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: a missive from a hard winter and a possible return

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: “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: conscious aging, spiritual foresight, perennial wisdom

poem: conscious aging,
spiritual foresight,
perennial wisdommindfully present
flowing in the
universal rhythms
of the Cosmos
here and now

letting go any
pretense of
hubris, sentimentality,
power, control,
and domination

pure being,
not desiring,
doing,
grasping,
or withholding

emptying,
opening,
uniting,
in the eternal, omnipresent
One Peace/One Love

sharing mutually
authentic presence
of belonging: witnesses,
prophets, seers, souls,
and saints

focusing, preparing, practicing,
participating, reflecting,
celebrating, liberating,
transitioning, whole-making,
arriving full-circle

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
October 20, 2022

photo by author

“Full Circle”

poem: an elder’s perspective on time and space

poem: an elder’s perspective
on time and space

thinking of the past is useless
unless it informs the present

always going for the gust
is a fool’s dream

worrying for tomorrow
a thief in the night

thus taking more time
mindfully present here and now

with loved ones, dear friends,
soul mates, and witnesses

wherever you go, there you are
you will find me there

covering less ground somewhere
between disengaged and belonging

close to home
Homeward bound

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
October 27, 2022

author’s note: My reflection on aging

was sparked after reading Thomas Merton’s
quote, “Take more time, cover less ground.”
John Kabat- Zinn is reflected in a book title
of his, “Wherever You Go, There You Are.”
And Ram Dass’ iconic words, “Be Here Now”
from his book by the same title is
represented in the poem. Merton, a Catholic
monk; Kabat-Zinn, a biomedical scientist
influenced by Buddhism; and Ram Dass,
a Harvard social psychology research professor who became
a disciple of Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba.
These and others have been my teachers from
whom I have learned about living, aging, and dying.
I have tried to be a good student and continue to learn.
photo by author ‘On the Front Stoop’

poem: child of the universe, hippie, yogi, elder

poem: child of the universe,
hippie, yogi, elderneither clinging to a nostalgic past,
nor projecting a future of sentimentality,
now resisting social norms of
emotional idealism and neurotypical
stereotyping

I, being a witness of here and now,
maintaining spiritual consciousness,
invitational presence, and attentive
mutuality, connecting deeply at soul level,
opening to the wholeness of other

we, belonging here together in beloved
community, falling upward in grace and love,
cycling through the bardo, eternally together
with the supreme in cosmic union,
that am I (tat tvam asi)

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry

August 28, 2022

photo by author

“Here is, in truth, the whole secret of
Yoga, the science of the soul. The active
turnings, the strident vibrations, of
selfishness, lust and hate are to be stilled
by meditation, by letting heart and mind
dwell in spiritual life, by lifting up the
heart to the strong, silent life above, which
rests in the stillness of eternal love, and
needs no harsh vibration to convince it of
true being.”- Patanjali, The Yoga Sutras of
Patanjali

“The Perennial Philosophy is expressed
most succinctly in the Sanskrit formula,
tat tvam asi (‘That art thou’); the Atman,
or immanent eternal Self, is one with
Brahman, the Absolute Principle of all
existence; and the last end of every human
being, is to discover the fact for himself, to
find out who he really is.” – Aldous Huxley

“It is only those who are in constant revolt
that discover what is true, not the man who
conforms, who follows some tradition. It is only
when you are constantly inquiring, constantly
observing, constantly learning, that you find
truth, God, or love.”- Jiddu Krishnamurti

poem: initiation

poem: initiation

witnessing life’s tension
with both/and mind,
opening to the complementary
experiencing the interconnectedness
of all things (oneing),
the initiated adult
in the the second half of life emerges
from their ego’s protective shell
of small self becoming
an invitational presence
of mutuality and belonging
here and now in the
beloved community

Herb Stone
August 15, 2022
here&now working poetry

poem: mindful, intentional, purposeful

poem: mindful, intentional, purposeful

our presence deeply
touching the moment
beyond ego and selfishness

performing acts sacramentally
without attachment
to outcomes

interconnecting as One
in the flow
of all existence

manifesting equanimity of mind
healing inner fears
and worldly suffering

being holistically
body, mind, and spirit
in mutuality with the Cosmos

transforming personal self awareness
through dominant thinking to collective
Self realization of Spiritual Union

prepare
practice
participate

one turns around
receives the key
opens the door, enters

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
August 1, 2022

art image by Meghan Oona Clifford
‘Star Born’