Community – Page 363

Aug 26 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

An Opened Mind XI

A weak mind is like a microscope, which magnifies trifling things but cannot receive great ones.

– G. K. Chesterton

Eye #2

Aliens Among Us?

Even if there is

“someone out there,”

in the cosmic vastness,

why in the hell would

they ever come here?

Do we think we are so

intrinsically interesting

that “they” would want

to keep an eye on us

in secret?

Could any sane person

think that another race

could travel the stars

but would be too afraid

to say hello?

If we were the starfarers

and we discovered

a planet-bound society

wouldn’t we subjugate them

or exterminate them?

Wouldn’t we?

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–December 16, 2005

Muse in the Morning

Aug 25 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

An Opened Mind X

The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.

– Henri Bergson

Star Womb

Relatively Speaking

On a cosmic scale

the scale of star stuff

we are all

so insignificant

minor players

on a minor stage

Just dust in the wind

evaporating in a relative

wink of an eye

or so I have been told

One can also

hold the view

that the vastness

of spacetime

gives primacy

to that stage

and to this life

while it occurs

Earth is my universe

until I can leave it

I am immortal

until I die

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–December 14, 2005

Muse in the Morning

Aug 24 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

An Opened Mind IX

If a Man will begin with certainties, he will end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he will end in certainties.

— Francis Bacon

Star Dance

The Flow of Life once upon a time stars burnt creating elements molecules this and that chemicals organized life began
life began on this planet we are star stuff organized chemicals	life began it has not ended yet
from the stars we come into them we will eventually go –Robyn Elaine Serven –December 29, 2005

Aug 23 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

An Opened Mind VIII

‘It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

–Aristotle

Growth

Life doesn’t care

Life doesn’t care

if it’s flora or fauna

or something in between

It exists at a more basic level

cells reproducing

or not

growing…changing

evolving

Life doesn’t care

what genus or species it is

or how success is measured

in any other way

than the proliferation

of more life

eating…excreting

dying

A joshua tree, a mayfly

A redwood, a butterfly

A panda cub, slime mold

A humpback whale, Streptococcus pneumoniae

A human being

All passing fancy

Life doesn’t care

as long as there’s more life

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–January 5, 2006

Muse in the Morning

Aug 22 2010

Sunday Circle (Open Thread)

By Lady Libertine in Community

The time for the lone wolf is over.

Gather yourselves!

Banish the word struggle from you attitude and your vocabulary.

All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

4 comments

Aug 20 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

An Opened Mind VII

The open mind never acts: when we have done our utmost to arrive at a reasonable conclusion, we still – must close our minds for the moment with a snap, and act dogmatically on our conclusions.

–George Bernard Shaw

Solid Fire

When it burns

It is not ours

We only

borrow it

thinking that we

control it

we have killed

to possess it

’til it is

our master

The fire consumes

clear, sterile

and then waits

for life anew

It will have

the last word

The fire was here

long before

life began

We only live

on its skin

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–January 3, 2006

Muse in the Morning

Aug 19 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

An Opened Mind VI

You cannot raise the standard against oppression, or leap into the breach to relieve injustice, and still keep an open mind to every disconcerting fact, or an open ear to the cold voice of doubt.

–Learned Hand

Planet

Days Will Come

Days will come

when sanity will

regain supremacy,

when disease will

be battled without

political consideration,

when people’s deaths

will not be occasions

to seek out

personal advantage.

But not today.

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–December 1, 2005

Muse in the Morning

Aug 18 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

An Opened Mind V

“I try to keep an open mind, but not so open that my brains fall out.”

–Harold T. Stone

Blue Mother

Chapter 6

The Spirit of the Valley

never dies.

It is called

the Mystic Female.

The Door

of the Mystic Female

Is the root

of Heaven and Earth.

Continuously, continuously,

It seems to remain.

Draw upon it

And it serves you with ease.

–Tao te Ching (tr. Lin Yutan)

Blue Mother

Like you

I hang my head

You in sorrow

Me in shame

Blue Mother

I weep with you

for the damage done

to the spirit

of the valley

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–November 1, 2005

Muse in the Morning

Aug 17 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

An Opened Mind IV

Of those qualities on which civilization depends, next after courage, it seems to me, comes an open mind, and, indeed, the highest courage is, as Holmes used to say, to stake your all upon a conclusion which you are aware tomorrow may prove false.

–Irving Dillard

Black and White

Balance

It is all about balance,

so my book tells me.

What to balance with what?

Therein lies the difficulty.

Does the past

offset the future

or the present?

If it balances

the present

then how can Now

also be in balance?

And isn’t that important?

Cannot the present

only be the

balance point

if the past

and future offset?

But how can

the past

offset a future

which has not

yet occurred?

Perhaps this problem

needs more

dimensions,

a change in

the frame

of reference.

–Robyn Elaine Serven
–November 7, 2005

Aug 16 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

An Opened Mind II

Where there is an open mind there will always be a frontier.

–Charles F. Kettering

Art Link

Time in an Egg

The Complement of Time

When people see some things as beautiful,

other things become ugly.

When people see some things as good,

other things become bad.

–Tao te Ching (tr. Strephen Mitchell)

Time is

the collective counting

of humankind

With recognition of time

comes recognition of mortality

To live long

becomes the objective

And while we’re all

counting together

maybe we should also

tally our stuff

I guess to

break the tie

when two people

die simultaneously

So greed

is born

Why is life a game?

–Robyn Elaine Serven
–November 28, 2005

Muse in the Morning

Aug 13 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

An Opened Mind II

Sand

On Time

The years fly by

while the months

pass too slowly

Each day drones on

With not enough

minutes

Each second

measuring

the beating

of my heart

pounding

relentlessly

to the end

of my eternity

counting

the grains

of sand

in the hourglass

acting as

the timepiece

of my life

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–December 22, 2005

Muse in the Morning

Aug 12 2010

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

As the summer vacation ends, a new series of poems begins. All these were written since I joined the community of bloggers in 2005 and first appeared at Cheers and Jeers. The art work is a mixture of old and a bit newer.

An Opened Mind I

Inner Vision

Clarity

My optical sense

has deteriorated

grown cloudy and dim

as I have aged

but what I perceive

through my moral

and ethical lenses

has become crystal

crisp and clear

It is not difficult

to join me here

and see what I see

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–January 3, 2006

Category: Community