Spirituality

All Poems, Anniversaries, Birthdays, Memories, Mother Love, Pleasure, Siblings, Spirituality

Bouquet

Posted on

My sister and her husband arrived with a bouquet.

Revealing all the colors of June.

Illuminating the kitchen, buoying spirits.

Daisies, mums, Peruvian lilies.

Snapdragons, Japanese irises.

A toast to our dual festivities.

Birthday and wedding anniversary.

Only last week.

Already marked at the seashore.

But, they persisted.

Despite the cruelty of racing time.

Their own health issues.

Busy schedules.

Sibling and her mate.

Filling the gap.

Where our own mother used to stand.

At the forefront of congratulations.

Making sure each occasion acknowledged.

Duly noted.

Be it with party, card, dinner, gift.

So, there it was.

Perfume in a vase.

Wafting felicitations.

And memories of our mother.

A special visit remembering us

with a floral serenade.

Who expected maternal breath

to help us celebrate?

 

Lynn Benjamin

June 23, 2024

All Poems, Friendship, Growth, Natural Beauty, Plants, Spirituality, Thank-You

Gratitude for the Peace Lily

Posted on

I owe gratitude to the friends who sent the peace lily.

To comfort us after Ethel passed.

For it continues to soothe daily.

Beckoning tranquility, solace.

Wrapping us in green harmony.

No matter the season.

Amazing us with unfurling finery.

Goddesses, swathed in silk scarves.

Grasping erect candles to light the night.

Catching sun’s rays by day.

Dancing, twirling, curtsying in place.

Five mesmerizing deities.

Tall, supple, lithe.

Offering serenity in silence.

What a wondrous marvel!

What more could we want?

When, from leafy foliage, two hidden figures emerge.

Tiptoeing out to join their sisters.

Spirits in ivory garb.

Delivering yet more calm.

Pirouetting in place.

In the kitchen, by darkening window.

Seven beauties hide among  bushes,

soothing away distress.

Settling wild waves, torrents,

in a mystical process.

 

Lynn Benjamin

June 6, 2024

 

All Poems, Friendship, Health/Illness, Homages, Hope, Spirituality

Breath of Life

Posted on

To Diane

 

Inspiration is the breath of life.

Animating, energizing, propelling us forward.

In the face of injustice, sorrow, despair.

So, I actively seek it.

In persistence of a bee on lavender salvia.

Song of a tiny sparrow.

Dance of a swallowtail butterfly.

Renewal in springtime.

Rainbows after a storm.

In zestfulness of a friend.

Continuing to minister to people.

Through writings, teachings, listening.

Despite older age, illnesses.

Gnawing at the body.

Though strengthening spirit.

Arriving at my door with a bouquet.

Peruvian lilies, Persian daisies, a golden mum.

Delivering perfumes of hope.

Resilience.

Optimism.

In cloudy times.

Visits, like prayers, strengthen.

Refill empty spaces.

Transport to places not unreachable.

Except through connection with others.

A woman who teaches, inspires.

Mission to edify, uplift.

The intensity of her passion.

A heartening, curative gift.

 

Lynn Benjamin

May 26, 2024

All Poems, Animals/Insects, Emotions, Environment/Mother Earth, Hope, Natural Beauty, Plants, Politics, Seasons, Spirituality, Trauma, Violence, Wisdom, Worry

Madding Drumbeat

Posted on

The world, madding drumbeat of bad news.

Endless wars.

Unreleased hostages.

Political chicaneries.

Environmental catastrophes.

Where’s the relief?

Even for a moment?

From the echo chamber of the mind?

Playing, replaying the misery?

Where’s the reassurance things will rebalance?

When no one has a crystal ball.

But, everyone, an opinion.

The only comforts, what Mother Nature offers.

Predictability of seasons.

Awakening in spring.

Aromas of lilacs, viburnum bouquets.

Silent explosions of color.

Maple seed pods and mushrooms.

Pollen and nectar.

Honking and chirping.

Baby bunnies and geese.

Newness and vitality.

Energy to move us forward.

Appreciate a smile, kind word.

Offer the same to others.

Tiny attempts to heal what’s broken.

Make something whole.

Do for others what Mother Earth does for us.

In her generous embrace.

Take a breath.

Let the earth caress.

Find blessed respite.

From frenzied distress.

 

Lynn Benjamin

April 30, 2024

Adult Children, All Poems, Family, Holidays, Passover, Seasons, Sounds, Spirituality

March Winds

Posted on

 

March winds are insistent.

Pushing us to Manhattan.

Where they blow off hats.

Whip up debris on streets.

Overturn receptacles, split open trash bags.

Rattle aluminum cans against fences.

Blow plastic bottles, typed papers.

Tossed out by students for mistakes.

Agitate remains of last autumn’s fallen leaves.

As well as naked branches of trees.

Whose young buds hold tight.

Bat about just opened daffodils, crocuses.

New petals squeezing stems.

Like children pressing mothers’ hands.

Pigeons flap down to fight over strewn cereal.

The world outside is noisy.

Sirens, horns, screeching brakes.

Counterpoints to wind.

So entrance to JTS confers relief.

Shedding coats, scarves, backpacks.

Finding the chapel.

Protector of silence.

Where our daughter would sing.

Hymns for Pesach.

A holiday soon upon us.

Where, in anticipation, she chants.

Alone and with choir.

Praising God for goodness.

Beseeching dew for plantings.

After rain ceased.

In this Nusach recital,

her voice, a gentle breeze,

lifting toward divine ears

on sacred melodies.

 

Lynn Benjamin

March 14, 2024

 

JTS is the Jewish Theological Seminary at Columbia University, New York.

Nusach refers to the text of a prayer service.

 

All Poems, Environment/Mother Earth, For Children, Humor, Seasons, Spirituality

Rain Takes Over

Posted on

 

What do you do?

On a day when rain takes over?

Pelts down in sheets?

Do you sit inside, watching from a window?

Grab an umbrella, defy the downpour?

Imagine blooms soon to open?

Stay put on a couch, pout?

Since the trip to Yucatán, I think Mayans.

Praying to gods for cloudbursts.

Desperate for showers.

To water crops.

Grow a harvest.

Feed, sustain them.

Permit survival.

So, I go outside.

Let droplets fall on face, hands.

Grateful for buckets pouring down.

Filling rivers, reservoirs.

Nourishing trees, plants.

Cleansing streets, roofs.

Is it possible to turn gratitude into energy?

To become the rain?

Even for an instant?

Moving? Stretching?

Socializing? Baking?

Hugging? Loving?

Inspiration from Mayan lore

to which I owe a debt.

Teaching me to cherish rain,

treasure getting wet.

 

Lynn Benjamin

March 6, 2024

All Poems, Family, For Children, Grandchildren, Mexico, Playa del Carmen, Spirituality, Stories, Trips and Places

Danza de los Voladores

Posted on

 

Wait till you see the flying dancers, we told the children.

Finding them in Xcaret and Playa del Carmen.

We watched, we listened, we were awed.

By ancient sounds of flute and drum.

Like chirping birds and beating heart.

Staring as four men climbed the pole.

Affixing ropes to body.

Rotating downward, upside down.

In the shape of a pyramid.

Embodying a petition for rain.

To feed thirsty crops.

Fertility flowers in their hats.

Rainbow ribbons fluttering.

Four flyers for four directions of the earth.

The pole, center support.

Connecting earth and sky.

Symbolic genesis of the world.

The fifth flyer remaining on top.

Piping, tapping.

To catch consideration from the gods.

End the drought.

Powerful ritual drawing us in

to an ancient civilization.

Though brief, capturing time,

with ears, eyes, imagination.

 

Lynn Benjamin

February 27, 2024

 

All Poems, Creation, Family, Grandchildren, Homages, Mexico, Playa del Carmen, Spirituality, Spouses, Trips and Places

Chichén Itzá

Posted on

 

How many years has it been?

Since I Iearned about Mayans?

Inhabiting Chichén Itzá?

Finally, coming face to face with the pyramid?

Smaller temples?

Ballfields?

Caracól?

How fortunate to do it with Bob?

Partner in Hispanic studies.

With two grandchildren?

Old enough to comprehend.

All of us admiring the nested civilization.

Evolving sixteen hundred years ago.

From religious farming people.

To warriors, eleven hundred years ago.

Calculating time exactly.

Knowing when to plant, when to harvest.

Lining up seasons with sun, constellations.

Celebrating birds, snakes, jaguars.

Worshipping It Sam Na, deity of creation.

Valuing water.

Necessary to live.

Flourish, thrive.

A sacred site older than Tulum.

In a clearing in the jungle.

Where four of us paid homage,

feeling small and humble.

 

Lynn Benjamin

February 26, 2024

All Poems, Animals/Insects, Natural Beauty, Seasons, Spirituality, Wisdom

When Snow Falls

Posted on

 

When snow falls, it’s silent.

Yet, it has a voice.

Soothing, comforting.

Cajoling us away from the fray.

Roiling politics.

Heartbreaking wars.

Personal worries.

To some quiet place.

Where the mind can rest.

The body calm.

The heart remind itself of its task.

To sow love, kindness, gentleness.

Where eyes can seek signs of affection.

Connection, growth, life.

Profusion of daisy leaves in February.

Promising to bloom in spring.

Pairs of geese ice skating on a pond.

A fuzzy caterpillar creeping through the chill.

To find the perfect spot to spin a cocoon.

Where limbs can sense an urge to move.

Marching feet, swinging arms.

Walking beneath a winter sun.

With a lover or a friend.

At once, physical and spiritual.

Concatenation of motion, meaning, inspiration.

When snow falls, it’s silent.

Soothing, comforting.

Cajoling us to find what’s essential.

To let noisy distractions go.

For, only then, we enter sacred space

where rivers, unhindered, flow.

 

Lynn Benjamin

February 17, 2024

 

All Poems, Art/Arts, Friendship, Spirituality

Feminine Energy

Posted on

 

Feminine energy flows.

No matter the season.

On its shores, beauty.

Listening, connecting, creating.

Blooming, growing, loving.

While waters move, progress.

Sometimes quiet.

Sometimes active.

Always sensuous.

Intriguing, sinuous.

Every once in a while, embodied.

A pebble setting off concentric circles.

The figurine crafted by a neighbor.

Female fingers twisting, turning.

Pressing, pulling clay.

Infusing a torso with strength, spirit.

Enticing the viewer toward her.

With all senses open.

As it sits atop its wooden pedestal.

Never static, never stopping.

Widening ripples.

Adding another ring through giving.

Joy in the face of the giver.

In the heart of the receiver.

Activating warmth between the two.

Stirring more waves.

Stretching into community.

As three witnesses watch the ceremony.

A woman, a man, and a fiberglass cow.

The selection of just the right piece.

Before Christmas tree and menorah.

Connections explode.

From birth in the sculptor’s hands,

imbuing her creation with soul,

ensues a lively chain of events

into a feminine balanced whole.

 

Lynn Benjamin

December 17, 2023