According to Buddha
The balanced rhythm of the universe is rooted in reciprocity.
to stare at the sky
i am wide open
reaching forever
i fly into the blue
i am wide open
reaching forever
i fly into the blue
flat mark
high tide
frantic to stay afloat
stay calm
let in some air i dare lie down
to stare at the sky
i am wide open
reaching forever
i fly into the blue
***
Jaume Plensa, The Bow, Calgary ~ October 2016
According to Buddha
Meet everybody and every circumstance on the battlefield of life with the courage of a hero and the smile of a conqueror.
and when the morning comes
i will feel that i am brave again
and when you pass me by
i will smile and then i’ll walk away
***
Bison ~ Elk Island National Park, Yellowhead Highway ~ October 2016
According to Buddha
To escape through wisdom from the oppressive narrowness of the self into the joyous omnipresence of the Self is the goal of human life.
they paved paradise
and put up a parking lot
with a pink hotel, a boutique
and a swinging hot spot
don’t it always seem to go
that you don’t know what you’ve got
’till it’s gone
they paved paradise
and put up a parking lot
***
behind Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta ~ October 2016
According to Buddha
I find my earliest memories covering the anachronistic features of a previous incarnation. Clear recollections came to me of a distant life, a yogi amidst the Himalayan snows. These glimpses of the past, by some dimensionless link, also afforded me a glimpse of the future.
there’s dawn on the mountain
twilight on the town
but i’m there in the spirit
times so pretty
that the teardrops healed the rust
i was turning over stones
looking for someone to trust
you were there in the spirit
are there in the spirit?
are you there?
i’m there in the spirit.
***
Sunset Tour, Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta
According to Buddha
Am I the ocean? It is too small, A dream dewdrop on the azure blades of space. Am I the sky? It is too small, A lake in the bosom of eternity. Am I eternity? It is too small, Framed in a name. In the vast region of namelessness I love to dwell, Beyond limits of dreams, names, conceptions. I am what I am always — In the ever-present past, In the ever-present future, In the ever-present now.
here’s what we know
we don’t know what we’ve got or if we’ve got it
and what we had, we already forgot it
the race is evidently to the bottom
we don’t, we don’t, we don’t know what to say
don’t know what it was but we want it back
***
random streets in Lisbon, Portugal ~ April 2016.
According to Buddha
One-half minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man effects subtle progress in his evolution; that half-minute of Kriya equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment.
you say you want a revolution
well, you know
we all want to change the world
you tell me that it’s evolution
well, you know
we all want to change the world
but when you talk about destruction
don’t you know that you can count me out
don’t you know it’s gonna be alright
alright, alright
***
inside Lisbon’s Cathedral in Alfama, Portugal ~ April 2016
According to Buddha
Stillness is the altar of Spirit. There is no limit of the deepening of stillness.
we are not alone
and we are more alone
so hurry up and lose me
hurry up and find me
again
so i’ll pass
the lumber mills
i’ll pass the coal mines
and the parks
and the dried up oil fields
i’ll pass a thousand lonely pines
that bend their backs against the sun
***
Saskatchewan Highway 16, 7 km off the highway ~ May 2016.
According to Buddha
Realize that you are not really a fleshly being; neither categorize yourself as a Hindu nor as an American, or any other conception you may have of yourself that is limiting and sense-bound. It is wrong to say that we are mortals when we are essentially immortal. It is the truth that we are gods, and it is wrong to call ourselves weaklings.
the heart has a way
of pushing you though the darkest days
we live in our mind
and it makes us all forget sometimes
can make life hard to tell
but if you can take a moment
and just listen to your heart
you will find there something to relive the pressure
***
random streets of Lisbon, Portugal ~ April 2016.
According to Buddha
Suffering is a good teacher to those who are quick and willing to learn from it. But it becomes a tyrant to those who resist and resent.
june 19, 2016
dearest dad
it’s father’s day. you’re in the foothills hospital. you’ve been in care with alberta health services since march 17th 2016…
and the…
professor of neurosurgery said
“your father is as strong as a bull…”
i said
wrong
nurse practitioner said
“your father doesn’t need to return to our clinic…”
i said
wrong
md looking at x-ray said
“it’s on the wrong side…your father was prematurely released by a resident doctor without looking at the tests…i’m sorry…”
i said
wrong
clinical and surgical assistant said
“your father will need a ‘relocation’ surgery…”
i said
wrong
md said
“your father will have another 5 years…”
i said
wrong
clinical and surgical assistant said
“here’s my personal number i’ll check on your father every day…”
i said
wrong
nurse said
“if you want to see a doctor from the adult hydrocephalus clinic i suggest you come before their rounds…anytime after 6am…”
i said
wrong
nurse said
“why are you here?…so sorry…”
i said
wrong
food server points at the breakfast tray and said
“here’s your father’s breakfast”
i said
wrong
resident doctor said
“oh really?…i’ll make sure the team’s nurse practitioner is here at 10am…”
i said
wrong
nurse said
“well no one from the team can meet you now…sorry…”
i said
wrong
patient care manager said
“write or phone in your concerns about what has happened to your father to our patient relations department…again, i’m so sorry…”
i said
wrong
nurse practitioner said
“does your father walk?…”
i said
wrong
nurse said
“oh your father will be in long term care…”
i said
wrong
nurse practitioner said
“your father will use the elevator when he leaves here…”
i said
wrong
nurse practitioner said
“your father had another stroke last week…the team came in…so let’s do another stunt study…then we’ll get a geriatrician…ok?”
i said
wrong
caretaker said
how’s your papa?
i cry*
i said
wrong (too long)
by the wrong means
it was the wrong plan
in the wrong hands
the wrong theory
the wrong questions
with the wrong replies
wrong
wrong
***
day #90 (2 months and 29 days), Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary, Alberta June 2016.
(* for my Father, Mother, and sister)
According to Buddha
Why be elated by material profit?” Father replied. “The one who pursues a goal of even-mindedness is neither jubilant with gain nor depressed by loss. He knows that man arrives penniless in this world, and departs without a single rupee.
by the sidewalk there with the cracks in it
with the mexican restaurant next to it
with the clothes for the big and the fat in it
and the moth ball smell to the hats in it
is the lonely little thrift store,
the hard luck little thrift store where i go
***
Feira da Ladra, Alfama, Lisbon, Portugal ~ April 2016
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