My offering so small, incomplete
and stained with tears
Is embraced by this moment
by the songbird
A wide open place
for a heart
imperfect and broken
But welcome and given
room to be just what it is
This, the place of
peace, of true love.
– Lisa Ernst
Blackbird in Lotus – photography by Lisa Ernst
First blooming in the Western Paradise,
The lotus has delighted us for ages.
Its white petals are covered with dew,
its jade green leaves spread out over the pond,
And its pure fragrance perfumes the wind.
Cool and majestic, it raises from the murky water.
The sun sets behind the mountains
But I remain in the darkness, too captivated to leave.
– Ryokan
Lotus at Reelfoot Lake
photography by Lisa Ernst
The monkey is reaching
For the moon in the water.
Until death overtakes him
He’ll never give up.
If he’d let go the branch and
Disappear in the deep pool,
The whole world would shine
With dazzling pureness.
Hakuin
Yellow Leaf
Photography by Lisa Ernst
This human form repeats itself
born again and again in numbers beyond count.
A pineapple has needles and fronds and is juicy sweet inside,
how many have graced this world since the first one dropped to the ground?
Trees, flowers, insects and animals repeat themselves
endless reproduction, yet a mystery at the core.
Science tells us how, but can’t get to the rood of why.
Its a a gift of our life
this endless repetition of what we need to live.
Without the trees, the flowers, the bees and the fruit, we die.
Yet the sun in our world doesn’t repeat itself
it doesn’t birth new suns — all we need is one.
What is always here, with us now
undying
what doesn’t repeat itself?
– Lisa Ernst
The moonlight through the trees
enters the room where I sit
and casts shadows across the floor.
It beckons me to be still,
and love just what it gives
in its fleeting time before dawn.
In this moment, still and silent
only the moon
can speak to my heart,
reveal my true nature
without even a word.
– Lisa Ernst
The Lotus Blooms in The Mud 