Category Archives: mindfulness

May 15, 2022 · 3:50 pm

I Have A Question – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: fsHH at pixabay.com

“People have always wanted answers to the big questions.” Stephen Hawking

I Have A Question

You lit the candle and said the words,
you turned six times and stirred the dust,
you drank the bitter herbs and danced,
calmness descended, peace emanated,
perhaps it is the repetition in dark times
that helps, but are these rituals marking 
time, a deja vu that holds a pattern, are 
they a tourniquet that restricts any forward
flow, or do they protect you from falling to
the past, or do they imprison you in 
disintegrated worlds?


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®

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May 7, 2022 · 3:09 pm

Tax Deductible – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: theindependent.co.uk

“International aid is just another praetorian business enterprise.” Arundhati Roy

Tax Deductible 

The paralysis of the west is its deep,
unspoken anxiety of imposter syndrome,
that it is a living lie of heroes and bare 
trinket chests covered in cheap, gaudy
promises of solutions wrapped in dreams
of self-serving outcomes pretending to
be hope, masquerading as moral piety,
offering platitudes chained in addiction.
The anxiety of the west is rooted in its
narcissism.


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®

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May 2, 2022 · 3:04 pm

Lighter Than Air – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Image: from tinybuddha.com

“Nothing goes right on the outside when nothing is going right on the inside.” Matthieu Ricard

Lighter Than Air

I placed myself at a center,
but the center moved, and kept
moving as I kept moving, until
I no longer understood where
the center was , until eventually 
I saw that it was where I was,
and so, I was able to embrace
the past as experience while 
looking forward to the next step,
unencumbered, lighter than air.


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®

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April 30, 2022 · 3:16 pm

And Stopped – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: Anastasia Lashkevich on pexels.com

“Almost everything will work if you unplug it for a few minutes … including you.” Anne Lamott

And Stopped

You can keep going,
you really can,
sweating long days,
wringing out your energy,
defeating your body,
pushing,
pushing,
pushing uphill,
against the tide,
against the wind,
the clock always ticking,
mind racing circles,
circles racing minds,
total confusion reigns,
pushing we go,
but, what if
we went anti-clockwise,
wore underwear on our head,
turned down slow street,
blew bubbles,
tapped balloons,
did a handstand in the rain,
laughed,
sat,
and stopped pushing?


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®️

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April 15, 2022 · 3:55 pm

Stay With It – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo by Kazi Mizan on Unsplash

“Forever is composed of nows.” Emily Dickinson

Stay With It

There are many unanswered questions,
I think it's supposed to be that way,
besides, to ask gains nothing in its 
perpetuity, the long game is neither
past nor future, it is now, but the now 
is not now, it has already passed and
another is coming up fast; so fleeting is 
the now it requires our fullest attention
to stay with it.


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
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April 13, 2022 · 4:05 pm

Before Me – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Mish is hosting Poetics with an invitation to write a poem using the inspiring work of Vika Muse instagram.com/get.muse or @get.muse.

dVerse Poets – Poetics – The Light of Vika Muse

Art Work: Vika Muse ‘Stop War (The Dandelion Field)’ @get.muse

“I have lost my smile, but don’t worry, the dandelion has it.” Thich Nhat Hanh

Before Me 

Before me lies my field of happiness
of yellow maned lions drawing down
sun-filled songs of joy capturing my
despair and releasing me.

I stand in my field feeling loved,
grounded and open to all that unfolds,
knowing that these leaves may wilt,
but my love will hold stronger.

I wander my field witnessing hope,
that ancient cycle of blown seeds
travelling the broad plains of history,
holding the past and present in a future.

I sit in this field of smiling suns that
radiate joy in the midst of all that stirs
my heart and wearies my mind,
offering me α wellspring οf peace.


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®

Note: Dandelions are a true herb and have wonderful properties for diet and health, but are also ancient symbols of happiness, love and hope.

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March 27, 2022 · 2:55 pm

But What Of The Edges? – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: freeimages.co.uk

“It is impossible not to love someone who makes toast for you.” Nigel Slater

But What Of The Edges?

Sometimes it's the prosaic that 
carries deep meaning, like toast,
so simple no matter its demeanour,
pale, burned, hot or cold or whatever
one might put on it other than butter,
a condimental thing.

But what of the edges? 
Do you push that boundary?
Do you spread to the crust or do
you stop just inside? 


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®

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March 16, 2022 · 4:12 pm

Is The Hat? – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Mish is hosting Poetics with an invitation to write about hats.

dVerse Poets – Poetics – Leave Your Hat On

Photo: Marlene Dietrich – found on pinterest.com

“Life is like a new hat. You don’t know if it suits you if you keep trying it on in front of your own mirror.” Shirley McLaine

Is The Hat?

The hat sits lightly
its signature by the tilt
perhaps hats are true


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
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March 8, 2022 · 3:49 am

The Eye Must Seek – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Bjorn is hosting the Quadrille with an invitation to write about eyes.

dVerse

Photo: whoismargot at pixabay.com

“At the center of your being you have the answer.” Lao Tzu 

The Eye Must Seek

As with darkness, so with beauty,
the eye must seek the subtlety of
darkest light which lies within the 
veil of night behind the gaze that
sees all, yet desires a self-full 
knowing glint, a ghost of halo, a
soft gleam of meaning.


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®

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March 6, 2022 · 3:21 pm

Falling – a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: uniquedesign52 at pixabay.com

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” F. Scott Fitzgerald 

Falling 

Autumn peeks through summer's long reign
with teasing tones and the gentle beginnings
of letting go, there is a softness here as time
crosses playfully, and I notice that I too have 
left the door ajar and, finally, things are falling
into a newness long anticipated in a dream.


Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
All Rights Reserved ®

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