Category: memoir

reminders

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, Breath, Daily reminders, memoir, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, Poetry, simple pleasures, spirituality1 Comment

reminders

it used to be,
in corners of my home,
little altars everywhere—
Buddhas, polished
stones and crystals,
Ramana Maharishi’s
secret smile, a baby’s
lock of hair—
and on my arm,
olivewood beads
smoothed and oiled
with regular use
the names of God
a prayerful susurration

I recall the day
my mouth went still
crystals rehomed outside
one Buddha sits alone
serene in stone
inward altars now, no
outward signs desired
crystals no more revered
than this thumb drive
or pottery mug of pens
that live on my desk
each thing miraculously
given, each one sacred

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

the wild mystery

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn awe, Daily reminders, loss, memoir, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, paradox, Poetry, spirituality, suffering, thoughts1 Comment

the wild mystery

legs frail and askew
she lay by the road
a lonely carcass,
white-spotted hide
her unseeing eyes
stared skyward—I,
no bigger than she was,
asked, where’s her mommy?
my voice quavered

my dad shook his head
nothing to be done
it’s dead

I pestered my mom
with puzzling queries
why we are here
and where do we go?
each time she shrugged
sent me to play—again
fear clawed
why won’t she say?

sixty years later,
I slipped into the mystery
embraced the enigma
and still,
I’m afraid

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

shearing

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn awe, children, Daily reminders, heart, joy, kindness, memoir, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, parenting, Poetry, stories1 Comment

shearing

1995

the snips and burr
when she sheared
his mane, curls
wanting to dread,
he surfaced
wide-eyed
from all that hair—
it lay in heaps
at his feet

staring at the piles
his teenage angst
washed away
he said to me,
I want the birds
to have it to keep
their babies warm

hung in clumps
on the fence, we
watched it bleach
from mahogany,
blaze red
to almost pink,
and wondered

four years later,
the corvid nest
tumbled from a fir—
the boy, now man
pointed, look!
threaded through
the sticks
lining the lair
his hair

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

remembering to bow

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Daily reminders, feelings, memoir, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, Poetry, writingLeave a comment

remembering to bow

I’ve learned to bow
to interrupted days—
some mornings
I pray for simple
forbearance
and the courage
to face what is,
write when I can
find patience when I can’t
nurture when needed

I bow in thankfulness
remembering my teachers
I bow, enriched by love
forehead pressed to the floor
grateful for the ground

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

ode to everyday things

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn awe, memoir, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, Poetry, spirituality, writingLeave a comment

ode to everyday things

one dawn
I spilt my mug
mocha sloshed
onto my special
ergonomic keyboard—
coffee, milk, chocolate
all leaking in

the dash to save it
mopping fast
stubbed cotton
swabs into corners
relief when
fingers typed
and letters appeared

I smooth my hands
over those keys
stroke my travel mug
—lid now screwed on

oh! the utility of
everyday things—
each object
praiseworthy
a miracle of
functional beauty

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

the singing bridge

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Daily reminders, heart, joy, memoir, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, Poetry, spirituality, treasureLeave a comment

the singing bridge

as tires sped over
the roadway grate
the bridge opened
into song
my span home
cherished canticle
a psalm
soothing my way

on quiet days
I could hear it
from our house
the rhythmic chant
lub dub
at the start
a singing verse
dub lub
at the end

the city tore it down
progress, they said
the bridge
forever stilled
yet
seventy years on
my heart still rings
with its song

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

the question

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, consciousness, Daily reminders, memoir, mind, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, spirituality, thoughts, Truth, writing2 Comments

the question

age eleven

dark of the moon
chill air nipped
her bare neck
she lay on
new-mown grass
it’s familiar balm
enveloping her
as she stared at the
black sea of stars
flaming dots of
awakening that
stretched to
the end of time
what made this
intelligent wild
unexpected array?

not where she looked
maybe there were
no answers
which curled her gut
how can a tiny
dot understand
what it lives inside of?
she had to know—
didn’t understand
the search carried her
farther, away—
till an inward
turn and the solitary
walk toward home

2022 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

keeping spirits up

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, chilla/test, Daily reminders, kindness, memoir, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, pain, Poetry, spirituality4 Comments

keeping spirits up
note from self

the work—
applying what she
knows to be true
kindness required
there’s injury, pain
life’s a slog
every minutia
a class in attention

he makes the mocha
she knocks it over
floods the counter
rivers the drawer
spatters oak floor
one-handed, she
snatches the laptop
out of the wave
unscathed

chance for harsh
words—none
or blame
doesn’t happen
they work
in tandem
she “I’m sorry”
he “no need”
they remake
the mocha

2022 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

listens

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Daily reminders, memoir, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, spirituality1 Comment

listens
note from self

she sinks her attention
inside where it’s broken—
besides all the fractures
and the shocking bruise
what’s going on in there?
tender throbs, grousing
muscles, a relentless
pulsing fuss
move in, closer in—
the fuss and throb shift
to a purpling ache
she drops deeper
softens and listens
attends with care
this is her body,
her only earth suit—
the surgeon cuts and
places and pins and plates
but she must do the healing
knit the bones, soothe
tendons and ligaments
love them back to life

2022 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

the gift of friendship

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, Daily reminders, Love, memoir, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes to self, Poetry, spirituality4 Comments

the gift of friendship
note to self

when a friend
comprehends the
deepest plane of you—
the heart space where
no words are required
and delight dances—
you have been given a
precious, shared jewel

time and distance may facet
that gem, augment its grace
how the angles redirect the light
if it’s a true friend, one who
lives in being with you
that jewel cannot be harmed—
it is safe, reliable, eternal

2022 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—please understand that many will be rewritten.