My friend Gordon Neumann is a veteran from the Vietnam war. He is also a poet. His spiritual ruminations have afforded me comfort and insight, and I’m honored to share them here with you. --Marianne
November 13, 2009
Dream of Flying
Flying, gliding,
twisting, cavorting,
lifting with my arms flapping,
guiding,
through the sky in ecstasy,
such a power for my body
in simply floating
as anti-gravity,
up in the air,
ascending three feet,
six feet,
twenty feet,
a hundred feet,
a thousand feet,
descending to a hundred feet,
twenty feet,
three feet,
returning to a hundred feet,
to a thousand feet
above the ground,
effortlessly,
is this a dream,
or a view of future reality,
such a feeling of freeing
spirit-indwelt carnality,
I dare not betray this possibility
for the travel of my soul
to this glorious destiny,
the birds have nothing on me,
as I sail with the wind
and a highly-evolved mind
conscious of the Christ within me.
Gordon Neumann
10/31/2009
Posted:11/09
October 26, 2009
Sacred Experience
Pray before,
during, and after,
from inside a spiritual center,
as you cherish your lover,
be brave and be careful
that your energies bless and protect
a most precious creature
in whom God is adoringly pleased,
allow holy spirit to enter
domain so made sacred,
that love may resonate
with great power
and divine will.
Gordon Neumann
10/3/2009
Posted:10/09
Survival of the Humble
So human race,
do you seek survival
in all your ambiguous top-heavy ego-centric expectations,
addicted to solutions of the hypothetical,
or can you face your evil
enough to accept love that's unconditional
extending to the next miracle,
best be careful
of suicidal denial
in the form of any sort of relief
that can be final,
for life has more mystery to reveal
to those still pursuing the holy grail,
and what is to unravel
for those that fail at the crap-shooters' gamble
along the path of dark travail,
between the messiah and the martyr
everything is now at stake,
and everything is possible
for the brave, the grateful,
and the humble.
Gordon Neumann
10/4/2009
Posted:10/09
Destined Reunion
The ego's delusion
is only an illusion
within the dream of love,
full moon shines
after the rain
and soothes all the worldly pain,
friendly faces meet again
for respite
for a time,
to gaze into each other's eyes
and smile through social disguise,
the light of life that they all share
from kindly hearts
that deeply care.
Gordon Neumann
10/5/2009
Posted:10/09
Staying Simple
Be blessed
in the basic awareness
of knowing
you do not know
the answers,
In this humbleness
is strength
guiding all
toward their own true nature,
Not the weakness
of complicated cleverness
that disguises the ego
as the master,
Be willing
to blend peacefully
into common-place cycles of life
with sensible precaution
of the silent destiny
always at work,
regardless of your particular opinion,
There lies comforting understanding,
within faithful surrender to the unknown,
invisible, inevitable presence,
that a clearer pattern exists,
Containing the joy
of simply being
amidst the unforced process
of the Tao.
Gordon Neumann
10/8/2007
Posted:10/09
Is It Possible
Is it possible
she is prettier
with greater power to inspire,
than before,
is it possible
she is more beautiful,
inside and out,
because of her endured travels
and travails,
is it possible
I love her
even more,
as I just admire her
from afar,
is it possible
I will see her
on the other side of the veil,
and, as I greet her,
with "aloha,"
she will know her friend
once called Igor.
Gordon Neumann
10/6/2009
Posted:10/09
Lonely as Hell
So lives the happy hermit,
alone, but not lonely,
with sentient beings at his side,
and the Tao flowing deep inside,
living with loving longing
within a delicate balance
that can no longer afford the dance
of extravagance,
and sometimes peeks in the comical
to this stoic presence
and makes his soul chuckle,
when considering the plural
of moose is still moose,
although many a mouse
become mice,
oh well,
perhaps he is lonely as hell,
after all.
Gordon Neumann
10/6/2009
Posted:10/09
Indefinable Pleasure
So I am released
from childish infatuation,
moved to a somewhat soberer condition
that sees with wider eyes,
past seducing emotion of pulsing memories
of a lingering kiss, turgid flesh,
and throbbing thoughts,
through the physical to a new level
of reason containing all that passion,
and something more,
an indefinable pleasure
deep-set into the soul,
to the realm of love
that's unconditional.
Gordon Neumann
10/7/2009
Posted:10/09
No Return to Eden
War, war, war,
more, more, more
quasi-imperialism in store
for the nation already sore,
and wondering what militarism is good for,
will the present incursion
even decrease our depression
into the face of fear,
oh Lord,
when will we finally learn our lesson
that compassion is the true cure for terror,
as well as our dysfunctional desire
to corrupt our relationship with nature,
so we stare with despair
into the abyss
that stares back into us,
while the question of our survival
at this point of no return to Eden,
has become quite rhetorical.
Gordon Neumann
10/7/2009
Posted:10/09
Be Like Water
Be like water,
mysterious,
elusive to the grasping touch,
persistently gentle
in eroding the unyielding,
flexible in entering
where nothing solid can block
its curious searching,
So mutably soft,
safe from harm
or being destroyed
in simply changing form
and returning again,
overtime,
overcoming the hard,
Steady drip, drip, drip
of resolute kindness
becoming a large lake of serenity,
a reservoir
where evil cannot enter,
Be like water,
flowing everywhere,
gushing, sometimes shooting,
aerated, slippery, and pure,
wherever,
containing a message of spiritual reverence
nourishing thirsty souls
with regenerating sustenance,
even in the midst
of world-wide sorrow,
Be like water,
with strength
so like the Tao,
you get it
by relaxing into the river,
and letting go.
Gordon Neumann
10/21/2007
Posted:10/09
