The soul that sees all alike
O equality to strike,
Sees every soul as his own,
In all finds the soul his own,
He scarce can anyone hate,
As all equal does he rate. || 6 ||
_________________________
Translations | 04.09.2026 | hate, life, self/soul, creatures, Rhyme
Note: Only when we see the other soul/being as different from us, the negative emotions of competition, fear, envy, hate etc would take hold in us. If we see them in us, and in us them in a world of non-duality, such feeling would disappear, this verse says.
There is wealth of wisdom in ancient Sanskrit texts . This series on Jewels from Upanishads covers selected verses from various Upanishads of which there are as many as 120. We select a few verses only the major ones, beginning with Ishaa Vaasyam. The translation here is not verbatim but freely done. The transliteration of the verse follows. Alas I have to remove all the transliteration symbols.
yah tu sarvani bhutani
atmani eva anu-pashyati |
sarva bhuteshu cha atmanam
tatah na vijugupsate || 6 ||
See verse 6.29 of Bhagavad-Gita that talks in similar tone.
To sunless blinding gloom of devil,
And wrapped in dark shadows of evil,
The soulless void of faith
Would sure befall ‘pon death---
Those that in ego’s spell their soul kill. || 3 ||
____________________
Translations | 03.09.2026 | dark, death, evil, faith, Rhyming Quintain
Note: This verse says, do not kill your soul, the atman, or else, …Bhagavad-Gita also says: uddharet atmana atmanam, na atmanam avasadayet... Lift up your soul by yourself, never thwart it. He’s your friend and foe depending on how you treat it.
There is wealth of wisdom in ancient Sanskrit texts . This series on Jewels from Upanishads covers selected verses from various Upanishads of which there are as many as 120. We select a few verses only the major ones, beginning with Ishaa Vaasyam. The translation here is not verbatim but freely done. The transliteration of the verse follows. Alas I have to remove all the transliteration symbols.
asuryah nama te lokah
andhena tamasa-avrtah |
tan te pretya abhi-gachchanti
ye ke cha atma-hanah janah || 3 ||
The word a-suryah means sunless, if spelled asuryah, it would mean barbaric or evil.
I've been a vegetarian since 1999, so I don't know why I write poems like this.
The Lion and the Lamb
Lamb said, "Violence is not the way of God."
Lion said to Lamb, "That's odd"
(and I quote verbatim)
just before he ate 'im.
Lion's Face Splattered Across the Front Page
Lion was out on parole
when he saw a Gazelle and ate him whole.
His attorney apologized for the pain
and would carefully explain
that the jungle king would plead insane,
but the jury found he was not insane, but droll
when he said he should've topped him with a jelly roll.
Carnivore Herbivore Dialog
The carnivore spoke, "I eat animals raw,
according to the jungle law".
The herbivore replied, "I won't even try it,
I observe a strictly vegan diet",
as he proceeded to gently chew
a burger of mushrooms and tofu.
The predator ate him in one gulp and said,
"I prefer my dinner to be grass fed".
Active days and silent nights,
To and fro in all its might.
Break of myth and lies,
One is rigid and one flies high.
Sun inspects the day ,
Moon does the night.
One burns itself,
The other gets the light.
Clouds cover the Sun,
The brilliance is gone.
What clouds get in return?
Glittering ring of saturn.
Bees and flowers together,
Make honey for others.
They are its only provider,
Together hold its frontier.
Laws are eminent,
To be followed in intent.
It's Nature's patent,
To make all magnificent.
The screen lit and it spoke to me just when I needed to know
Because my thinking had simply become too slow
It offered me help when other sources weren’t there
But should I have trusted it and without any care
I keyed in my question and asked it for help and advice
Its speedy reply seemed so very clear and precise
I decided to use it and pass it off as my own
So the seeds of my destruction were undoubtedly sown
For those of you tempted to follow a similar track
You must realise there is no one watching your back
Your digital companion remembers nothing at all
Your fate will be sealed and your life will gradually stall
So how should we work with all of these generative tools
We know a lot and we’re certainly nobody’s fools
Don’t take things verbatim and assume everything is right
For these are just tools and they’re certainly not very bright
This poem can be sung to the tune of Sisters of Mercy by Leonard Cohen.
Pundits preachers politicians
you may see
attorneys too
and even agree with me
I think you'll find
all have an agenda
with an axe to grind
lining their pockets
feathering their nest
keeping their cards
close to the chest
saying one thing
doing another
I'd take 'em out and shoot 'em
if I had my druthers
and then there's censorship
where one man's word rules the roost
to remain silent would be
a gag order self-induced
Bricusse and Newley had it right
when they wisely wrote
'Stop the world, I want to get off!'
a verbatim quote
yes, I am thankful for poetry’s gift
exuding worshipful gratitude-bliss
humbling me to praise God* for being blest
directed toward caring kindness-route
showered by heavenly fulfillment-triumph…
poetry’s bliss, blest toward triumph
Psalms 109:30 I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
February 7, 2025
1st place, "A Personal Valentine Phoenix sixain" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Suzette Richards; judged on 2/9/2025
Phoenix sixain --- It is a 6-line verse invented by Suzette Richards (2024).
Five consecutive lines are chosen from one of older poems, verbatim.
Line 6: A word from each of these 5 lines, in sequence; therefore, a 5-word line. Rhyme and metre are optional, and the syllable count per line is irrelevant.
[The 5-line verse is from my poem, “THANKFUL FOR POETRY’S GIFT” (2024)]
Many writers, poets and academics know how a beautiful
And striking alliteration is in a grammatical, congressional
Contextual and conventional debate or literary debacle
Like: blank blind badly bounced blue bowl
Oops! I meant to quote the beautiful Congresswoman
Jasmine Crockett, word for word, verbatim; man
I can never get it right. I fell short, because I’m not tall
Enough to reach that height. Oh! Many contractual
Agreements are in the works: blank black badly bounced
Blue ball. But I’ll keep on trying over one ounce
Of Vodka, maybe I will finally get it right or correct
Ladies and gentlemen, life is never easy and perfect
However, it’s okay to have fun; politics is abysmal than ever
We hope things will not get worse, but much better.
P.S. Homage to Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas, Texas):
‘Bleach Blond, Bad-Built, Butch Body”.
Copyright © July 2024, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved.
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poetry.
Ask our beloved late brother John W. Ono Lennon
He would tell you straight: ‘There’s No Heaven’
People on Earth are lunatic, crazy and flashy
They destroy or ravage everything they see
They don’t believe in brotherhood or unity
Yet they dream and aspire to live in paradise
For what? Why? That’s a farce, a prank, a disguise
They should first organize their affairs well on Earth
Before thinking or dreaming of going or flying there
They want to go to Heaven, but they’re afraid of death
They want absolute happiness, yet they’re freaking unfair
Racist, ignorant, superstitious, arrogant and jealous
Nobody can prove vere, verbatim et literatim that Heaven exists
We can talk, chat, shout, curse, rhyme and sing all we want
People are crazy, loud and gaudy. They sing, moan and rant
People always imagine or invent things that arouse desire and grandeur
Let’s start with Peace and Love, and then we’ll move up the ladder.
Copyright © July 2024, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved.
Hébert Logerie is the author of several poetry collections.
Three women
with the same chin,
and same ears.
The last of the three
has less likeness to the others,
her eyes will not fit
within their glancing windows.
although she is almost,
she will ever be not quite.
One, the one with the chin
as soft as a pillow
I could speak to
and she would not understand my words,
but she would nod and smile
just to please me.
The other
the one with ears that match the first,
is wise, she sits on a lotus leaf
like a scintillating frog-angel,
or a green Mona Lisa.
I could speak to her and she would nod,
repeating my words verbatim.
The last lady will be the first.
Her eyes are not quite left or right,
she is dissimilar.
My interest in her is impurely plutonic,
I listen, unseen sex pods,
pop all over her nubile body.
I never see any of this,
mind hides its picture shows.
Late at night or early,
we build a tangled love nest
out of all the same things
we can think of.
though, like that Shubert symphony
It never gets finished.
Always, some old, odd twigs
cannot be woven together,
no matter how hard we try.
Truth is not an absolute
but an attitude of commitment
Throwing its blanket decidedly
over questioning and doubt
Paying deference to the moment
while blessing its intention
Choices made and choices bade
—verbatim roundabout
(Dreamsleep: July, 2023)
Located in the perfect place
Filed in transparent drawer
Unruly impediments erased
Facets interact free of flaw
Seamless system clockwork
Methods remain meticulous
Design drawn up by a doctor
Considered, inconspicuous
Routine guides a room's tidy
Itemising verbatim shelves
Briefcase organised abiding
Data struck upon first delve
Packed in precise patterns
Utility is readily predicted
Shipshape sailing on satin
Scurvy sufferers evicted
Fold exposes name brand
Recognised categorically
Regular overhauls planned
Excess viewed as slovenly
Upkeep travels compact
In zipped compartments
Disarray tends to detract
Regimented requirements
8th of **** April
My "personal" apocalypse
I lost my dreams... Yesterday
I'm always losing things.. Little things
Deliberately,
but i blame you.
Tomorrow I will be soaked to the skin
because I love the taste of rain
or just
i hate colorful umbrellas
verbatim.
I feel in my own way... The world
I don't have a mechanical system in my head,
my fingers bleed when i cut myself
while cutting prejudices from my fingernails.
I never plan anything
that's why they say I don't understand... Life
and I don't know... (I need another cigarette)
Everything they say is "right"
sounds so wrong to me
but i blame you.
Flags mean nothing to me
because I don't believe in order
senseless system
which serves a radioactive breakfast,
but if that day ever comes
to believe...
That will be the beginning
my "personal" apocalypse
Been to hell and back had a re-rack still stacked chips to pack/
Cut all slack and comeback sharper than a tack/
Your life is still intact to attack with so much tact to retract/
The dive your fate had cracked leaves you one ultimatum/
Gain yourself back and just claim him/
I don’t have to spit my thoughts verbatim for you to understand them/
What I’m portraying is I’m done playing I’ll be working through while it’s raining/
Whatever is paining be your own artist just painting your whole station/
You’ve soaked enough taint in forget evil and Satan become a saint man/
Concentrate on what you need to cultivate and gain cultivation/
Walk straight out of hate that’s there to incinerate your hearts clean start engraved/
Develop your own life art to let feelings depart and be torn apart paved/
Become stark with the spark in any masquerade wearing a mask to raid
… where ignorance is bliss, / ‘Tis folly to be wise.
Informed about the choices—
the mainstay o’ adulthood—
we often smother voices;
in good stead they have stood.
Grapple with, analyse
a destination grim:
a web of intrigue; lies
which we quote verbatim.
Some opportunities
present itself to us
with practicalities.
We often wish to cuss,
but many chances missed
in pursuit of prize.
Where ignorance is bliss,
‘tis folly to be wise.
The quote is from the final stanza of Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College, by Thomas Gray (1716–71).
This is an example of gnomic poetry.
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