awakening at dawn

I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chords that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe?
Kate Chopin

awakening at dawn
to the mystical music
wind through the pines

no familiar scale
these pine trees breathe what soul knows:
ancient melodies

awakening cells-
memory shaken, by trees,
doing soul dance at dawn

Kate Lamberg
10/31/11

unconditional love is pure love

Love has no conditions. When we put conditions, when we put barriers and boundaries, then we lose love. Love is condition-less. Love is barrier-less. Look at the moon, sun, stars, trees. . . they are just on for everyone. When our love also flows for everyone, you become very natural.~ Pujya Swamij

with holding
love
implies
there is
just so much
to go around

inexhaustible,
love
is what breathes
life
into the sky,
waters,
earth, and
trees

Kate Lamberg

daily bread

The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson



whatever color the sky
is the only nourishment
these eyes can absorb

cumulus clouds roll-
grace the sky in dense moisture
creme de la cloud pouf

Kate Lamberg
10/26/11

bellingham cloud puf

preciousness

You wander from room to room.
Hunting for the diamond necklace.
That is already around your neck.
~ Rumi


what is the value of a being
who knows not where to look
or how to search for truth

his value is not diminished
by not knowing where or how
but might get crushed beneath

the oppressive weight
placed upon  striving
seemingly lifetimes away

when mother of pearls,
father time keepers
and baby's breath

strut through parlours
awake to fertile possibilities:
whole globed chrysathemums

mirror your soul shine
inside your tiniest foot steps, blazing
your soul in it's gathered certitude

Kate Lamberg

10/25/11

waking dream

october's red leaves
stop us in our tracks, staring-
waking dream beauty



Kate Lamberg
10/26/11

morning mist

morning mist through pines
freeing soul dance,  clearing mind
realize-- all things shine



Kate Lamberg
10/26/11

Bridge

bridge rises over water
joins two earth bound worlds, mid-air
stone connections breathe

Kate Lamberg
10/19/11


bridge, at twin ponds~east setauket

dreamt i was taking a creative writing class

dreamed i was taking
a graduate creative writing class
at sarah lawrence college

our assignment was declared
by a stern tall dark man
with a queen's accent

we were told to write a poem
addressing the meaning of sarcasm
and to be sure

to leave the reader
with an acrid after taste
for hours after reading

oh my, i wanted to run;
sarcasm had never found a place
in my writing, nor in my waking life

and now i was paying to take a course
to hone my creative writing skills
and just now being asked

to write in a style
completely foreign
to my spirit rock roots

a spiritual teacher once said,
"the thing we are forced to do
which makes us shout with resistance,

is the very thing
which will make us grow-
into the people
we were meant to be"

so, indeed, the teacher and this course
however much they be pushing me
beyond my envelope of comfort,

have made me realize
they can be too-- considered my guru:

as they force  me to grow-
an indoor jade plant growing through
the isinglass windows

tree limbs extended to court stars
brushing up against other galaxies
inside a eveningsong played long enough

to become familiar-
a family of fragrances
as a fellowship,

gleaming lights, strung taut
to count on...leading  me
ever further

onto the challenges that change
to smiling miracles,
mountains glowing rubiesque

with open paths, i walk upon
fearless, never-ending
through cloud dreams

Kate Lamberg
10/16/11

Magical places

“Magical places are always beautiful and deserve to be contemplated ... Always stay on the bridge between the invisible and the visible. ”
~ Paulo Coelho

beech tree, alongside twin ponds~east setauket, ny~ fall '11

happiness

There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

- The Buddha


rain pours increasingly harder
as i rise to begin my day
kittens greet me
with their exuberance

rain, now slowing down-
her sound noticed
through commuters' tires
rolling through wet concrete

birds, less apparent
in this morning; must be
sleeping in, within
the dry nooks of trees

some leaves which did not
transform to their peaked reds
have blown
to the softness of autumn's earth

hardly audible, leaves do
fall gently, unconcerned
with where or how they fall
just flow with wind, and with rain

to follow a single leaf
through treetop,
spiraling through apple scented air,
down to the blessed ground

is all the work i need to do
to understand how to be
gentle with myself
and all of humanity

Kate Lamberg
10/19/11

flaming tree

trust

on the verge of  birth
we trust the possiblilies
from every angle

Kate Lamberg
10/19/11

seeing

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." ~Henry David Thoreau

meditation begins

meditation begins
when we awake at day-break
a sail boat gently carrying us

drawing a full circle of joy
around our breathing auras:
silkened scarves of violet vapor

we sleep, relaxed in spirit's arms
knowing,  we have reached within our shining selves-
no matter what our feelings


Kate Lamberg
10/16/11

we are light beings

we are light beings, who brighten
each other, the path that widens
as it moves, extends itself in space

not opposed to death, love is just
now breathing--an opening
for more joy to jump from rafters

without love's call, we would be smothered
in muffled inaudible words, airless rooms
endless death traps, tepid tombs

the call to love is one and the same
as the song of living a life, based
on natural harmonies floating unimpeded

an earth song to be shared
freely, danced with light
honored in darkness

light and love, not distinguished
we travel in spirals of reverence
in a million years not extinguished


Kate Lamberg
10/15/11

we can be shining

we can be shining
berries, criss-crossing the tree
as well as green pine

cranberries, tart bursts
keep their color within
the bogs, beneath the rain

ruby jewels, as sweet
sauce sits upon holiday
table top glows bright

Kate Lamberg
10/7/11

heart touches sky

only from the heart can you touch the sky~rumi

what is holy and true

I am certain of nothing
but the holiness of the heart's affections,
and the truth of imagination.
~ John Keats


morning heart rises
rain comes, fills up the gutters
grass sighs in wetness

words come spilling out
with no need to siphon, just
let bright spirit guide

                                          swans at melville pond/east setauket, ny



Kate Lamberg
10/14/11

to feel the parisian spring in the dark of winter

to feel the parisian spring when cold sets in
is the path of the sages, is the reason
we have collected our spirits together
is the season for nudging closer

like cats, we bunk our foreheads
wear pride on almost silent footsteps
grow extra sensory vision
to paw through dark halls

skylight offers another view
skyheaven pours her milky
clarity, her groaning for home
just as it is, smiling for familiar

scents of apples, ginger snaps
cool dewed grasses under feet
while walking slowly after sunrise 

beach wind, imploring
a peaceful slowing down

Kate Lamberg
10/10/11










                

How I'm observing Yom Kippur~the day of Attonement.

Attonement= at one ment.
When we slow down, and are quiet, we have a greater capacity for being "one with self".


Sitting outside by the garden, and soaking up the sun. Reading poetry,  meditative walks, gentle yoga, relaxation.

Little speaking, much listening.

Basking in the peacefulness, by going within.
Being kind and gentle to myself.

Bright blessings to everyone.

Namaste'
Kate

cool evening keeps the witness

cool evening keeps the witness
awake longer into the night
awakening earlier at dawn

sailor's promise to return
after visiting the south seas
becomes a perpetual truth

leaning into a lie,
as jewels and sea salt
rob his hawk eyed vision

pink himalayan sea salt
offers a more subtle saltiness
how wisely the pink disappears

serving soups and stews
upon the cornerstone of autumn
stones heat up, knowing

cold mornings refresh
brain warm and fogged from too much
sleep, a covered dish affair

Kate Lamberg

10/7/11

water collects in pools

If you endeavor to embrace the Way through much learning, the Way will not be understood. If you observe the Way with simplicity of heart, great indeed is this Way.
--Buddha--


water collects in pools
through thin fluted bamboo
sounding like harmony herself

rain falls freely, when left
to release wet drops of nourishment
feeding earth and green hills

minds melt without force
outer snakeskin slips away
moist baby soft skin revealed

rising from sleeping
we light candles, step into
new worlds unfolding

when we sit in darkness
stillness and quiet wrap around
our minds made up, let go

simply observing
water flowing, heart opening:
work of play, radiant

Kate Lamberg
10/5/11

trying to stop thoughts

trying to stop thoughts
like quieting  a kitten
tough, but can be done

the rain starts and stops
during afternoon sitting
breathing in the drops

breathing out the drops
brings me to a new clarity
a clear polished pond

Kate Lamberg
10/5/11

one star

saw one star outside
the western window, at dawn
brightening dark sky

Kate Lamberg

10/4/11

courage

It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are."
~ e.e. cummings



to move with heart
for the duration of one's life
may be the hardest thing

yet to unveil one's truth
may be the one thing
that brings unfettered joy

it takes courage to know
the difference between
the passing merry-go-round

and the solid, unswerving
simple joy of knowing
one had listened

to her inner voice
sometimes silent, sometimes loud
a voice, tenderly growing


Kate Lamberg
10/3/11

sleep walking

We sleep beside a stream,  thirsty,  inches from our treasure~ Rumi

we sleep upon the very thing
we say we've looked
our whole lives to find

our dreams of moving with the tides
to flow with spirit's gentle rising
has not brought us the gifts we seek

but soon, the gilded lilly will be
surprising us in secret, as we
center upon the lakeside stillness

within the purity of prairies,
beside the moving waters--
surrounding us in gentle sounds

we are the dream we've been running
all our lives to meet; just now the tide
retreats enough for us to see

hundreds of golden tipped shells
shining, as that is all they know-
reflecting spirit's guidance

Kate Lamberg
10/1/11

free from mud

free from mud

waking from deluded dreams
thoughts, as koi, flee--and are gone
morning lotus freely shines

Kate Lamberg
10/2/11