Come to the orchard in Spring

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August 2012

The Cloth of The Tempest by Kenneth Patchen

These of living emanate a formidable light, 
Which is equal to death, and when used 
Gives increase eternally. 
What fortifies in separate thought 
Is not drawn by wind or by man defiled. 
So whispers the parable of doubleness. 
As it is necessary not to submit 
To power which weakens the hidden forms; 
It is extraordinarily more essential 
Not to deny welcome to these originating forces 
When they gather within our heat 
To give us habitation. 
The one life must be attempted with the other, 
That we may embark upon the fiery work 
For which we were certainly made. 
-
-
What has been separated from the mother, 
Must again be joined; for we were born of spirit, 
And to spirit all mortal things return, 
As it is necessary in the method of earth. 
So sings the parable of singleness. 
My comforter does not conceal his face; 
I have seen appearances that were not marshalled 
By sleep. 
Perhaps I am to be stationed 
At the nets which move through this completing sea. 
Or I have hunting on my sign. 
-
-
Yet the ground is visible, 
The center of our seeing. (The houses rest 
Like sentinels on this hawking star. 
Two women are bathing near a trestle; 
Their bodies dress the world in golden birds; 
The skin of their throats is a dancing flute… 
How alter or change? How properly 
Find an exact equation? What is flying 
Anywhere that is more essential to our quest? 
Even the lake… boat walking on its blue streets; 
Organ of thunder muttering in the sky… A tiger 
Standing on the edge of a plowed field… 
What is necessary? What is inseparable to know? 
The children seek silvery-pretty caves… 
What are we to teach?) 
The distance is not great 
To worlds of magnificent joy or nowhere. 

Aug 27, 2012
#Poetry #Poem #Kenneth #Patchen #The #Cloth #tempest #light #eternally #increase #thought #defiled #doubleness #hidden #forms #essential
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!

Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.

It’s opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.

OH! THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…

…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t.
Because, sometimes, they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
'cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike
and I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

Aug 27, 2012 6 notes
#poem #poetry #graduation #the places you'll go #congratulations #Dr. Seuss
A Great Wagonnaivetybutyouth.tumblr.com

A Great Wagon

When I see your face, the stones start spinning!

You appear; all studying wanders.

I lose my place.

-

Water turns pearly.

Fire dies down and doesn’t destroy.

-

In your presence I don’t want what I thought

I wanted, those three little hanging lamps.

-

Inside your face the ancient manuscripts

Seem like rusty mirrors.

-

You breathe; new shapes appear,

and the music of a desire as widespread

as Spring begins to move

like a great wagon.

Drive slowly.

-

Some of us walking alongside

are lame!

~

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty

and frightened. Don’t open the door to the study

and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

-

Let the beauty we love be what we do.

There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

~

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,

there is a field. I’ll meet you there.

-

When the soul lies down in that grass,

the world is too full to talk about.

Ideas, language, even the phrase each other

doesn’t make any sense.

~

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.

Don’t go back to sleep.

-

You must ask for what you really want.

Don’t go back to sleep.

-

People are going back and forth across the doorsill

where the two worlds touch.

-

The door is round and open.

Don’t go back to sleep.

-

I would love to kiss you.

The price of kissing is your life.

-

Now my loving is running toward my life shouting,

What a bargain, let’s buy it.

~

Daylight, full of small dancing particles

and the one great turning, our souls

are dancing with you, without feet, they dance.

Can you see them when I whisper in your ear?

~

They try to say what you are, spiritual or sexual?

They wonder about Solomon and all his wives.

-

In the body of the world, they say, there is a soul

and you are that.

But we have ways within each other

that will never be said by anyone.

~

Come to the orchard in Spring.

There is light and wine, and sweethearts

in the pomegranate flowers.

-

If you do not come, these do not matter.

If you do come, these do not matter.

- Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī

Aug 26, 2012 1 note
#Poetry #Poem #Rumi #Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī #A #Great #Wagon #These #do #not #matter #if #you #come #spring #orchard #light #wine #sweethearts #pomegranate #flowers #world #soul #body #within
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