[Byzantine Bindings]

Sunday 29 December 2013

Ordinary magic

the ordinariness of it all
reveals magic
a tiny planet
in a cosmic web

angelic singing
morning sunshine
leaves dancing
all in hedge
row

momentarily
an uneasy peace
gap in awareness
that moments of
life and death
fleet fragments
of a greatness

hope glistens on wings
of black winter birds
across
the clear blue sky


Friday 27 December 2013

suffering

wind blowing
dog barking
letterbox rattling

sounds arise
sleep is disturbed
ego mind

let go

fear
resentment
I

become the breath
in
out






Thursday 26 December 2013

Tuesday 24 December 2013

awareness

breathing
wave and ocean
are inseparable
manifestation of the deep
stillness

Sunday 22 December 2013

in order that something new be born in me

preparations to be made
sweeping
cleaning scouring
hardly knowing where to begin
so much clings
and cloys
to mind and senses
let it all go
develop a sense of what is necessary
too much cleaning creates a sterile environment
a vacuum inviting germ
quickly learn what to put in place
and how to discern its motivation
see the eye
the quickening
smile
then you know

no stable yard
or barn
was free from guilt
or piss soaked straw
but new birth is in a manger lain
with scent of summer’s bedstraw
I wrap dreams of who I would become
swathe them in warm hopefulness
and sit in silent candlelight

there
it’s done
and all can come
in wonder and adoration
at this humble scene

make of it what they will
in their own hearts

bear gifts

homeward

Saturday 21 December 2013

Solstice Ritual




walk to the allotted place
face the sun at midday
face the shadow at midday
weep for the dying sun
sing to the cold clay
rejoice at the simplicity
be alert 
to other 
yearly visiting stories
wonder at it all
forgive yourself
again 
and again 
and again
step lightly 
homeward

Friday 20 December 2013

Walking on Water

is easy
inland
no lakes to speak of
brook jumping doesn't really cut the mustard
but
away from it all
close knit
the place is here
deeply felt centredness
letting go
following
in
untrodden footsteps

ii
re-membering future
angels, saints and lovers
fragments of
the nine protectors:
courage of evergreen
dream of enlightenment
strength of earth
wisdom of ages
brightness of winter morning sun
joy of angels
hope of new dawn
encouragement of ancestors
flow of energy
nine bindings be about me today
weaving stone cut patterns

iii
winter
takes the weak
merciless winds tear at
aching limbs
constructing winter sets
on earthstage
brokenness presenting
opportunities to reassess
look with fresh eyes

iv
reenchanted
we wearily trudge toward
registration
new impressions
muted
frosty coloured
morning







Wednesday 18 December 2013

Awakening and breaking through



Landscaping the Soul
Something opened up this morning
discovering you are in a coffin can spark you into life
and seek the means to break free.
Sword Knight as my helper…

deep within the beating heart
of the Landscape of the Soul
is a waterfall
or glistening tree
perhaps a flower or stone

it’s beacon
shining
wave or pulse
is evident however
sensed by delicate
healing touch
willingness to accept
that there is nothing I cannot do helps
coupled with the humility to know that anything I do
is all I can do.

that walking the land and being aware
alert to the beat
the rhythm
of the seasons
the phase of the moon
my position relative to the pole star

all these things

keep me on the path
cosmic webbed
connected through generation
re-generation
discovering awe in the everyday
seeing with the first eye of enchantment
childlike newness all around.

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Soul Cauldrons





"you 
just kinda 
lose control
then
get it back again
the lose it again
over and over and over
then take 
back
control."

Monday 16 December 2013

the feel of me in your arms

high wind
last full moon
before
winter solstice

self-inflicted insomnia
ravaged by the thought
of your bright faced attractions
somehow
you claim me
overpower me

pierced
by your beams of pure white
i am transfixed
transformed
melted




Sunday 15 December 2013

Morecambe Bay



pebble nest
high tide awashed
windthrown
together
seeking something
missed it by a couple of days
fair enough

shall I hold your hand
stroke your hair
stitch your stories
haunting memories
behind the mind
let lose
unfurled sails
on a becalmed sea
hoping to catch a glimpse

did I give you a ball to play with
yes mum
that's alright then
back to sleep
in the nest

of lost memeories
among the pebbles
serenaded by the tide
almost out of reach
edging towards clockwise spiral
falling towards the centre
almost letting go






Monday 9 December 2013

Meeting together

they tried to find common ground
in the name of the
and of the
and of the
a[h]
there was none
yet when the singing started
though none knew the words
everyone joined in
joy abounded
goldenness
filled the air with energy
or did I dream it
they were all dead
the rabbi
the priest
the others
dancing
on some other shore



Friday 6 December 2013

Annunciation



she
discovering
hardness of stones
in the belly
in winter waiting
when all within cries
activity
search

slow me down
gently now
ease me into labour
opus dei
soul nurture
in the darkening silence
binding forming
unseen creativity
knitted story
wombwoven glory
in the poverty of her fragile state




Thursday 5 December 2013

In the end

it all got done
six beds
stations in paradiso
six days
making sense
of
 endless repetition
discovering
Sysiphus' crime
endless moving 
stationary soil
turning over
displacing
considering
dumb cries of cut worm
echoing in consciousness knowing no separation
hand 
spade /joints
earth /muscles
fence /eyes
path /ears
sinew of life everlasting
the ground is prepared
the waiting begins


Tuesday 3 December 2013

Grail Knight

this morning comes to call
truest Knight
best guide
companion on the way
balancing head and heart 
singing, poeting and harping

Stone Queen
sits awaiting pathworkings
gentle lady
guides faltering steps
new born soul
change of heart bring
raw newness
needing her stability
to fail in safety
practicing gently
the new order.

Monday 2 December 2013

Annunciation


Let's get things off on the right foot

[when did god become necessary
when did it become necessary to separate things out
duality
two parts
god and it
divine and mundane
the mundane was always there sex death sausage rolls
but in it
god in it
whenever did that happen]

use your large Hadron collider
oh and by the way
what's with the qualification giant
what
a circle seventeen miles in circumference -
we wouldn't guess it was a giant
to the quark, maybe
ant to the solar system
dark matter
ha

ask the fish that swim in the sea what the water is
just swim
just swim
who cares about the engine
who cares about the spark plugs
the Higgs
a mere frisson moment
summer turning to autumn
winter to spring
just
look out of the window
enjoy the view
before the journey ends

your belly
finds favour in the eyes of the lord
in you will be sown the kingdom
your plight has not gone un-noticed
the potential of your virgin soil
hidden among the false modesty
on the allotment
behind the shed
is to be spotlighted by the national press

message ends 08:33.

Sunday 1 December 2013

St Andrew


perhaps there needs to be
an inclination
a disposition towards
a proclivity
a tendency
a disposal

in some sense of the word
towards
apostleship
to hear the call
as he comes along the seashore collecting

rocky
men
upsetting
the beloved

at any rate it seems a good catch


Saturday 30 November 2013

Advent Eve

Before the coming
they were sent to watch
two of them
bales arranged
brazier lit
one keeps watch

the other sleeps
the moment arrives
the dragon blazes a trail
across the clear evening sky

cockerel crows
together they return with haste
eagerly telling tales to
the listening hearts of

the wise ones
who
knowing what to do
begin their preparation

in secret
caverns of the shaman's mind
brightling questions arise
retreating
soaked in stillness
listening in
silent gratitude
for those who watch

endless rebirth
regeneration
stories told in hand-fulls
of earthy stardust
reconstruct the universe
from the speck of dust
in your
watchful eye




Thursday 28 November 2013

Winter Digging (ii)

14:33
Edward 1 becomes King of Portugal




14:40
Eton College founded




15:06
Elizabeth Barton born (probable)




15:18
Manchester Grammar school completed



15:28
Bubonic plague breaks out in England




15:46
Trinity College Cambridge founded by Henry VIII




16:05
Gunpowder Plot


Tuesday 26 November 2013

Old posts new places... Nov 2012





she stepped out of the cloud which hung low over the mountain
floating earthward she saw the trees give birth to eggs like jewels
ruby
sapphire
emerald

touching the earth her magic drained and she became old and helpless
the gods smiled wistfully
see she steps lightly upon the earth
without us she crumbles to dust
beginning the process anew
tiny birds
wrens perhaps
enter into the bargain
hopping in and out of the fence
avoiding the broken glass
on the western edges

things move and I dont know how she says
the wren answers in dulcet tones
just sit and watch your journey has been long and the time has taken its toll
be still and observe the changes in the sky and earth
watch the rain form pools in the field
see the farmer groan under the weight of approximation
there is little here for you to learn
but much to absorb you
much into which you can sink

her hair now came out in strawy handfuls
scarring her lined face and causing the worms to disturb the tissues beneath
a tiny tear the size of a pearl of life trickled down her cheek and seeped into the open wound
and there she would have lain beside the compost bin
if it wasnt for jack the lad
who came just in the nick of time

ho now! what seems the trouble here mistress cried the plucky young chap
my hair is turned to straw and my beauty fades as the morning mists of autumn
well then mistress climb aboard me jet-ski and well away to sunnier climes
she limped along to climb aboard and shrugged her incontinence off
the pearl become a glint climbed up the cheek fired the eye and off they flew
catching a glimpse of her old self in the wing mirror she smiled
jack the lad had saved the day and they both lived happily ever after.


Monday 25 November 2013

Time of the Ancestors

knowing
death approaches
carrying spring within
learning the ways of silent hope
waiting


Saturday 23 November 2013

On Death and Dying




i
mindfully
bringing about necessary conditions
incense burning
deeply observing process
necessary conditions
cease

ii
see
it always was
is
ever will be

iii
arising
cessation

iv
gentle smoke
sweet scented
where were you?
where are you?

v
freedom

Thursday 21 November 2013

Space-Time Webbing-Mapping


weaving
spinning world-views
creating outwardly
manifesting inward spirals
pathways


consider  a node
I call it 0
which is at the centre of a 3D matrix M
itself 
constructed from string
around five other nodes in space (fig 1.)

Fig 1.











consider it in 3D (fig 2.)
Fig 2.




















if, say, the rate of absorption of the string was constant, how long would it take for the dye to travel to each node?
what if other coloured dyes were added at other nodes?
what if each node was the beginning of another node?
ad infinitum
and what if the dyes were poetry
music
Beckett
people
Klee
thoughts
Heidegger
places?

What if... (fig 3.)

Fig 3.




















We all know what comes next:
a trip to the wood yard to get the makings of a compost bin.

Balancing reflection with activity is always a political issue.

In reality...
in real-ity
It's probably unlikely that the dye would be introduced spontaneously
far more likely a co-dependent, inter-be event
unless
there is a god
gods
chasing one another around Indra's web
on colourful poems of earthly delight
sparking jewels in the night sky
high above the cathedral spire
the other night (Tuesday)
Tew's day
there was magic in the air
that was the stuff of space
etheric
filaments of darkness
filling the space between heaven and earth
bearing witness to father
son
and holy ghost
crackling laughter
in the music of the night.

Sure on this Shining Night
"Sure on this shining night
Of starmade shadows round,
Kindness must watch for me
This side the ground.
The late year lies down the north.
All is healed, all is health.
High summer holds the earth.
Hearts all whole.
Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder wand'ring far
alone

Of shadows on the stars."*
(Rufus) James Agee (1909-1955)

*Source

Sure on this shining night. Morten Lauridsen

Tuesday 19 November 2013

silent
clear blue skyline
icy early winter
warming soul at early morning
touching

beyond words
beyond music
beyond silence
drip, drip, drip,
ages past
present themselves
fragments gathering in
stillness
listen!

oh -
so very deep
hear the silent call
resonating
healing
smiling
at your loved wantedness
little one.




Sunday 17 November 2013

Five falling leaves


falling
leaves from the tree
released from the centre
returning to the earthen core
gently

i
there is something very poetic
melancholic
about watching leaves fall
at least I thought that until this year
watching leaves fall
in former years
trees
crying leaves
lamenting summer's
passing..
sweating
off last seasons toxins

ii
this year I noticed
I have never seen an individual leaf fall from a tree
let go
die as it were
to this life
this time
like a candle flame which burns out
and the vanish flame
the dying ember
the ending glow
bright yellow
fleeting brightness
pause in time
smoke arising
curling in my nostrils
reassuring familiar
scent of death
kicking through leaves
in the moist times

iii
this year I realised
yes, I'd seem lots of leaves
but not one leaf
and so I looked deeply
at the many for the one
eyes darting
seeing many
missing the individual
picking one at the expense of the others
focus now
lots of others now fall side by side to the one I focus on...
now I become aware of it as an individual
now I realise I am witnessing its death
now I don't want it to fall
now I realise it may never fall
now I wonder what glue holds it
now I wonder at my friend's presence
now I want it to fall
now my eyes are confused by the pattern of the twigs and branches agains the sky
now I know I am the leaf
the leaf is me
we inter-are

iv
mind becomes calm
breathing in I know I am breathing in
breathing out I know I am breathing out
I rise and leave my seat
I wonder if the leaf
was so attached to me
was sad at my leaving
as I at deserting it at this time

v
no I
no it









Thursday 14 November 2013

a week of prayer

comes to an end...
The Calming of the storm Mark 4:35-41

i
it was my boat they used
I just kept my hand on the tiller
while all the time he slept through it all
at my feet
until they woke him
scrabbling about over priority and boarding passes
all that negativity attracted the storm
there was no need of it
I’d have got them through
You just have to
know the water
and be one with your boat.

ii
Trying to come to it afresh
hear it anew
where am I?
either on the shore - which one?
in a boat - which one his or the others?

iii
It’s all very confused in my mind now
I went along because the others did
we nearly drowned in the storm
it seemed to happen in the distance
I’ve only a second hand story
picked up from the others
who reckon we’d all be dead now
if he hadn’t intervened
had a word
spoke it
sorted it
big magic
whatever it be.

iv
From the other side I saw them coming
squabbling and fighting
to get here first
I saw him stand up
heard him shout a lot
they all settled down then.
You can only have one captain.
They made it
but the rest drowned
missed the boat you see
only one had the right skipper.

v
Will the real Jesus please stand up?

What do I want from the Jesus? - that he keep disturbing the peace.

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Epiphany

learning
to put distance
second thinking
allowing time for reflection
choices.

(Shadow Boxing)

Tuesday 5 November 2013

How It Happens

rising
fantasy calls
a growing attachment
manifestation follows soon
falling

perhaps a sound
or quickening
connection at least
link made
forged and welded
others fly in sensing energy
multi sensory now
gaining ground
dust
water
suddenly clay
imaginations fire
locks it all into place
at a molecular level

carefully observed
quantum collections
word song sound and movement
provide opportunities for wood metal and paint
to thoughtfully engage and direct energy
alchemically
in order for reconnection
for the world-weary soul

self indulgence
is focused on individual
mirrored pearls
whose taste is bitter gall
and whose energy goes into disconnection
encouraging belief in independence

therefore create books of stories
that tell and retell
inviting interdependence
generosity
thankfulness
compassion.









Monday 28 October 2013

Prayer and Raindrops.

I need to pray
no, I need to become prayer
enter into the...
                        Watching rain drops on the patio door
                        many
                        individual unconnected
                        then suddenly
                        (I can't see that well these days)
                        suddenly
                                     from where
                                     a drop lands
                                     gravity takes over
                                     darting quickly side
                                     by side
                                     last line of resistance
                                                       I suppose
                       suddenly
                                     joining other paths
                                                  less resistance
                                                  easier passage
                       suddenly there is a river of prayer!
                       Picking up others along the way
                       it seems that this is the one to
                       take us all the way and then
                       it stops.
...story,
           become the story letting go into a cosmic
wide web of consciousness where all is well all always was
well and always will be well.
                     
                        Unseen
                        other droplets
                        discovering old ways
                        re-energise bringing new life
                        moving.
   
               Journey's end - plop!

        
     

Saturday 12 October 2013

What If The Fish And The Eye Were One?


i
seeking knowledge
fish sank deep into the pool of understanding
keeping a weather eye open
nothing could persuade him of otherwise

ii
she stood in the doorway
it was raining
and the dream was black and white
as he remembered
Casablanca, he recalled
his mum waiting at the station for her lover
before the war
just in time to catch the last bus
then he’d have to walk back
with a warm glow inside
none of it seemed to matter just now and yet
everything was of consuming importance
the waiting
the walking
the ordinary everyday
extraordinariness of it all
in a flash
slow flash
slow motion flash
over in a second
whatever that was it was a near miss.

iii
He visited me again the old boy with his dog.
said
new story
new ways
just have a go
a try or something
a stab at it at least
there are no mistakes
only better failures

iv
in the moment be taken
let certainties be broken
earth looms large
cold clay beckons
life expectancy
immaterial
breath
in
out
wanted
yes!
loved
yes!

v
dust in my eye again
or will I admit a tear
a weak tear
a weak tea
just a bit of bread broken
over the table
crumbs fall
life passes by
winter prepares to clothe the world
the damage is done
there is only now
ever was
and will be
(he wanted to say Amen).

Thursday 10 October 2013

A learner in the Moment.

slicing
prime cuts of earth
flirting world soil forward
unearthing micro-worlds sunward
digging


Thursday 3 October 2013

A Dip in the Pot

1st. May 2012
So is it possible to trace a map on the wind
seek the landmarks of the stream
encode the reality of our unspeakable discoveries
from lands beyond ordinary reality?

Tuesday 10 September 2013

Remembering the future



glimpsing
slightly shifting
echoes from the future
mind viewing without the clockwork
awe-struck

Friday 6 September 2013

Winter Digging



















Some have finished already
me
well
here's
the
latest offering: a little booklet.

Thursday 5 September 2013

Turning corners

suddenly things are different
only a subtle change
everything looks the same yet all is different

Tuesday 20 August 2013

Snails

at a cross-roads
       can I ever be
       making
       another me
walking
            two
                  paths
       simultaneously
          webs of
              life
          weaving woven
                   becoming
                           unresolved



Monday 19 August 2013

Monday 3 June 2013

Moved to tears...




Tears
emotions move
memories brought to life
tugging at the tearful heartstrings
response

Monday 18 March 2013

gently

gather
scattered fragments
littering the journals
lifetime of a soul becoming
urgent

Wednesday 6 March 2013

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Brown Paper Packages...




blanket
frosted cotton
silent memory falters
rootless childhood comes to greet me
comfort


there is cold comfort in childhood memories of rootlessness
trying to remember
journey from the new world of Hemel Hempstead
to the ancient cotton lands of Lancashire
some children were parcelled of to boarding school
looked forward to the holidays
I was parcelled up
literally in travel sickness preventative
brown paper
crinkling on the bus
in the holidays
away from parents
homesick
loving it
especially the backs at railway road
allotments and racing pigeons
shaking tins of corn to tempt the weary racers
perched on close-by gasometer
loving that word
gasometer
ometer
omiter
gently squeezing
aching memories
for sweet hopeful juices
omitter
archived
included omitted
omitted
documented senses
reinstalled behind the doors
breaking thorough
new formed
tainted in a good way
rich veins

Thursday 31 January 2013

Soul Keening

dawning
open morning
mouthing last night’s silence
making off with dreamlike distance
owning


little one
in whose keeping am placed
place in your keeping
that which is understood
less than bread un-torn
left soft crumbed on the table
for sake of mercy or unknown brother
or sister
soulparts
gathered up crumbs
thrown to the four winds
married by storytaleing
to driftwood on the beach
hearing crash of wave on shore
hearing you call
hear you calling
sink beneath the rolling breakers
wash the weight from tired eyes
be forgiven if unforgiveness is your geis
know love now
if late in day
if unlovedness be your geis
amble down the valley with a swaggered gait
into the promised land
pick a thread of grass for good measure
with wry smile remember taste of summer love

Shamefaced


months of inactivity
during which so much has taken place

unrecorded
perhaps unconscious intentionality
knew best

but it still bubbles up daily
wellspring

Now comes breakfast and all sorts of nonsense.

touching
touching the smell
tasting the weather’s gall
sensing the rain on the west wind
knowing


come and listen a while
at the hearth of the ancestors
they come if you maintain silence and sit quietly
invite them
they need to be given a place at the fireside
they are cold wanderers
universal symbols
characters in a play/dance
drifting mummers
mumbling doggerel verse
crude but easily remembered
in comes and in come and in comes I
wondering how and wondering why
but hail and well met and give us a sup
i’ll tell thee a tale if you fill up my cup