a handful of dreamdust

it's 3 am.
the stars are out..i am out..
gandering at the night sky
to scan an answer from the empyrean
the coyotes
have been frolicking
and yelping since midnight..
new moon
juneteenth..
solstice..
no wonder sleep gives me the slip..
and now.. just now..
the roosters have started their early morning
crooning and cock-a-dooning ..

what is that
poem
by langston hughes?

gather out of star dust
earth dust
cloud dust 
storm dust
and splinters of hail
one handful of dream dust
not for sale

and i wonder..full of wonder..
not so much that i don't love enough..
yet wonder... full of wonder..
if i speak it out enough..
telling all i love..
and maybe even some i don't
that yes, indeed, i do love you
enough to tell you..
to tell the all and every
of my tally of loved ones..
i love you..
so maybe it's not that we don't love enough..
it's that we must declare it..
in any way
in a myriad of ways
in allways
in everyway ~

everything that breathes is hungry
                         ~ gary snyder

what is it we are hungry for..?
what whets this swelling appetite ..?
it must be love, you think?

hafiz says ~
with that moon language

admit something:
everyone you see, you say to them, "love me."

of course, you do not say this out loud -

still, though, think about this, this great pull in us to connect.

why not become the one who lives with a
full moon in each eye that is
always saying,

with that sweet moon language,
what every other eye in
this world is
dying to 
hear?

the candles have burned low,
the night sky has shapeshifted
to dawn this laudable day..
the aire is full of chirpings..
robin, rooster, frogs a' freeping..
hummingbirds queue up on the clothesline
and await their turn to slurp the syrup
from their red round diners..
swallows sweep the blue yonder
to feed the yawning mouths of young..
stardust fades to dreamdust ~
these are the days and this is time
to speak out from the arrow in our hearts
let's not waste another moment..
now is the time - this is the place


how do i love thee? let me count the ways.
i love thee to the depth and breadth and height
my soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
for the ends of being and ideal grace.
i love thee to the level of every day’s
most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
i love thee freely, as all strive for right;
i love thee purely, as all turn from praise.
i love thee with the passion put to use
in my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
i love thee with a love i seemed to lose
with my lost saints. i love thee with the breath,
smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if god choose,
i shall but love thee better after death.
                            sonnet 43 
                            elizabeth barret browing



           

talismans ~

the everyday practice is simply to develop
complete acceptance and openness to all
situations and emotions, and to all people,
experiencing totally without mental
reservations and blockages,
so that one never withdraws or centralizes
into oneself.
                          ~ dilgo khyentse rinpoche


i will give you a talisman.
whenever you are in doubt or when the self 
becomes too much with you, try the following expedient:
recall the face of the poorest and the most helpless being
whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step
you contemplate is going to be of use to them.
will they be able to gain anything by it?
will it restore them to a control over their own life and destiny?
in other words, will it lead to .. self-rule
for the hungry and also the spiritually starved millions of the world?
when you do, you will find .... your self melting away.
                                                    ~ gandhi-ji

talisman - tongen practice..

tonglen is tibetan for sending and receiving..
it is a path and a practice that conjures up our willingness
to take on the pain of others and offer whatever may
ease, console and soothe their sorrow, heartbreak and misery.
it is the practice of the wide embrace..
a bigger container to hold the human condition..
tonglen unconditionally exposes our interconnectedness..
tonglen dissolves the barriers of the heart...
the talisman of tonglen frees us from the cage of the self...
when we are free, and open and spacious..
the world is free and open and spacious..


you are the world and the world is you.
                    ~   j. krishnamurti


three treasures  (talismans)

everybody says my way is great
but improbable.

all greatness
is improbable.
what's probable
is tedious and petty.

i have three treasures.
i keep and treasure them.
the first, mercy,
the second, moderation,
the third, modesty.
if you're merciful you can be brave,
if you're moderate you can be generous,
and if you don't presume to lead
you can lead the high and mighty.

but to be brave without compassion,
or generous without self-restraint,
or to take the lead,
is fatal.

compassion wins the battle
and holds the fort;
it is the bulwark set
around those that heaven helps.
                        ~ tao te ching
                           ursula k. le guin


like the earth, water, wind, and fire,
medicinal herbs, and the trees of the wilderness,
may i always be made use of freely
by all beings just as they wish.

may i be beloved of beings and may they
be more beloved to me than myself.
may i bear the results of their negativity,
and may they have the results of all my virtue.

as long as there is even some single
sentient being somewhere who is not yet free,
may i remain (in the world) for that being's sake,
even if i have attained unexcelled awakening.
                           ~ the precious garland
                              twenty verse prayer
                              nāgārjuna