We are ignorant of the Beyond because this ignorance is the condition of our own life. Just as ice cannot know fire except by melting and vanishing.
~ Jules Renard ~
POETRY
Treasured moments ......
Treasured moments, intimate friends Enchanting beginnings, oft tragic ends Love bears all, though wounded be Transforms and sustains through eternity.
Fleeting contacts, promises made, Vows exchanged, foundations laid Love caresses the pain of night Elicits untruths, puts shallow to flight
Does a mystical Lover gently pursue all Transforming death with deafening roar Light flickers dimly within agonies sublime Divine assurance leaps in the wounds of time
rob smith (copyright)
The Birth of a new Day
Pale light flickering, orange flecks grey Shadows intruded by glimmers of day Dawn light streaming, crimson turns gold A waking earth startled, its beauty unfolds.
Outback glistening, wetness finds heat Earth gasps bravely, birth nearly complete A new day heralded by the labour of night Creation exhausted by a cry of delight!
A land now shaken with the joy of new life Gives thanks and rejoices - for apart from the strife Limb like hills stretch forth to the sky Transforming, renewing - God's presence is nigh.
rob smith (copyright)
Angels that come ....
Divine beings of grace wing swift from afar Alight, just to bless, those hells where you are Releasing bruised souls from the bindings of night The dead come to life, and the blind receive sight
These divine beings of grace, winged bearers of Light Hallowed healers of life with balm for your plight Anointing those hurts, your traumas and strife A heavenly embrace that heralds new life
If one gives form to the turmoils within Refusing to hide from the chaos and sin By courageously naming those perils that dwell Angels tame demons and Heaven sanctifies hell.
rob smith (copyright)
Bushland Dreaming - a paradox of life
Bushland still, quietly sleeping Moonlight flowing, cool earth dreaming Night time ebbing through silent scheming Day break consummated, alive and gleaming
Bushland stirring, restless awakening Sunlight intruding, majesty breaking Dream time imagining, battered and shaking An overpowering dawn, contemplation taking
still
Nature's cycle persists in unresolved tension Opposites struggle to birth comprehension
In the midst of uncertainty and stark apprehension Life is conferred meaning and cosmic direction.
Moonlight darts across dry barren plains Dew drops absent, no promise of rains Parched earth arid, doubled over, no breath Dusty and lifeless, infused with death
wait
Moon beams flicker brightly, yellow rocks gleam Landscape struggles with an awakening dream
Dark clouds gather beyond death's earthly embrace A stranglehold released through the advent of grace.
Strong winds stirring, thunder peals the night Scurry for cover, clouds discovering their plight Tempest is brewing, no birth without strife Wetness abounds, raindrops, new life.
rob smith (copyright)
Strangely warmed ...
I felt the valley had chosen me
From early childhood my heart had felt warmed
Strangely warmed
By the wafting fragrance of wild flowers on a summer's day
By the lingering aroma of newly mown hay in the meadow
By the sudden downpour of a storm on the old tin roof
By the distant laughter of friends riding the open dray
Strangely warmed
From early childhood my heart had felt warmed
I felt the valley had chosen me
rob smith (copyright)
How Grace Abounds ...
Glimmering in shadows of places unseen Flickering uncertainties, all elusive dreams Intrusive in flight, with inconstant wing With pinions spread wide, light gently glides in
Is this the way that grace abounds ... When all seems lost, when nature frowns. That deep down things, when battered by strife Offer their pain in exchange for new life.
rob smith (copyright)
Death is Nothing at All
Henry Scott Holland (1847-1918) Canon of St. Paul's Cathedral sometimes referred to as 'What is Death?'
Death is nothing at all.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other, that we still are.
Call me by my old familiar name.
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference in your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without affect, without the trace of a shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same that it ever was.
There is absolutely unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner.
All is well.
Do not Stand at my Grave and Weep by Mary Elizabeth Frye (1904-2004)
Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I I am the fields of ripening grain. I am in the morning hush, I am in the graceful rush Of beautiful birds in circling flight. I am the starshine of the night. I am in the flowers that bloom, I am in a quiet room. I am in the birds that sing, I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost (1874-1963)
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
On Death by Kahlil Gibran
You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life? The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light. If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life. For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond; And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring. Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity. Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour. Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king? Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive God to be; and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Immortality
by John P LoVecchio
There is no death
There is a plan far greater than the plan you know
There is a landscape broader than the one you see
There is a haven where storm tossed souls may go
You call it death... me, Immortality
You call it death ... this seeming endless sleep
I call it birth ... the soul at last set free
It is hampered not by time or space, you weep
Why weep at death?
Its Immortality
Farewell, Dear Voyageur, it will not be long
Your work is done, now peace rest with thee
Your kindly thoughts and deeds, they still live on
This is not death - Its Immortality
Farewell, Dear Voyageur, the river winds and turns
The cadence of your song comes near to me
And now you know the thing that all men will learn
There is no death - just Immortality
A Dream within a Dream by Edgar Allen Poe
Take this kiss upon the brow! And, in parting from you now, Thus much let me avow- You are not wrong, who deem That my days have been a dream; Yet if hope has flown away In a night, or in a day, In a vision, or in none, Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar Of a surf-tormented shore, And I hold within my hand Grains of the golden sand- How few! yet how they creep Through my fingers to the deep, While I weep- while I weep! O God! can I not grasp Them with a tighter clasp? O God! can I not save One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem But a dream within a dream?
The Native American View On Life & Death
"You live on earth only for a few short years which you call an incarnation, and then you leave your body as an outworn dress and go for refreshment to your true home in the spirit."
~ White Eagle ~
"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home"
"Everything is changeable, everything appears and disappears; there is no blissful peace until one passes beyond the agony of life and death."
"Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely."
"On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him."
"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."
Resignation
THERE is no flock, however watched and tended, But one dead lamb is there! There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended, But has one vacant chair!
The air is full of farewells to the dying, And mournings for the dead; The heart of Rachel, for her children crying, Will not be comforted!
Let us be patient! These severe afflictions Not from the ground arise, But oftentimes celestial benedictions Assume this dark disguise.
We see but dimly through the mists and vapors; Amid these earthly damps What seem to us but sad, funereal tapers May be heaven's distant lamps.
There is no Death! What seems so is transition; This life of mortal breath Is but a suburb of the life elysian, Whose portal we call Death.
She is not dead,the child of our affection, But gone unto that school Where she no longer needs our poor protection, And Christ himself doth rule.
In that great cloister's stillness and seclusion, By guardian angels led, Safe from temptation, safe from sin's pollution, She lives, whom we call dead,
Day after day we think what she is doing In those bright realms of air; Year after year, her tender steps pursuing, Behold her grown more fair.
Thus do we walk with her, and keep unbroken The bond which nature gives, Thinking that our remembrance, though unspoken, May reach her where she lives.
Not as a child shall we again behold her; For when with raptures wild In our embraces we again enfold her, She will not be a child;
But a fair maiden, in her Father's mansion, Clothed with celestial grace; And beautiful with all the soul's expansion Shall we behold her face.
And though at times impetuous with emotion And anguish long suppressed, The swelling heart heaves moaning like the ocean, That cannot be at rest,
We will be patient, and assuage the feeling We may not wholly stay; By silence sanctifying, not concealing, The grief that must have way.
