I don’t know if it’ll cover
Don’t know if I’ll discover,
all good truth there is
I really don’t know, but,
my friend, I’ll tell you
I know mostly enough
It covers it, for me
Yet, it won’t help you
You must head out too
Be true to you, do you
Come back when you’re done,
even preferably, a little undone
Then we can help each other,
share it all,
the beautiful, loud, nuances of
Silence,
whispering its eternal secrets
Then, since we are becoming, we are alive
I sense something has changed in me
I am thankful, light and free
I see the whole world in a stone
We are all seekers
Seekers of joy, seekers of truth
From open fields or narrow valleys
All together on our paths of life
Coming from the open fields,
desperate in confusion and bewilderment
Longing for frame and connection
Now in need of ground
Those from narrow valleys,
gasping from suffocation and entanglement
Crying for breath and belonging
Now in need of field
Together we carry this dream,
joy in love, hope in truth
Our outset or paths may differ,
yet the longing flames the same
A wise one searches for unity,
unity in all
A wise one prays for light of boundless form,
to protect us from fall
Yet, are there still steps in wisdom?
Will there be another surprise?
Oh, Luminous Lantern,
If we fall in dark woods, we hope to rise in joy
She shared untold, secret stories,
in where I could cross borders
I could become and belong
Weak or strong, didn’t matter
All kinds of berries I could gather
This was the fairest tale,
my walk of life in the latter song
Narrow my window had become
I could barely breathe,
barely live in this or their temple
Then they closed it, window shut
I fell, I was lost
Trapped in the kingdom,
of the desperate and dying
What had been a small light,
now gone
I was nobody’s son
Soon lost at sea
Searching wherever
Seemed like I’d never
find new land
Monsters in the deep,
dragons in the sky
Fire burning,
a salamander’s torch
So thirsty
That’s when I saw the flicker,
from a distant lamp
Oil kept it going,
until my hand held the light
I suddenly saw all its might
It created a terrible fright
I would have to fight,
a wrestling for my life,
my own soul
The angel from the deep,
entered upon the land
Was it also a woman, was it man?
I couldn’t know
Yet the angel’s sword
bruised me in the dark
The wound bled red
I cried into the Silence,
and fell to my knees
It was a new beginning,
there on my knees
The red, bleeding wound
received a silent balm
I sensed fresh air, I could breathe
I saw a window open,
then all windows gone
My breathing got deep,
and I drank from a rich well
Everything opened
Oh day of glory,
when I could leave behind,
the barren land of agony
The principals were taken
When I woke up, like from a dream,
I was standing on my feet
Made new,
in the image of One,
I had now become
I sensed freedom
New adventures awaited
I was made for living after all
I sensed another call
Photo of Alnes in Norway: Punam Kumari
I used to know everything
Now I don’t know any thing
I used to brag about this and that,
now I’m done with the fat clown
Until this day,
I’ve been lost in a darkness
I dared not admit
I wanted to live in a blaze of glory —
now I prefer the silence,
the creation,
through attentive listening
Unconvinced now of my rightness,
still thirsting for truth —
is what I know
Photo: Tove Hubak Fleischer
Got som help from ChatGPT just to structure the poem into stanzas and for some punctuation
I sensed a sudden shift
I felt uplifted
And I was
My eyes still shut close
I felt a warm breeze
I sensed tears filling up,
behind the eyes’ curtains
I lifted my hands,
my body still resting on knees
I heard myself saying,
no please, no please
I felt a blow to my stomach,
and breathed out one full breath
I felt strange pain
Felt lifted again, yet heavy
No please, no please,
I heard myself plead
It wasn’t me,
but something else
Eyelids now cracked open,
waves of tears flowing
Out of my control
Again I suffered another heavy blow
Yet, soon pain was lifted
Crying turned to sobbing
Steps, almost too silent to hear
A breeze again, warm
I wasn’t alone in the garden
The breeze passed me
Abruptly, I stood up
Calling the visitor back
My feet now above the ground
A presence felt all around
A warmth, comforting
Soft tears, transformed
Again, a weight pushed me to my knees
A deep knocking
My hand on my chest
A vision of veins and deep red
What had me uplifted,
now sensed within
My lips curved upwards
I whispered,
it wasn’t me,
this, wasn’t me
Yet, it, was there,
within
I lingered, silent,
there, on my knees
Celebrate the life we are living
Celebrate the light we are seeing
Celebrate hope in the land
Celebrate every woman, every man
Celebrate mankind
Grieve the pain we are receiving
Grieve the killing of innocents
Grieve the fearful, power-hungry leaders
Grieve the hate and violence around
Grieve mankind
We need to look reality into its eyes
There is celebration, yet also grieving
No use in shutting your eyes
The pain cuts deep like deepest waters
So hope may rise like the morning sun
So, walk with the joyful
Stay, with the mourning ones
Embrace, the fatherless children
Forgive, the men who lost their way
We celebrate again, the gift of life
We grieve the terror and tragedy
We forgive ourselves for our darkness
Love will endure
Love is our hope
Please,
open your heart
A Contemplative Life 