Selected Poetry

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="05ed05a3.jpg"> <div> <B>Sandy</B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>    |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contents"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contents"><U>Contents</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contacts and Links"><U>Contacts and Links</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biography"><U>Biography</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id13.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MS and Children"><U>MS and Children</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Multiple Sclerosis publications"><U>Multiple  Sclerosis publications</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My type of MS"><U>My type of MS</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Life and Death"><U>Life and Death</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Stories"><U>My Stories</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Very short stories"><U>Very short stories</U></A>   |   <B>Selected Poetry</B>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Paso Fino Horses"><U>Our Paso Fino Horses</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="More Paso Fino Horses"><U>More Paso Fino Horses</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Family Pictures"><U>Family Pictures</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Terstan and Animals"><U>Terstan and Animals</U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="05fd2123.jpg"> <div>       <IMG SRC="0a889c30.gif" border=0 width="137" height="195" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Selected Poetry</I></div> <bR> <div> DANCING SNAIL</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Coo-ing doves and the song of a noisy thrush herald a gentle tap-tap-tap-tapping of a methodical music. </div> <bR> <div> A new shell to join the flower bedecked crunching cemetery of snails sacrificed on my garden's altar of life.</div> <div>   </div> <div> Coffee and coo-ing mask the drums of a mystic and magical truth as I turn my ears away.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Sandy Burnfield     Buddhism Now - September 1996</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>THE  SPACE  PEOPLE</B></div> <bR> <div> They walk on a green shore at the very edge of a vast unending sea.  Like underwater crabs on the bed of a rocky coast, they are constantly wafted by the eddies and currents that surround them.</div> <bR> <div> They build their stony nests on the sea bed jutting out into the ever tidal atmosphere that forms the foamy fringe of their world.  They sometimes watch and wonder at the remote star - islands scattered across the vast cosmic emptiness.</div> <bR> <div> They hear the roar of stormy ocean winds and occasionally bask in the warmth of an ever returning sun.  They sniff at the stench of decay and inhale the sweet perfumes of new life carried on the waves.</div> <bR> <div> They stroke the swaying fronds of seaweeds that give out breath and life, and know that death gives life.</div> <bR> <div> Their destiny is to bathe in the waters of the universe, creating life and kindness with each breathing, working with their Gods at a growing point of the Cosmos: the space-coast of their planet.</div> <bR> <div> They are the children of our childrens' children, playing and praying at the space-side of our planet earth - the future that we carry as God seeds in our souls.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Sandy Burnfield - <I>Buddhism Now                                   August 1994</I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>The life to come......</B></div> <bR> <div> What I think today</div> <div> What I say today</div> <div> What I do today</div> <div> Is my gift to life tomorrow</div> <bR> <div> My actions are all I really possess</div> <bR> <div> My being is a part of continuing creation</div> <div> A chord in the music of the cosmos</div> <div> A thread in the tapestry of the universe</div> <div> A sentient being on planet earth</div> <bR> <div> I hope I will always remember this</div> <bR> <div> This is the miracle</div> <div> This is the wonder</div> <div> This is the mystery</div> <bR> <div> This is the journey</div> <bR> <div> Walk on and love now</div> <div> Now is the time</div> <div> Here is the place.........</div> <bR> <div> <I>Sandy Burnfield   </I></div> <div> <I><U>Buddhism Now</U></I><I> May 1998</I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>CONVERSATION  WITH  A  DYING  WASP</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> What were you doing when Clare said I do</div> <div> When the apple blossom blew</div> <div> And skimmed along Richards fresh cut grass?</div> <div> Where were you on the sunny morning of County</div> <div> Council Election day?</div> <bR> <div> I was buzzing about, unheard in the May,</div> <div> And resting my wings on an old willow bough.</div> <bR> <div> Wasp, you're so weak at the end of your day,</div> <div> By cold kitchen window, warm sun far away,</div> <div> You're leaving me now, and the old willow bough.</div> <bR> <div> I buzzed in the warmth of the summer sun.</div> <div> Think of me often - we both are as one.</div> <div> Fly and buzz, Sandy - We'll fly again now,</div> <div> So buzz with me, buzz - by the old willow bough!</div> <bR> <div> Sandy Burnfield        29 October 1993</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>CALLING  ALL  BUDDHAS</B></div> <bR> <div> Thankful for the Teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh</div> <div> and the Gathas of Robert Aitken</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Eating my porridge</div> <div> Wanting the distraction of radio</div> <div> I promise mindfully</div> <div> To listen to the now of breakfast</div> <bR> <div> Driving to work with clenched jaw</div> <div> I promise with all Beings</div> <div> To let go of anger</div> <div> And follow the Way</div> <bR> <div> Sitting in the sun</div> <div> Reaching for my books</div> <div> I promise with all Buddhas</div> <div> To read the words of nature</div> <div> Shining in the sun</div> <bR> <div> Waiting for what comes next</div> <div> I promise with all Beings</div> <div> To savour space between breaths</div> <div> And leave the gingernuts alone</div> <bR> <div> Raising my voice</div> <div> I promise mindfully</div> <div> To smile at my tongue</div> <div> Understanding</div> <bR> <div> Sandy Burnfield    BN  January 1994</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>ZOOM!</B></div> <bR> <div> Buried</div> <div> In a room that feels like a tomb</div> <div> Screaming doomed defiance at a disappearing future</div> <bR> <div> Rebirth</div> <div> In a tomb that feels like a womb</div> <div> Playing with my own death-rattle, laughing at a new moon</div> <bR> <div> Sunset was all I saw, now I see the Dawn</div> <div> Life's Dance spirals on</div> <div> In a new Space-Time</div> <div> Zoom!</div> <bR> <div> Sandy Burnfield</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Some  Haikus</B></div> <bR> <div> Not watching TV</div> <div> Writing this siily haiku</div> <div> Bedtime beckons me</div> <bR> <div> Little black Asha</div> <div> Slobbers on my wrinkled face</div> <div> A guided missile</div> <bR> <div> Eight forty PM</div> <div> Tv laughter from downstairs</div> <div> Sandy sits alone</div> </td> </tr></table></body>