Monday, December 28, 2009

Behold

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I existed












from eternity














and













behold












I am here













and I shall












exist till the












end of time











for my being












has no end













Kahlil Gibran

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Single Unison

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I clean my teeth in water
drawn from a cold well
And while I brush my clothes
I purify my mind











Then, slowly turning pages
in the Tree-Leaf Book,
I recite, along the path
to the eastern shelter












...The world has forgotten
the true fountain of this teaching
And people enslave themselves
to miracles and fables












Under the given words
I want the essential meaning
I look for the simplest way
to sow and reap my nature











Here in the quiet
of the priest's temple courtyard
Mosses add their climbing colour
to the thick bamboo













And now comes the sun
out of mist and fog
And pines that seem
to be new-bathed;












And everything is gone from me
speech goes, and reading
Leaving the single unison













Reading Buddhist Classics with Zhao at his Temple in the Early Morning

by Liu Zongyuan  773-819

Tang Dynasty writer
and master of free and simple prose
of the early Chinese philosophers




All artworks except the final image
are by Chen Jun





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Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Proteas

Proteas...







I have posted on Proteas before
so I won't repeat myself


I suggest
for background information
you might like to visit
Gondwanaland


and for variety look at
and Protean Proteas












to accompany
this bunch of proteas
I offer you
these lines











of Persian poet
Mahmud Kianush
called

Of Life











Let your words
be like a wild flower













a smile of azure













with a tiny mouth of gold













in the naked sunshine
of a desert













as blissful as the kiss
of a mother












When you talk of life













it seems as if on the road













we are confronted
with a rock













unsightly and huge,













happened to be there













for no known reason,













unyielding to all solutions.













Let your words fly













lightly in the sun













like













butterflies.

















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Sunday, November 15, 2009

King of the Castle

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King of the Castle








My friend and I
return after our whale walking
to her home in the rain forest
and entering the bush
we take a short cut
across the neighbour's yard
where we notice
something odd...










 



a large area of garden
under the trees
has been cleared of mulch
the irrigation pipes exposed...













and over here
in this section
a huge mound
of leaf litter
and ground cover
banking up
around the palms











 



and here we have the culprit
the king of his very own castle
the very industrious brush turkey










 



the male bush (or brush) turkey
has been very busy
readying his nursery









 



for it is his job
to scratch and flick
scratch and flick









 



until he has a home fit
for the incubation
of 16-24 eggs










 



of which he then is responsible
for maintaining the climate control
the optimum temperature
for hatching is 33-35*C
Father will add to
or remove coverage
as need be
according to his beak thermometer's readings
which are taken
several times a day










 



the mounds can be 1.5 m high
and about 4m wide









 

 

and the same site
will be used
year after year








 



as he scratches and flicks
his yellow wattle
swirls around his neck
the wattle increases in size
and brightness
at breeding time









 


 I wrote about the bush turkeys here
including information
about an albino turkey chick
spotted in town last spring....







 the owner of this property
has been told
it is an offense
to remove the nest
and reclaim his garden...








We'll leave this busy bush turkey
to his focused

scratch and flick
scratch and flick

he has a schedule to meet...





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