dragonflies
the soft blur of time
in another land
Move outside the tangle of fear thinking
Live in silence.
Having got used to the depth of war
I love a dog
Like a bird’s life,
the stream of consciousness
seems to be made
of an alternation of flights and perchings
the instant it flies up
a dragonfly
loses its shadow
Put your thoughts to sleep
Let them not cast a shadow
Over the moon of your heart
Drown them in the sea of love
The opposite of love is not hate,
It is indifference.
And lovely as the king of flies has come
It was a fleeting visit, all too brief
In three short minutes, he had been and gone
The dragonfly
can’t quite land
on that blade of grass.
It does not matter how slowly you go
As long as you do not stop
If I can stop one heart from breaking…
If I can ease one life the aching…
…I shall not live in vain
The metaphor of dragonfly is a beautiful one.
In most cultures dragonfly symbolizes the kind of change that has its source in emotional and mental maturity.
It represents the deeper meaning of life.
While every being fears non-existence
You take no advice and cannot be charmed.
What wind has brought you here?
Start where you are
Use what you have
Do what you can
Dragonfly is generally associated with being around water.
Its ability to glide quickly across water reminds us to look beyond the surface of every situation.
I’ve said before that every craftsman
searches for what’s not there
to practice his craft.
A builder looks for the rotten hole
where the roof caved in.
A water-carrier
picks the empty pot.
A carpenter
stops at the house with no door.
Workers rush toward some hint
of emptiness, which they then
start to fill.
Their hope, though,
is for emptiness, so don’t think
you must avoid it.
It contains
what you need!
Dear soul, if you were not friends
with the vast nothing inside,
why would you always be casting your net
into it, and waiting so patiently?
Away
Am I away?
Away is where I belong.
Home
Am I home?
Home is where I no longer belong.
What if I no longer belong home or away?
What then?
How high can our emotions rise,
And how low can they fall?
How far until they cease to exist,
And there’s no emotion at all?
When a tree falls in the forest,
And there’s no one there to hear,
When someone dies in a foreign land,
And we do not shed a tear.
Although we try to share the grief,
We know it is not the same,
And though we feel a little guilt,
We’re tired of taking the blame.
When kids in Brazil are shot in the street,
And Romanian orphans die,
And so many go without shelter and food,
We pretend it is just a big lie.
We’re caught in emotional overload,
We cannot react; we just stare,
As news of disaster is spoken of,
And people are homeless somewhere.
Don’t tell me I’m speaking of others,
I know we have all done the same,
We say it is none of our business,
Because we do not know their names.
A lack of emotions? It’s overload,
“I’m helpless; it’s useless to try”,
Let’s muster our strength and our courage,
And once again learn how to cry.
When you are everywhere
You are nowhere.
When you are somewhere,
You are everywhere.
was it the dark
we shared
or the candle
Having got used to the depth of war I love a dog
Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet
I’m off to join the Development Set;
My bags are packed, and I’ve had all my shots
I have traveller’s cheques and pills for the trots!
The Development Set is bright and noble
Our thoughts are deep and our vision global;
Although we move with the better classes
Our thoughts are always with the masses.
In Sheraton Hotels in scattered nations
We damn multi-national corporations;
injustice seems easy to protest
In such seething hotbeds of social rest.
We discuss malnutrition over steaks
And plan hunger talks during coffee breaks.
Whether Asian floods or African drought,
We face each issue with open mouth.
We bring in consultants whose circumlocution
Raises difficulties for every solution –
Thus guaranteeing continued good eating
By showing the need for another meeting.
The language of the Development Set
Stretches the English alphabet;
We use swell words like “epigenetic”
“Micro”, “macro”, and “logarithmetic”
It pleasures us to be esoteric –
It’s so intellectually atmospheric!
And although establishments may be unmoved,
Our vocabularies are much improved.
When the talk gets deep and you’re feeling numb,
You can keep your shame to a minimum:
To show that you, too, are intelligent
Smugly ask, “Is it really development?”
Or say, “That’s fine in practice, but don’t you see:
It doesn’t work out in theory!”
A few may find this incomprehensible,
But most will admire you as deep and sensible.
Development set homes are extremely chic,
Full of carvings, curios, and draped with batik.
Eye-level photographs subtly assure
That your host is at home with the great and the poor.
Enough of these verses – on with the mission!
Our task is as broad as the human condition!
Just pray god the biblical promise is true:
The poor ye shall always have with you.
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, ‘n’ how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they’re forever banned?
Yes, ‘n’ how many years can a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
Yes, ‘n’ how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, ‘n’ how many times can a man turn his head,
And pretend that he just doesn’t see?
Yes, ‘n’ how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ‘n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ‘n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
Move outside the tangle of fear thinking
Live in silence.
With a bit of luck
A duck
Will come into your life.
When you are at the peak
Of your great powers
And your achievement towers
Like a smoking chimney stack.
There’ll be a quack,
And right at your feet,
A little duck will stand.
She will take you by the hand
And lead you,
Like a child with no defence;
She will lead you
Into wisdom, joy and innocence.
That little duck.
We wish you luck.