the desert unfolds in wondrous beauty
touching my very soul
Carlos Castaneda and many others
have journeyed here before
this is the solvent for our soul
less distractions
living in the now
flat as far as the eye can see
vivid colour
tiny critters
survival is key
pretence dissolves
earthy reality prevails
no props
or entertainment
just the vast openness
mirroring my soul
to me …
it taps into
my limitless well of love
for all I need is inside
nothing external
can heal me wholly
only that which lies within
so settle down
look around
know that the solution
already abides
let go of all the baggage
know that I am enough
others can care and support me
but only I have the answers
love myself
then inner wealth
with blessed good health
will set me free
just breath out
and be …
knowing myself
sets me free!
dVerse, surrealism, Linda – with special mention to Miriam’s interview on Out and About
with Carlisle Rogers who reminded me of the power of the desert
google image
Excellent poem and picture.
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thanks so much, your creations are impressive!
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Well done! I love the photo and the stanza
“just the vast openness
mirroring my soul
to me …
it taps into
my limitless well of love”
So well said!
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thanks, they are lines I use in meditation fairly frequently so not original, altho definitely mine 🙂
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I like the thought of the openness mirroring one’s soul. And no other entertainment.
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bring a sense of unity peace and bliss … do you know it Frank?
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Ah vastness makes one feel free.
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indeed … do you ever get that feeling when you’re so busy?
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I have often felt a slight surreal feeling with so much open sky… either a desert or an ocean gives the same feeling.
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true Bjorn, that vastness and knowing that we are only a momentary spec …
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That’s what the desert fathers did in Catholic tradition e.g. Carmelites. Whenever they wanted to be alone and seek God they wandered into the desert….as Jesus did for forty days and nights. No distractions. Great post Kate.
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it is the temple of insight Len … we should all try it at some time 🙂
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While in Arizona a few years back for a funeral, we took a few days to ourselves. We hunted down a man-made lake and took a steam boat ride in the mountains – but to get there we had to travel through aged forest of cacti – each arm takes about 50 years to grow and some had over a dozen arms! Really beautiful country. But very different from forested trees.
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Those last three stanzas move from the quiet and vastness of the desert to the jubilance of discovering the answer with within oneself…the healing of me by me so to speak.
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Inspiring one Kate
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Wow!
I won’t mind wandering in the desert, just let me have a compass and bottles of water 😀
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lol the whole point is to get lost Hammad so a compass would be counter contradictory 🙂
One gets lost in order to find themselves 🙂
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Yes, right you are but staying in this lost mode to find own self for longer duration sound not so right.
So, compass will be handy 🙂
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What a great reminder of my teenage reading habits! I was a huge fan of Castaneda and had forgotten about the surrealism of his books. I’ve never been to a desert; your poem took me there, to the flatness and colour. I love the lines:
‘no props
or entertainment
just the vast openness
mirroring my soul’.
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Wonderful poem, Kate!
I grew up in the desert and longed for mountains, oceans, farmland, etc.
I didn’t truly see the beauty, or uniqueness, of the desert until I grew up some, and then, also, when I saw it through other people’s eyes. 🙂
I always felt akin to water and trees, so to grow up where water was scarce was hard. But when you study the plant and animal life in the desert you can’t help but be inspired, awed, encouraged, etc! 🙂
HUGS!!!
PS…somewhere I have a poem I wrote about the Creosote bush that grows in desert climates.
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well if you’ve posted it please share a link here Carolyn … good to share the magical mystery.
But I know what you mean about growing up with things. My neighbour is a migrant and she’s grows things I consider weeds. Guess they are pretty but one kills our cattle and the other I spent my childhood weeding … gives me a very different perspective. She keeps offering me cuttings 😦
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It took awhile to find this poem…I haven’t read it in years. Guess it is really more about the smell after a desert rain…but the creosote bush contributes to the smell. 🙂
petrichor*
© CS.7.20. 2006
an
intoxicating
exquisite
desert perfume
saturates the air
after the parched ground
and thirsty plants**
welcome a
desert thunderstorm
breathe in deeply
hold that refreshing
scent for as long
as you can, there
is no other smell
in the world
quite like it
enjoy it like
a desert sunset
for it will
evaporate
all too soon
*comes from the Greek word “petros” meaning “stone/rock”, and “ichor” meaing “from the mythological veins of the gods”.
**The Creosote Bush, and a few other desert plants, exude an oil that is absorbed by clay-based soils and rocks. When the rains come, the oil is released from the plants into the air along with another compound, geosmin, producing that distinctive, ethereal, heavenly scent.
Creosote bushes can live to be thousands of years old and can live through droughts that other plants, animals, and humans cannot endure.
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oh this is sooo beautiful Carolyn … I can sense your oneness with that environment!
Thanks heaps for sharing it, know many will enjoy it 🙂
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Your poem reminds me of Paolo Coelho’s novel about his journey in the dessert, The Pligrimage which serves as his recollection of his experiences as he made his way across Northern Spain on a Pligrimage to Santiago, it was partly a guide to self discovery.
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The desserts so spiritual .Lovely Kate
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I am enough. That is the key. Lovely poem.
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calming and inspiring poem, Kate.
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Loved this! 🙂
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This is perfect!
💕🕯🎉
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I have been on a journey to Ixtland 🙂
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Oooooh I love this one! I definitely have a soft spot for the desert, it is a very spiritual place.
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ah then this is our strong connection 🙂
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This is so incredibly powerful. Such vivid words and imagery that take me within and make me feel as though I’m already in that desert. Beautiful. Thanks for the mention too.
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your interview sparked that memory, I’ve always found deserts meditative so it was a nice reminder 🙂
Would love to live in the outback but …
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The ocean’s not a bad alternative 😊
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water is always soothing but the desert pervades everything leaving no room for troubled thoughts 🙂
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