Yours To Keep (New Poem)

Yours to Keep (new poem)

by Tim Kavi

walking with you

I awakened from sleep

you led me to your truths

loving you deeply, I realized

I am yours to keep,

I uttered this to the world:

mothers of compassion

why do you weep?

gather the chicks in your wings

are there no willing souls

to waken from sleep?

have not your sayings

remained spoken?

or is the Goddess story

only now unfolding?

hasten their token!

mighty lessons

bring a mystic pleasure

while war abounds

you speak peace

with truce as your treasure!

sisters of compassion

bind the wounds

of the healing ground

of beings united

in being found

draw the water

out of cistern 

and ocean

with graceful love

your only potion

lovers of compassion

do you not seek

a gentility of truth

in how you love

the truth to speak!

for only in that ground

of grace that I do wed

will I walk a certain

path, finally. a restful bed

has not your heart bled?

To hold all of us closer

is the answered prayers

of the doting Mothers

hearing all that is said

casting all of our cares?

do we not call out?

do we not cry out?

answer swiftly

the sacred call

to help, enlighten all!

Publication Announcement: "'More About Goddesses" Column To Feature Wider Scope

 Dear Readers:

As I've mentioned before, one of the most visited features on this blog has been quite popular with readers from all over the world. Lately, this has been especially true with my "More About Goddesses" columns, which feature summaries about various Goddesses from all sorts of traditions. I will be broadening the scope, to include many more  Goddesses, beyond the main ones typically thought of, and from various systems of thought. As such, I am especially moving into columns about Buddhist Goddesses, and soon will be including more Goddesses from Brazilian and other South American cultural influences. I will not neglect the others either, so don't worry, bringing in a good mix that I hope you will enjoy.  Remember, I strive to share about Goddesses so that we can understand them archetypally, learn something (both you and I) from their stories, deeds, and powers to make some changes in our lives and the world for better.  And ultimately, to eat away at the misuse and abuse of patriarchy,

In light of this, my next columns will continue to feature new Goddesses with my new emphasis, with an Afro-Brazilian Goddess named. Lemanjá, also known as Yemanjá, or Yemoja. That column should be posted here on this blog, Kup of Kavi next week. Happy reading and thanks for your support and prayers, so I can continue to write and share with you my heart. For it is a heart filled with wonder and love and thankfulness to be here, in this time, and to share together the path towards wholeness and meaning, and to be part of each other in the world. In dialogue, I am Tim Kavi. ~~TK

My previous columns and some not on the blog are in this book:

(You can click on the cover image, to get a copy for your very own).

Goddess in a Garden (The First Day of Spring) (new poem)

 

Goddess in a Garden

by Tim Kavi

Goddess in a Garden

there she sits!

amidst the plantings

and the nurtured young

the beautiful flowers

and the growing sustenance

that the world needs

for longevity and peace

She stands majestic

glorious Kwan Yin

sitting upon a lotus

I know I saw her there

adorned with green leaves

cushioned by soft earth

tilled and touched by love

by gardener hands complete

there she lies!

every woman in the world

a goddess in a garden. 

In the Dark, Your Light (New Poem)

In the Dark, Your Light

by Tim Kavi

sometimes

I might find you

looking back at me

when I think you did not see

me smiling

at the goddess inside you

projecting outward

as the light of the world

for She is just the woman

inside of you

smiling

caring for babies

healing the sick

caring for everyone 

every day

lost in the world

there is the darkening

of your image

the vastness of despair

but your light

pierces it in the still 

of the world's midnight.

Athena's Laurel Calls My Journeyed Soul (New Poem)

Athena's Laurel Calls My Journeyed Soul
by Tim Kavi

oh I didn't know you were close to me
I thought it was just the stardust
or the whispering sea
I can see you still talk to me

across the history
glimpsing you
I thought I saw
a memory

there is only
the laurel leaves
scattered by the wind
where Owl watches over me

that is where the gentle
sounds of our love misgiven
led to bad steps
and misplaced heaven
the day the winged bird
took you away from me

I began the mountainous climb
a journey to the sacred heart
longing left me famished
my song carried no more rhyme

spirits were broken
the people were wandering
in the valley below
the shepherds were themselves lost
the leaders blinded by the dark
and the prisoners remained chained
against the rock

only the annointed ones
dare come up here
olive oil burns not only the lamp
but annoints my forehead

I cry out like a madman
there is no one to hear me
it echoes against the rocks
where lumber is free
from too many shipwrecks
skeletal hands clutching for
your Grecian shore

I try to find you
but in the darkness
you are not found anymore

what greatness is this?
your temples once majestic
lined a path upwards
up high to a cloudy
celestial throne
where once you blew me a kiss!

How did I know that kiss
was a good bye kiss
to me and the world?

now there is only ruin
return to Your Greatness
perhaps men will yet invoke
your name
rebuilding temples won't be the same

but there is still power
in the virtues
of your name

oh a calling
a certain shrill
breaks the night
and my stubborn will

I will climb up higher
I will look for you
and I will kiss you again
and again

can you imagine
how much I missed you?
your glory as a woman
is everywhere
yet the priests stop and stare
but in your Goddess face
is only the visitations
of everlasting grace

your look is on them too
that woman just killed
the male shame
of violence
makes me want to jump
off this hill

hear the words
priests too
the hour is late
there is much to do
respect Athena
and all her sisters
or tales of woe
will never be few

I will burn my skin
and twist my robe
pluck hairs from my head
pray pray pray
until the truth be said

stop my sisters'
blood running red!
Athena has now said!

so here I sit all night
your tears watered
pools at my feet
I can only bow my head and worship
Goddess come back
we are so sorry that some have hurt you

wear your laurel wreath again
entreaty forgive our sin
you think you bad ones can easily make right
but your weapons
and hate
and violence
must go away...

for Athena comes
in sacred flight.

Now, Speaking the Truth (New Poem)

Now, Speaking the Truth

by Tim Kavi

now, speaking the truth

life has in past times 

seemed easier

and sometimes 

it is so hard;

who can deny it?

yet, as long as there is injustice

as long as there's any hope of love

one cannot be silent

or tears will water the earth

and we must be born

many times in rebirth

gentle Guan Yin

you make me shine with your light

nothing can remain

in a distant night

all is plain

all is bright

revelation is the poetic

sight

there are those so mistreated

although they chant

your love entreated

I am talking about your sisters

Quan Yin

all around the Earth

longing for Freedom

to be treated as persons

they long to be

safe wherever they go

hold them close in your arms

or my tears cannot stop

I am sorry my Goddess

for many of my gender are a disgrace

I can only hope your love

lights this evil place

something must be done

Durga, shine the truth

Kali, try not to be too angry now

I try to hope our history

will end bright

so I write this poem crying

while all around us

Goddess, your sisters are dying

so my pitiful voice

is joined with brothers and sisters

in peace and for peace

who line the streets

Jantar Mantar

our clothes are black

and I say to you in power

we want our Freedom back!

Ma Durga, great mother

Isis, protector of children

save us before too late 

waves of your Goddess face

wash ashore

in the hearts of all

embraced by your grace

now, we speak the truth

we need you more than ever

this guilty Earth

longs to know only You

and the gentle love where

all rest in a peaceful fate.

Excerpt Repost: From 'Goddess in Motion Redux"

Excerpt Repost: From 'Goddess in Motion Redux' (previously published poem)

by Tim Kavi

shining in the

brilliance
of an ordinary woman
yet he knew
this
was his goddess
on the faces
of women everywhere

poet's afterthought: a shining anima from the dark pool of the Unconscious

or... the archetypal visitation of femininity everywhere... ????--TK

Near the Rhododendron (Poem with Poet's Comments)

Near the Rhododendron

by Tim Kavi

when in
the silent branches
of beautiful
rhododendron
the sun rose

morning dew
drops
clung to
your branches

Nature's
smile
was at
your morning
beauty

Yet the branches
supported
the beautiful
flowers

Nature had
prepared
you
for a wonder
of unveiling

planted firmly
in the soul
your roots
dug deep

living
and breathing
creeping
and revealing

You were
as pretty
as She

lying there
on the blanket
in the Golden
Sun

Nature clung  
to You, Goddess
the best
planting

ever seen.

Poet's comments: This is another devotional poem on my recurrent theme of the Goddess (woman, femininity) in Nature. Here, we are once again reminded that as much as Nature takes care of a beautiful flowering plant, supports it, and it thrives in great beauty, so it is with eternal woman. In the end She is the best planting, more beautiful, and embraced by and clung to by Nature itself. I often use definitive terms in my poetry through the use of capitalization, for example whenever I capitalize 'You' I am referring to an encounter with an otherness, that is so special, so unique, it is an address and response to a particular person, wherever that Goddess nature is so revealed. It is the You of You and Me or I and Thou once again. It is the You encountered in dialogue and full revealing at the moment of encounter. This is the moment of revelation, a perception of the dawning of the day, a day where the sun shines and lights up the beautiful rhododendron, but as powerfully, a day of a woman's revealing.--T.K.


Addendum:  This poem, which is one of my most popular poems by blog visits, has been included in my collection, Ascending Goddess which means you can own it for your very own Kindle edition by clicking here ! (Reprinted on this blog by permission of my publisher TiLu Press, LLC) Thanks ~~TK

a reader asks?

A Reader Asks About the Poem 'longing'

Upon reading one of my poems ("longing"), a reader asked a question--

"longing"

longing to kiss you and hold you
ever to stand
against the long wind
we will always stand together
our hearts beat together as one.

gentle breath of the goddess
you seek me out and shine
when in the eternal recurrence divine
you make me glad to be thine.

longing to see you and behold
your gentle saving grace
I see you face to face
in the sacred place.

there is no shadow of retreat
only the openness
where all is known
truly met by you, my sweet.

Reader "Winter" wrote:

Hi,Tim Kavi, I'm glad again to meet with your poem. and you spoke of Kwan yin, is she a statue in Buddhism? You regard women as Kwan yin. It seems that Kwan yin, inyour heart, is very holy,I think.

"your gentle saving grace",in this sentence,"saving" means "besides"?Have a nice week Winter:)

Hi Winter:

Thank you. yes this poetic form is an encounter with the archetypal feminine--captured perhaps by Kuan Yin and Ma Durga-- it is a poem to the goddess--something which is part of the sacred feminine--I believe the anima that Carl Jung spoke of--and all women (and men to an extent) have it.

oh, yes, there are statues of her in Buddhism as Avalokiteshvara, and she is mentioned in the tale of the Monkey King as well.

you asked: "your gentle saving grace",in this sentence,"saving" means "besides"? my usage of "saving" here means to be rescued, or to be saved from danger or peril, perhaps from a corrupt masculine nature. To be made safe from is what saving means. There is also a Christian notion of redemption in saving as an act of salvation, but that usage is not what I meant in a complete sense, but it captures it a bit.

I do believe that all men are wise to know the importance of women and that their folly may indeed be "saved" by the woman's wisdom! heheheheh :-)

Have a happy day!

Tim Kavi