In the Lotus Pose

By Uwe Carl Diebes

At first, he was uncomfortable in the lotus pose,
but as he sat down carefully, his upper spine arose.
Though startled where he found himself, he gradu’lly became
relaxed, content, at peace, alert, like as a spirit flame.
His inner being danced a bit, like blossoms in a breeze,
before a gale shakes them to their elbows and their knees.
He stretched his head and kissed the sky, amazed at what he felt.
It was like as he suddenly connected to die Welt,
electric Zeitgeist, Götterdämmerung, his being flowed,
excited in deciphering the universal code.

die Welt: the World
Götterdämmerung: Armageddon, final battle leading to renewal of the world

His

By Ercules Edibwa

His form got in the lotus pose on a white shiny couch,
his right arm hanging limply down, his left arm at its pouch.
His back arched high, his legs stretched out, relaxing, but alert,
his psyche’s concentration preternaturally pert.
His mind combed over all the difficulties of the day.
His suction-vacuum-cleaner tried to suck them all away.
His longed-for cleaning was proceeding ordinarily,
his mental sense considering his setting narrowly.
His body and his spirit were directed to true north,
his agony released, while staying still, but going forth.

 

I Love This Land

By Walibee Scrude

I love this land—Australia—barren, sunburnt continent
of scraggly eucalyptus with koala in its tent.

And though I come from far away, I love this land so much,
an agonizing, burning yearning—very hard to touch.

I love this land—Australia—plagued by jumping kangaroos,
the dorky platypus, and squawking galah cockatoos,

the slimy, slithering, and venomed creatures on the ground,
as well as chunky, bulky, stocky emus ever down.

I love this land—Australia—and its battler underdogs,
where radiation reigns supreme and sport’s a living god,

where flies compete with roaches for attention as they swirl,
and the high cost of living is the envy of the whirled.

I love this land down under everything that’s good or
true that boomerangs right back with bamboo-tuned didgeridoo.

 

I Feel Like Sisyphus

By Ercules Edibwa

I feel like Sisyphus, in ever moving rocks around,
from highway side to driveway, to the walkway from the ground.
It’s never ending, ever pending, clever but absurd,
a vain endeavor sending me down paths, a hopping bird.
And yet, although it seems to me to be a futile task,
is it much different than anything in life, I ask?
For all the things that I achieve, it seems they always fail,
as if no matter what I do, time’s winds blast and assail.
I feel like Sisyphus, a wise and crafty man who sees
so many things, but mainly his untold idiocies.

 

Bruce Dale Wise is a poet living in Washington State who often writes under anagrammatic pseudonyms.

Featured Image: “In Harmony” by Xiaoping Chen. This painting depicts a young woman doing the fifth exercise of Falun Gong, “Way of Strengthening Divine Powers.” The clear water and blue sky reflect her tranquility and give a feeling of her union with heaven while she meditates.

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The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.


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7 Responses

  1. Benjamen Grinberg

    I find the lotus pose to be similar to the desire to write classical poetry in that if my outer form is not clean and traditional, that is, proper in the modern circumstance, the poem will turn out haphazard and clumsy. So, physically, what can be more graceful and clean than sitting in the lotus?

    Thank you Bruce!

    Reply
  4. Corey browning

    Wow! The lotus is an excellent piece. Truly beautiful and almost perfect rhythm. I always love when a poet injects foreign words and ideas into his piece, which truly brings the narrative into another realm. In this case, the English, the German, and the Near Eastern all collide into a beautiful collage. Well done, Bruce!

    Reply
    • Bruce Dale Wise

      Thank you, Corey. Although I am trying to achieve a higher, more refined realm, it is hard to do. I haven’t, as of yet, been able to sustain such work at the length of, say, “The Plague Doctor,’ really only up to the length of, say, the “Crown of Sonnets on Louis XV.” I am at present working through possible rhythms of the iambic heptametre, now and then hitting a more satisfying line. Also, like you, I appreciate cultures from around the World, and I like to drawn on them for various purposes.

      Reply
      • Corey browning

        Hello Bruce. I could hardly say ‘The Plague Doctor’ was sustained at any length. Heheh. It was one of my initial full attempts at writing in iambic pentameter, and is full of holes. I like to look at it, nevertheless, as my personal manifesto of philosophy. Under the veil that is. I think you are well on your way to achieving the high realm of meteredverse, and I look forward to reading more of your work! Cheers!

  5. Bruce Dale Wise

    Thank you, Benjamen. It is so difficult to achieve a classical line that is clear, pure, and clean, while at the same time speaks to the present and incorporates elements of the World.

    Reply

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