[ARTS]: Big and Little Poetry--free verse, any verse.

[Tai Shi]

Essence of Stability

When one seeks to turn the river
One inserts one finger into eddy
Of water, one hand into currrent
Only. Nothing happens so owner
Gets excited, "Why did not river
Turn with my will? Why do I sit
Lividly with whole hand in current
Expecting this water to change?"

Nothing so pushes will of water,
Even with dam can no water turn
Damed up, the whole rainbow; message
Becoes forgotton like air in storms. Storm
Is water is made into gas, gasses are
Compounded yet different, why
Different, molecules of vapor, of life
Mingle together, inert gasses.

Nitrogen supports Oxygen supports
Water into gasses, oh where is river
If water becomes one with air,
What can become of anger if water
Becomes H2O, hydrogen is one part
Proton one part neuton supports
Life supports Volitle Hydyogen, too
Hydrogen can be single building

Block of created matter, matter
Become complex, for cannot water
Be sait? Composed of more atoms,
One atom glides to water, water
Becomes collection of atoms,
Proton with neutron, with charged
Particle positing charge between
Layers of particles, what more is said?

Anger slips away in holding into breaking
Slowly into Rainbow, into colored energy
Promise of new substance, of end of storm
What becames of anger if all disapates
To energy, to likeness of human face
Changing to matter, anger matters
Not when it disapates into what becomes
Of all, of water, ait, and salt, blood turns

River to humanity, to smile from energy,
Turned on side of emotion turns energy,
Turns matter, from matter becomes
Human blood, tissue with brain, brain,
To hand, all tissue, all from Proton, Neuton,
Chaged electron energy, matter energy
Combining solid, where did anger go
Into air, live in Sangha, uncharge stability?

Gaswsho
Deepest bows
Good yes to all
sat/lah

[Tai Shi]

Any member, those without Jukai, thise with Jukai, with equinimity come here and write your poetry, any poetry. All are welcome, all may with care and peace,lovingly, come to be and see. Do not throw stones, Oh, do not kill others, but bring solemnity and grace. Be with all of us, all can see, all may write with thee!

Gassho
sat/lah

[Tai Shi]

May we...

How great as a rain
Cloud fills with droplets
Who would know this
Miriad garden of plants, flow
Of great fish, great flock
Of birds, we gather in
Wanting nothing great
Poems written by many
Women and men, may
We never rest from poetry.
Thank you all, may
We never rest from poetry.

Gassho
sat/lah

[Tai Shi]

To all members, those who post, those who read, those who contemplate, thank you. Our Poetry Bord, Big and Little, a success, thank you all for posting!!!
Gassho
Yes Tai Shi.

[Tai Shi]

Some notes on my poetry. I do not seek to obscure. I write no hidden meaning. When I speak of sexuality, I only restate what psychologists agree, that personality is neither all man or all woman, but each of us is a combination of both, and even neutral have elements of female an male, and almost all agree, flowers are both female and male with pistal and ovum. So are human beings elements of both man and woman though some are more masculine or some feminine. The second long poem deals with divorce, my mother ending their marriage after only 13 years. My wife and I have chosen to be loyal to each other in life and death. Since our first meeting January 7, 1980, we both have had no other, and now we grow old together, whereas my father had three wives, two died and one divorced. My brother also divorced three wives, and I see some men take advantage of women, and more often it is men who take advantage, and even physically hurt their wives. my mother had two husbands, one divorced, second true until she died at 68. It is more important for me to remain loyal to my wife and Marajorie is derived from Latin to Spanish, "Pearl." I regard Marjorie as a prescious pearl. Family to us is ultimate. Our daughter, and we chose to have one child, so our daughter has earned her PhD with highest honors, Dr. Laurel Ann Taylor, and she will be in September Associate Professor of Japanese, and she is full time tenure track position at the University of Denver, a fine liberal arts university, but I chose to attain less, and her mother worked for the government for 32 years, and is and was a superior mind like our daughter. I gave our daughter direction of literature, as she will be Professor of Japanese, and her mother was quality control officer for the United States, Sioux Falls Veterans Regional Administration, a position equalivant to Lutenant Colneral in the Armey, G.S. 12.8 when she retired, and had worked here way from G.S. 5, typist, eauning BA cutural anthropology with 4.0, highest distintion MA with 3.95. and my best degree was the MFA in creative writing/poetry with 3.9 GPA. BA English literature, Ma English, EdS higher education. I rose to position of Professor in my last year teaching for The University of South Dakota though I was par-time.. I did for two years atain continuing contract at a college in Nebraska. Most often please look for literal meanings in my poetry; yet, making use of stanza, rime, metter, and metaphor, simile, and all the sound conventions of poetry. Look for conventions of poetry, and obvious meanings, and I strive for beauty. One more note. I have two debiliting life-long diseases. Ankylosing Spondylitis a serious form of arthritis, and bipolar disorder, a moderat to serious mental illness. My mental illness is completly under control, and I breath easily. For 37 years I have had no alcoholic drink not one drop. For 22 years I have had no smoke or no tobacco, nor any illeagal drugs for almost 38 years. I did regulate pain of arthritis with large doses of legal doctor prescribed narcotics; then, I chose not to use most narcotics keeping a small dose of minimal narcotic. doctor prescribed, because I sometimes suffer level 9 pain. This is all that you need to know my father's name is Lenard E Taylor, and my English name is Charles E Taylor, My mother was Dorothy Viola Hoffman'and I have published under both Charles E Taylor and Charles Taylor. I was named from both grandfathers' names. That is all the truth you need to know concerning my poetry. Just rember--there is no hidden meaning in my poetry.
Gassho
sat/lah
Tai Shi

[Tai Shi]

How Precepts Began

Good drink morning decaff
Sauce with artificial sweetner
Arttificial ceeamer, neither
Can be called what they
Imitate, who should drink
GIVE what shy drenches
Daily pain without death
Will come eventually
To temple, temple devoid
Of man, woman, aged
One sixty-nine, the other
Seventy-two aching in pain
Such afforded Tai Shi, water
Kyousui, don't you know
We are in pain always look
Ahead to death which stalks
Our very essence our death
Imminant, falters, devides
Our limbs, as we cannot
Write anymore, what is sanctified.

Our days fong for rescue
No one comes, no one wishes
Life, everyone is what we know,
What we do with nothing,
With emptiness, dumped
Into night, old men fading
Bodies, with seeping blood, legs
Arms with blood, we are The Christ,
Jesus who says you will suffer
In the lake of fire, in the flames
Be Consumed, every part like
Lazerus who begged for even
Tourch of tongue, or is it

Buddha who offers kindness
Loving without heat, freedom
From torture, just ask shall
Be free, shall sholder messages
Of opposite, less sufering
Upon huts, fires, warmth over
Winter when rain drenched
Never we sing for warmth, we
Know what brings camp songs
With Shikantaza, August now,
In a few months, cold will
Come back. It always does
We sit beside fires, tell of lands
Where pagans, sacrifice, death
Through dear animals which we
Cannot abide, Buddha said
Practice Zazen, practice respect
For life, do not steal, then you will
Finally find this peace longed for..

Gassho
sat/lah

[Tai Shi]

Be Mindfull so Silently.

I sit before thinking, without
Morning rising sun
Drenched tangerine light
Wistful sages in their caves
Withstand late spring.
Yesterday in forests green
Trees, Douglas fur with sure
Understanding of life, rising
Through brown earth, all
Is as is, Knowledge of forest
Thick volunteering of mind
Seedlings populate mindfulness

Another treestand, days
Apart, a sunlight drenched
Sitting normally, no full
Days, only lament, crying
Heavy tears, humanity
Destroying yet another
Forest stand with anger,
Firmament undecided
Hericanes rip land, pull
Bark off Tree, 100 miles
An hour. Wind, sand slapping,
Grinding as tricks haus approach.

Away lumber trucks of divided
Wood stubs, death cut
Of trees, no other thought
We only wish for more
Trees, more tears decend
Like rain, with simple
Water and salt for meals
Of salt fiber, wonderment
How can this be, another
Tree ripped out of earth,
Sideways, forward, hither
Reminding me of deluge,
Noan day with army marches
Forth with bulldoser, tree
Crane pulling machines
Wood harvested, ripped
Out of earth, unkindly,
We pray stop this day.

Then we all can stop, let
More noise roll under, over
Torent like river ofend or not
We may practice mindfuness
We may sit quietly as doctor
Hacks our leg off, or therapy
Demands our ultimate
Attention, sit quietly
Let Shikantaza be.

Gassho
sat/lah

[Tai Shi]

If you feel that you are on your own way and perhaps need some rest or a little help from your friends here at Treeleaf Zendo your poetry and your thoughts will reach out and I hope you find a way or place to share your thoughts and explore your own poetry with us and even a discussion. Share with us please.

[Tai Shi]

Thank you two new posts. All are welcome and appreciated to post here your own thoughts and poems and stories about your journey to becoming a writer and whole person!

[Tai Shi]

Tom A! Thank you for your Poetry. Please give us more...
Gassho
Tai Shi

[Tai Shi]

Beldame, what glorious verses bring tear to eye, tone to old man's ears. You are bright with promises and kindnesses. Thank you for your sweet melodies. Please leave us with more of your brilliance.
Gassho
Tai Shi

[Kokuu]

Tai Shi,

I think there must be some confusion. I am neither the administrator of the Arts section nor have I said that you need to limit your posts of poetry or that anyone else should.

In fact my message was "Post away".

I hope that clarifies for anyone.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-

[Tai Shi]

It has come to my attention.that Kokuu is now the administration of the entire Arts section and he should be contacted via PM if you have concerns contact him! Also he has informed me that we must limit our posts of poetry!

[Tai Shi]

Waterfall of Buddha

Water, stream where we,
Stop to shrink, eat, at
Twelve thousand feet,
Stream, Bear Mountains,
Covered lichen, moss
Fungi, resesed into cliff,
Where we never go, years
Sit Buddha lean, small,
Stone eyes placed
Yes, their loving kindness
Within cave below
Waterfall, we touch,
Touch scroll, as we
Wonder what real, reality
Is strong as tree, cut to heart,
Gone with Colidal Precepts,
Wonderment all, shall
We wonder spray into cave
Uppon Buddha of yellow,
Silver delight, you who
Coroded, disolve, leaving
Metal deposits of gold
Shall celebrate colided
Water befor nightfall.
Shikantaza is our stone.

Gassho
Tai Shi
sat/lah

[Tai Shi]

White snow in spring, daughter, then comes green twigs, leaves, pines, Beautiful smells of flowers, I see, sisters, brothers, friends all three finished PhD, Adam, Emily, Laurel, fine with positions. It's no race, yet our daughter has accepted Librtal Arts position, upper third year students, this must be regular; she's translating books Japanese to English, Japanese Poetry, all is as it should be. We are parents, New Home Douglas Firs, Pine Needles are Treeleaf Sized, Jukai, mother Well lived profession. Daughter found in mountain Town, Denver Colorado, her school, her nice new apartment, what could be better with wood trim, with her microwave oven, with her own office at home, at school where she wil finly be Professor of Japanese, her PhD in Japnese literature, comp lit paid off. Her MFA with honors, her doctoral Fulbright scholarship, Honored 250 page dssertation which may be published as book, her joy at given peaceful success, not to be hidden away. She makes her way, Dr Laurel Ann Taylor..

Gassho
sat/lah