Tuesday, July 31, 2018

The Quiet




painting by Cezean Mat


The Quiet

“We need silence to be able to touch souls”
--Mother Teresa.

Gurus suggest that to achieve
           enlightenment,
                    Oneness
               Vision-quest 
                   or Nirvana,
we must seek out,
or rediscover,
or find for the first time,

                                         perfect silence;
to quell those voices        within & without,
inhabit a place
of serene stillness,
of white light--                  
    perhaps your personal 
          portal, a sweet doorway
               into multiple dimensions;
          and somehow while in
that place, you will be 
introduced to a titan
called Truth--

naked, freshly peeled, 
without its trappings,
cousins or usurpers.

Meditation & hypnosis & faith were not adequate
conduits for me. I wonder if one of those 
deprivation or isolation tanks would work for me?
Where you lie in a few inches of water with the
lid closed--would that provide the pathway, grant
me access, burst me through the hymen of
ignorance, slice through the membrane of memory
and light up the helix--or would I just hear the 
water, or suffer claustrophobia?

During my last sprint in
this cosmic relay race,
I find that I’m distracted by     
the gadfly of doubt,
the wood tick of fear,
the larva of lies,
and the sins of self.

Could I, at this juncture,
actually handle the truth?

Hell, no sweat--
I’ll find out soon enough. 

The beasts, birds, reptiles
do not seek enlightenment;
killers and victims. 



Glenn Buttkus

Post over at dVerse Poets Pub

13 comments:

brudberg said...

I do love this Glenn... the search for enlightenment... I have tried meditation but somehow the silence had a hard time breaking through the murmuration I have inside... maybe I did it wrong or maybe I'm just not ready for any other step than to be a blowfly in my next life.

sarah said...

I like the changes of pace in this. It gives it a conversational feel, and brings it down to earth.

Gillena Cox said...

Luv this image of truth within the silence quest silence:

" you will be
introduced to a titan
called Truth--

naked, freshly peeled,
without its trappings,
cousins or usurpers."

much love...

Jane Dougherty said...

There's a lot to chew over in this one. I think I'm going to go with the final observation, that we are the only ones to worry about inessentials. What's important is where the next meal is coming from, and when :)

said...

"hymen of ignorance" ... You slay me!

"portal, a sweet doorway" ... I LOVE that line, with "portal" as a verb. Like, "Hey, girl. Let's portal a sweet doorway [together]." ;)

Frank Hubeny said...

Nice phrase: "burst me through the hymen of
ignorance". I also liked the alliteration and sense in "larva of lies".

Grace said...

It would be hard to handle or face truth. The silence you painted is the ultimate one, answering the yearning deep within. I admire this part best:

During my last sprint in
this cosmic relay race,
I find that I’m distracted by
the gadfly of doubt,
the wood tick of fear,
the larva of lies,
and the sins of self.

Truedessa said...

You have gone deep with your words, I practice meditation and it helps me see in a quiet place. I had a dream a few nights ago I met a monk high on a mountain top. He spoke not a word but, offered me a seat next to him and what i felt was inner peace.

A cosmic relay race is quite the image. Can we out run our fears and doubts?

I am trying to do a bit of catch up with reading.

Dwight L. Roth said...

Silence seems to be the path to meditation opening the mind to listen for words of understanding and truth. It has been used since the beginning of time, but for many the rush of the rat race seems to over the need to stop and listen to that still small voice within.
Great job!

lynn__ said...

I like this honest admission that even when we're older, hoping to be wiser, we're distracted by our human limitations and foibles.

Vivian Zems said...

Bravo Glenn! You’ve delved into the art of meditation with a frank dialogue. I thoroughly enjoyed this part:
the gadfly of doubt,
the wood tick of fear,
the larva of lies,
and the sins of self

Kim M. Russell said...

Where did you find the brilliant Mother Teresa quote? I enjoyed the journey into meditation, Glenn, and the layout fits the theme beautifully, particularly the lines:
' perfect silence;
to quell those voices within & without,
inhabit a place
of serene stillness,
of white light--
perhaps your personal
portal, a sweet doorway
into multiple dimensions'.
Interesting personification of Truth as a titan 'naked, freshly peeled, without its trappings'.
I can also understand that mediation, hypnosis and faith are not for everyone. I couldn't cope with any kind of enclosed space.I think it's healthy to be distracted by those niggling little creatures doubt, fear and lies, otherwise we wouldn't be reading each other's poetry and indulging in the sins of self!

Unknown said...

In many of your poems, you have this ability to jump from one voice to another. In this one you go from outer-directed short images and then shift to an inner more discursive voice. Reminds me of the great Philip Whalen.