Letters to dead poets; Chapter 1: To William Blake

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Jesse
Posts: 2127
Joined: Wed May 08, 2013 6:54 am
Location: Virginia, USA

Letters to dead poets; Chapter 1: To William Blake

Post by Jesse »

In that endless night
we heed; cold and bitterness
unto the morning light
sightless vision blinds our eyes
madness disembarks into our lives
A cold dark prison earned
is the bittersweet sentence served
A life stolen and a life lived in hush
tis golden silence upon that burning bush

Trembling utterances on the grave
it's the human heart that we poets save
In this final night and in that coming day
let all that you dream become what may
for once the fires lit, the dream is here to stay.
---------------
In response to:

"Some are Born to sweet delight
Some are Born to sweet delight
Some are Born to Endless Night"

From Auguries of innocence, by William Blake
Image
Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world:
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
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Budai
Posts: 878
Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2020 1:12 pm
Location: ༀ ∞ Nam Myoho Renge Kyo ∞ ༀ

Re: Letters to dead poets; Chapter 1: To William Blake

Post by Budai »

I said to myself this poem is too perfect for me to comment on, but you deserve some sort of praise! How wonderful!

You are talking of dreams and fires and in Buddhism we tend to focus on cessation and Awakening, yet your metaphors pierce to the Heart of what’s most important to realize in so many ways, something so many find beyond the Expedient Means, I think I see it as a Consciousness beyond this world where we can all be happy. That’s what I’m looking for too, not just to cease suffering or to attain the highest knowledge. The basic need for human kindness is what your poem exemplifies, and really the Spirit that cannot be defeated in Buddhism, here, there, and everywhere.
Jesse
Posts: 2127
Joined: Wed May 08, 2013 6:54 am
Location: Virginia, USA

Re: Letters to dead poets; Chapter 1: To William Blake

Post by Jesse »

Könchok Chödrak wrote: Fri Jun 04, 2021 9:05 am I said to myself this poem is too perfect for me to comment on, but you deserve some sort of praise! How wonderful!

You are talking of dreams and fires and in Buddhism we tend to focus on cessation and Awakening, yet your metaphors pierce to the Heart of what’s most important to realize in so many ways, something so many find beyond the Expedient Means, I think I see it as a Consciousness beyond this world where we can all be happy. That’s what I’m looking for too, not just to cease suffering or to attain the highest knowledge. The basic need for human kindness is what your poem exemplifies, and really the Spirit that cannot be defeated in Buddhism, here, there, and everywhere.
Thank you very much for your kind words. This poem is extremely meaningful to me, what it represents to me is the event that returned me to the Dharma, pulled me out of hell, and put me back on the right path. Poetry has become something inseparable from my spiritual practice, an apt word would be Sadhana.

You are absolutely correct that basic kindness, compassion, is both what spurs our growth, and simultaneously is the fruit of our practice.

A quote from the Flower Adornment Sutra:
The ocean of Buddha's virtue is inexhaustible;
No bounds or limits to it can be found.
Its light shines in all ten directions:
This is the liberation of Adornment King.
I truly believe that kindness you're talking about, is the Buddha himself.
Image
Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world:
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
Realmwalker
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Jun 29, 2021 11:58 am

Re: Letters to dead poets; Chapter 1: To William Blake

Post by Realmwalker »

Beautiful in rhythm, beautiful in meaning, beautiful in rhyme.
You inspire me!
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