taopoet
bend with the wind, sing with the muses
taopoetbend with the wind, sing with the muses |
|
TaoLao Tsu, the accepted father of Taoism wrote,“Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river.”He is thought to have written these words nearly 2,500 years ago, in an ancient form of Chinese. The inevitable translational changes, and growth of his philosophy into a world-wide religion are clearly evidenced in this single line. “Be still like a mountain”:Stand and be that which you are, sturdy, slowly evolving, and even in stillness giving way to the powers of time and earth. “Flow like a river”:Continue on, past varying landscapes and obstacles, ever-changing, ever-remaining the same. Lao Tsu, who may have been an actual poet, or may be the stuff of legend, was once revered as a god of a faith that espouses no gods. But true to his teachings, we cannot have truth without lies; clarity without confusion; knowledge without ignorance. Learn more from Religious Tolerance .org PoetHolman & Harmon's A Handbook to Literature describes a poet as anyone who writes poetry, but more generally a person possessive of“great imaginative power, flexible and effective expressiveness, a special sensitivity to experience, a skill in compressed expression, and a sense of appropriateness, grace, and energy in the use of language.”I certainly do try. Browse this site and see how I've done. Feedback is responsively welcomed. |
Open Mics: Seattle poetry resources Today's favorite site: Poems on Peace: From WisdomPortal.com, this collection of verse from the 7th century to the 20th brings to mind the eternal human reflection that our greatest and most elusive quest is for harmony. Well said:: "To stop an illegal and unjust war, soldiers can choose to stop fighting it." — Lt. Ehren Watada Today's Taopoet
Quiet Practice, HopeFold into shiny paper fragile in nobility a whispered prayer gift of wind for peace. When no answer comes fold another whisper but when dawn pacifies, rejoice. |
|
Meditations on peace in peacelessness 1/1/07 — This year opens in a somber swirl of joy and sorrow. Joys include continued health in a warm house, wonderful time spent with family and friends, and the exuberant devotion of a very happy puppy. In a great many ways, it's good to be a middle-class American with a stable and rewarding job, lots of good books to read and food to eat, and a feeling of relative safety as I go about the business of living my life. On the other hand, the world — people, animals, and plants — continue to suffer while for some of us, life goes on. The news of the day reports that 3,000 Americans have died in our "war of terror" in Iraq. I weep for them and those they've left behind, but more than that, I weep for the more than 650,000 Iraqis, many innocents, who have died under our occupation. And for the millions suffering in Darfur and other oppressive political tyrannies, and for the millions of hungry, sad, homeless, and harmed Americans on or near the streets all around me. Taopoet's muses are moaning, and the winds howl. I huddle quietly, wondering. How will we end this? more taopoet musingsfind more musings in the taopoet blog Experience More TaopoetPoetrycurrent sea: the sandbox where Taopoet plays from time to time ... to timebrief silent reading: a collection of short poems selected from the Taopoet notebooks syllables: Taopoet earned a Master's Degree with these poems and lots of related hard work — read them one at a time, and check out the ruminations on poetry's first-person narrator if you'd like Prosemoving through montana: a prose poem about travellers looking out for one anotherexact retelling: brief musings regarding the relevance of memory in personal exposition words too many: an excerpt from Taopoet's master's thesis, discussing the interpretation of first-person narration in poetry advice for writers: when someone asked Taopoet for writing advice, she smiled to herself and responded thusly reviews: articles and other ruminations on other folks' work |