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49 Poems Of Quiet, Silence, Soundlessness

-saiom shriver-

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*1
PIANISSIMO PEONIES
*
Sweet peas and petunias
and peonies
.. grow pianissimo
as on their petaled pianos
play
paeans to the Sun

*2
BIRD CHOIR
*
When more than 1 human
speaks at a time
some say
...cacophony
*
When birds and frogs croak
.. by the babbling creek
and the wind makes wood
instruments of the trees
and blows notes through
woodpecker carved flutes...
some say....
harmony

*3
FEAR NOT
*
a peaceful
quiet world
in which
no flea
need in fear flee
.. no fly
need in flight fly

*5
POND PALATE
*
Fall trees
.. their pond reflections
are paintbrushes
dipped into the
pondpalate's rippling water
.. aswirl with colors
of crimson and pink
and gold and yellow
and orange
... the wind's rustle
and the splashing fish
only for a few moments
obscuring the
kaleidoscope

*5
FRIGHTEN NOT THE LITTLE ONES
*
Some thoughts must be expressed
to be released.. put on paper..
so that emotions may flow
and let go..
sometimes thoughts are so painful
that after written in the blood
of the past
they should be erased, burned,
torn up and flushed
as the sea
erases the scrawls
in the sand..
that their echoes
not others kill

*6
NONVIOLENT WORDS
*
For many lives she
had expressed
anger with her fists..
but even now she
could see her angry
judging words..
becoming
others' fists..
and God whispered
to her..
that nonviolence in
thought and speech
is required of
aspiring pacifists.

*7
SOUNDLESS CHANGE
*
Softly as snowflakes falling
Quietly as dandelion down blows
Silent as the sky clouds flow
does violet sky turn to rose

*8
DUSK HUSH
*
Gone the day's rush..
Gone traffic push....
Light scattered
by sunset paintbrush
.. Now valleys hush ..
and the birdies shush.
the valleys hush..
and the birdies shush.
*
(to poet Steve Steigerwald)

*9
POLARITY OF THOUGHT
*
One thought that in presenting
his opinions he would attract
those of like mind.
The other thought that
if he presented an idea he did not
totally live up to, he would
turn people away. If he did live
up to his ideal, his thoughts
would spread effortlessly.

*10
MORNING HUSH
*
mist lies in parallel
layers under the clouds
as satin sheets
lie under cotton blankets

*11
EVE ANGEL
*
Eve Angel does never
evangelize..
but who can hide
the Godlove in her eyes

*12
SLOWING DOWN
*
We go by much too fast
the hidden gates to see
.. the quiet love..
silent caring
.. anonymous frequencies.
*
(to Milt Radney)

*13
WIND FINGERS
*
The wind's fingers
stroke the tree harp
and the tree's green fingers
in turn stroke the wind.

*14
SILENT THE SUN
*
Silent the Sun
Speechless the Sea
Quiet the
Tree of Quince
Nontalkative the nut tree
Incommunicado
the avocado
Nonloquacious
the wind
*
*15
VOLUME CONTROL
*
Her kind smile to him
when he asked her to turn
down her radio..
melted his heart
*
*16
SEEING RED
*
It was a gift to be able to see
auras..
Once when she saw red
she knew the woman who
was pouring out her soul
had had second thoughts
..
like a criminal angered
that he had confided
in a priest

but she resolved
to be as silent
as the sea
... the sea
which turns red
rivers of sound
into ultraviolet
jewels

*17
SUN DOES NOT KISS AND TELL
*
The sun does not
kiss and tell
but how can the
quince tree
hide
her new quints
in the dell?
*
(to John Joseph Price and his
family)

*18
SEAL OF CONFESSIONAL
*
The virgin nonvegetarian
and the nonvirginal vegetarian
both agreed
not to discuss
which animals
had in the past been chewed
..
for all are bound by
the seal of the confessional
of friendship

*19
GURU RIVER
*
As a river carries
fish to the sea
does a guru carry
secrets
.. giving them
to God the sea

*20
SHELLS SHED
*
As she shed
all her shells
and dove past
the shards
of seashells
into
the depths
from ocean shelf
she was shshshed
into shanti

*21
STARTLING NO STARLING
*
Dawn's pastel stirring
heralds day, sun-starring
.. with Her quiet ways
no robin or starling
startling
*
(to Caroline Harman)

*22
SILENT MUSIC
*
In a dream he said to me:
"I have never known a 3 string
guitar to be silent.."
as he pointed to an apricot
branch.. with 3 twigs..
each playing the music
of apricot making

*23
STARPLAY
*
the stars play
their silent ecstasy

*24
MOUSHIKA
*
The little moushika
in gnawing does
make musica.

*25
BENEATH THE WIND
*
Beneath the wind
shivers the river
With lightbeam slivers
she does quiver

*26
BUBBLES OF JOY
*
like joyspheres rising from a fountain
like moons being born of the sun
like round seeds floating in air
are the soul bubbles of God

*27
IMPEACH
*
GOD does not preach
to the tree of peach
Without force..
Love He does im-peach

*28
POLYTONGUED FLAME
*
death by violence
is a hydra headed monster
with more tongues of flame
than Medusa's snake coils
or gossip
or fire

anyone who advocates
violence is a terrorist
who metastasizes the
hatred he fights with
hatred

*29
ASIA
*
The inability to speak
 is called aphasia
.. but silence born of
ecstasy
... occurs more often
in Asia

*30
SWORDS OF SPEECH
*
He admired her gold squash blossoms
and sunshine yellow cucumber blooms
.. her pink! not orange tiger lilies,
pink! not whiteQueen Anne's Lace,
he made the mistake of praising her
Morning Glories along the fence..
calling her attention to the sweet vines
she considered sunveiling vines
.. and watched helplessly as she
killed them.

*31
BAMBOO SHOOTS
*
It was not the willow
who whistled in the wind
but the bamboo shoots
.. empty of desire
they were God's flutes
They hoped the panda
bears would like
different foods.

*32
CREATION SPACE
*
If you say it
he cannot.
Your speech
ties him in knots.
Your words
take up the space
the vacuum in which
his language is born.
Your spoken thesis
invites antithesis.
Your words are colors
blocking up the empty
canvass which invites
him to paint.

*33
DAYBREAK DRINK
*
In the forest was a deer
maddened by thirst
but paralyzed by fear
.. afraid of mountain lions
he could not approach
the cool lake

The willow bent down
and in the water traced
his fingers with touch so slight
slighter than his touch was
tiny rippling wind sprite's
Slighter than she is the touch
of quiet
And none is as quiet, as slight
as the touch of light
pon the face of night.

Now came a freedom from fear
for the gentle deer
who arched his neck
and humbly lowered it
to drink from master lake
his thirst pain to slake.

*34
INTERTWINED
*
The ego is entwined
with the heart.
It is very difficult
to harm the ego
without hurting the heart.

*35
LEMNISCATE
*
On the ice lemmings skate
leaving patterns
of lemniscate

but not too deep their etching
lest others from the icewater
them be fetching

*36
SPARKLING STARS
*
Sparkling stars
speak not a word
but the loyal light
of their constellation
brings always
consolation

*37
DRIVING SLOWLY
*
I drive more slowly
than before because
chipmunks,
skunks, the drunk
and lost monks
are likely to dart in front of my car

*38
LAST WINTER
*
Last winter jeweled
snowflakes
aped the flat beetables
of Queen Anne's Lace
falling to the ground
with their muffling grace

*39
DEPOSE
*
Who can depose
the silent rose?

*40
THREE SQUARED
*
Three squared is nine
Sometimes obstacles
to communication
lead to higher communion

*41
NIGHT PEACE
*
The sea is rhythmically snoring tonight
beneath a blanket of glowing moonlight.

*42
TRUTH BOWS TO LOVE
*
Love is the highest form of truth
Truth bows in silence to the demands
of love

*43
BASHO
*
Basho taught us
the pond has no
sound, no refrain
until violated.. by a stone
or frog.. or the fingers of the rain
*
THE SOUND OF ONE HAND CLAPPING

"What is the sound of one hand clapping"
Striking the waters, the waves are lapping

*44
THREE QUIETS MERGE
*
Three quiets merge..
the silent snowsift
.. night's fall swift
and the stillness
of the wilderness.

*45
ROSEBUSH ALMS
*
As I passed along
the dusty trail
she grabbed my arm
with her dusty own
and requested
that from my palm
come pouring forth
water alms

*46    
AVALANCHE
*
As cruel words
can harm or kill
so sound-sired avalanche
of cold snow blanche
can cover the winter
tree's every branch

*47
SILENCE WITHIN ASHRAM WALLS
*
There is
silence
within the
ashram walls
but over
the ashram walls
tumble down
vines of flowerfall
and way beyond..
sing the waterfalls

*48
LISTENING AND LOVING

*
They feel dispossessed
Weighted down depressed
May your loving listening
the suffering bless
and aid them through
stillness to express
agonies which on them press
Speech will help them
their hearts to undress
Talking they of despair
themselves divest

You will help them sleep.
    

(startling no starling is to caroline harman)
The haiku poetry of Buddhist monk Issa was filled with compassion for insects, birds, all beings