Spiritual Poetry

I read this poem today and thought I'd like to start a thread of spiritual poetry to suppliment the quotes one. It doesn't have to obviously be spiritual...it can be any poem that you interpret as spiritual.

Enjoy!

*peace and love*
Nicole
----

Each Heart

41,002

God does not want me
to worship Him-
He wants me only to love Him
And love Him and love Him.

41,003

Each heart
Has to be
A God-magnet-heart

Sri Chinmoy

 

The World

I saw Eternity the other night
Like a great Ring of pure and endless light
All calm as it was bright;
And round beneath it, Time, in hours, days, years,
Driven by the spheres,
Like a vast shadow moved, in which the world
And all her train were hurled.
The doting Lover in his quaintest strain
Did there complain;
Near him, his lute, his fancy, and his flights,
Wit's sour delights;
With gloves and knots, the silly snares of pleasure;
Yet his dear treasure
All scattered lay, while he his eyes did pour
Upon a flower.

The darksome Statesman hung with weights and woe,
Like a thick midnight fog, moved there so slow
He did nor stay nor go;
Condemning thoughts, like sad eclipses, scowl
Upon his soul,
And clouds of crying witnesses without
Pursued him with one shout.
Yet digged the mole, and, lest his ways be found,
Worked under ground,
Where he did clutch his prey; but One did see
That policy.
Churches and altars fed him, perjuries
Were gnats and flies;
It rained about him blood and tears, but he
Drank them as free.

The fearful Miser on a heap of rust
Sat pining all his life there, did scarce trust
His own hands with the dust;
Yet would not place one piece above, but lives
In fear of thieves.
Thousands there were as frantic as himself,
And hugged each one his pelf.
The downright Epicure placed heaven in sense
And scorned pretence;
While others, slipped into a wide excess,
Said little less;
The weaker sort, slight, trivial wares enslave,
Who think them brave;
And poor despisèd Truth sat counting by
Their victory.


Yet some, who all this while did weep and sing,
And sing and weep, soared up into the Ring;
But most would use no wing.
'Oh, fools,' said I, 'thus to prefer dark night
Before true light,
To live in grots and caves, and hate the day
Because it shows the way,
The way which from this dead and dark abode
Leaps up to God,
A way where you might tread the sun, and be
More bright than he.'
But as I did their madness so discuss,
One whispered thus,
This Ring the Bridegroom did for none provide
But for his Bride.



Henry Vaughn.

 

Thou Blessed Dream

If things go ill or well
If joy rebounding spreads the face,
Or sea of sorrow swells
A play Ñ we each have part,
Each one to weep or laugh as may;
Each one his dress to don
Its scenes, alternative shine and rain.

Thou dream, O blessed dream!
Spread far and near thy veil of haze,
Tone down the lines so sharp,
Make smooth what roughness seems.

No magic but in thee!
Thy touch make desert bloom to life.
Harsh thunder, sweetest song,
Fell death, the sweet release.

- Swami Vivekananda

 

THE BALLAD OF THE SKELETONS


Allen Ginsberg.

Said the Presidential Skeleton
I won't sign the bill
Said the speaker skeleton
Yes you will

Said the Representative Skeleton
I object
Said the Supreme Court skeleton
Waddya expect

Said the Military skeleton
Buy Star Bombs
Said the Upperclass Skeleton
Starve unmarried moms

Said the Yahoo Skeleton
Stop dirty art
Said the Right Wing skeleton
Forget about yr heart

Said the Gnostic Skeleton
The Human Form's divine
Said the Moral Majority skeleton
No it's not it's mine

Said the Buddha Skeleton
Compassion is wealth
Said the Corporate skeleton
It's bad for your health

Said the Old Christ Skeleton
Care for the Poor
Said the Son of God skeleton
AIDS needs cure

Said the Homophobe skeleton
Gay folk suck
Said the Heritage Policy skeleton
Black's are outa luck

Said the Macho skeleton
Women in their place
Said the Fundamentalist skeleton
Increase the human race

Said the Right-to-Life skeleton
Foetus has a soul
Said the Pro Choice skeleton
Shove it up your hole

Said the Downsized skeleton
Robots got my job
Said the the Tough-on-Crime skeleton
Tear gas the mob

Said the Governor skeleton
Cut school lunch
Said the Mayor skeleton
Eat the budget crunch

Said the Neo Conservative skeleton
Homeless off the street!
Said the Free Market skeleton
Use'en up for meat

Said the Think Tank skeleton
Free Market's the way
Said the Savings & Loan skeleton
Make the State pay

Said the Ecological skeleton
Keep Skies blue
Said the Multinational skeleton
What's it worth to you?

Said the NAFTA skeleton
Get rich, Free Trade,
Said the Maquiladora skeleton
Sweat shops, low paid

Sait the GATT skeleton
One world, high tech
Said the Underclass skeleton
Get it in the neck

Said the World Bank skeleton
Cut down your trees
Said the I.M.F. skeleton
Buy American cheese

Said the Underdeveloped skeleton
We want rice
Said the Developed Nations' skeleton
Sell your bones for dice

Said the Ayatollah skeleton
Die writer die
Said Joe Stalin's skeleton
That's no lie

Said the Middle Kingdom skeleton
We swallowed Tibet
Said the Dalai Lama skeleton
Indigestions whatcha get

Said the World Chorus skeleton
That's their fate
Said the U.S.A. skeleton
Gotta save Kuwaitt

Said the Petrochemical skeleton
Roar Bombers roar!
Said the Psychedelic skeleton
Smoke a dinasaur

Said Nancy's skeleton
Just say no
Said the Rasta skeleton
Blow Nancy Blow

Said the Demagogue skeleton
Don't smoke Pot
Said the Alcholic skeleton
Let your liver rot

Said the Junkie skelton
Can't we get a fix?
Said the Big Brother skeleton
Jail dirty pricks

Said the Mirror skeleton
Hey good looking
Said the Electric Chair Skeleton
Hey what's cooking?

Said the Talkshow skeleton
Fuck you in the face
Said the Family Values skeleton
My family values mace

Said the NY Times skeleton
That's not fit to print
Said the CIA skelton
Cantcha take a hint?

Said the Network skeleton
Believe my lies
Said the Advertising skeleton
Don't get wise!

Said the Media skeleton
Believe you me
Said the Couch-Potato skeleton
What me worry?

Said the TV skeleton
Eat sound bites
Said the Newscast skeleton
That's all Goodnight

 

To the Unknown God (1864)

Once more, before I wander on
And turn my glance forward,
I lift up my hands to you in loneliness Ñ
You, to whom I flee,
To whom in the deepest depths of my heart
I have solemnly consecrated altars
So that
Your voice might summon me again.

On them glows, deeply inscribed, the words:
To the unknown god.
I am his, although until this hour
I've remained in the wicked horde:
I am hisÑand I feel the bonds
That pull me down in my struggle
And, would I flee,
Force me into his service.

I want to know you, Unknown One,
You who have reached deep into my soul,
Into my life like the gust of a storm,
You incomprehensible yet related one!
I want to know you, even serve you.
(By Nietzsche ÑTranslation by Philip Grundlerhner)

 

lead on kind light

 

Quite awhile ago gdkumar shared this with us...and I can never forget it...so I thought I'd repost it:

The Condition (by Dilip Kumar Roy (Dadaji) from Hark! His Flute)

I long to touch, I yearn to see
I ache to clasp and hold
But when my hands I stretch to thee,
I find my heart's still cold.

Can we by mearly clamouring
Thy angel boons recieve,
Unless to thee we pray and sing
And like a child believe.

That thou, our one Friend Evergreen,
Answerest when we cry
And wouldst resolve our world's deep din
If for Thy Grace we sigh?

I'll find thee Lord, when I will lay
At thy feet all I call mine;
For then on me thou'lt smile and say
That now, at last I'm thine.

 

Universal Prayer

O adorable Lord of mercy and love,
Salutations and prostrations unto Thee.
Thou art omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient;
Thou are Satchidananda, Truth, Knowledge, and Bliss;
Thou art the Indweller of all beings.

Grant us an understanding heart,
Equal vision, balanced mind,
Faith, devotion, and wisdom.
Grant us inner spiritual strength
To resist temptations and to control the mind.
Free us from egoism, lust, greed, and hatred,
Fill our hearts with divine virtues.

Let us behold Thee in all these names and forms,
Let us serve Thee in all these names and forms,
Let us ever remember Thee,
Let us ever sing Thy glories,
Let Thy name be ever on our lips,
Let us abide in Thee for ever and ever.


- Swami Sivananda

 

The Golden Flute

A sea of Peace and Joy and Light
Beyond my reach I know.
In me the storm-tossed weeping night
Finds room to rage and flow.

I cry aloud, but all in vain;
I helpless, the earth unkind
What soul of might can share my pain?
Death-dart alone I find.

A raft am I on the sea of Time,
My oars are washed away.
How can I hope to reach the clime
Of God's eternal Day?

But hark! I hear Thy golden Flute,
Its notes bring the Summit down.
Now safe am I, O Absolute!
Gone death, gone night's stark frown!

- Sri Chinmoy

 

Because Thou Art


Because Thou art All-beauty and All-bliss,
My soul blind and enamoured yearns for Thee ;
It bears Thy mystic touch in all that is
And thrills with the burden of that ecstasy.


Behind all eyes I meet Thy secret gaze
And in each voice I hear Thy magic tune :
Thy sweetness haunts my heart through Nature's ways;
Nowhere it beats now from Thy snare immune.


It loves Thy body in all living things;
Thy joy is there in every leaf and stone:
The moments bring Thee on their fiery wings ;
Sight's endless artistry is Thou alone

Time voyages with Thee upon its prow
And all the future's passionate hope is Thou.

Sri Aurobindo

 

Lullaby - Swami Rama Tirtha

1
Sleep, baby, sleep
No sobs, no cries, ne’er weep.
Rest undisturbed, all fears fling,
To praise Thee all the angels sing.
Arbiter of riches, beauty; and gifts
Thy innocent Atman governs and lifts;
Sleep, baby, sleep.

2
Soft roses, silvery dew-drops sweet,
Honey, fragrance, zephyrs genial heat
Melodious warbling, notes so dear.
And all that pleases eye or ear.
Comes from Thy heavenly, blissful home.
Pure, pure Thou art, untainted Om.
Sleep, baby, sleep.

3
No foes, no fear, no danger, none,
Can touch Thee, O Eternal One!
Sweet, lovely, tender, gentle calm,
Of sleep Thy Atman doth embalm.
Thyself doth raise the spangled dome
Of starry heavens, O darling Om.
Sleep, baby, sleep.

4
The sun and moon Thy playing balls,
The rainbow arch bedecks Thy halls,
The milky ways for Thee to walk,
The clouds, when meet, of Thee they talk;
The spheres, Thy dolls, sing, dance and roam,
They praise Thee Om Tat Sat Om!
Sleep, baby, sleep.

5
In lilies and violets, lakes and brooks,
How sweet Thy sleeping beauty looks.
Let time and space, the blankets warm,
Roll off Thy face by sleeping arm.
Look half askance as baby lies,
Dear naughty boy with laughing eyes!
Sleep, baby, sleep.

6
The shrill, sharp echoes of cuckoos
Are whistles, rattles, Thou doth choose,
The sparrows, winds, and all the stars
Are beautiful toys and baby’s cars.
The world is but Thy playfull dream,
It is in Thee, tho’ outside seem.
Sleep, baby, sleep.

7
O wakeful home of rest and sleep!
O active source of wisdom deep!
O peaceful spring of life and action!
O lovely cause of strife and fraction!
To limiting darkness bid adieu.
Adieu! adieu! adieu!
Sleep, baby, sleep.

8
The beauteous objects, charming things,
Are flattering sounds of beating wings.
Of thee, O Eagle blessed King,
Or fleeting shadows of Thy wing,
Bewitching beauty half reveals,
And as a veil it half conceals,
The wearer of this veil, Sweet Om,
The real Self, Om, Tat Sat Om.
Sleep, baby, sleep.

 

Those Who Do Not Dance

A crippled child
Said, "How shall I dance?"
Let your heart dance
We said.

Then the invalid said:
"How shall I sing?"
Let your heart sing
We said

Then spoke the poor dead thistle,
"But I, how shall I dance?"
Let your heart fly to the wind
We said.

Then God spoke from above
"How shall I descend from the blue?"
Come dance for us here in the light
We said.

All the valley is dancing
Together under the sun,
And the heart of him who joins us not
Is turned to dust, to dust.

- Gabriela Mistral

 

This is one of my favourites:

Unbreakable

Unbreakable, O Lord,
Is the love
That binds me to You:
Like a diamond,
It breaks the hammer that strikes it.

My heart goes into You
As the polish goes into the gold.
As the lotus lives in its water,
I live in You.

Like the bird
That gazes all night
At the passing moon,
I have lost myself dwelling in You.

O my Beloved - Return.

-Mirabai

 

My God and My Lord

Eyes are at rest, the stars are setting.
Hushed are the stirrings of birds in their nests,
Of monsters in the ocean.

You are the Just who knows no change,
The Balance that can never swerve,
The Eternal which never passes away.

The doors of Kings are bolted now and guarded by soldiers.
Your Door is open to all who call upon You.

My Lord,
Each love is now alone with his beloved.
And I am alone with You.

- by Rabia al Basri

 

The Soul Bird

O world-ignorance,
Although
You have shackled my feet,
I am free.

Although
You have chained my hands,
I am free.

Although
You have enslaved my body,
I am free.

I am free because I am not of the body.
I am free because I am not the body,
I am free because I am the soul-bird
That flies in Infinity- Sky.
I am the soul-child that dreams
On the Lap of the immortal King Supreme.

- by Sri Chinmoy

 

Poems from Bhagawan Ramana Maharishi

The Self is known to every one but not clearly.
You always exist.
The Be-ing is the Self. ‘I am’ is the name of God.
Of all definitions of God,
none is indeed so well put as the Biblical statement
‘I AM THAT I AM’ in Exodus (Chap.3).
There are other statements,
such as Brahmaivaham, Aham Brahmasmi and Soham.
But none is so direct as the name JEHOVAH = I AM.
The Absolute Being is what is—It is the Self.
It is God. Knowing the Self, God is known.
In fact God is none other than the Self.

* * *

‘...Bliss is not something to be got.
On the other hand you are always Bliss.
This desire [for Bliss] is born of the sense of incompleteness.
To whom is this sense of incompleteness?
Enquire. In deep sleep you were blissful.
Now you are not so.
What has interposed between that Bliss and this non-bliss?
It is the ego.
Seek its source and find you are Bliss.

* * *

There is nothing new to get.
You have on the other hand,
to get rid of your ignorance,
which makes you think you are other than Bliss.
For whom is this ignorance?
It is to the ego.
Trace the source of the ego.
Then the ego is lost and Bliss remains over.
It is eternal You are That, here and now...
This is the master key for solving all doubts.
The doubts arise in the mind.
The mind is born of the ego.
The ego rises from the Self.
Search the source of the ego
and the Self is revealed.
That alone remains.
The universe is only expanded Self.
It is not different from the Self...

 

The Angel Flame


House in thy soul the flickerless lamp of love;
O way- lost dupe, relume the angel flame
In the wistful temple of dream: nurse in faith's grove
The memorial rose of peace no thorn may shame.

Delivered from thy passions' lurid gleams
And shadowing greeds, foes in the guise of friends,
Know: in the deep of hush the soul redeems:
She is the vanguard morn to darkness sends.

Her children in gloom, thy Motherland mourns and sighs,
Play Beauty's flute like Krishna: thou art He.
If thou wilt wake- the world, a-quiver, shall rise
And mitred priests of love sing on with thee.

Hate never pays, though sorrows purify;
Be poised in thy Self of love: incarnate, free.
If love resign who shall reveal the sky?
SoulÍs night is doom: her dawn, sure victory.

Be pledged to noble ways of the ancient Sun;
If lose thou must, let it be life, not love.
Shall clouds besiege thy star dominion?
"Up! Time is fleeting!", the bugle calls above!

- by Dilip Kumar Roy

 

Prayer When I Can't Pray

I try to pray;
words donÕt come.
I toss and turn
and feel nothing.
My mind is dry,
my heart is dull,
my soul longs
for life.
Hear my silent cry,
my God, hear me.
Let me not be
a shriveled reed
or an empty shell.
Breathe on me
and make me whole.
Give me passion
that I may love.
Then shall my tongue praise
your holy name
with words I do not yet know.
So be it.

- Vienna Cobb Anderson

 

If I Can Stop
IF I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

- by Emily Dickinson

 

I died from minerality and became vegetable;

And From vegetativeness I died and became animal.

I died from animality and became man.

Then why fear disappearance through death?

Next time I shall die

Bringing forth wings and feathers like angels;

After that, soaring higher than angels -

What you cannot imagine,

I shall be that.

- Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi