Meditators

You were there when I needed you
You came in your numbers
You came to become teachers

I bought a pair of blue suede shoes
Just in case
And stayed out in The Bothy by the Cotswolds Path

I thought to go there again
Though not really a fan of reunions
Yet to feel the calm to witness the joy

As I do in this morning's meditation
Listening to Shift Your Brain State
From those good people at Sounds True

Yes you were all there
And I suppose we needed each other
For how else to progress to love

Yet the memories fade
And I can't remember all of your names
Although I have just thanked Amy for this morning's video

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Dew

The dewdrops I notice sparkle in the grass
As the sunlight approaches my feet
I think to take off my shoes and socks
To feel the morning on my body
In point of fact I do that right now

I walk in bare feet around the garden
First I feel the warmth on my side
As I pass the pampas grass
Then I realise that the ground is damp in parts
More so than in others where the shade by now has lifted

I return towards the bench
And note the sunlight dancing among the plum's leaves
Which in turn by the time I sit down again to write
Are casting their shadows of joy
Onto the pure white paper

The stone slabs beneath my feet are cold stone cold
Yet the birds in the apple trees and beyond
They do not know this for their air
In their territory is already warm
Their dew has today already lifted

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Ampleforth

It is the singing of the monks
Which reminds me today of your gracious space
For I am hundreds of miles away
On the journey to horse racing at Goodwood

Meanwhile my partner swims in a lake
In the Carcassonne region of France
And others who I might also wish to think about
Well they are more distant
Yes in so many ways they are far more distant

So it is to your place which I return
To stand again in the breath of your silence
To engage or to let go
During my morning meditation

As I ponder on visiting the sculpture gardens
And remember that time before
When the gates were locked and all we could do
Was to imagine what might lay within
Or to contemplate on what might stand beyond

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Breeze

Around the legs
Of the newly painted garden chair
Around the legs
Of the man now in shorts again
After sixty years of long trousers

Around and through
The trees of the old orchard
Around and through (almost)
The ageing overgrown pampas grass
And the recently planted silver birch

Over and below
The aeroplanes and the helicopters
Over and below
The few cotton strands of clouds
And the vast expanse of clear blue sky

In front of and behind
The face and head of the meditator
In front of and behind
The curly locks of one who contemplates
And says thanks says many thanks for the morning breeze

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Release

I am letting go
I am loosening up
And then the smoke alarm goes off
I am downloading
I am uploading
Then I get a chair to stand on to reset the alarm
I am hopeful
Until I get a message
There is a broken pipe the upload has failed
I may well have to start all over again
But at least the download is completed
So I can turn away from the laptop
And reboot the desktop computer
Such that Kate's iPod might be updated
Having been out of use for a few weeks
Whilst we waited for the special connector
Required to connect her music
To the new German car
iTunes is ready apparently
Although the iPod still needs to charge
Itself also having been out of use for a few weeks
So now I am in limbo
And all that's left able to be done
Is to finish off this now downbeat poem
Which in truth started life so full of hope

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