Author Archives: Herb Stone

poem: a season of loss

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poem: a season of loss
feeling the deep sting of loss
in this dark, wet, cold,
season of mid-winter


and yet, what personal hubris of one’s self


would tell someone to worry about the comfort


and safety of their own ego




only in the dark night of the soul


are we liberated from old attachments


and compulsions so that we love more freely




only with suffering can we


awaken to the deepest


compassion and wisdom of life eternal




and only in healing can one


know the complimentary, both/and,


unitive, full process of suffering




yes, here and now in the second half of life,


it is time to put away our childish ways,


and spiritually discern our falling upward




Herb Stone


here&now working poetry


January 27, 2023




photo by author “Home”




author’s note: the second line of the last verse is from 1 Corinthians 13:11. 
Richard Rohr has an excellent book titled, “Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the 
Two Halves of Life.”





























































					

		
		
	


				
					
	

				
					
	

		

						
poem: a missive from a hard winter and a possible return

			
						

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poem: a missive from

a hard winter and a

possible return


from deep within

the dark lair 


wounds are salved

and broken things mended


a buffeting wet, cold

winter wind chills the bone


quality of life

frail and weak


free floating soul

battered in the storm


consciousness clouded

the way uncertain


circling in this thin place

in liminal time


letting go of survival instinct

for more understanding


perhaps a bit more repose

into the bardos of uncertainty


faith in one’s good nature,

clarity, and hope of return


opening to what lies beyond,

transformation, re-engagement


the intuitive wisdom of knowing

beyond the mind


emergence of True Self joined

mutually in beloved community


Herb Stone

here&now working poetry

January 13, 2023


photo by author

‘Old Coyote in Winter’





















































					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
poem: life, dream, prophetic, and spiritual signs of aging

			
						

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poem: life, dream, prophetic,

and spiritual signs of aging


life signs: impermanence

everybody and everything changes,

nothing last forever


dream signs: humility and loss

all things arising that must

expand our consciousness


prophetic signs: wisdom and wit

the owl and the coyote

visit our abode


spirit signs: the Eternal Divine

directly knowing the Cosmic

spiritual journey of Oneing


Herb Stone

here&now working poetry

January 8, 2023


photo by author

‘Spirit Guides and Prophetic

Companions’


author’s note: in my aging, as

caregiver to a beloved, aging wife,

and with aging family and friends,

I have recently been experiencing

an acute awareness of this later

stage of life all will experience who

live long enough. The poem references

signs I have personally experienced

in a relatively short period of time,

i.e., the last six to eight weeks.

Gratefully, the spiritual traditions

I have practiced over my lifetime

have been a beacon of grace, faith,

and hope in preparation for journeys

to come. Also deeply grateful for dear

friends offering the authenticity of

true belonging. Namaste!



















					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
poem: ole coyote warming its bones

			
						

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poem: ole coyote warming its bones


wiley, wary, weary coyote

dozing in the full sun

of a freezing winter’s morn


a sub-zero night,

scrounging for its food,

its heart is light


witty and wise, clever and savvy,

in nature wholly adaptable,

the old coyote perseveres


Herb Stone

here&now working poetry

January 5, 2023










photo by author


author’s note: Our local coyote friend,






laying in a favorite sunny spot at the


edge of our woods, during the recent


cold nap this winter with temps


sub-zero and below freezing for several


days. Recently, it came to our


backdoor before sunrise and made a


ruckus, and I peered through the glass;


it was there on the patio just inches away


on the other side of the door. Thanks for


stopping by!





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

				
					
	

		

						
haiku: Christmas past dreams

			
						

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haiku: Christmas past dreams


remembering past

family Christmases on

the farm of her youth


Herb Stone

here&now working poetry

December 20, 2022


photo by author


author’s note: Cathey grew up








on a large dairy farm in rural


Middle Tennessee in a large family


of 10 siblings with their Mom and


Dad. She left home at 19 moving to


Nashville, we married when she


was 27, and we will celebrate her


78th. Christmas this week.






















May be an image of 1 person, indoor and text that says 'while visions of sugar plums danced in her head 2D'



































					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
tanka: winter’s feast (out of darkness, light)

			
						

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tanka: winter’s feast




(out of darkness, light)


cold Advent mornings

dawn’s light shines in the darkness

winter solstice near

the star in the east heralds

earth and heaven intertwine










Herb Stone

here&now working poetry

December 17, 2022










photos by author


Author’s note:








I love the season of winter solstice,


Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany to


which I pay homage to my patron saint,


Gertrud Nelson. Gertrud has taught me


more about these traditions and their


authentic meaning than anyone. Nine years


ago, I had the good fortune of meeting


Gertrud and attending her workshop on


these traditions thanks to our dear mutual


friend, Pastor Brian Hooper. Gertrud’s


book, ‘To Dance With God: Family Ritual


and Community Celebration’, has the best


descriptions of these traditions and rituals,


and practical guidance on how to observe


them in our daily lives, than any other resource


I have seen. Her book is available on Amazon,


and I highly recommend it. Following is a


quote from Gertrud describing the workshop


I attended with her: “What could possibly be


more exciting than incarnational theology,


celebrated, taken in, lived, enjoyed, understood?


We have a great store of traditions to draw from,


as we go from darkness to light. The traditions


are ancient and have belonged to people


of all ages. We have a tendency to paint over


these ancient truths with cheap paint and tinsel.


Years of accretions plaster over the hidden


within.….let’s scrape down what dulls the


deepest truths and find the gem.”






To which I say, “Hallelujah!”























































































































					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
haiku: thin places and the time between now and forever

			
						

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haiku: thin places and the time

between now and forever




wistful hoots echo

in the dark void before light

what yet comes draws near


Herb Stone

here&now working poetry

December 14, 2022










author’s note: I recently woke

in deepest, darkest night to a great

horned owl’s hooting and sensed

a moment of spirit connecting

the present and eternity and the

nearness of the divine. Putting this

experience into a poem has led to

much reflection and too many starts

and stops. And now I send it on its

way in hopes it speaks to you.








image unattributed





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
an Advent poem: making ready (what comes before)

			
						

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an Advent poem:


making ready

(what comes before)


sitting in the pre-dawn

darkness of this spiritually

transformative season








silent, reflective, open,

to the Divine Truth within

and the new beginnings before us










witnessing the Universal Cosmic Christ

who came down to us, comes again,

and is always with us in eternal life










mindful of the season’s

sentimentality, nostalgia, and hubris

which comforts and distracts us










here and now in the bliss

of participating and being

in the way of Creator God of All










mutually committed in body/mind/spirit

to preparing the way and living together

in diversity, healing, and peace










we humans transformed and co-creating

the alternative neighborly community

of True Self and Authentic Belonging










a lone voice in the wilderness

crying out, make ready the way

for the in-flowing of the Great I Am










Herb Stone

here&now working poetry

December 6, 2022










author’s note: The last stanza is a paraphrase of the prophet Isaiah from the old testament found in Isaiah 40:3. The Great I Am reverences the I Am statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John, and Yahweh, God’s name in the Old Testament. It also connotes the Sanskrit mantra Tat Tvam Asi from the Chandogya Upanishad which refers to the unity of the individual Soul with the Divine Universal Consciousness. My experience is that all Divine Truth is universal, perennial, and cosmic flowing from the one supreme source which underlies all religion, spirituality, and mysticism, and which can be directly experienced by human beings who follow the way of True Self. An excellent book on this idea is “The Perennial Philosophy” by Aldous Huxley.








art image ‘O Root’ by Sister Ansgar Holmberg