Rising and Falling : A Poem by Glen Gaidos following a retreat at Menucha

The Greenhouse Meditation Hall at Menucha

we rise early, silently, in the darkness before dawn
each brush stroke of sound
a meditation on the smallest of life’s tasks:
making the bed
putting on clothes
glasses off, contacts in,
jacket and hat
the rain drums its fingers on the roof impatiently as we move about
but each actions requires attention
its own planting, blooming, and dying
 
we make our way to the dharma hall
the inhospitable nature of the world evident
our houses, our places of comfort
subject to its dominion
it is not cruel, nor kind
it is indifferent
it just is
 
lights in the hall now, brashly against the morning
there is coffee to be made
tea to be poured
the warmth of a mug
pleasant to the hands
 
each moment is a wreath, both solemn and joyful
laid at the altar of awareness
which is always falling, dying with each breath
then rising, born again
 
here we sit silently 
listening, noting, 
drifting and returning
there is love here, great love
the kind of love that soldiers and farmers know
the kinship of sacrifice and fertile soil
loneliness and yearning for refuge
all things converge in the now
we breathe
rising and falling
rising and falling
soon we will join the dance hall of life
the rushing stream
the crowded confusion
the delusion of separation 
but for now
we breathe together
and await the arrival of the newborn sun
 
—Glen Gaidos