harmony

Ah, I have grown older...

photo by pedrojperez
image from morguefile.com




harmony



be at peace with everything around you
there is a purpose for every existence

rejoice in the little things

a flock of blackbirds in haphazard flight
a bolt of lightning in the summer afternoon
autumn leaves catching the evening's light
a grove of bamboo bending with the wind

the wise words of a child in your arms
the arpeggios of a guitar on a cold night
the quiet calmness in yourself as you kneel
before the buddha, seeking a path from harm

rejoice in these little things

even the very air you breathe
the soil that crumples at your feet
the rain that splatter on your face
the racing of your heartbeat

rejoice in these little things
for these are the reasons for our being.






written 22/04/2011
revised 20/12/2015
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“If you want to make beautiful music, you must play the black and the white notes together.”

― Richard M. Nixon

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2016

in the year of the goat

The Lunar New Year is already four days old, and I am really enjoying myself these few days, doing all the things I liked, like goofing off, eating and drinking, and abusing the video game machine. And writing a blog post again.

Let's hope it will be a good year too. Tomorrow, it will be back to the daily grind.

photo by dsnake1



in the year of the goat


let us then
be like the lotus
blooming out of mud
resilient & hopeful
or the sparrows that play
under the shadow of the bodhisattva
knowing that they will be protected
or the first light beams of the dawn
true and sharp and fearless
let us sing tunes
even without words
let us be then
all of these.



19/02/2015
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岁岁平安

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2015

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
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a dragonfly rests
on a lotus flower

before the hunt


05/01/2014
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-- dsnake1


Shared on Poetry Pantry #183 at Poets United.

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2014

a prayer for the year of the snake

It is another week before the Lunar New Year. To the Chinese diaspora, it is one of the biggest days in our calendar.

I still have lots to do, getting new clothes, spring-clean the house, stock up on food and drinks, and there's only a week to do.

The past years haven't been too kind, personally. I pray for good health and happiness for my family in this coming new year. I ask for harmony and reconciliation. This poem is not your typical festive poem, even dark, but it was written from the heart.

And yes, to all my readers everywhere, "Gong Xi Fa Cai"! :)

photo by chamomile
image from morguefile.com




a prayer for the year of the snake



the wind must blow gently
i, we must make this peace
it is tiring, very tiring
to always clench your fist
remember to at least
let go, even for a while
and then just listen
not just the whisper
of the breeze
but through
the babble
the demon screams
in the head
just listen
again
the strings
of the heart


remember, before,
you were moved
a baby's cry in the night
the shuffle of little feet
little voices reciting poetry
and you laughed


the wind must blow gently
i, we must make this peace.


01/02/2013
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Shared on Poetry Pantry #135 at Poets United.

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© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2013