poem: a season of loss

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: “maybe not being on the way is also the way”

poem: “maybe not being on the way

is also the way”at one with life’s Cosmic Flow,
in the True Self and Authentic Nature
of all things here and now,
the way is eternally unending

our story becomes broken
when things become hard,
we pick and choose: ego erupts,
shadows creep in, suffering ensues

one feels they have lost the thread of life,
are off the path, are in exile,
lost in the dark night of the soul,
no longer walking towards home

maybe once on the way, there is no way
but the way; the conscious/unconscious,
engaged/disengaged, yin/yang,
wholeness of it all

“nothing goes away until it teaches us
what we need to learn”: isolation,
grief, loss, illness, doubt, heartbreak;
all are the way on the way

within the complementary tension of Cosmic
Flow, here is the Truth, Authenticity,
and Wholeness that guides us step by step
unending in the eternal way of all things

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
November 19, 2022

author’s note: the title of the poem is a quote from the writing of Toka-Pa Turner.
The quote in the fifth stanza is a quote from the writing of Pema Chodron. I am
grateful to these two contemporary seers for their deep wisdom, writing, and
teachings which inspires me to reflect and write as I seek to know for my Self.

image: Cosmic Dust Flow, NASA Hubble Space Telescope

No photo description available.

poem: a harsh season

poem: a harsh season

this late summer’s day
sitting among the blooms
of garlic and petunias 

admiring their beauty
during a brief respite from
the season’s searing heat 

she nearby with a wry smile,
resting on her cane, eyes closed,
lost in a reverie 

the past 12 months
of our life’s second half
its own harsh season

 

mindful that earthly forms
wither and fade
yet souls hold their beauty 

grateful for the radical
acceptance and love
of mutual belonging 

aware that our most
high Spirit resurrects
in Cosmic harmony of All 

yes, in the late summer
of our harsh year, seeing
the Beauty now and to come 

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
August 6, 2022 

photos by author 

Author’s note: The past twelve
months have seen a string of acute
illnesses, chronic health concerns,
and injuries for my beloved. We
weather the harsh season together,
and discover the Beauty that survives
and endures now and to come.

poem: invitational presence

poem: invitational presence

like the lodestar
in the dark of night
calling us to safe harbor

the host setting
an extra place at the table
for the unexpected guest

the healer connecting
deeply with others
through their own wounds

the creative soul
offering its expression
as a gift to the universe

the True Self animating
our life together
in communities of belonging

the spirit uplifting
the life and dignity
of all oppressed beings

the dear friend who
senses our need
and reaches out in support

being the invitational presence
subtly communicating to all
one’s radical acceptance and inclusion

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
July 22, 2022

self photo “Opening the Heart Chakra’

Author’s note: Each of us can cultivate
an invitational presence which is key
to fostering healthy beings, relationships,
and communities of authentic belonging.
An excellent resource on invitational
presence and belonging is Toko-Pa Turner’s book,
‘Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home.”
This is an area I must continually work on due to
a temperament for solitude.

poem: an economy of words

poem: an economy of words

writing over a lifetime
one uses tens of thousand words
baring one’s innermost soul
to the light

words can collect like rain
in the lowlands
and burst forth
in a torrent

and words can be
hard to come by
hidden in the darkness
of stultifying events

one can be filled
to over-brimming
and one can be empty
to the core

now exiled on the high knob
in the dry desert
in hopes dark clouds pour
releasing the light of new life

Herb Stone
July 19, 2022
here&now working poetry

photo by author

poem: writing in time of pandemic, climate change, social injustice, tyranny, and gratitude for what matters

poem: writing in time
of pandemic, climate change,
social injustice, tyranny,
and gratitude for what matters

writing from our home
in Nashville, where we
are under an excessive
heat warning all this week,
high humidity and temperatures

my beloved and I
both testing positive for COVID
for the first time and
quarantined at our home,
we are managing

writing this now,
my eyeballs hurt,
my fever is breaking
and I am covered in sweat
and trying to control a bad cough

tragically, we are inundated
daily with bad news of
gun violence, mass shootings,
and extrajudicial shootings
of young black men by police

and all this, not to mention,
the house hearings on the
criminal ex-45th. ‘president’
and his fascist, anti-democracy,
insurrectionist efforts to steal election

dear hearts, grateful for
all of you who have expressed concerns
and who walk this journey with us,
blessed to belong in authentic
community with you all

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
July 7, 2022

photo by author

poem: somewhere between solitude and loneliness

 

poem: somewhere between solitude and loneliness

being here now in solitary existence
somewhere between solitude and loneliness
reflecting on recent events and experiences:
aging, disease, injury, separation, siloing,
the world and its totalizing systems

struggling, striving, sitting with challenges,
reconciling the grace of our being,
the preciousness of our life together,
and the amazing beauty of our Earth Home
with tender heart and teary eyes

busy, tired, and weary at times,
continuing at my task knowing
that we can bear it together
through connecting, belonging, and sharing,
grateful for authentic relationships and community

sitting quietly, listening,studying, reflecting, creating,
and connecting continue in this busy season of the suffering
arriving as an unexpected guest at my door,
each invited in and treated with truth and respect

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
June 21, 2022
art by Andrew Wyeth, ‘Christina Olsen, Triton’
Author’s note: I have struggled to write this, or anything else down, for over a
week. Knowing that sharing one’s suffering is very unfashionable in our
contemporary culture and society of everyone for themselves, I hesitate. I do not
share my poem from the perspective of being a victim, or a denier, or a masochist,
or from a place of apathy. Rather, I share from the perspective of witnessing,
better understanding, gifting, connecting, authentic belonging, and healing in the
tension of our suffering and our joie de vivre! The last three lines of stanza four
are after Rumi’s poem ‘The Guest House.”

haiku: broken ankles and dreams

haiku: broken ankles and dreams

toe nails painted pink
a pedicure on her feet
she dreams of dancing

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
May 14, 2022

photos by author

Author’s note: The physical therapist
working with Cathey is the best. Very
professional, highly skilled, and a
great motivator, with excellent rapport
with the patient. We are so grateful for
his presence. Oh, and yes, I did the
pedicure and nail polish.