Carpe Diem Haiku: Shepherd's Purse

Shepherd's Purse

in this shepherd's purse

treasure finer than money

nectar for honey

~Cie~

Notes:

There are a few who imply that my passion for saving pollinators is stupid, crazy, over-the-top, bleeding-heart crap. To them I say, very well, you have choices. You can choose not to read the work of a stupid, crazy, over-the-top bleeding-heart, full of crap pollinator lover. You can choose not to protect the pollinators. Have fun with that when they're gone.

There are some who think the links I provide on my pollinator posts put money right in my pocket. They don't. I disclose when I may earn a small commission from a link. I earn nothing from this one except the hope that someone might learn more about why it is so important to protect pollinators, and, if they buy honey through the link, will be supporting the Butterfly Pavilion's conservation efforts. Because, you know, I'm greedy that way.

I have decided that if I ever get my crap together and actually publish a poetry anthology, I will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Butterfly Pavilion's pollinator program.

Image copyright Butterfly Pavilion

Bee a pal and click the link. Learn more about why protecting pollinators is important, and buy some honey.

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: The End of the Road

the end of the road

I leave it all behind me

in joy and sorrow

~Cie~

Notes:

This Senryu was partly inspired by the image and partly by the song "In Joy and Sorrow", which was written by my fellow black dog attendant, Ville Valo.

Some people with mood disorders take medications.

Those of us who don't respond well to medications write bleak a.f. poetry.

The Dalai Lama - Interfaith Dialogue

Rather than follow the path of the New Atheists, The Dalai Lama choses to embrace religious faiths. Even though he is not religious himself he recognises that, even with their faults, many of them historical, religion is not going to go away despite the rise of militant atheism.

What is so astounding with the Dalai Lama's approach is that he promotes the positive side of religious faiths thereby presenting the good rather than the bad. Obviously, he is fully aware of what has been going on in the name of religion but by taking the Buddhist path his efforts in bringing together a united front centred around The Golden Rule is slowly bearing fruit. He is managing to not only de-construct New Atheism's argument but also to defeat those who would usurp faith for their own purposes.

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #104: Photoshopping Haiku + Haiku My Heart: Camellia

Image by Beverly Buckley from Pixabay

Unfolding before

the eyes of a little bird

a bright camellia

~Cie~

Here is the original Haiku by Yosa Buson (1716 - 1784)

Unfolding at the

hand of the glass polisher:

a camellia!

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: Trail of Saints, Krakow, Poland

Church of Our Lady of the Snows

I stop at the graves

along the trail of the saints

take tea with each one

~Cie~

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: Pilgrimage of the Relics, Maastricht (The Netherlands)

Saint Servatius

my fascination

with relics may be gruesome

or is it divine?

~Cie~

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: A Green Boat Ride

Image Source

taking a boat ride

I would spend several hours

experiencing

the torments of the seasick

from the rocking of the waves

~Cie~

Notes:

Today's pilgrimage inspiration features a very beautiful place. However, with my messed-up inner ears, all you have to say is "boat ride," and I start feeling queasy. I would either spend much of my time nauseated, or I would spend it high and goofy from the motion sickness pills. I am not a good water traveler.

It doesn't matter if the water is calm. One of my worst experiences of water sickness happened while on a rowboat on a calm lake. My inner ear picks up on very subtle rocking motions. I was sick for hours after the fact.

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: Señor de Huanca

Image Source

visit El Señor

high above sacred valley

will he welcome you?

~Cie~

The Golden Rule - Karen Armstrong

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #103: Start of Autumn

Image Source

in autumn I find

a friend who brings new stories

as leaves change and fall

~Cie~

Haiku My Heart: Honeybee

priceless honeybee

the world would be a dull place

without your colors

~Cie~

Learn how to protect pollinators and buy Rice's Honey through the Butterfly Pavilion website.

I am not an affiliate or employee of the Butterfly Pavilion or Rice's Honey. I receive no compensation for sharing this information.

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: St. Mary MacKillop

Image Source

I truly believe

that every caring teacher

embodies sainthood

~Cie~

Note:

The aspect of the St. Mary MacKillop story that stood out for me was the fact that she was a teacher.

Teachers can truly make or break their students.

I've had a few wonderful teachers and a few truly horrible ones.

Most of my elementary school teachers were decent. My sixth-grade teacher, however, probably got nominated for some sort of award in the hell that he's likely returned to by now. This man literally traumatized me so much when it came to the use of outlines for writing stories that I have actual PTSD reactions if someone suggests that I work with an outline. My throat starts clenching up and I start having trouble breathing. I can use outlines for boring-ass non-fiction college paper type stuff, but never for any work that I really care about.

You see, my sixth-grade teacher insisted that we write an outline for our story projects, which is something I never did. We were to follow the outline closely and not deviate from it significantly, but if the outline and the story matched exactly, he would know we had written the story first and would give us a failing grade. Which is what happened to me, because I can't write like that.

I was prone to catching every illness that came down the pike when I was a kid, and one time I missed three weeks of school. When I returned, this man marched up to my seat, slammed the attendance book down on the desk, and demanded to know what I was trying to pull.

I looked him dead in the eye and informed him that I had been sick.

I was freaking eleven years old and was something of a nervous wreck. I wasn't trying to pull anything. But after that, I pulled pranks on him, such as locking his file cabinet and hiding the key. I'd never been the sort of kid to do that sort of thing to a teacher previously.

Anyway, good teachers are worth everything and teachers like my sixth-grade teacher should choose a profession where they never encounter another living being. This man would have traumatized e. coli bacteria.

The Ornery Old Lady's Reviews: Inspirience: Meditation Unbound

Please check out my exclusive Online Book Club review for Inspirience: Meditation Unbound by Richard L. Haight.

Rating: 
Four out of four stars for Online Book Club
Five out of five stars for Amazon and Audible

The above graphic leads to the Kindle version of the book. I reviewed the audiobook version, which I highly recommend as I find it helpful to listen to the author explaining the meditation techniques and leading the listener through the meditation process.

What I like best about this book:
This wonderful book offers meditation for everybody. One does not need to be an adherent of any particular religion or philosophy. There is no need to be an adept or have special knowledge. One does not need a special space for meditation. One does not need an altar or candles or any other trappings. One does not need to worry that he or she is doing meditation "wrong."

If you think you can't meditate, if you have become discouraged with meditation, let Richard Haight show you that you can meditate and it can be enjoyable and truly enlightening instead of frustrating.

This book has been one of my happiest discoveries this year.

The Real Cie

aka

The Ornery Old Lady

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: St. Francis

Image by LaterJay Photography from Pixabay

Saint Francis statue

still in my parents' garden

old and weathered now

~Cie~

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: Nottinghamshire Pilgrimage

Our Lady of Doncaster

in Nottinghamshire

would I find cures for ills

or only stained glass?

~Cie~

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: Shikoku Pilgrimage

Click to learn more about this pilgrimage

in a month or two

they visit every temple

walking many miles

~Cie~

Note:

I'm not a nit-picker, but I'm aware that the label "Haiku" for this poem is not quite correct. It lacks the irony, snark, and/or melancholy of a Senryu. It is simply an observation, but not of nature or the seasons. For lack of a better term, I'm just calling it a Haiku-like poem. 

Satsang With Lisa

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #102 Renga With Basho ... ancient times

Japanese morning glory

flood waters

stars too will go to sleep

on top of a rock

the flood which came in that year

followed by a falling star

still summer

the harvest moon too hot

to enjoy the coolness

we never minded so much

when the moon looked upon us

morning glories

in the daytime a lock lowered

on the gate

if a flower could escape

where do you think it would go?

chrysanthemum flowers

bloom at the stonemason's

between stones

flowers are adaptable

I wish it was my nature

warriors

the bitterness of pickles

in the talk

warmongers talk a good game

when far from the battlefield

plum blossom scent

since ancient times the word

has been sorrowful

yet every day people say

cheer up, everything is good

~Basho & Cie~

Notes:

The Hokku (three-line) stanzas of these poems were written by Matsuo Basho (1644 - 1694). The Akegu (two-line) stanzas were created by me.

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: Kumb Melah

Image Source

you may join us here

and wash away the troubles

which keep you bound

repeating the same mistakes

wanting a chance to be free

~Cie~

Notes:

Visit the Artist

Visit the Artist

Ghost Town Grover Sez: 

Ain't nothin' like a good ole shindig at the ole swimmin' hole! 

Cactus Clem loves swim parties even though he don't swim too good. He just wades out an' drinks his fill!

But I didn't come here to talk about Cactus Clem an' his weird drinkin' habits.

I came here to tell y'all that the Ornery Old Lady and her son made their official move to the ole Grover Hotel today an' they bought a special pal with 'em. 

Click the link to c'mon by and hear all about it!

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: Nothing to See Here

Image Source

walk over the bridge

to the shrine of mystery

I asked to come in

they just told me to go home

"nothing to see here," they said

~Cie~

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: Lourdes

Copyright Dennis Jarvis

would I be washed clean

of the stain of my mistakes

if I bathed in Lourdes?

~Cie~

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: Mecca

Image Source

majestic temple

shining like heavenly dreams

stands solid on earth

~Cie~

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: Santiago de Compostela

follow the road sign

with the bright yellow sunshine

where will it lead you?

~Cie~

Each Day is a New Day. Each Day is the First Day of Your Life 2

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: Directional Sign

Image Source

on a lonesome road

in the middle of nowhere

where the hell am I?

~Cie~

Notes:

The story of the place pictured at the top of the post is interesting, and you can learn it by clicking on the Carpe Diem logo just above the notes. Admissibly, t'was the picture that inspired me.

My most-often-asked questions in this life are:

1. Where the hell am I?

2. What the hell am I doing here?

3. Why the hell am I doing this?

4. What the hell possessed me to think this was a good idea?

5. What the eff is this crap?

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: St. Cuthbert's Way

Image source

approaching the end

of my time in this same place

I feel a bit lost

what awaits me at the end?

am I doomed to fail again?

~Cie~

Notes:

Wanna just enjoy the poem without more claptrap from me? 

Cool! Your bus stops here.

For those of you who want to read into it a bit deeper, let's keep on truckin!

Here is a poem created by my pal, Ghost Town Grover.

Visit the Artist

When folks think of Colorado

They think of Aspen and Vail and Boulder

They ain't thinking about the prairie

Or places like Ault and Grover

Well, you know that where you find Grover, Cactus Clem must be nearby, and he has a few lines to share too.

Visit the Artist

Y'all, when folks think about Colorado

They think of marijuana and not clover

It's true that clover won't get you high

But I love the Lone Prairie, and you oughta come over!

Thank you, Grover and Clem. That was, as the barista on Open Mic Night at the Buttniks Coffee House said, organic.

Honestly, though, the picture above reminded me of a scene like this one from the Colorado Lifestyle blog.

Colorado's Soapstone Prairie

For me, the drive along the highway through the seemingly endless prairie is far from boring.

Soon I'll be living there.

The big stuff gets moved Friday.

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: Camina de Fatima

Image Source

little disciple

faith strong in a childlike heart

may it bring you joy

~Cie~

Notes:

I may be a misanthropic agnostic at this point in my life, but it wasn't always that way. As a child growing up in New Mexico, I was a devout Catholic. 

Two things pushed me away from the church: dogma and holier-than-thou blind-faith believers who dared neither question nor explore and condemned anyone who did.