New Poem – whenever you can conjure…
Posted on Oct 1, 2015 in Blog feature, Recent Writing | 99 comments
Whenever you can conjure
The stillness to notice,
There is
A sense of the ancient
Hanging in the air.
A lingering spiritual fragrance,
Full of knowing,
That dresses
Contemporary journeys
Like ours.
And always set against
Such a broad tapestry,
Long woven too
With telling details
That confirm who we are,
Albeit still as raw
And naive as any infant.
All the more so
When stood, toe to toe,
With the luminosity
Of days gone by.
And embarking,
As best we can,
On the benevolent
Opportunity
Of one thin slice
Of a chosen life,
However glorious,
Or loaded with pathos
This eventually becomes.
No chance of tragedy
Here though!
For we truly are,
As we come to recognise
Ourselves to be,
Mere receptacles.
Gilded chariots
That our spirits ride out,
But for a hallowed moment in time.
The merest splash of presence
In the serried halls of wonder.
Love “the serried halls of wonder”! Always have and always will! Very beautifully done! 🙂
Scott, I like the thought of the present, on the foundation of the ancient..
To me it brings a quote of Khalil Gibran to mind:
Yesterday is but today’s memory, and tomorrow is today’s dream.
Yet another finest piece filled with wisdom and light. The concluding lines appear to be a breathtaking quote from you Scott- ‘The merest splash of presence
In the serried halls of wonder.’ Thank you very much for this great piece of work. As always a real pleasure to read.
Scott, jsem velmi ráda, že se tato stránka dá dobře přeložit do češtiny. mohu si tak vychutnat vaše krásné básně plnými doušky. Děkuji Vám. Thank you
Scott, I am very glad that this page can be well translated into Czech . I so fully enjoyed your beautiful poem. Thank you Thank you
The words to this poem are so moving to the very soul! Another lovely piece of art!!!!
A thought-provoking poem…I enjoyed it!!!!
Scott, that was awesome, my friend! 🙂 Cannot wait to see more!! Beautifully done! 🙂
Another piece of beauty to contemplate. Love your closing phrases in particular. Congratulations on your new collection coming together… so nice to hear your wise and thoughtful pieces are reaching far and wide. Exciting times enjoy them.
As people, we are intricate, yet obvious. As always, your words speak perceptibility and encouragement.
“Such a broad tapestry,
Long woven too
With telling details
That confirm who we are”
I love “a sense of the ancient hanging in the air” and those closing lines magnificent piece, food for the soul
Interesting poem —- lots of beautiful & memorable one-liner quotes to recall.
Scott, keep on writing. Congratulations on this…
That’s some beautiful writing right there.
A lingering spiritual fragrance,
Full of knowing,
That dresses
Contemporary journeys
Like ours.
A lot of depth & wisdom in this poem!!
Excellent write 😀
Lots of love,
Sanaa
Depth, wisdom, hope–all extant within your fine verses. It does resemble a middle eastern parable, but with deft modern touches as well. I like the lines /gilded chariots/that our spirits ride out/but for a hallowed moment of time/.
Ah.. imagine a place
of freedom.. where there
are no bounds no limits
and never
any expectations..
better yet live
it now
my friend
as your
words
tale..
It’s tempting
to go there and never
come back online
in attempts to
metaphor
a path
for
others to
this place we
enjoy always
now generated
totAlly free from
within but it is too
delicious a meal
not to
attempt
to share
for
free..
sMiLEs..
of Love
Friend..:)
And so we are (mere receptacles)and we must make the most of our short time on this world of ours. How sad it is that mankind seems intent of self-obliteration.
Kind regards
Anna :o]
I like the deep reflection of our life’s journey ~ That we are indeed merely receptables, that our spirits ride out ~
Beautiful poem Scott. It is heartfelt. warm to the soul. 🙂
Thinking of ourselves as mere receptacles is a unique way of look at ourselves. And I like that there is a sense of the ancient hanging in the air because it shows the timeless nature of being.
This poem especially resonates with me, now that I am living in Japan. The rich tapestry of this country’s heritage harks back thousands of years and forms a scrim through which all is experienced here. Without a sense of all that has nurtured ourselves as members of a culture, we are but knee jerk puppets trapped in a cocoon of immediate fleeting sensory data.
A lingering spiritual fragrance
That is a great line, Scott! It keeps one’s thinking on a sustained path!
Hank
You are the tapestry weaver.
the words tend to spill over the edges of your white canvas, with delicate emotions.
there are so many wistful dreams within this poem.
bellissimo.
Very strong Poem Scott I enjoyed it very much..It shows a pathway that many others would not see in life..With strong conviction..LIKE a Pillar of time with newness of life. it grows and grows..
Lovely
Great piece, gives me time for pause and reflection
We have to embrace the vastness to realize our own minute selves.. Nicely done!
You demonstrate so well the blending of the now with time immemorial. You also put into perspective the blink of time that we actually are here…it really is astounding to think about it. Beautifully done.
Wow, Scott, this is invigorating poetry! I’m especially taken by:
…the benevolent
Opportunity
Of one thin slice
Of a chosen life,
However glorious,
Or loaded with pathos
This eventually becomes.
Thank you for posting excellence!
A beautiful flow of wisdom.
Beautiful and profound poem !
If only we made the most of our hallowed moment in time. How foolish we are to waste even a second of it. Beautifully expressed Scott.
Thanks for sharing another intriguing poem,Scott! It’s a thoughtful investigation of life or as you said,”A lingering spiritual fragrance,
Full of knowing,That dresses Contemporary journeys Like ours”.
Thank you for this wonderful poem. I find it “interesting” how it resonates with the poem Rosemary picked for today in her “The Living Dead” feature over at Poets United. And thinking of Mary Oliver now, it is marvelous what we can do and affect in our “hallowed moment in time.”
It certainly takes stillness inside to notice – a path which some of us have yet to tread on but which you and your poem seem to convey with a light further down the path.
Yes, so beautiful as always….
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” Alexander Graham Bell
As usual, a beautiful control of language and images.
Brian
Author of Knowing Through Poetic Reflection.
Your poems are wonderfully felt. I’d love to put one of them or two in our PnPAuthors Promotional Magazine for our November issue. If you’re interested here is the address. http://pnpauthorspattimariandpeter.ning.com/?xgi=4OZnTWghUDexOX
Pattimari
Silence is timeless. Or a time machine.
Beautiful and moving. Thanks for sharing.
Very nicely done Scott. I like the feel of the ancient infusing our every day lives.
Nicely done and the last two lines nail it to the mat perfectly.
Our life is but a moment.
That we could be wonder seekers, and open
to new experiences, not just validating our own
positions in the universe.
“Whenever you can conjure
The stillness to notice,
There is
A sense of the ancient
Hanging in the air.”…..this so true and beautiful…
Such a beautiful wise poem – the new built on the old, the old being such a strong foundation. …a lingering spiritual fragrance…if we allow ourselves, we can indeed breath in that wisdom and strength. I like this poem muchly. Second reading was even better.
“luminosity of days gone by” indeed .. another exquisite addition to an already sparkling body of work…
I so enjoyed the musing tone of this poem and your closing lines are absolutely stellar. Am impressed that you have another book coming out. Yay! Good work.
Nice job…especially those last two lines…takes one’s breath away.
Scott, it is for me always a bit difficult to comment upon poetry of such spiritual depth. Each poem that I read filled me with a sense of serenity and quietness. Thank you.
Mindfulness does bring me into the very presence of which you speak, so present and spiritful that it hardly matters how thin a slice we have. Beautiful poem with so many surprises of which here are two: to dress a journey! “as raw / And naive as any infant.”
This is a deeply contemplative write. Luv the images you used. Luv the themes of transience, journey, and continuity
Have an awesome Sunday
Much love…
Your poem conjures that moment of stillness ~ so that the message and the effect of the poem merges 🙂
A Splash of refreshment!!! You give the reader this wonderful place to look at life, experience, age. Your tapestry is colorful and complete.
Profoundly stated. beautifully expressed. right on!
Glory and pathos… I notice both, with wonder.
I really love the opening and how Bjorn brought out the perfect Khalil Gibran quote….beautifully penned and so thought provoking.
This was a pleasure to read..I could feel a bit of ancient lingering in the air. Our bodies but a vessel a chariot that we ride out..I think you’ve captured the journey beautifully.
Beautiful thoughts of being and becoming. You write with the wisdom of an awakened spirit. Lovely.
As you ride your “gilded chariots” between the ancient and the contemporary through the “serried halls of wonder,” there is no doubt that the timeless wonder of transformational mindfulness brings a heightened enlightenment to the tantric union of which you speak so eloquently in your poetry, Dear Scott. Best wishes always.
It takes a certain type of grace to see our own fragility in that much larger picture. Even more to write about it in that musing tone and thought provoking manner. Thank you,
Elizabeth
“For we truly are,
As we come to recognise
Ourselves to be,
Mere receptacles…”- Immaculate! Some beautiful things can’t be discovered without getting lost! Loved it, Scott.
Life is indeed a wonder.
Your lovely poem came uncannily at the moment, I needed to hear these words. You are truly my angel guiding me through this journey through your divine incantation. As you rightly say we are mere receptacles of the energies we attract or the energy of the divine providence shaping and molding us just as a sculptor would, to a piece of stone. I absolutely loved the lines:
“Gilded chariots
That our spirits ride out,
But for a hallowed moment in time.
The merest splash of presence
In the serried halls of wonder.”
which beautifully sums up the eternal truth that many sages and philosophers achieved after spending years on meditating and conferring. The truth is in the present. It reminds me of Rainer Maria Rilke
“Let everything happen to you
Beauty and terror
Just keep going
No feeling is final”
and Walt Whitman who says “Happiness, not in another place but this place…not for another hour, but this hour.”
I really love the way you view life with such endearing detachment and embracing life’s moments, the stillness and the crescendo of silence that engulfs the fleeting moments of life. The mystical aura that hangs around us is subdued by the white noise around us. Your words swim in the pool of such virtuosity and sanctity, Scott… amazing!!!
I am sure your words are reaching far and wide comforting, sustaining, assuring and validating life itself! just as they are to me.
With lots and lots of love,
Nivedita
Scott:
Good poem from a great Poet. I especially like:
“As we come to recognise
Ourselves to be
Mere receptacles.”
I often pray for the Holy Spirit to fill me; a mere vessel.
~ Richard ~
As always you are embarking deeply…I like that opportunities for us are benevolent whatever we choose to pursuit, and indeed this is the precious moment of present. Love the image of chariots, it’s always about the choice.
Another beautifully expressed reflection on what life is all about!
I love the idea of an existence with “no chance of tragedy”; for most of our tears, I believe, are squeezed out by our hubris.
Another beautifully expressed thought about life!
Your poems are always so beautifully felt…
Thank you for the wonderful poetry
Scott, it is most interesting that you should write this in this time. Of late I have had increasingly greater moments to pause…reflection on existential things and truly what we are and what our significance and purpose is on this vast earth. Then there is a much broader consideration as we look beyond the horizon of the seas and heavenward to limitless depths of space. Receptacles indeed and seemingly here for a mere century or much less. Perhaps these thoughts, these engagements come with greater frequency as age is finite in more relative terms. Four times in is simply insufficient reading…I shall return!
So true…. we really are just riding through in these gilded chariots…. Your insight is always so ravishing Scott… So earthy. It always touches me.
Wow, Scott! I truly think this is one of your best poems. It has a sense of longing to know what it means to be human. There is a vulnerability here that has such grace and sincerity. I am amazed! Thanks for sharing!
Lovely poem. The end paragraph though is where he comes rushing through in great and triumphant thunder. Read:
For we truly are,
As we come to recognise
Ourselves to be,
Mere receptacles.
Gilded chariots
That our spirits ride out,
But for a hallowed moment in time.
The merest splash of presence
In the serried halls of wonder.
These are the moments that magic and great poetry are made of.
Lovely poem Scott. There is always so much pleasure when reading your poetry. Always too, something of value to savor. Thank you.
Just read your wonderful piece again and so wonderful always to read your amazing poetry
Great poem!
Great, deep thoughts in here…loved it! Totally relatable in mood and content no matter at what juncture of life one finds oneself – your poems have that universal appeal Scott! Particularly loved the butter-smooth ending!
Nice one!!
Thank you very much for an eye opening poem dear Scott
Like a hallowed moment in time
NIce, yes….where contemplation transforms one into the mystical…
A (M)AGNIFICIENT PLANE
Scott….Wonderful poem with lots of spirtual essence in it. Thanks.
Beautiful words embedded in beautiful poem
A lovely piece nicely put together, your words well crafted and meaningful. And indeed, quite so, such is the human condition.
True Scott sir.
Our bodies are the chariots and we as souls can dive within to experience the stillness of divine spirit within during our mortal sojourn on earth, no matter howsoever the tapestry of our life … Whether full of pathos or juxtaposed with pleasure and pain… We emerge triumphant in the whole journey , for peace and happiness is never far away … And it is a journey not a destination.
Wow! Brilliant profound marvel from a true artist. So sensitively and tellingly portrayed!
Thanks for this…
Divine greetings, felicitations and regards.
Congratulations for the wonderful poem. I understand just a bit than English language, but, the necessary to read your text. Regards. Pedro
Wonderful!
“Gilded chariots
That our spirits ride out,
But for a hallowed moment in time.”
This passage really spoke to me deeply. As a grandfather twice over, my chariot has lost much of its gilding and now creaks and groans at every turn of the road. The end of my hallowed moments seems vaguely imminent, making the moments more precious.
Fantastic!
Beautiful words Scott. I am always amazed at how many ways there are to touch on a subject by creative people.
Whenever you can conjour speaks well of the awe, wonder, and mysteries of life.
I see you are a positive entity!
It’s full of light, light which gives hope.
Thank you Scott. You are awesome!
A beautiful and thought-provoking composition. Well done!
Sweet…
Mere receptacles? I am experiencing life as a live wire, a conduit, without beginning or end.
Scott says: Yes indeed Angela – receptacles… In other words spaces where energies can take shape and begin to spark… Energies that make us eternal when our physical body (receptacle) is no longer… So yes, without beginning or end in our essence beyond mortality itself…