Poems of Death and Rebirth 2023

The winter wind clears
The brush from summer gardens
Awaiting springtime.
— Nancy Ashley
Impermanence! Impermanence!
I love that the hard times
Also pass.
— Nancy Ashley
Her dog has died.
A sister waits for the other shoe to drop
Before she moves from her home.
— Nancy Ashley
a snowy breeze
whirls a pill bug husk
across the sill
— Chad Bishop
When the appearances of this life dissolve,
May I with ease and great happiness,
Let go of all attachment to this life,
Like a child returning home.
— Pema Chodron
When I left the rules behind
And did the wrong thing
I fell into happiness.

I found my truth —
Cannabis + meditation = happiness.
May you find yours.

Thank you for having me.
— Dixie Conley
pale sun, I make thin shadows
playing peek-a-boo
with the cosmos.

— Ruth Ann Homan
Moving Day

All of these people
Living in my house
Where will they live now?
— Emelie Moon
What it is

It is what it is
It is not what it is, so
It is what it is
— Emelie Moon
Out Breath

When my breathing stops
Within my final out breath
Will be, “I love you”
— Emelie Moon
Painless

My age keeps on climbing before me
Each passing year, less I am pain-free
But death will soon come
And my life will here from
A painless fresh corpse I will then be
— Emelie Moon
Encore

For my final trick
I will stop my beating heart
And then I will die
— Emelie Moon
Accumulation

Accumulation
Of a lifetime of treasures
No longer needed

Accumulation
Of a lifetime of treasures
Go on without me

Accumulation
Of a lifetime of treasures
Friends and family

Accumulation
Of a lifetime of treasures
Only love survives
— Emelie Moon
Wormcast

The solstice of summer has past
Each day grows closer to the last
Have I lived my life well?

And how will I tell
If I was ever much more than wormcast?
— Emelie Moon
Basking in living
Take advantage of each moment
Until the final breath
— Penny Mock
Turning pages
Events jump out
Calm surprise
— Bruce Ryan
Time criss-crosses
Through my mind
I breathe now...
And I am home again.
— Monica Smith