poem: a season of loss

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Herb Stone

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

Posted on January 13, 2023 by Herb Stone

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: ole coyote warming its bones

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Herb Stone

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 Eve

Posted on December 24, 2022 by Herb Stone

haiku: Christmas Eve

tree lights all aglow
overnight, first winter snow,
all wrapped with a bow

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
December 24, 2022

photos by author

haiku: Christmas past dreams

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Herb Stone

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.

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

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Herb Stone

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!”

an Advent poem: making ready (what comes before)

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Herb Stone

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