{"id":1135,"date":"2018-06-30T19:32:59","date_gmt":"2018-06-30T19:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/olioweb.me.uk\/wordpress_marcus\/?p=1135"},"modified":"2024-08-19T15:22:35","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T15:22:35","slug":"poem-of-the-month-july-2018-gardeners-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olioweb.me.uk\/marcus\/?p=1135","title":{"rendered":"Poem of the Month, July 2018: Gardener’s World"},"content":{"rendered":"

GARDENER’S WORLD
\n<\/strong>FRYday 29 June ’18.<\/em><\/p>\n

Praise, my soul, the Queen of Heaven,
\n<\/em>to HER feet thy tribute bring.
\n<\/em>– <\/em>English Hymnal.<\/p>\n

I sit, disconsolate, on the edge
\nof my bed, wondering how I
\ngot here and why. Awoken by
\ncramp in the leg. Jetlag symptoms.\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Amida’s WILL for me
\nis very simple:
\nSay my Name
\nand Feel Good.<\/p>\n

GRATITUDE
\nFOR THE GREAT DAY AHEAD
\nstands in big letters
\nbeside my bed.<\/p>\n

Let the sweet feeling
\nof gratitude overcome
\nthe wish to complain.<\/p>\n

Humbly accept the facts of life
\nas they present themselves,
\nwithout complaining or blaming.
\nLess attractive scenarios
\nmight teach tolerance and patience.<\/p>\n

Think well of everybody
\nyou meet. Understand, as far
\nas you can, their own individual
\nway of thought and behaviour.
\nEach is a separate universe.
\nLive and let live.<\/em><\/p>\n

Each and every day
\nis a lifetime in itself,
\nto be enjoyed from start
\nto finish. Rest as required.<\/p>\n

Strengthen my Trust in you,
\nLord, that I may face my day
\nwith courage, fearlessness
\nand serenity. I am certain
\nyou will never let me fall.<\/p>\n

Am I willing to slow down
\nand live more in Real Time,
\nlistening to my Body Clock
\ninstead of checking my watch?<\/p>\n

Do those tall pink roses
\nI admire through the window
\nat meals and often write about
\nfind it necessary to SHOUT
\nthat they are in full bloom?<\/p>\n

‘Attend to your needs.
\nHappiness is in reach
\nof all who persevere.’<\/p>\n

REQUIRED BY A SHORT SLEEPER
\nSeveral Power Naps of five minutes
\nin the next twenty-four hours
\nand not too much work. Hanging loose
\nwithout relapsing into worry or boredom.
\nNot required: ‘Marcus, you MUST sleep
\nmore. Your body needs to recuperate.’<\/p>\n

Less hurry and more enjoyment
\nof the vital actual moment, some
\ncall it Quality Time, is probably
\nthe gist of my message for today.<\/p>\n

Seeing is Believing.
\nYou go out early on the terrace,
\nstretch your arms to a blue sky,
\nsay ‘I WILL see a seagull,
\nor a flight of swallows up high\u2019 –
\nand you actually DO!<\/p>\n

LEAVE WELL ALONE.
\nLuiheid apart, wat we niet <\/em>doen
\n(WU-WEI) is meestal belangrijker
\ndan wat we wel <\/em>doen. We doen het
\ntoch meestal niet zodanig wel.
\nBen ik bereid om Hulp te vragen,
\nof content te zijn met weinig?<\/p>\n

The fear of punishment,
\n<\/em>on which my entire childhood
\nwas based, has to be relinquished
\nfor ever. Guilt feelings and shame
\nserve no purpose in this century
\nfor one who is turning eighty.<\/p>\n

Most Flemish people over fifty
\nregard Religion (‘connection’)
\nas the cardinal sin
\nand cause of misery in the world.
\nThey are true supporters of Self Power
\nand many turn into control freaks,
\nto the chagrin of their partners.<\/p>\n

Warning to myself. Beware of hyper-manic
\n‘highs’, and strive for more balance,
\ndiscipline and self control. Know when to stop.
\nOver-confidence could steal valuable time
\nfrom your Nembutsu practice. Be careful!<\/p>\n

Gladly welcome and carry out
\nthe hundred and one necessary chores
\nwhich daily life consists of.<\/p>\n

Pass on to others
\nall the blessings you receive.
\nMore are on the way.<\/p>\n

Whatever you happen to ‘believe’
\nis the Truth as far as you <\/em>are concerned,
\nprovided you believe it deeply enough
\nand can match it with experience.
\nAs long as it does no harm <\/em>to others,
\nwhy be bothered what they think of it?<\/p>\n

You can always ‘start your day again’
\nat any time, if it hasn’t gone too well.
\nGive yourself a second chance,
\nwith an empty rucksack.
\nSay a prayer and hit the road afresh.<\/p>\n

Crossing from Arizona into Texas:
\nI watch a tiny woodlouse
\nmaking its way across the terrace.
\nStrong identification. Vibes.
\nBrothers in the same universe.<\/p>\n

I stop thinking completely
\nand gaze at the luscious garden
\nin all its green summer glory.
\nBathed in sunlight, it is bursting
\nwith peace, energy and joy.<\/p>\n

The ‘outside world’ of radio
\nand TV, with their news and debates,
\nconcerns me much less nowadays.
\nWhat matters more now is my SOUL
\nand I’m busy filling a deep deep hole.<\/p>\n

Give endless thanks and praise
\nfor your breathtakingly beautiful
\nlittle town garden, tended lovingly
\nby Maria.<\/p>\n

At last I was able to sit down
\nin the shed at the back and admire
\nthe Invisible rhododendrons,
\nblooming in the underworld.<\/p>\n

End of May. Please hold on a bit
\nlonger, my dearest rhododendrons.
\nI hate to see your pink-white blossoms
\ndisappear. They have protected me
\nfrom many a rash catastrophe.<\/p>\n

Shadows on the garden table
\ndance in warm sunlight. Fig leaves
\nrustle. Pigeons flap in Maria’s tree.<\/p>\n

A rare phenomenon. Flanders
\nis suffering from a drought.
\nTemperatures approaching thirty.
\nVery sorry, I don’t care two hoots.
\nLet the sun shine all day for once.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it’s not a bad idea
\nto ask Amida ‘what to do next’.<\/p>\n

Rondkijken in huis
\nnaar al die leuke dingen
\ndie ons omringen.<\/p>\n

Night will soon fall.
\nOne or two insects climb the window
\ndesperate to reach the sky.<\/p>\n

If thinking <\/em>has any effect on the world,
\nnot thinking <\/em>certainly changes yourself.
\nWriting poetry is meditation in motion.<\/p>\n

Weariness is the worst imaginable
\ncondition in my <\/em>life. It rings the death
\nknell of joy and causes negativity.
\nDo I sometimes forget it’s time to stop?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GARDENER’S WORLD FRYday 29 June ’18. Praise, my soul, the Queen of Heaven, to HER feet thy tribute bring. – […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all","category-poem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olioweb.me.uk\/marcus\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olioweb.me.uk\/marcus\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olioweb.me.uk\/marcus\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olioweb.me.uk\/marcus\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olioweb.me.uk\/marcus\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.olioweb.me.uk\/marcus\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1135\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olioweb.me.uk\/marcus\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olioweb.me.uk\/marcus\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olioweb.me.uk\/marcus\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}