A Poem for the Vernal Equinox: “The Way It Is” by William Stafford

The Way It Is

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

– William Stafford (1914-1993)
Copy of this poem retrieved from the site “Sacred Threads” March 19, 2012. Pictured is a detail of silk applique thangkas by Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo, one of the only westerners trained in the rare Buddhist art. Each week Leslie emails out a detail with a quote to inspire us on the path. Click on the image to read this week’s quote which include the line in bold from the poem above. For more posts like this one, follow my Compassionate Rebel blog.

Today is the first day of spring for those of us on the west coast in Southern California;  the exact moment of the spring vernal equinox is 10:14pm which explains why most people think it might be tomorrow…

Celebrate the new season with The Ventura Buddhist Study Center located at 901 S. Saticoy Ave with a Spring Equinox Gong Bath March 23, 2012 from 6-8pm with Sopurkh Kaur. The evening begins with a revitalizing, Kundalini Yoga Kriya, then “Bathe in waves of Sacred Sound, rising and falling in the rhythm and tonality. The overtones produced by this 38″ Earth Gong are precisely tuned to recreate vibrational hum of our planet. The hum is known in scientific terms as the Shulman Resonance, and in Yogic terms as the primordial Aum.” The evening concludes with a Mantric Meditation with live musical accompaniment. Suggested donation is $30.

For more poetry, check out my book, Middle of the Night Poems From Daughter to Mother :: Mother to Son is published by en theos press (Seattle) which also published between sleeps: poems from the 3:15 experiment 1993-2005 which Danika Dinsmore and I edited. Read sample poems from Middle of the Night here: https://artpredator.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/virtual-reading-sample-poems-from-middle-of-the-night-en-theos-press-2011/

To hear me read live, please subscribe to this blog! I intend to participate in this Saturday’s Ojai WordFest Slam which I won last year, I’ve got one or more readings in the works in April and I’ll be featured Tue. May 8 at the Artists Union Gallery in Ventura.