"How does a poem wake you up from a deep sleep? I don't know but so many of them have. Or they come while in that meditative daze of a slow country drive, demanding to be written down. They are often so demanding that I must resort to using the voice recorder on my cell phone at some wide spot on the road. I just never know when they are going to burst in clamoring to be preserved, like so many petulant children wanting their picture taken. As a dutiful parent, I oblige."
This is how Scott Miller introduces his new book of poems, Cave of the Heart, Poetry from a Lost Mind. Many of them, including some shared below, have been written at or inspired by retreats with Gangaji. This reading was on the last day of the last retreat at Fallen Leaf Lake. As Gangaji says, it wouldn't have been complete without a poem from Scott. Below are a selection of poems.
A Light Rain
It fell
all over the forest
a light rain.
Quickening moss and fern
back into the world once again.
They begged me
to join with them
in their joyful exuberance.
YES! Without a moment's hesitation.
And the door opened,
birthing me into naked experience,
still wet
from a light rain.
Night’s Ink
Stillness
from my slumber
awakens me.
Awake,
I am free.
I cannot go back
to the dream of me.
Rising I make a cup of tea
for both the Stillness and me.
Together we drink without a word.
For what would I think?
It's enough to sit with Stillness,
deep in night's ink,
sipping tea.
Heart’s Desire
It hangs in the balance
on the razor's edge.
It could go one way or the other,
except we are holding the Beloved's hand.
We have each other,
woven together
into the Great Cloth
that spans the Universe,
pulled at the edges
into the Unknown Universe
that we call Love.
Hold tight
to the Beloved's hand.
Follow Her fall into Love,
for the whole world is at stake.
The Tavern at Tiburon
These nights I stay late in the Tavern
with all the other drunks
drinking your wine.
Leaving out the Tavern door
finding myself in an orgy
with all your heavenly bodies.
Until you dawn upon me,
only then do I rest.
Peas, Carrots and Lentils
Dear One,
You tell me
you miss me at the evening meal.
Your friendship,
it does feed my Heart.
Yet, I can not eat another meal.
I am so full.
Full of sky, lake, tree and Silence.
Silence so nourishing!
Nourishing beyond peas, carrots and lentils.
Scott Miller grew up in Santa Clara, CA. A graduate of San Jose State University, he spent his professional years as a Soil Engineer for Mendocino Country. A lifelong poet, Scott was finally convinced to assemble all the post-its and backs of napkins, receipts, and envelopes into a collection.
In between poetic inspirations, Scott spends his days helping everyone and anyone who needs a hand. He enjoys gardening. creating fire-start kits, sharpening knives at farmers' markets, and spending time with his wife Trudy, and his dogs, Jack and Bocci.
