Awakenings

This is a time for the writing and reading of poetry and song, a time when strident voices occupy the airwaves sowing discord and despair in human hearts. This book had its genesis in the events of 9/11 when I wrote the two poems “Eve's Children” and “The Eternal Cycle”, the latter of which concludes with: That enmity invites Still greater enmity Thus perpetuating the futile rounds Of senseless death, Until none are left To hate Or to be hated. Yet the book covers a span of some 90 years dealing with the human drama in its joy and in its sorrow. It speaks in a common language without burdening the reader with the obtuseness of metaphor. It confronts the reader with clear explications of such practices as Faith, Hatred, Judgment: Judgment divides. Its evil is withering. It countenances no possibility Of worth to the judged Or error to the judge. Iron-clad, it repels Appeal to reason And dismisses all thought of value To those outside Its narrow orbit. While this is not a book of religious verse it contains a number of religious poems. In fact the magnum opus is such a poem, comparing the compassion of the Christ and of the Buddha. This poem may surprise many readers as to the similarity of the spirits of these two great figures as well as essential differences between them. This is not a polemic but an effort to deal fairly with both and to appreciate how each could support and enrich the followers of each: All peoples of this wondrous world Should to themselves be true And most assuredly believe The truths they hold That have endured The countless ages through. And yet in gratitude to stand, Brothers, sisters, Hand in hand, Together and with different creeds None to others bending knees, Each fulfilling their Faith's demand, But celebrate when ere we can. This poem goes hand in hand with another: “God Speaks” in which attention is paid to the numerous voices and accents in which God speaks, matching the diversity of God's people: When in his infinite Love and grace, God chooses us To join the race Of God's own people, God speaks that we may understand, In our own tongue In our own land. …………………………. The seers of every human race Have waited patiently in faith, Believing in a power divine, Whose name they perchance may find, And then proclaim it far and wide, The One who chooses not to hide. A life of almost a century has had to face significant tragic experiences or at least to have shared those of others. The profession of this author brought him in immediate and persistent contact with people in their struggles out of which such a poem as “Desolation” was born: Lost! The love that once burned passionately And, as a consuming fire, dissolved the nights And all too soon aroused the day That took us from each other To interfering tasks. ………………………………………… Lost! In the abyss Which we created, Not of malice, Nor by intention, But through forgetfulness To nurture That most delicate, Most human gift, The cherishing spirit. Yet this book has its light side provided mostly by my little West Highland doggie, Bonnie Jean: The squirrel came loping through the snow One sunny winter's day Directly toward the birdseed box He carefully made his way. The squirrel attended to his task His back on Bonnie turning, Her indignation surging high Her fury hotly burning. Then in a flash She made a splash Deep in the snow aploughing And he just sat, So slick and fat, No muscle even moving. Surprised, the doggie stopped right fast, And wondered what had happened What changed the universe around, Her fun was surely dampened. …………………………… Then, from the corner of his eye, He saw a shadow lurking, In a split second he was off, With Bonnie, loudly barking. Across the yard and up a tree To safety swiftly climbing, He turned in triumph Toward the dog And gave her a tongue lashing. But Bonnie turned away in scorn, “That rodent's not worth catching, I simply wanted to have fun So I'll return to watching.”