The well-known adage—A bird in hand is worth two in the bush—is typically used to encourage being grateful for what we already have, rather than pining for something currently out of reach. Putting aside, for the moment, the usefulness of such advice, let’s utilize the imagery itself to explore the notion of separation … Experiencing & Identifying the Birds Imagine I have a bird—say, a …
And Love
Morning-fair, follow me further back Into that minnowy world of weeds and ditches, When the herons floated high over the white houses, And the little crabs slipped into silvery craters. When the sun for me glinted the sides of a sand grain, And my intent stretched over the buds at their first trembling. That air and shine: and the flicker’s loud summer call: The bearded boards in the …
Practice Notes: Alicorn
Was thinking of unicorns the other day—curious, in particular, about whether their one horn was also called a “unicorn.” It made sense to me that this would be the case, but I wasn’t certain, so set off to explore … A few Googles later, here’s what I had learned: The root of the word unicorn is the Latin adjective unicornis (having one horn)—from uni (one) and cornus (horn). The horn …
Like A Bell
Silent friend of many distances, feel how your breath enlarges all of space. Let your presence ring out like a bell into the night. What feeds upon your face grows mighty from the nourishment thus offered. Move through transformation, out and in. What is the deepest loss that you have suffered? If drinking is bitter, change yourself to wine. In this immeasurable darkness, be the …
The Body Politic
Nature's intelligence shines clearly in her choice to protect, within various organisms, what is most valuable. Consider, for instance, the human body: Its brain is nestled within a sturdy skull, and the spinal cord within the fluid stronghold of the spinal column. The ribcage forms a protective barrier around other vital organs—heart, lungs, kidneys and spleen. And this is wise! Now, …
Ancient Promises
Every now and again, I discover a poem that I wrote many years ago, and had since forgotten. I love these little surprises, a voice (clearly my own) both distant and intimate. Often these poems are hand-written on pieces of paper that have been folded into a book. Here's one that recently dropped out of Sri Aurobindo's Bases of Yoga—a slender little book hidden among other slender little books …