Kate Vogt's Blog, page 7

Grandmother’s Love

And
yet one word
frees us from all the weight and pain in life:
That word is love.
Sophocles
Trans. by Robert Fitzgerald

 

I noticed a small rip in the flowery blue fabric. This caused me to look a little more closely at the quilt that I had had for about three decades. It seemed impossible that wear would ever show on something that had been carefully stitched by one of my grandmothers—my mother’s mother.  She was a corseted, strong woman who had always seemed to be the essence of durability. H...

RIVER – eternal presence

losing its name
a river
enters the sea

John Sandbach

I stared out of the window of the train in anticipation of the first glimmers of morning light.  Along with most of the train’s passengers, I boarded in the heart of Manhattan pre-dawn and was headed to one of the area airports.  A childlike part of me was filled with curiosity about the unfolding of the light of the day.

As the train snaked along its tracks, the sky began to brighten and slowly reveal the outside surroundings.  At first, it l...

EARTH – divine home

You are the sky and the ground.
You alone the day, the night air.

You are the meal that’s being brought,
the flowers and their watering.

You are all this.

Lalla
Translated by Coleman Barks

 

The road stretched across the flat landscape like a taunt ribbon.  The only rise in the land was in the distance.  There, the flatness rose into hillsides and mountains.  Otherwise, there was a seemingly inert expanse along both sides of the road.

Having grown up in such flatness which most view as nothingn...

THE BROOM

Spring overall. But inside us
there ’s another unity.

Behind each eye here,
one glowing weather.

Every forest branch moves differently
in the breeze, but as they sway
they connect at the roots.

Rumi
Translated by Coleman Barks

 

The front walk is covered with leaves and branches from the surrounding trees.  This is a common occurrence in the fall when the ground receives layers of new nutrients from the trees.  The earth is cushioned with colorful foliage and padded for the winter chill.

Yet, wi...

FRANGIPANI – The World Within A Tree

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn’t make any sense.

Rumi
Translated by Coleman Barks

 

I have long been taken by the endless generosity of trees.  They are more than human to me, and hence I refer to them with human sounding pronouns, such as she or her instead of it.   As a child, I relied on the elm tree in our front y...

RAINBOWS AND ROBINS

You’re in my eyes.
How else could I see light?

You’re in my brain.
This wild joy.

If Love did not live in matter,
how would any place
have any hold on anyone?

Rumi
Translated by Coleman Barks

 

It is nearing springtime here in the Northern Hemisphere.  Rainbows and migratory robins seem to magically re-appear.  They arc their way across the sky to the earth.  And, from the earth back across the sky.

They are an odd couple – the rainbows and robins.   Yet, sightings of them become more common as ...

The Park – living together

Tranquil our paths
When your hand rests in mine in joy.
Your voice gives life, like nectar.
To see you, is more than food or drink.

Egyptian Wisdom
Trans. by Ezra Pound and Noel Stock

 

As I sat on a park bench the other day, I appreciated the sound of laughter and conversation from the people around me.   There was a family with three young children playing tag, an elderly couple, and a group of young adults sitting in the grass talking.  Eyes were beaming and everyone seemed to genuinely enjo...

HIBISCUS – gentle beauty

Mountains are steadfast but the mountain streams
go by, go by,
and yesterdays are like the rushing streams,
they fly, they fly,
and the great heroes, famous for a day,
they die, they die.

Hwang Chin-i
Translated by Peter H. Lee

 

A new month has waltzed in, causing me to turn the page of my old-fashioned paper calendar.   The holidays of the month hold promises of remembrance of love and spiritual sacrifice as well celebrations of the praised and unsung heroes.   To the right of my calendar is m...

BIRD’S EYE VIEW

The weight of arrogance is such
that no bird can fly
carrying it.

And the man who feels superior
to others, that man
cannot dance,

the real dance when the soul takes God
into its arms and you both fall
onto your knees in gratitude,

a blessed gratitude
for life.

St. John of the Cross

 

As I walked through the neighborhood in the early morning, I felt the urge to change my route and make my way over a hill toward the beach.  It would be a little longer and more strenuous walk, and it was still rel...

PALMS – grounded perspective

The great sea has set me in motion,
set me adrift,
moving me like a weed in a river.
The sky and the strong wind
have moved the spirit inside me
till I am carried away
trembling with joy.

Uvavnuk

 

In a recent storm of wind and rain, I watched some trees bow their crowns toward the earth.   Several hours later, as the weather calmed a bit they straighten upright.  As they did so, they seemingly shook their leaves with joy.  A melodic rattling sound filled the air.

Trees have long inspired me to ...