Pathya Vat

The Pathya Vat is a Cambodian verse form, consisting of four lines of four syllables each, where lines two and three rhyme. When a poem consists of more than one stanza, the last line of the previous stanza rhymes with the second and third lines of the following one.

Ben Says

To gain a friend,
a new someone,
just anyone,
Take a favor.

It matters not
what’s your flavor,
what you savor.
Just let it be.

Just let it in
and you will see.
It’s so easy
to gain a friend.

Winston Nhat Hanh

Listen for a
mindfulness bell.
Your lungs will swell,
In time you’ll tell.

If you think you’re
going through hell,
then mind me well,
just keep going.

Practicing

Meditation:
A choice that’s great,
better than hate.
Don’t you think so?

Allow sadness,
go with the flow,
let worry go,
simple as that.

Forgive yourself.
Sit on your mat,
Zen Bureacrat.
Just mind your breath.

One Thing

Craving freedom
from painful emotions,
but suffering exists.
All Buddhists know this,
at home, across oceans

Feeling helpless,
alone,
doing nothing.
Would it help if
I alone
did just one thing?

So I write,
stay mindful,
light one candle,
give my friends
the love they deserve.
I fall short, of course,
but this is my path

My God and my Bod Both Love a Little Humor

I’m getting around

in a used body now,

recently found

it’s when, not how,

that matters.

We’re just passing through,

a few times like new,

usually in tatters.

All things ephemeral,

they come and they go,

it’s a good thing, in general,

to think this, to know

that if we would be happy,

to prosper, to thrive,

it’s best to be joyful

about being simply alive.

We all want to live

as long as we might,

to keep keeping on,

to fight the good fight,

and continue with chances

to come up to bat,

but we don’t like what happens

to a body which does that.

It’s all over too soon,

in a flash, in a blink,

and none of us has

as much time as we think.

As for me, I think,

before my last bow,

I’ll aim to be present

In the here and the now,

And what will I think

as I lay down to rest?

I hope when I’m gone,

I’ ll be less of a pest.

Putting Togethe a Week

No alcohol crossed my lips,

and I stayed away from chips,

eating mostly vegan food,

which helped elevate my mood.

Daytime protocols I kept,

as more peacefully I slept.

Enjoyed my first art class.

It really was a blast.

Spent a day at a monastery,

which left me feeling very

calm, in fine mental health,

not bottom, nor middle, but serene top shelf.

So there’s your weekly total, a pretty decent score,

I liked it a lot. Please, sir, may I have more?

He;s Nothing at All

Perhaps it was once

handsome, his face,

long before

his present disgrace.

The thinning hair,

perhaps once blond

before grasping hands

reached too far beyond.

His peacock soul,

his sparrow’s brain,

his eyes of coal,

to us so plain.

Evil, not madness,

from those eyes

poison, not cure,

from those lies.

False prophets before

have called this way,

come to me,

we’ll rule the day.

Don’t drink that kool-aid,

put down that glass,

taste not the pourings

of a pompous ass.

The fool’s excuse

is worse than his crime,

this is Our moment,

this is Our time.

Know yourself,

follow your heart,

but don’t just sit there,

we each play a part.

We can’t hide reason,

Our faith must be shown,

there’s no blaming others

if Our future is blown.

No ass-eared fool

should block Our goals

for the sake of Our children,

for the love of their souls.

Intent

I seek a

non-anxious presence

in an anxious world,

trying to remove

the trying, with

effortless effort.

I can read the

invisible ink.

Clearly, love and light

and good are real

in the world,

tangible enough

to do battle

with evil.

Like the ink,

invisible,

but present

nonetheless,

reaching inside,

warming and shaping,

even healing.

Anyone afraid

can doubt this.

It takes courage

to drop the safety

that we think

we created,

to put away

the armor

and become soft

and vulnerable.

Hump Day Haiku

when the moon was hung,
what was left for Him to do?
Oh look, a rainbow.

An Ovillejo

Rainy Days and Fun Days

The clouds curtain the sun.

Oh what fun.

It could bring joy, it might bring pain.

Let it rain.

Oh please, have it fall, let it drop,

Never stop.

Into mud puddles we’ll kerplop.

We can be as children at play,

soaked and laughing throughout the day.

Oh what fun, let it rain, never stop.

Haiku X Seven

Dry season is here

There’s smoke on the horizon

We must mend the roof

Still snow on the peaks

Summer thirsts for its melting

Let’s clean the windows

The Navels are eaten

Valencia’s not yet ripe

What of the apples?

Red flowers open

Pomegranates in waiting

I must make sun tea

Pink roses whisper

Bougainvillas scream color

Pastels still enchant

Spring’s flowers soon fade

Summer blooms remain hidden

Seedlings need water

Epi’s bloom briefly

Cactus flowers much the same

I must call my Friends

No Doubt

Hexaverse:  A poem containing stanzas of 5 lines, then 4 lines, then 3 lines, then 2 lines, ending with one word. The syllables in each stanza correspond to the number of lines, i.e. 5 in each line in the first stanza, 4 in the second stanza and so on. This form may contain more than five stanzas.

No Doubt

Go slowly, be kind,

for everyone you

meet is fighting a

hard battle, struggling

between heart and mind.

There are two ways

in this world that

we can know things,

heart, and heart-mind.

Each moment,

we get to

start out fresh.

Hoping,

Trusting.

Self.