Tag: existence

Poetry by Patrick JenningsDec 31, 20207:00 am

Nearby Star, Howe Sound, Sea to Sky Highway, Near Lions Bay, British Columbia, Canada

A Nearby Star

Perched on a mossy cliffside
Basking in the warmth
Of a nearby star

The scents of sea
And conifers

Carried on the breeze

While I
Close my eyes

Breathe in
All of existence
Gathered in a moment

Poetry by Patrick JenningsDec 29, 20207:00 am

Sun Shine, Sea to Sky Highway, Near Lion's Bay, British Columbia, Canada

Curvature of the Earth

I remind myself
That this Earth
Is but a small globe

Spinning and spinning
In infinite space

And I no more than a mote

A sprinkling of star dust
Coalesced in flesh and bone

Which one day woke up
Asking questions about
The universe and itself

Is there more than that?
I may never know

Perhaps I simply forgot

Poetry by Patrick JenningsOct 27, 20204:48 pm

Emptiness

Of all the hardships
Created by the pandemic
It was the emptiness
Of time and space
Which nearly did him in

The connectionless void
In which the bump of elbows
Became an act of intimacy
Which made a smile detectable
Only by a gesture of the eyes

So he filled the emptiness
With the one thing left to him

Love

Love not for one or many
Nor even for himself
But for the pure delight
Of existence

And that is how he learned
The true nature of

Love

Poetry by Patrick JenningsApr 30, 202010:45 pm

Smoke and Drama, Rocky Mountains, Icefields Parkway, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Creating the Divine

The beauty
Of existence
Seems not always
BeautifulI discover the divine
Through smoke haze
Muted tones
And hidden features

Seek the clarity
Beneath the murk
Colourless moments
Can be vivid

I remind myself
Create the divine
From the apparent
Mundane

Poetry by Patrick JenningsMar 21, 20207:00 am

Watching Over Us, Point Montara Lighthouse, Montara, California, United States of America

Something to Watch Over Us

I am grateful to have learned
Beyond any shadow of a doubt
That something greater than I or any one
Watches over us

That there is a purpose to my being
To my existence
Here in this time and place

That I get more than one shot
At finding that purpose

And bringing it to life

Poetry by Patrick JenningsDec 22, 20199:50 pm

Expansive, I-395, Willow Ranch, California, USA

Expanse ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #212

In the high desert
Where the land is wide
And the sky wider
I cross the expanse
On a knife’s edge of asphalt
Buffeted by furious headwinds

Inside my little cockpit of calm and warmth
I sing “Wassiye! Wassiye!”
With Habib Koite
A song of mirth and joy and love

Just as is the song within me
As I navigate existence
Across the expanse of being
And all its many storms

Poetry by Patrick JenningsMay 21, 201911:33 am

Tapas Bar, La Rambla, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Layers of Existence

We live
Within a tapestry
Of universes

Intertwined
Overlapped
Layer upon layer
Of existence

Simultaneous
Discrete

Yet none
Entirely separate
From the others

A community
A reef
Beneath the ripples
Of time

Poetry by Patrick JenningsMay 13, 20193:16 pm

Arc of the Earth, Smokey River Valley, Rocky Mountains, Alberta, Canada

The Mere Fact of Existence

Feeling the arc of Earth
Below me
Atmosphere
Thick with sky

Crossing terrain and distance
The minutes pass as days once did
For greater men than me
When only Prometheus
Had tested the sky

The land rolls by
All the while stoking awe

Not just for historical men
Bound to Earth
Also for this small speck of stone
This mote of blue
With its invisible billions
In an incomprehensible emptiness

Then, awe too for this small speck of flesh
His hubris of no small magnitude
Believing he matters at all
For the mere fact of knowing his existence

His feeble attempt for eternity
Words released into the twin fantasies
Of consciousness and silicone

Poetry by Patrick JenningsApr 26, 201910:28 pm

Center of Being, Central Market, Valencia, Spain

Central Being

The light
At the center of it all
Like a beacon
Calling me
To the nature of
Existence

Experienced
With a deep breath
And a quiet mind
Which knows nothing
Believes naught
Open to all

Possibility

Poetry by Patrick JenningsDec 22, 201810:59 pm

This Cacophony of Being, Britannia Mine, Britannia Beach, British Columbia, Canada

On the Cacophony of Being

This spirit of life

This beauty
This pain
This anguish
This love

This cacophony of being
That is I
That is experience
That is action

Tension of light and dark
Tension of right and wrong
Never grey
Never muted

That mud of fear
That mud of anger
Gripping at my heart
Gripping at my mind

But I will not
Go under
But I will not
Lie down

Or die
In the silence
Of living
Without venture