It’s as if a cat is unworthy of grief. After all, there are so many dying children. But some nights I pull into my driveway,still hoping to see him. I look up at the skyand wonder if it will snow. I examine the tracks in the yard. Is he in the landscape anymore?I turn the car off and […]
A Poem Written on the Day Mary Oliver Died
A poem is about being ready tochange your mind. Mary Oliver knew that. Today, Mary Oliver died. And whole morainespale blue with blossoms swept the hillinside. She was one who knew boundaries, and whathonored her own name. Deviating into sensibility, she was one who made honey mesquite with words- so hard scanning the darkness, like a […]
From the Beginning
There is a hushfrom the beginningof time, where youcan hear yourself blink. There is a hush,where a minute agowe were two million milescloser to this cluster thanwe are now. There is a hushwhen we realize how it isthat we belong at the limitof the powers of observation. There is a hushwhen the universe evolvedfrom the […]
The Tech Question Concerns Us All
In a letter dated 6 January to Monsignor Paglia for this month’s 25th anniversary of the Pontifical Academy for Life (which was founded in 1994), Pope Francis noted: “Relying on results obtained from physics, genetics and neuroscience, as well as on increasingly powerful computing capabilities, profound interventions on living organisms are now possible . . . Even […]
Master Huijing’s Short Dharma Teachings about Attributes of the Pure Land School: Worldly Truths
A practitioner should remain quiet about his achievements and flaunt his mistakes. Why? If we reveal our wrongdoings and mistakes to others, our karmic obstructions will be cleared. If we cover them up, the karmic obstructions will become even heavier. If we have reached certain goals or received credit for our accomplishments, we should keep […]
Resolutions of Character
“Resolution” has several meanings. The commonly held definition, particularly at the turn of each New Year, is the idea of committing to doing something differently, to improve oneself. Yet people often forget the other definition that needs to accompany this kind of resolution: the resolution denoting a strong will, the idea of perseverance and tenacity. […]
Primitive Religion
Like you, I amjust seekingan experienceof being alive. Stirred, smoothed,and thickened, freshas a rosemary sprig, my primitive religion feels strained througha sieve on topof a cooled caramel base. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been included in such publications as the Hazmat Review, Moria Poetry Journal, Chronogram Journal, Ampersand Literary […]
Sirius or Capella
Fresh mint is nothingbut clusters of stars,and a screwed top jarmeasures the limit ofman’s contemplation. Just slice the goat’scheese and a singlegalaxy has divided. Decorate the regionof the sky with berries,and blend all the confusion which still exists. Gently fold into thesweetcorn theemissions generated,the mango mixtureof brilliant vindication. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from […]
Genesis of Clouds
Died broke and forgotten,each dream is a phrase in slow motion,a long sampling of the moon awakened. Down beneath the turmoil of sixty thousandmillion years of not fitting in, we are driveninto the condition of atoms- brittle as flat leaf parsley crushed like stoned salt. Deep in a dream, the mind is the genesis of clouds, rising […]
The Vineyard
Cooked gently by theluminescence and blendedin the blackberry liqueur ofelder flowers and arrowroot,the sun is sometimes a flashat the bottom of four stemmedglasses. Skinned side down thesweet songs of our crazy sorrows.Deep time, a sweet orange blossomwater, a fluid that cannot be named. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has […]