Breathe And Become

Breathe And Become

Underneath a tree or a place of calm
I found enduring emptiness
My mind settles
When the dirt in the water
Falls downward
Clearing the space
Where my thoughts raged
A tiger on fire
With no hope of survival
From burning.

In the jungle of existence I stopped
Taking a seat to allow
A stream of consciousness
To flow from within
Nothing exists separately
Everything changes
Nirvana and Heaven are
Names of the same
Freedom from suffering
And the false
Architecture of ego
Dissolves and disappears.

I breathe and become to focus
Mind to direct my heart
Where I may sit
So calmly with you
The string of my instrument
Too tight will snap
Too slack won’t play
Balancing between extremes
I make music and harmony
And I am free to play
As meant to be.

Copyright © 2023 Charles Edward York
* No part of this poem may be used or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way or form or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the author.*