Category: nature

soak in spring

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, beauty, body, Daily reminders, feelings, Musings, nature, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, Poetry, simple pleasures, SurrenderLeave a comment

soak in spring

If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine. —Rainer Maria Rilke

some days, when the world
insists on otherwise,
I insist on seeing miracles
peer through day’s haze
note how dust motes
float in light,
our daytime stars

doves gather
ten, now twelve
feast on seed
below the feeder
while the bride of spring
jasmine’s spill,
spreads heady scent

short-sleeved,
sitting in sunshine
warm on winter skin
worry turns to wonder
I drink it in

2024 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

perplexed

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, Daily reminders, Musings, nature, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from selfLeave a comment

perplexed

this worldly life
abuzz and busy
so puzzling
where’s the quiet?
instead of dominion
I need
listening, watching
for how we fit

the worm does its part
aerates soil
birds and squirrels
spread seeds—
greens feed animals
then their bodies
nourish ground
mutuality in cycle
dear me,
look around

2024 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

lightkeeper

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, beauty, Breath, consciousness, Daily reminders, gratitude, grief, heart, light, Musings, nature, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, pathless path, Poetry, prayerLeave a comment

lightkeeper

to tend the flame
feed it twigs
then forage boughs,
my homage—
to kindle warmth
in my small sphere

sometimes it sputters
amidst hard rain
I shield it
with my hands
my heart   breathe
embers awake again
this, the work
it calls my name

2024 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

spring tease

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn body, dogs, Musings, nature, PoetryLeave a comment

spring tease

taunting warmth
tantalizing blossoms
flavor the air
then temperature drops
bone chill again

dog is lucky
one all-weather coat
she watches gravely
as I pull on knee socks
long underwear
and thick jacket
to face the field’s chill

forty minutes later
strip off the same layers
cook oatmeal and walnuts
to warm my insides

the mist has burned off
I stand soak in the sunshine
by noon
stripped to shirtsleeves
three hours of real spring
then the temperature cools
Jazz watches
as I dress up again
time for her evening walk
I imagine her thinking
silly humans

2024 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

mud puddles and twig

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, body, fear, mind, Musings, nature, Poetry, Silence, writingLeave a comment

mud puddles and twig

blank mind dread
still dark
never sure
if words will come
then I remember
what my poet friend says
it doesn’t have to be good
but it has to be true

I trust true
will come when I wait
in the discomfort
of not knowing

the beat of my heart
drops me
back into my body
where words collide

once there’s a slurry
I trust play
will find shape
and take form

2024 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

planting

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, consciousness, fear, feelings, home, memory, Musings, nature, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, Poetry, Surrender1 Comment
nectaplum in bloom

planting

The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago.
The second-best time is now. —old Chinese proverb

I wonder, is
it just too late?
why bother
to seed new ways
it takes so much—
rhythms required
to change
and not just mine
but those I love

and yet
I survey this land
we moved here
a decade ago
mended the shabby
and raked white rock
now the yard
a mini farm
rosemary cascade
apple, Comice pear
and fig—
the most arcane,
nectaplum
July sweet feast

so I clear
new inner ground
set intention
bear discomfort
knowing change
will bear good fruit

2024 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

shelter

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, children, Daily reminders, home, Musings, nature, parenting, Poetry, prayer, questions, sufferingLeave a comment

shelter

the dark March night
rain pelting the roof
and wind gusts whistling
through tiny spaces
shuddering the house

it’s time to snuggle
in the shrine of here
pull the fleece
around my neck
and listen

thought falls away
bands of rain
first hard, demand
then slow to steady
I praise the roof
grateful for its refuge

eyelids lull to heavy
I float my thanks
send out
prayers and questions
are the songbirds
sheltering deep in shrubs
have worms inched
off the pavement
slipped into softened soil

what about the war zones
may parents find safekeeping
shield their children
from the battering

2024 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

this

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, beauty, body, Daily reminders, death, feelings, gratitude, Musings, nature, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, PoetryLeave a comment

this

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle. —Albert Einstein

for many decades
I slogged through
and didn’t take note
of all the marvels—
that the body knows
to sleep and wake,
and limbs carry me
across the land

I talk with you
and you with me
we comprehend!
then look around—
acorns hold the coding
of how to be a tree
birds can learn to fly

I look with wonder
everywhere
it all comes and goes
notice while you can

2024 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.