Photo by Tim Liu A classic critique of environmental activism is that it is the preserve of middle-class people from industrialized economies preaching to others to radically change their lifestyles. While this perception is not entirely true (and is promoted often by those who conveniently argue against the need for industry reform in the face […]
Splash
Aigua Blava Beach, Begur, Spain. Photo by Peter Müller. Suppose there were a pool of water—clear, limpid, and unsullied. A man with good eyesight standing there on the bank would see shells, gravel, and pebbles, and also shoals of fish swimming about and resting. Why is that? Because of the unsullied nature of the water. […]
The History of the Earth
The history of the earth is aconstrained blessing. With my warm human hands I receive it, knowing that it was the sun that Joshua commanded to be still. It was not the earth. The earthcannot remain still. As we move, with our families, in and out of dying,a flowing, syncytium over the earth. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from […]
Yet I Am No Brahmin
The shadow of her eyes, a Volcanic ash, timberwolf grey,on the ribbed and barren seabedof a valley before the pyramids.5,343 feet above the scent of moonshine and charred balsam, clothedin a milky ash, the air is radioactively alive. Like watercress it breaks with a crisp bite – a blade of galactic time,bathed and blended in boiled arrowroot. A lukewarm […]
Go Ahead and Steal My Shoes
Inspired by Wayne Dyer Go ahead and steal my shoes. It doesn’t matter when youwalk on holy ground. Learning what you love,there is a purpose to get on with.A knowing that overcomes suffering. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been included in such publications as the Hazmat Review, Moria Poetry Journal, […]
Godzilla of Peace
This morning on the toilet I daydreamed about the Godzilla of Peace. He comes out of the ocean fifty-five stories tall, blue and fluffy with a party hat and sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt. At first the city people are afraid of the deep rumbling he makes as he goes along. But he seems nice, […]
Where the Gods Dwell
The gods dwell where counting failsand answers are not held together by one, two, or three. The gods dwell where the thunder roarslike a father sent to identify the remains. Where that Seneca village was burned to the ground.Soon the trail goes back to that bridge as the soundof the falls get louder. The gods dwell as the Sequoias […]
What I learned from Ram Dass
is that death is like taking off a tightshoe. A basic inseparability preventsus from letting our feet touch the grass.I learned from him that meditationhas no reason. It is the first sign ofmadness. The silence of interminablechatter. What I learned from Ram Dass is to close your eyes and listen to the symbols. Listen to the hum of […]
Two Masters on the Great Expanse (A Collage Poem)
Why make so much of fragmentary blue1 What we call ‘mind’ is not something that exists elsewhere;2 in here and there a bird, or butterfly,1 so without being swept away and following wherever it leads,2 or flower, or wearing-stone, or open eye,1 look directly into its face, its very own essence—2 when heaven presents in sheets the solid hue?1 at that […]
Towards a Biology of God
Such a familiar sound.Black bear digging for pine cones.The folding of the earth’s crust, no onewas there to show them how to tie a knot orsew a pelt. Under extreme pressure, the edgesof eons rubbed against each other, the touch ofan earthquake on the elbow and a volcano inbetween the toes. Deep trenches keeping us fromseeing each other. […]