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Retired from 10 years in the Canadian Navy, and 28 years in the Canadian Diplomatic Service, with postings in Beijing, Mexico City, Sri Lanka, Romania, Abu Dhabi, Guyana, Ireland, Trinidad, and, last but not least, India.

Tuesday 5 October 2010

The Flower Garden





The man revelled in the beauty of all things,
the woman had a deep appreciation
of order and the aesthetic.
Together they raised a family,
where harmony, balance,
and love was the standard.
Their cottage was neat, and,
although small and rather common,
reflected the love within
through the medium of a flower garden.
This simple garden made allowances
for the occasional flowering weed,
for the less flamboyant blossoms,
for the wild, for the climbers,
for the ground covers:
simple blooms all,
yet, together
they made a garden
fragrant and beautiful,
balanced and thoughtful,
with unexpected nooks,
where one could find
a strong sense of peace.

In the nearby town
people with kindred spirits
prospered, loved,
helped the less fortunate,
and gave guidance and comfort
to the troubled,
care and treatment to the ill,
fostering an environment
of respect and tolerance.

Towns and cities with similar qualities
comprised a respected country
with global peers,
equal amongst equals.
Their green planet floated,
alone and serene,
in a single universe,
where order and balance reigned,
and chaos was kept at bay.

In my world
chaos rules:
corporations plan a New World Order
in which a self-appointed elite
control politicians who mandate
military adventurism,
and banks cause orchestrated crashes
to transfuse tax monies
into corporate coffers.
The middle class is demoted,
through loss of wages and benefits,
and repeal of social programs,
to the role of serfs,
accepting part-time work
to fuel a consumer frenzy
of overextended budgets,
of credit financing,
encouraged by compliant media.
Religions hate each other
while preaching love;
people are demeaned and killed
for their sexual preference;
others are ridiculed for their ethnicity,
or their handicap,
or the way they speak,
or who their parents are:
people hate,
and that hate engenders
and empowers
a brutish rage that rules,
and ultimately affects us all.

In my universe,
one of innumerable that coexist forever,
chaos produces a cloud of energy
attracted by our global negativity,
that rushes,
at the speed of light,
to destroy the cosmic balance,
and any flower garden
that could ever have existed.

The Ancient Hippie

The Ancient Hippie
Natraj dances with us all.

Welcome, and Namaste

Greetings fellow travellers,

For you American friends visiting, you will notice that this old Canadian uses Canadian English in this blog: kindly bear with me. As I blog primarily on subjects that are vitally interesting to me, I appreciate all feedback.

As I tend to be a bit of a language usage freak, I will, as required, edit obscenity and rude comments. That said, I welcome your opinions and discussion.

May your Dharma be clear

Peace

"If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended:
That you have but slumb'red here,
While these visions did appear."


Puck’s epilogue to A Midsummer Night’s Dream