The Tao of Stars

Here under the night sky

my smile is reflected in moonlight

Away you are unaware

of my present stillness in your heart

It settles and warms

to the rhythm of your soul

Resonating with happy

that separate ways

Invite expansion and wonder

to love as one

Traveling each others being

we move together

Lightened and always remembering

the way...

I was unable to locate a collage John Lennon created of a woman in the moonlight however in searching I became aware of how appropriate I believe Mind Games is for me right now. Decembers Lunar Eclipse delivered me to where I wish I wasn't so I will try to focus on the Miracle of Love, even if my mind is playing games with me.......

The Scripture According to Patti Smith

For a couple of days after the Lennon Tribute, I tried to write something that would convey how Patti Smith’s performance blew me away. I was boring myself to tears and frequently using the delete key, with one syrupy recollection and rendition of the rehearsal and show after another. The show had awesome musical highlights that can be read about in various reviews however it wasn’t until Patti hit the stage that the show took a turn from music, entertainment and respect for John to SPIRIT. In an email addressing last minute performance concerns it had been suggested to the artists not to speak for more than 30 seconds because of the tight schedule. Outside of Claudia Marshall’s performer introductions I am unaware that anyone did speak, until Patti. She walked out onstage with a book of Kerouac and recited from The Scripture of the Golden Eternity. She then spoke about her own loss of her husband and how she looked to Yoko in finding meaning in her life, for herself and her children. She created magick with Strawberry Fields Forever and with Oh Yoko, welcoming Tony Shanahan to weave his voice with hers. Lucky for us that she’s not good at following directions or she doesn’t check emails or maybe that she just did what she wanted because every word she spoke conveyed a sharing of the spirit of Lennon’s life and music. She was awesome, lighting up the room with her presence that lifted the show to another place. I had never seen her perform before and her power was inspiring and true. It reflected a woman who is filled with quantum awakening in our universe. I believe somewhere out there is a constellation named after her……. Anyway, you may not find these thoughts in any of the reviews of the show, in which case, people need to open their eyes. People have the Power J

Thank you Patti Smith for sharing your light and I will hold dear the memory of sharing some Green and Black’s organic chocolate candy with you at rehearsal the day before, unaware how little my gesture was and much you would give to me the following night.

In honor of Patti, I’m posting a song that is a collaboration of another awe-inspiring quantum awakener in our universe, (got that? One Verse), John Trudells work with Annie Humphrey, ~Spirit Horses ~ and then I’m going out to buy my own book of Kerouac.

A Merchant in the Nutmeg Grove

Maybe I love children’s verse and rhymes because I taught preschool music for twenty years or maybe I taught preschool music for twenty years because I love children’s rhymes and verse. Looking back I think it’s the second half of the previous definite maybe that’s true. My dad and I had very heated arguments when I lived home because I would take his poetry book, The Oxford Book of English Verse, and not return it to his bedside table. Even if I had been out with friends and stumbled home after midnight I needed to read some ancient English verse or from Alice in Wonderland or the Arabian Nights before sleep. Archaic language and poetry were mind expanding even if I was reading through remnants of the nights purple haze. Last week I heard on wfuv radio that Natalie Merchant had taken children’s verse and put it to song. The next day I was the happy listener to her beautiful renditions of classic poetry. I am so pleased that from happy one can get happier because her songs have created happier in me. For now I will just mention “The King of China’s Daughter”. I love the orchestration, the imagery, the idea of being in a fragrant nutmeg grove. I love how the words tell their story of love with admiration and spirit awakening stories in me beyond knowing. It is just that effect in humanity that makes poetry invaluable. Thank you Natalie Merchant for reaching around the world and bringing timelessness and beauty into mine. And thank you Daddy for last spring when I found the Oxford Book of English verse in an old box of books, you remembered and gave it me. It’s been on my bedside since…

The King Of China's Daughter

The King Of China's Daughter,

She never would love me,

Though I hung my cap and bells upon,

Her nutmeg tree.

For oranges and lemons,

The stars in bright blue air

(I stole them long ago, my dear)

Were dangling there.

The Moon did give me silver pence,

The Sun did give me gold,

And both together softly blew

And made my porridge cold;

But the King of China's daughter

So beautiful to see

With her face like yellow water,left

Her nutmeg tree.

Her little rope skipping

She kissed and gave it me -

Made of painted notes of singing-birds

Among the fields of tee.

I skipped across the sea;

But neither sun nor moon, my dear,

Has yet caught me

Blessed Be

1. Blessed be

   Every note in the uni-verse

   Resonating in the heart of those who listen

   In endless arrangements of form and beauty

   Inspiring infinite blessings

   A gift of depth and expansion

   Creating ascension

   With all that is Holy in song

   
   

   The Abbey of the Arts Blog is having a Poetry Party until March 26th and this was my contribution to the theme "Blessed Be." Whether it be a song derived from nature like the 'heavy metal' chirping of the birds currently these Spring time mornings or a song written in any music genre or culture as an expression of human nature, all songs are woven with a thread of holiness. The sound created by the chirping of birds in the Spring is believed by some to help the grass, trees and flowers grow. Take notice in Summer how mornings will be quieter as their work has slowed down. The effect of music on the brain is believed to have helped create human nature. Music affects the body on a cellular level so deeply science is just beginning to tap the surface of the relationship between sound and growth. In the beginning was the word.......spoken word created the universe. Music is a powerful gift to all and one of the keys to the universe. Blessed Be.

Awakening

Today dreamed of spring

And the earth felt the beauty of awakening

The sky smiled blue

Each moment reflected in a different shade of happy

Until from the West a setting sun

Blessed the Way

For the rising Hunter

Sparkling in the twilight of the January sky

Touched by today’s dream of spring.

Last Thursday I woke remembering a dream fragment. I was looking up in the dark night sky at the constellation Orion. Nothing else from the dream returned to me. This time of year he is clearly visible and so the dream fragment and Mondays beautiful weather were my inspiration for the poem. I wrote it Monday night without an intention to post it here. I write poems and rarely share them. For some reason they are important to me and I am afraid to own up to it. I began to do it because they gave clarity to my day, especially if it was a really bad day. I could fix it in a poem and make it beautiful. Or at least try to. Meanwhile even if the rest of my day could fall apart I had the poem to keep changing til it was perfectly beautiful. Anyway, now you get the reason for the cowardly lion J