The Dewdrop
THIS WEEK'S BLOG
Editor’s Choice – The Pick of our Featured Poetry from 2022
Bestowing a little extra recognition to some of our favorite poems we’ve had the pleasure to publish this year.
‘When the Lights of Health Go Down’- Virginia Woolf on Being Ill
Virginia Woolf on our relationship to illness, its potential spiritual value, and the mysterious intelligence of the body.
Sandra M. Castillo – Christmas, 1970
Cuban-born Sandra M. Castillo writes about her first Christmas in the United States, when she was just eight years old.
Bewilderness Writing Workshops
INTERVIEWS
Ethan Levin – Midrash on Psalm 13
Michael Grimwood – God Ecology
Stacey Elza – To Build a Bow
Ricardo Gonzalez-Rothi – Faraway, near Nordfjordeid
Pigs in Winter
BY QUINCY MCMICHAEL
Snow is water, and water conducts electricity, but the electric fence will not fire as usual, buried three feet deep.
Observed by Deer
BY SARA MCAULAY
I’ve come here for raptors. Left my campsite at dawn, hiked down through blue shadows to the meadow.
MICRO GALLERY
Adam Powers – Relative
Adam Powers’ understated photographs draw out beauty from the forgotten corners of urban and commercial landscapes.
Passersby
BY JOANN STEVELOS –
What happens when an abandoned child grows up and one day buries her estranged father
To Walk the Stones
BY MATTHEW WILLIS –
What the stones at Kyoto’s Jishu Jinja shrine can teach us and warn us about love in our lives
FEATURED AUTHORS AND POETS
Marie Howe – Death, the last visit
John O’Donohue – Beannacht / Blessing
Emily Dickinson – I Died for Beauty, But Was Scarce…
Tishani Doshi – Hope is the Thing
Anne Hillman – We Look With Uncertainty
Jane Hirshfield – All The Difficult Hours and Minutes
Shangyang Fang – Chaconne
Jericho Brown – Bullet Points
BOOK EXCERPTS
Outer and Inner Ecologies: Activist Satish Kumar on the Importance of Seeing Our Own Divinity
If we cannot see the fact of our own divinity and nurture that most immediate light, we can break down and burn out before we are able to effect any change.
Chris Abani on the Balance and Patience of West African Beauty
In West African thought, beauty surpasses the principles of symmetry and perspective and instead goes deep into the balance of being itself.
Letting the Old Thrills Die: C.S. Lewis on Being Alive to New Joy
Holding on to what is thrilling to us can be stifling and prevent us from paving the way for new experiences.
The Full Awareness of Breathing
In the Anapanasati Sutta, the Buddha presents a visceral kind of practice with the breath, that illuminates the experience of joy, calm and impermanence.
The Self is Tied to This Body Like an Ox to a Cart
One of the most well-known sections of the Chandogya Upanishad is the story of Indra, King of the Gods, Virochana King, of the Godless and their encounter with the sage Prajapati.
Each Breath One Takes is a Step Towards One’s Destiny
Teachings about the cultivation of wisdom by the Sufi Master and the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin, Hadrat ‘Alî.
The Buddha’s Last Teaching: Be Your Own Island, Your Own Refuge
The Buddha’s final words of advice to his students before he died were to take refuge in the dharma and in themselves.
Dogen’s Seal of the Ocean: How Meditation and Life Can Flow Like Water
Japanese Zen Master Eihei Dogen invokes an oceanic state of non-identification as something that expresses the true Dharma, or our true nature, according to the teachings of Buddha.
Want More?
THE ALAN WATTS CORNER
Running With Life: Alan Watts on Freedom and Poverty
Alan Watts unpacks the imperative not to hold on to things, but to adopt a kind of psychological poverty—or simplicity— in which the mind is clear and unfettered in a way that allows it the space for true spontaneity.
Alan Watts and Divine Play
Alan Watts delves into one of his favorite and recurring subjects – the way in which we over-identify with the parts we play.
What Have You Left Out? Alan Watts on the Limits of Perception
Alan Watts often said that in order to come to your senses, you have to get out of your mind. Watts was emphatic about self-realization and breaking through cultural and psychic barriers in order to live as a fully-fledged, fearless human being.
Brahman, God, Allah and the Tao – Alan Watts
Among Alan Watts’ most compelling qualities was his fascination with different systems of faith and his
Why I Write: Jenna Wysong Filbrun
In the wake of her new collection, Away, we reached out to poet Jenna Wysong Filbrun to find out more about her motivations and process.
Why I Write: Christian Dillo
Christian Dillo on a contemporary Zen approach to awakening and what meaningful transformation actually looks like.
Gil Fronsdal on Immanent and Naturalistic Buddhism
Buddhist teacher and author Gil Fronsdal on the meanings of naturalistic Buddhism, religion, life and death.
Body Like a Rag, Mind Like a Mirror – Guo Gu Breaking Through Boundaries
Chan teacher Guo Gu on silent illumination, punk music and his teacher Sheng Yen’s legacy.
Surviving Intact – Norman Fischer on Zen, Language and Growing Old
Zen teacher and poet Norman Fischer on where and how poetry and Zen practice meet and interact.
Why I Write – A Conversation with Kathleen Dean Moore
Author and activist Kathleen Dean Moore on what inspires her, what drives her, and her struggle to write about hope.
THE BEATS
BROWSE BY THEME
MYSTICS
Eighteen Thousand Universes Through Eighteen Thousand Eyes
The Sacred is the Everyday – Joan Chittister
Thomas Merton on Solitude, Authenticity and Being
Gurdjieff and The Two Rivers
Blinded by the Sun – St Teresa of Avila
“Don’t Tell Me Who I Am Yet. It Is Still Being Spelled Out”
Kabir – The Moon Shines in my Body
Rumi’s Guest House
POPULAR READS
BROWSE SUBJECTS
FROM THE ZEN GARDEN
Susan Coultrap-McQuin – Sunday Morning at the Cabin Up North
Poet Susan Coultrap-McQuin shows us nature’s sacredness with her poem “Sunday Morning at the Cabin Up North”.
David Cravens – American Zen
David Cravens’ epic poem “American Zen” counts as one of the more ambitious works ever published in The Dewdrop.
Lina Buividavičiūtė – A Housewife’s Opus Magnum
Lithuanian poet Lina Buividavičiūtė’s prose poem “A Housewife’s Opus Magnum” reveals a holiness discovered in simplicity and domesticity.
Marcy Rae Henry – start with looking
Marcy Rae Henry’s poem glitters with awareness, gratitude, and release. Each stanza highlights a moment or image that is, in fact, a gift.
Christy Allen – Meditation
Christy’s poem “Meditation” is a simple Zen-like offering, equating breathing with the tides, and also highlighting oneness and interconnection.
Nicole Grace – One Note
Nicole Grace’s “One Note” is a sensory exploration of contemplation, alive with natural and meditative imagery.
Kurtis Ebeling – Snowmelt
With the quietude of the rising sun and melting snow, Kurtis Ebeling’s “Snowmelt” serves as an ode to springtime and a requiem to winter.
Bradley Samore – After a Day of Others’ Demands
Zen-like in its purposeful simplicity, poet Bradley Samore has made us something humble and wholesome with his poem, “After a Day of Others’ Demands”.
Elisabeth Preston-Hsu – Kitsune Udon
Like a steaming bowl of delicious flavors, Elisabeth Preston-Hsu’s “Kitsune Udon” is a recipe of mythology, Zen simplicity, and storytelling.
Hiatt O’Connor – Waiting for Gravity
Seemingly a lesson in simplicity and silence, Hiatt O’Connor’s wonderful poem Waiting for Gravity is, in fact, a work of layers.
Suzanne Eaton – windchimes
Suzanne Eaton’s windchimes is a meditative discourse on wind and sound, and the tranquility and openness manifested by the simple act of stillness.
Spence Pfleiderer – A Simple Morning Prayer
The aptly-named A Simple Morning Prayer pleads for understanding and love, for connection and illumination in a handful of terse lines. This piece is evidence that a poem need not be complex or long-winded to be a thing of authentic beauty and power.
KEEP READING
You Have To Say Something: Dainin Katagiri on What To Say When There Is Nothing To Say
According to Katagiri, it can be difficult to find the words or modality to enter back into the world from a place of silence, but it is something we ultimately have to do.
Astronomer Pippa Goldschmidt on Seeing Far and Seeing Up Close
Astronomer Pippa Goldschmidt on working in the starry deserts of Chile during a time when new technologies meant a more remote relationship to the act of stargazing.
Carl Jung and The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man
Carl Jung knew that the sense of something important missing from our lives would eventually lead to the search for a path back into ourselves.
‘A Heart Slowly Reduced to Embers’: W. G. Sebald on the Fires That Burn Inside and Outside
“From the earliest times, human civilization has been no more than a strange luminescence growing more intense by the hour, of which no one can say when it will begin wane and when it will fade away.”
Guo Gu’s Guide to Silent Illumination
The core of Chan meditation is the concrete experience of being in the present moment, not holding on to any mental concept or idea about oneself or one’s activity
FROM THE ARCHIVES
The Most Real and Creative Form of Human Presence: John O’Donohue on Soul Friendship
Ancient Celtic tradition upheld soul-friendships and the potential for inner growth that they teased out.
The First Door of Liberation: Thich Nhat Hanh’s Vision of Emptiness and Interbeing
Rather than signifying a lack or a void, Thich Nhat Hanh took emptiness to be a state of inextricable and fundamental interconnectedness.
Giving Away More Than We Keep – Ayya Khema on Cultivating Generosity
Buddhist teacher Ayya Khema on the highest level of generosity: dedicating one’s own life to the service of others.
The Courage of Our Mistakes – Joan Didion on Self-Respect and Moral Nerve
In this excerpt from a 1961 essay titled On Self-Respect, Didion argued for a morally robust state of being and looked back a generation to a value that was once called ‘character’.
The Glimpse of Eternity – Martin Buber and Our Relationship With The Divine
One of the central themes of the work of the Jewish mystical philosopher Martin Buber was the question of understanding our relation to God.
The Expression of a Better World – Anaïs Nin on Transience and the Painful, Familiar Beauty of Music
Anaïs Nin on music, mortality, and what it is to glimpse a joyful vision of a land from which we came and which we have forgotten.
Outer and Inner Ecologies: Activist Satish Kumar on the Importance of Seeing Our Own Divinity
If we cannot see the fact of our own divinity and nurture that most immediate light, we can break down and burn out before we are able to effect any change.
Chris Abani on the Balance and Patience of West African Beauty
In West African thought, beauty surpasses the principles of symmetry and perspective and instead goes deep into the balance of being itself.
Welcome to The Dewdrop! This little journal is a digest of reflective and powerful writing focused on reading, writing and being. Scroll on for poetry, essays, book excerpts and classic texts.
Ethan Levin – Midrash on Psalm 13
Jewish chaplain Ethan Levin presents a powerful poetic interpretation of a biblical psalm with his “Midrash on Psalm 13”.
Engaging in Compassionate Action: Pamela Ayo Yetunde
A conversation with Pamela Ayo Yetunde about spirituality, interconnectedness, and the need to foster understanding and compassion in today’s world.
Michael Grimwood – God Ecology
Poet Michael Grimwood takes readers on a journey into divine realms of leaf, blossom, and holiness with his imaginative poem “God Ecology”.
Stacey Elza – To Build a Bow
Juxtaposing the antagonistic nature of humanity with the protective and peaceful side, poet Stacey Elza offers readers “To Build a Bow”.
Ricardo Gonzalez-Rothi – Faraway, near Nordfjordeid
Redolent with the folklore of the cold north, Cuban-American poet Ricardo Gonzalez-Rothi offers a magical poem, “Faraway, near Nordfjordeid”.
Why I Write: Jenna Wysong Filbrun
In the wake of her new collection, Away, we reached out to poet Jenna Wysong Filbrun to find out more about her motivations and process.
Danielle Pieratti – Rubric for Burying a Hen
Danielle Pieratti’s ‘Rubric for Burying a Hen’ is a heartbreaking account of what it is to fail to sustain someone or something in our care.
Jenna Wysong Filbrun – Aspiration
Jenna Wysong Filbrun reminds us that we have so much to learn from the natural world, with her poem “Aspiration”.
Bethany Reid – Morning at Glen Cove
Like the Psalm that opens her poem, Bethany Reid invites us to praise and rejoice with her poem “Morning at Glen Cove”.
Jerrice J. Baptiste – Spicy Buddha
With Zen-like simplicity, poet Jerrice J. Baptiste invites us to a seat at her table with the delectable “Spicy Buddha”.
Deborah Schwartz – Brother
Deborah Schwartz’s “Brother” is a poem yearning and pleading for connection, amidst the background notes of time slipping ceaselessly by.
Mary McGinnis – Trail Prayer
Just in time for springtime, New Mexico poet Mary McGinnis beckons us out into great outdoors with her poem “Trail Prayer”.
Christian Ward – Heron, Returning
Poet Christian Ward’s heron, which serves as his poem’s centerpiece, weathers the turmoil of life, awaiting much-needed change.
Susan Coultrap-McQuin – Sunday Morning at the Cabin Up North
Poet Susan Coultrap-McQuin shows us nature’s sacredness with her poem “Sunday Morning at the Cabin Up North”.
Turning Words With Hozan Alan Senauke
Alan Senauke shares turning words from his life, including the powerful invitation from his own teacher to “let things fall apart”.
Ronán P. Berry – On The Mountain of Forth
“On The Mountain of Forth” is Irish poet Ronán P. Berry’s anthem of the natural and wild world and what could even be considered enlightenment.
Regina Dilgen – Meditation on Thomas Merton’s Hermitage
Regina Dilgen’s exquisite “Meditation on Thomas Merton’s Hermitage” imagines American monastic Thomas Merton worn by grief and inspired to write.
Orhan Pamuk on Writing By Hand
Orhan Pamuk’s hand-writing habit hasn’t budged, despite the conventions of our time.
Jane Hirshfield – For What Binds Us
What it is that brings us together, binds our relationships and heals our wounds, even beyond the limits of our own agency?
Mike Christie – Knock Knock Knock
A narrative of a woodpecker at work on a tree expands to the oneness of all things in Mike Christie’s “Knock Knock Knock”.