Self

 
The bigger the turmoil-
The more the need to hold on to Self. 
Self helps to steer through the storms
Self helps to see through the dark
Self helps to understand the chaos
Self helps to survive the turmoil of living
Self is a conscious spark of the Universe.

- J.Bibi

Reality

As dreams get choked by the clasp of realities,
The mundane chains and fragile struggles,
Balance out stories where people live in fantasies,
Motivated by many a pattern of beaten troubles
The goals become real and the work easier,
As day by day and through never ending defeats,
The contradictions of reality become clear.

J.Bibi

The Leaf

Once in school, in an art class,
The teacher told us to collect a leaf and then lay it into a tray of paint.
We were then told to pick it up and put it
Paint-side down, onto a plain piece of paper.
The leaf was imprinted onto the paper and the teacher asked,
If we noticed all the little lines that looked
Almost like human blood vessels?
Even though the leaf was dead, it was not dry.
You could not crush it in the palm of your hand
And turn it into ground dust.
That day, I was taught a great lesson.
Even leaves which seem to be dead-
As they are not attached to any plant that sustains them,
Are not actually dead until you can turn them into dust.
It occurred to the child-me then,
That maybe the same is true for humans.
Maybe you can be 'alive'
Even if you're supposed to be 'dead.'

J.Bibi

Aftermath

I'm so afraid
I've lost my way
I can't believe that you've gone away.
I can't find your face-
There is no trace
Of your light.
I said goodbye
But I can't believe
That you would really leave.
It hurts so much-
The pain deafens me-
I can't stand this hurt
The loss of you is unbearable.
These days are so hard,
I sat and watched you disappear,
Night and day I wondered-
How would it be if you went away?
I'm so so afraid
I can't seem to find my way,
I know there is a chance-
To make a difference
But I have to get it out,
This fire that burns
So painfully within,
I must release it-
To start to live again.
Automatically I move
Trying not to jolt the rhythm,
Everything is normal-
Everything is the same
But I'm hurting so much inside,
I just can't take this pain,
I guess now too clearly I know,
My life has forever changed.

J.Bibi

(Written in 1995)

Prayers and Presence

They say, that gratitude is a prayer. 

I've seen so many religious people

Not ever, pray

Without 'conditions.'

I don't have an issue with my

brothers and sisters in humanity

who have no desire for a personal 'god.'

Even as family members of the same nuclear family,

We still all have to walk our own paths. 

And those who are religious 

and really should know better than most,

Should know, that we all reach our own crossroads, in our own time.

It's not about belonging in the same club-

It's about being an unearthed presence.

- J.Bibi

 

 

Today

Today....is the oldest you've ever been
And the youngest you'll ever be again.
Today, the rain beats down on your head
And the sun shines on your face
In a way that might not happen, ever again.
Today the mess of the world grows,
As powerfully as the hope in your heart-
Let today be a long moment to reflect appreciation,
Let today be a short journey to grateful consciousness,
Let today be a patience in the face of fickle mortality.

 J.Bibi

 

 

Time Will Tell

Holding on to the reigns of a force called time,
Holding on to a small hope that things will change-
That the flowers down-trodden will continue to grow-
That the laughter will stay for longer than just a day;
All are small ways and struggles to keep eternity at bay.

All the lies used to spin the webs that trap the unsuspecting-
So that the powerful can continue to feast with blind impunity,
Are signs of a universal heartless greed and terrible insecurity
And so to harness the mind and control all in the skies and on earth,
Is the way time will tell the tale; of how the wars of men were won...

J.Bibi