,
And my soul has been forgotten.
~wbv
Pick Up A Flower
November 21, 2008
This is an excerpt from a book I’m reading. I liked it so I thought I’d share…
“Pick up a flower–a beautiful, living, fresh rose. It smells wonderful. It reveals a lovely rhythm in the swirl of its petals, a rich yet dazzling color, a soft velvety texture. It moves and delights us.
The problem with the rose is that it dies. Its petals fall; it shrivels up; it turns brown and returns to the earth.
One solution to this problem is to ignore the real rose and substitute a plastic one, one that never dies (and never lives). But is a plastic rose what we want? No, of course not. We want the real rose. We want the one that dies. We want it because it dies, because it is fleeting, because it fades. It’s this very quality that makes it precious. This is what we want, what each of us is: a living thing that dies.”
(From Buddhism Plain And Simple, By Steve Hagen)
Heart Away
October 29, 2008
Given Rose
It’s such a shame
You’ve left the hand
Yet I’m to blame
Taken Rose
One cannot see
Your fate is love
My love is grief
Fallen Rose
If left behind
To walk your path
See true the blind
Savored Grace
I will not leave
For fallen flower’s
Hidden keep
Inner Strength
Look past to see
Your colored life
Now withered be
~wbv
