Spring Musings
“….the light riseth in the east and forecasts the glory of the sunkissed earth…”
“Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring
The Winter Garment of Repentance fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To fly–and Lo! the Bird is on the Wing.”
The Winter Garment of Repentance fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To fly–and Lo! the Bird is on the Wing.”
Omar Khayyám
“The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible: The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden. If you don’t want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don’t have a soul.”– Thomas Moore, The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, 1996, p. 101 *
What is divinity if it can come
Only in silent shadows and in dreams?
Shall she not find in comforts of the sun,
In pungent fruit and bright, green wings, or else
In any balm or beauty of the earth,
Things to be cherished like the thought of heaven?
Divinity must live within herself:
Passions of rain, or moods in falling snow;
Grievings in loneliness, or unsubdued
Elations when the forest blooms; gusty
Emotions on wet roads on autumn nights;
All pleasures and all pains, remembering
The bough of summer and the winter branch,
These are the measures destined for her soul.
Only in silent shadows and in dreams?
Shall she not find in comforts of the sun,
In pungent fruit and bright, green wings, or else
In any balm or beauty of the earth,
Things to be cherished like the thought of heaven?
Divinity must live within herself:
Passions of rain, or moods in falling snow;
Grievings in loneliness, or unsubdued
Elations when the forest blooms; gusty
Emotions on wet roads on autumn nights;
All pleasures and all pains, remembering
The bough of summer and the winter branch,
These are the measures destined for her soul.
– Wallace Stevens, Sunday Morning, 1915*
In this light, my spirit saw through all things and into all
creatures, and I recognized God in grass and plants.– Jacob Boehme *
creatures, and I recognized God in grass and plants.– Jacob Boehme *
“There is a passion in me that doesn’t long for anything from
another human being.
I was given something else, a cap to wear in both worlds.
It fell off. No matter.
One morning I went to a place beyond dawn, a source of sweetness
that flows and is never less.
I have been shown a beauty that would confuse both worlds,
but I won’t cause that uproar.
I am nothing but a head set on the ground as a gift for Shams.
another human being.
I was given something else, a cap to wear in both worlds.
It fell off. No matter.
One morning I went to a place beyond dawn, a source of sweetness
that flows and is never less.
I have been shown a beauty that would confuse both worlds,
but I won’t cause that uproar.
I am nothing but a head set on the ground as a gift for Shams.
Today I’m out wandering, turning my skull
into a cup for others to drink wine from.
In this town somewhere there sits a calm, intelligent person,
who doesn’t know what he’s about to do!”
into a cup for others to drink wine from.
In this town somewhere there sits a calm, intelligent person,
who doesn’t know what he’s about to do!”
Rumi
photo credits are the copyright of Shani Oates. 2008
People of Goda, the Clan of Tubal Cain 