Archives for posts with tag: circle of life

A Wreath for the Door

December 22, 2012 //
1

December 22, 2011

Evergreens circle:
up and down round into one -
a wreath for the door.

Most of us think linearly, live linearly, set up a goal ahead of ourselves and start here and end there.

But the wreaths on our doors speak of something different; they attest to our faith in the circular, the eternal, the turn and return.  There is no starting block; there is no finish line.  We needn’t make a mad dash for some arbitrary endpoint.  We can jump in, as in all epics, in medias res (into the midst of things) and partake in the great and wonderful, strange and marvelous adventure we call life.  It is never too early; it is never too late.  You needn’t hurry; you mustn’t wait.  Just jump in.

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Categories haiku

Circles

October 6, 2012 //
1

October 6, 2011

The peony stalks,
clipped again to the ground, fill
round bushel baskets.

Every year in fall we cut down a lot of the dead and dying vegetation in our garden prior to winter’s onset and throw it in our compost pile.  However, peony stalks are susceptible to diseases and thus we do not compost them here, yet they too will return somewhere to the ground and continue their journey round the circle of life.

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Unprepared

August 5, 2012 //
1

August 5, 2011

An oak leaf turns brown
unexpectedly early.
I was unprepared.

Perhaps we are always unprepared.  A leaf turns brown.  A hair turns gray.  The sun suddenly seems to set significantly earlier.  A wrinkle appears at the corner of an eye.  It is surprising that mortality always comes as a surprise.

Perhaps our culture should consider a gray hair symbolic of wisdom rather than infirmity, a wrinkle symbolic of experience rather than failure, and age a badge of honor rather than shame.

Perhaps we need to understand the circles in which we live - the day, the month, the year, the lifetime, and the larger circles beyond that – to appreciate the unity of which we are a part and its unfathomable beginninglessness and perpetuity.

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Categories haiku

The Round

March 3, 2012 //
1

March 3, 2011

See the recurring,
the leaving, returning leaf.
Is that the bird’s song?

When I was in kindergarten, I learned to sing in round.  I had to listen to those singing before me to know when to enter the round, but then sometimes plug my ears so I would not get distracted by the different words they were singing:

Row row row your boat
row row row your boat
gently down the stream
gently down the stream
merrily merrily merrily merrily
merrily merrily merrily merrily
life is but a dream
life is but a dream

The repeating lyrics sung over and over made a never-ending circle.  And life – the dream that is life – is this eternal recurring return: the leaves that drop and grow again; the birds that migrate south and return with their song.  This is the round, the circle-song, they sing.

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Categories haiku

Sacrifice

February 21, 2012 //
2

February 21, 2011

A broken branch hangs;
the tired arm could no longer
hold the winter up.

The world sacrifices itself for us all the time; if it didn’t, we could not live.  Yes, we are 100% dependent on the beneficence of others to lay down their lives so we may continue ours.  This cannot be avoided because life eats life, feeds on life and could not otherwise exist.  That is the circle of life of which we are all a part.

The purpose of meditation or prayer before meals, I would think, must be to acknowledge this ultimate sacrifice and express our sincerest gratitude.  How do words express such a thanks?  How can words express such a thanks?

If we truly recognize this sacrifice, if we stare in the face of this undeniable truth, how can we live without a profound sense of guilt unless we do something vital with the life we are given, with the life we are continually given each day?

What am I doing with the opportunity that these countless sacrifices have given me?

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Categories haiku
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