faint sunlight
injecting the veins
of a falling leaf
By: Gabriel Rosenstock
— from Haiku: The Art of Disappearing, by Gabriel Rosenstock (unpublished manuscript)
Photo by Richard
Poems of Gabriel Rosenstock at Poetseers.org
Poems of Gabriel Rosenstock at Poetry Chaikhana
"The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common."
" What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. "
"People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character. "
"Is it so bad to be misunderstood?
Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton,
and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh."
By:Ralph Waldo Emerson
Photo by Jogyata Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries
"Give all to love;
Obey thy heart;
Friends, kindred, days,
Estate, good fame,
Plans, credit, and the muse;
Nothing refuse. "
From: Give all to Love
Spring still makes spring in the mind,
When sixty years are told;
Love wakes anew this throbbing heart,
And we are never old.
Over the winter glaciers,
I see the summer glow,
And through the wild-piled snowdrift
The warm rose buds below.
From: "The World Soul"
If the red slayer think he slays,
Or if the slain think he is slain,
They know not well the subtle ways
I keep, and pass, and turn again.
From: "Brahma"
" Good-by, proud world, I’m going home,
Thou’rt not my friend, and I’m not thine;
Long through thy weary crowds I roam;
A river-ark on the ocean brine,
Long I’ve been tossed like the driven foam,
But now, proud world, I’m going home."
Related
"A thinker in the sublimest sense of the term is Emerson. His philosophy touches the core of all earthly problems. "Ends," said he, "pre-exist in the means." Hence what matters is to cherish our highest aspirations in all sincerity and determination and rest assured in the faith that these will realise themselves… "
essay on R.Emerson by Sri Chinmoy
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Between the dark and the daylight,
When the- night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the days occupations,
That is known as the Children’s Hour.
I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet
…
View: Video of Poem being Recited at You Tube
click more for rest of poem
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Between the dark and the daylight,
When the- night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the days occupations,
That is known as the Children’s Hour.
I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet
From my study I see in the lamplight
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.
A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.
A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!
They climb up into my turret
O’er the arms and back of my chair,
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.
They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!
Do you think, 0 blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!
I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.
And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And moulder in dust away!
By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Poems about Children
Oh God
Let all lovers be content
Give them happy endings
Let their lives be celebrations
Let their hearts dance in the fire of your love.
From: Love poems of Rumi – Deepak Chopra
To celebrate the 800th birth anniversary of mystic poet Jelalludin Rumi UNESCO has announced that the year 2007 will be the International Year of Rumi Year. During the next year there will be special ceremonies and programs held all over the world to commemorate this great Persian poet. In particular celebrations will focus on Rumi’s place of birth and Turkey where he lived for many years.
Rumi was born in Balkh in what is now Afganisthan. Balkh was then part of the Persian Empire the precursor of modern day Iran. Rumi spent most of his life living in Turkey and was buried in Konya, Turkey
Rumi’s poetry and philosophy is based on tolerance, openness, and the overwhelming power of universal love.
“When in Love,
body, mind, heart and soul don’t even exist.
Become this,
fall in Love, and you will not be separated again.”
– Rumi
Trans. by: Sharam Shiva.
"The fault is in the blamer
Spirit sees nothing to criticize"
– Rumi
From: Wisdom of Rumi by: Timothy Freke
Rumi had the capacity to appear beyond cultural and national boundaries. This helps to explain his universal appeal, both during his life and in the modern world, 800 years after his birth. Many of the western translations have downplayed the importance of Rumi’s Islamic studies, however Rumi was well known as being one of the foremost scholars of the time. The Qu’ran provides significant inspiration for his poetry and writings. However although brought up in the tradition of Islam Rumi is at heart a Sufi mystic who goes beyond the domain of religion and intellectual study. He also weaved everyday occurrences and fables into his poetry, whilst giving a glimpse of a divine life far transcending the ordinary world. In particular Rumi was a great believer in the spiritual power of music. Through absorption in spiritual music an aspirant was able to go beyond his ego and experience the bliss of divine communion.
For Rumi spirituality involved a profound change of consciousness, a transformation so marked it was like the proverbial rebirth of a seeker.
“I was dead, then alive.
Weeping, then laughing.
The power of love came into me,
and I became fierce like a lion,
then tender like the evening star."
From: Odes of Rumi
By: Coleman Barks
The key moment in Rumi’s life came when he met his master and wandering dervish called Shams. It was the dishevelled Shams who awoke in Rumi a passionate longing for union with the Divine. On discovering the inner path of love Rumi lost interest in scholarly debate and devoted his life to spiritual practises and the writing of poetry. Rumi’s major work is the Masnawi. The Masnawi is often called the "Qur’an-e Parsi" (The Persian Qur’an). It is considered by many to be one of the greatest works of mystical poetry. Rumi’s other major work is the Divan of Shams
It is perhaps ironic that a muslim mystic from Persia has become America’s best selling poet in the past years. The Essential Rumi translated by Coleman Barks has sold 250,000 copies. “The Soul of Rumi” was published in September 2001 and has gone on to be a very popular seller.
By: Richard Pettinger
Writespirit.net 28/10/06
Picture of Rumi’s tomb, Konya Turkey