Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Enlightenment

Many spiritual teachers - in Buddhism, in Islam - have talked about first-hand experience of the world as an important part of the path to wisdom, to enlightenment.

bell hooks

To  conquer oneself is a greater task 

than conquering others.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
Martin Luther King Jr. (Famous Quotes)

I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and Non-violence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could. 
Mahatma Gandhi (Gandhi Quotes)

We are formed and molded by our thoughts. Those whose minds are shaped by selfless thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them.
Lord Buddha (Buddha Quotes)

Midweek Motif ~ Enlightenment

So much has been said about enlightenment that maybe there is nothing more to say.  But I don't believe it.  In big ways and in small, we all have some experience with enlightenment.  What can you say?  

Your Challenge:  Write a poem containing a nugget of enlightenment.  

~

Excerpt from Augeries of Innocence BY William Blake Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Thro’ the world we safely go.
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine. . . . .   (lines 56-62; read the rest HERE at Bartleby.com)

The CrystalGazer

BY  Sara Teasdale

I shall gather myself into myself again,
I shall take my scattered selves and make them one,
Fusing them into a polished crystal ball
Where I can see the moon and the flashing sun.

I shall sit like a sibyl, hour after hour intent,
Watching the future come and the present go,
And the little shifting pictures of people rushing
In restless self-importance to and fro. 

Admit Something

BY Hafiz

Everyone you see, you say to them,

Love me.

Of course you do not do this out loud;

Otherwise,

Someone would call the cops.

Still though, think about this,

This great pull in us

To connect.

Why not become the one

Who lives with a full moon in each eye

That is always saying,

With that sweet moon language,

What every other eye in this world

Is dying to Hear.

~

For those who are new to Poets United: 

• Post your enlightenment poem on your site, and then link it here.
• Share only original and new work written for this challenge. 
• If you use a picture include its link.  
• Please leave a comment here and visit and comment on our poems.

(Our next Midweek Motif is "foolishness")

Good luck to all of you who are writing a poem a day during April.  I am using prompts from Poetic Asides, NaPoWriMo, Magaly Guerrero  and Imaginary Garden with Real Toads.  We'd love to know if you are attempting the challenge.  Please share links to the sites you are using for prompts and community during the challenge. 

Thanks!  ~Susan for Poets United

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