Arrangement of Stanzas by the Five Elements
By Peter Y. Chou, WisdomPortal.com
Stanza | Element in Stanza |
---|---|
O Light, forget not my song of praise Eroica music, Nightride and Sunrise Embrace Oneness and the timeless pearl, marble monuments shall not outlive this rhyme. | Ether |
Pure mind like pure gold a sky without clouds heaven and earth spread out, rivers on all sides thunder and lightning image of abundance air meets sunshine rising high in the sky. | Air |
Monday morning a time of seeking, finding, being sincere, communing with the Father, the need to touch my hand to the snow to tune myself in harmony with the stars. | Fire |
The nightingale whose beauty is all song never to be forgotten, back to back beyond or around as poems are made feather rain dreaming field over forest. | Water |
Look straight ahead where Nature leads you the Good is close at hand purity of thought surrender all desires to find joy and peace, the scent of virtue more fragrant than jasmine. | Earth |
The stars hide in the light before daybreak flood of stillness widening the lake of sky light breeze and dew in the early morning hidden away under the leaves a blossom | Air |
of tiny flowers exquisitely blue vast starless sky, the dark woods around us, rows of green pines rise over the valley What a bliss! spring rain and refreshing breeze. | Earth |
The sea yields its color to the clouds its liquid language of shine and spark a sorrow rises and falls into deep sleep this almost invisible perfect stillness. | Water |
Don't let events bind you, but never withdraw from them stay tranquil and be diligent. Live in the sunshine of the Overself find beauty in nature and in yourself. | Fire |
Mystery of spirit transformation in Consciousness the inward & outward blend in emptiness don't worry about nothing good cup of tea, the cat mewed in answer. | Ether |
Temple bells ring and a white dove descends hear the voices as saints would have heard the message that is formed out of silence, hear the streams in the flowering meadow. | Air |
Speak well of others and you're in a garden of flowers and herbs. Speak ill of others and you're in a patch of thistles and thorns, the saints love everyone, see all as good. | Earth |
Reason from heaven enlightens all things from disorder, order grows grows fruitful two fountains flow palms and pomegranate speak of love of which who knows the meaning. | Water |
Platonic Lambda soul of the universe, sum of one to ten, Aristotle's spheres, stars Dante scattered in his Commedia 55 our hands touching in prayer. | Ether |
Poetry humming of moths circling the flame the autumn moon, evenings of springtime breeze milky light flows slowly through the branches stars grow faint, crows and magpies fly south. | Fire |
This shimmering of wind in the blue leaves flocking in clusters gathering for their flight flying off alone in my soaring, dreaming wings like a dove go far away from here | Air |
above great mountains and the Wind River, the flowers reign in splendor among the thorns, seeds of smiles planted blooming in the dark, the harp breaks out in sweet music of pain. | Earth |
Be not sad be like the sun at midday always giving but remaining the same like God gives love as the sun shines forth on the newborn babe virtue in abundance. | Fire |
When mind is pure, the universe is pure When mind is happy, the universe is happy. Mind is like the great sea where all rivers flow Keep Buddha Mind the great sea of wisdom. | Water |
One who knows learning will surely love it The Awakened One knows that infinite enlightenment is really simple our doubts & concepts make it difficult. | Ether |
You live and dwell in your lover's eyes see straight to the bottom open secret our treasures the pearl in a seashell, phoenix in flight, and honeysuckle vines. | Ether |
The moon mirrored by a mind free of all disturbances, even waves reflect its light the living light pouring out from God's Word light blends with light merging into Oneness. | Water |
Each moment a hundred messages from God He answers a hundred times I am here. The hills and trees all break out with singing, the fog disappears, the hawk soars skyward. | Earth |
Lament not the descent of the sunset for within you a lamp is always lit that surpasses the splendor of the stars guiding us upward to our celestial home. | Fire |
I'm sailing on the void, riding the wind sprouting wings, realizing the eternal. Smile! rise and rise again Life refreshed this desire to pray, to dance Yes Yes Yes | Air |
Meditation Notes to Poem #55:
According to Plato (Timaeus 35b), God made the Soul of the Universe
from the double series: 1, 2, 4, 8,
and the triple series: 1, 3, 9, 27. These two series
(Platonic Lambda) add up to 55.
The ancient Chinese philosophical text says "The sum total of heavenly numbers
(1, 3, 5, 7, 9) and the earthly numbers (2, 4, 6, 8, 10) is 55."
(I Ching, II.9.1-2).
Dante seems to know this secret by scattering 55 stars in his Commedia and
placing his name at Purgatorio 30.55. He also places Lucia's name at
Purgatorio 9.55 and Beatrice's name at Paradiso 24.55.
(See essay "Dante's 55 & the Platonic Lambda")
I wished my poem to honor the sacred spirit of this number 55
100 lines to reflect perfection.
Plato (Timaeus 55) talks about the universe is
made of the five elements Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether
(5 Platonic Solids).
A similar view is presented in the sacred Hindu text,
Taittiriya Upanishad
II.1: "In the beginning came ether. From ether came air. From air, fire.
From fire, water. From water came earth. From earth came living plants.
From plants food and seed, and from seed and food came man."
One of these elements was assigned to each of my 25 stanzas. In general,
the assignments were made as follows: Earth (Nature, plants, flowers, woods,
hills, mountains), Water (Rain, sea, fountains, rivers, waves), Fire
(Sun, stars, flame, lamp), Air (Sky, breeze, dove, flight, wind, wings),
Ether (Oneness, Consciousness, Spirit, Soul, Infinite, Light, Love).
Aether or quintessence
(from quinta essentia, "fifth element") is described
by Plutarch in On the E at Delphi: "The fifth element some call
Heaven, some Light, others Aether." Based on this, I've assigned Ether
to those stanzas that are more philosophical than physical.
I then decided to arrange the 25 four-lines stanzas into 5 sections
each section containing the themes of five elements, so this "poetic universe"
is well balanced and orderly like the cosmos.
It was fun playing with the 25 strips of paper like a jig-saw puzzle,
making sure each section had one of the five elements represented.
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