Explaining poetry to Mehitabel

It’s Satyr’s day … another scorcher in Okieland …

Our habit is to make “the other” into things. Things have no sentience. The earth is not a thing, nor are you, the tree in your yard, your dog, pet orangutan, the dust-bunnies under your bed. Our insistence on objectifying every thing is burning down our forests, maybe even your house. A forest fire is a sentient tree, in the most violent way it can, screaming at us to take responsibility for the climate catastrophy, for global warming, for the destruction of all living “things.”

Zen master Dōgen teaches that enlightenment is intimacy with all things. Amplifying this teaching is a most worthy two-part piece from Tara Brach dedicated to widening the lense of perception. Part One: Part Two:

Rose Petal Echo

“Publishing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo.” ― Don Marquis

The Song of the Universe

is an echo beyond sublime.

And, worth waiting for. — jb