prayer
Hot on the heels of a colleague being laid off, another one is handing in his resignation letter. It's getting scary, not too good a start to the new year.
This was something I wrote a long time ago, when I was young and angry and aimless. It was a prayer, sort of. However, I think this plea to the bodhisattva is still relevant now, as was then, just to remind me in my times of doubt.
image by dsnake1, done with pencilmadness
prayer
Help me, Goddess, to be the always hopeful
who has known countless failures
and will continue to endure,
who who thinks that nothing is impossible,
who believes that one day we will reach the stars.
Let me remember
that out of darkness, is light
that wild flowers can blossom
in poor soil after a cold night
that crab grass, though weak in frame
will not snap in a wind.
Leave me not
to be a lost man in a cold world
or like crippled fighters hopping back to base
like a prisoner counting his days.
31/08/76 to 01/09/76
revised 03/11/06
****************
a dragonfly rests
on a lotus flower
before the hunt
05/01/2014
**********
-- dsnake1
Shared on Poetry Pantry #183 at Poets United.
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2014
This was something I wrote a long time ago, when I was young and angry and aimless. It was a prayer, sort of. However, I think this plea to the bodhisattva is still relevant now, as was then, just to remind me in my times of doubt.
image by dsnake1, done with pencilmadness
prayer
Help me, Goddess, to be the always hopeful
who has known countless failures
and will continue to endure,
who who thinks that nothing is impossible,
who believes that one day we will reach the stars.
Let me remember
that out of darkness, is light
that wild flowers can blossom
in poor soil after a cold night
that crab grass, though weak in frame
will not snap in a wind.
Leave me not
to be a lost man in a cold world
or like crippled fighters hopping back to base
like a prisoner counting his days.
31/08/76 to 01/09/76
revised 03/11/06
****************
a dragonfly rests
on a lotus flower
before the hunt
05/01/2014
**********
-- dsnake1
Shared on Poetry Pantry #183 at Poets United.
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2014
posted by dsnake1 at 12:03 AM
20 Comments:
A hopeful prayer. For some the new year brings on change for the worse.. the picture of the crab grass will stay with me.
That prayer is powerful and right-minded, in my mind anyway!
http://www.kimnelsonwrites.com/2014/01/03/evidence-of/
nice prayer man...its a hard world for sure...i have been in that sinking shop too watching people laid off...even had to lay a few people off...it can be scary as you consider your future...but good things can come out of it as your prayer indicates....
amazing... truly! the concept is really strong, the lines flow nicely.. all in all, great write!
We must always retain our hope, I think. If we loose hope we have nothing. If we don't believe that someday we can reach the (metaphoric) stars, it doesn't make sense to start the journey.
It is a beautiful prayer.
I love the prayer - and the fantastic haiku that follows. Wowzers! I hope your job is safe, my friend. It sounds unsettling for sure.
There is no success without failure.
I felt this was about reveling in the beauty that surrounds even as we face the uncertainty. The world is seems provides both.
Bjorn,
thanks for the visit! it is true the new year can bring on changes for the worse. but i will try to hang on there. :)
Kim,
thank you for your kind comment!
Brian,
it's a jungle out there in the corporate world. i am hanging on! :)
Natasa,
thank you! :)
Mary,
thanks for the very thoughtful comment. yes, we must always retain our hope.
Sabra,
thanks for the visit! :)
Sherry,
heh, my job should be safe for the moment. (we are already a skeleton crew, any more leaving and the ship will sink).
like the haiku huh? i read somewhere that says dragonflies are one of the best predators in the animal kingdom. :)
Pealogic,
appreciate your comment. :)
hey Stormcat, i don't know what happened to your comment. Blogger seems to have gobbled it up.
hmm, i haven't thought about it this way before. :)
ah, Stormcat, your comment has re-surfaced. :)
prayer gives strength by calming the mind...love the lines..
it does, Sumana. :)
thank you!
that wild flowers can blossom
in poor soil after a cold night
that crab grass, though weak in frame
will not snap in a wind.
Absolutely loved these lines...simple yet so profound!
Aditi, thank you!
these 2 images were not in the original poem. i added them when i did a revision many years later. i am glad you liked them. :)
A beautiful hopeful prayer dsnake - written by one with a good heart.
It is good to look past tomorrow.
Anna :o]
thank you, Anna, for your encouraging comment. :)
I light a candle and burn Rosemary incense.
A wonderful "intimate conversation." ...and of course your colorful expression. Don't forget the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara..."all five skandas are empty..."
The spell:
"Gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha."
(The Heart Sutra)
should help the transcending :-D
ZQ
thank you, ZQ, for the wonderful comment. No, i won't forget the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. :)
Over here, we know her (yes, her) as Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy. and thanks for reciting the Heart Sutra.:)
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