quote: “….together we shall meet the difficult challenges confronting us”

Posted on September 23, 2021 by Herb Stone

poem: our lives together in challenging times

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Herb Stone

poem: our lives together in challenging times

separated from one another
and under assault from the external din
as never before in our lifetime

a ‘new normal’ will never evolve
by commenting on the scenery or
changing external circumstances

needing intensive Self care,
and a cleansing from the rhetoric, lies,
propaganda, hubris, nostalgia, and platitudes

letting go of all we think we know
and that which the dominant authorities
want us to believe although unexamined

here and now quieting and stilling
we are as beginners each new day to the
examined, intentional, purposeful life

transcending the absorbed self
let us turn and open within
to wisdom of the ages and Self truth here and now

being as seekers
of the new day, the new time,
and the new way transformed

recalling Truth and Love
are the treasures sitting upon
the Lotus throne of our hearts

now with intensive Self care and loving mutuality
together we shall meet the difficult challenges
confronting us

dear friends pray for me in my tiredness
as I pray for you in yours, as we take time now,
to be restored together in Truth, Beauty, and Goodness

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
September 20, 2021

photo by author
‘Gulfview Heights, SRB, 2017 with Cathey’

quote: ““What is it in the first half of life that we imagine we are in control of….”

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Herb Stone

poem: craving connection, a creature in the house of the living God

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Herb Stone

poem: craving connection, a creature
in the house of the living God

cooped up so long
due to inhospitable climes,
poor health, contagion

now stepping out into a Fallish nip,
on the breeze, more agreeable climes,
a brilliant walk at long last

my beloved and I seeking benefits
of a good trek on a good day,
lifting lagging spirits

the beauty of the season’s change
and its’ bounty greet us along the trail,
bearing witness thus sustaining

hedge apples, blue cardinal flower,
wingstem, bulrush, honeysuckle
berries, milkweed seed pods abounding

industrious insects scattered
gathering pollen as diapause approaches,
riotous activity aplenty

reflecting in the seasons
life’s paradoxical cycles,
all things interconnecting, working together

nature’s holistic rhyme, rhythm, and flow
fully on display this day,
entering, soothing our very souls

oh thy saving grace may we accept
being instruments of your peaceableness,
Earth beings in the great Cosmos belonging

a creature in the house of the living God

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
September 14, 2021

photos by the author

Author’s note: “a creature in the house of the
living God” is from the poem ‘Pax’ by D.H.
Lawrence.

quote: “The success of the ego’s self is not an ultimate criterion of one’s life.”

Posted on September 12, 2021 by Herb Stone

poem: memories of youthful luminescence

Posted on September 12, 2021 by Herb Stone

poem: memories of youthful luminescence

once, long ago, remembering
a night on the beach at Viareggio

the moon a yellow pizza pie
glowing in the great cosmo sky

cheese stretching from above
to our hungry mouths below

stinging jelly fish luminescing
in the dark Mediterranean sea

endless stars lighting the dark void
of the night canopy overhead

our heart’s souls connecting to all
in golden threads

we skip the light fandango
the great cosmos spins

Herb Stone
here & now working poetry
September 8, 2021

photo unattributed

Quote: prepare, practice, and participate: do the work and be the change

Posted on September 5, 2021 by Herb Stone

Quote: prepare, practice, and participate: do the work and be the change in these divisive epochal times of worldly chaos

I invite all to visit my poetry web site, follow me, and share what is on your mind at www.herbstonejr.com

Good poetry, good reading, and good health in these challenging times! Let us join together and love one another in authentic communities of belonging, caring, and sharing

poem: ‘I missed the party in the field’ (let us stay just a little bit longer)

Posted on August 29, 2021 by Herb Stone

poem: ‘I missed the party in the field’
(let us stay just a little bit longer)

my beloved sleep-wakes
souls visiting her dreams
elders surrounding her
she stirs perplexed

‘I missed the party in the field’
she mumbles to me that

her parents are having a big party
in the big wheat field

these images calling to her:
there is always a place
where you belong
and a home welcoming you

my sweet, the party only begins,
upon your arrival, at the time,
whenever you are ready, but now
let us stay here together just a little bit longer

the two of us practicing
mutual radical grace and radical love
for all beloved beings upon this Earth
all walking each other Home together

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
August 27, 2021

photo by author
‘Walking each other home’

Author’s note: My wife’s lucid dreams
now occupy a liminal space in our aging
together as she experiences the effects
of Alzheimers and recovers from a recent
mild stroke. We will celebrate our 50th.
year wedding anniversary in November
2021.