Poetry Corner – Peace of Mind

POETRY CORNER

You and I – Koi pond (Photo – Peggy Castro).

– 12/20/17

Hosted by Kathabela Wilson

Now as a new season unfolds with a firestorm here in Southern California we are approaching new beginnings, and hopefully find community and personal solace in the beauty of nature and the power of inner peace. We find the space and time between things, where quiet opens into new understanding and we hold hands with nature, our past, our future, or families and friends, to create a better, deeper and more gentle world. The two fine poets, Peggy with her transforming tanka and haiku, and Sandi with her inward opening haiku/haiga artworks, go deep into themselves and bring us with them, reaching toward all the beauty of nature to find comfort and inspiration.

~ Kathabela

Jack’s Sunrise (Photo – Peggy Castro).

Peggy Castro

with Jack’s sunrise
morning sun
cracks open the sky
cracks open ignorance
new beginnings

infinity
following the
path of light

absolute silence
the beauty of
emptiness

I hear the
lamentations of
my ancestors
sorrow transformed
all is holy

you and I
encircled
in the womb of god

Peggy Castro of Alhambra, CA, not far from Pasadena, says: “I live a very hectic life. I am partially retired and work part-time with the homeless who are diagnosed with mental illness. I replenish myself at the wonderful local gardens in the San Gabriel Valley. Also, once a year after Thanksgiving, I go to a week-long retreat at Deer Park, a Buddhist monastery located in Escondido. This is also the anniversary of my boy-friend’s death, after our 18 years together. In the midst of personal tragedy and political turmoil, I have found a way to heal and nourish myself. I have taken photos from the top of a hill above the monastery where the silence is astounding. The solitude and silence of the monastery are vital to my survival in the chaotic, crazy times we live in. On November 30th, the anniversary of Jack’s death. I walked to the top to catch the sunrise coming over the hill. The koi pond is located in a garden at the foot of the hill.”

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Sandi Pray

Imagination by Sandi Pray.

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Trying by Sandi Pray.

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Bare limbs by Sandi Pray.

Sandi Pray is a retired high school librarian living a quiet life in the wilds of the North Carolina mountains and river marshes of North Florida. As a vegan, she is a lover of all life and an environmental advocate. Her haiku/haiga can be seen on her blog.

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