![Poems of Presence – May 2021](https://eastbayyoga.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_4212-scaled-538x218.jpg)
This month we’re exploring the Yamas and Niyamas (social ethics and the practices that support them) from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. As we shine the light of awareness on the nuances of these common sense practices, we discover they resonate with Mindfulness teachings and the opportunity to make conscious choices in every area of our lives. As always, poetry supports and uplifts our themes, and brings us to the present moment in beautiful ways.
I Wish… (quote by Hafiz)
I wish
I could show you
when you are lonely
or in darkness
the astonishing light
of your own being.
Mindful (Mary Oliver)
Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight…
Brainstorm (Flame)
There’s a storm
In my brain
But the rain
Is clear
Seculare (Eliza Gilkyson)
Thank you for the sun
Thank you for the full moon
Thank you for my true love’s face
And our lives in love consumed
Thank you for the stars
A home along the river
Thank you for the ancient groves
And the fishes brown and silver
All things running wild
Grass enough for grazing
Water flowing clean and pure
All the beauty that saves me
Thank you for the dawn
Oceans rise and falling
Children born to carry on
And the end that’s always calling
Thank you for the songs
Thank you for all my good luck
All the things that don’t go wrong
And the hopes that don’t give up
Thank you for my tears
Loved ones who forgave me
Thank you for my darkest years
All the sorrows that made me
And the beauty that saves me
MAY
2021