The Water Way
Endless traveler wanders, Earth’s lowly heir
Filling each space with no-mind, wholly
Myriad influence moves it on its way
Dwelling here and there, heaven scent
Choosing first, mountain weight to bear
Gravity speaks to places water knows.
Blue so deep, at first its surface is all you know
Until you realize its sum, from core to air
Shifts by season but its integrity bears.
Feel its resonance and see it as holy
Infuses all forms of life, wet spark sent
Behold, seen and unseen, the water way.
It goes about and does, without want to weigh
Its nature, no-mind engaged, no need to know
Cultivates with balming clarity; asks no cents
Meets the need then moves along, spirit is its heir
Without question, its intentions are pure and holy
Water does its job and goes, balance sheet bare.
Searching ripples for murk, none to bear
Sparkling rivulets and clear gurgles’ way
Birds, fish, and frogs immerse wholly
Quenched in life-affirming clarity, where no
Poison has found a home, misted air
Purifying mountain-stream water scent
No borders as it moves, serves all, asks no cent
Its purpose, bringing life, no agenda does it bear
Equanimity sings sate to each thirst’s heir
There are no scales with which it weighs
No bias in its flow as it shares without a know
Water understands that giving life to all is holy
Barriers skirted as it can change form wholly
Knows wax and wane from which it was sent
Pools face troubles with no repertoire of no
Currents, crystals, mists overcome each stone to bear
No hesitation nor refusal, no options does it weigh
Water finds a way to do, Mysterious Mother’s heir.
Water acts with wander, not know, and for that it is holy
Ten thousand things’ heir, Mysterious mother-sent
Everything and nothing, bare, wanders water on the way.
Notes: The concept for my poem comes from the Tao Te Ching/Dao De Jing Verse 8. The TTC/DDJ, by Lao Tzu/Laozi, is one the primary books that talks about philosophical taoism/daoism, which is very different than religious taoism/daoism. It is one of most translated books ever written. A mere 81 verses, each verse an ideal aspect outlined. Here, it suggests following the model set by the virtues of water.
Verse 8 is about Water.The following is the D.C.Lau translation.
~
Highest good is like water.
Because water excels in benefiting the myriad creatures without contending with them and settles where none would like to be, it comes close to the way.
In a home it is the site that matters;
In quality of mind it is depth that matters;
In an ally it is benevolence that matters;
In speech it is good faith that matters;
In government it is order that matters;
In affairs it is ability that matters;
In action it is timeliness that matters.
It is because it does not contend that it is never at fault.
~
Grace is the host of dVerse’s Open Link Night today.
This is also linked to the dVerse form of the moment, sestina. Today’s offering was created with the liberal use of homonyms, which worked very well for the form. “Homonym: Two words that sounds and (sometimes) are spelled the same but with different meanings (sometimes called homophones).”
Image link here
The link also has a wonderful TED talk on this verse as well.
Tao Talk 
You did really well with this sestina, and without you mentioning it was I would not even notice that it was a sestina (which is a compliment)… love how you tied it to the old wisdom of water… I can see the river flowing through this.
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Thank you, Bjorn. This is one I put some time into. I’m glad you can see the river flowing through 🙂
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So, so musically written – you certainly carried me away with this… Thank you for the ride!
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Thank you very much, Scott, glad you were carried away.
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The time you put into it is self evident. Your fine use of homonyms worked beautifully. The philosophic message carries the day, taking a lot of the clunk out of the form.
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I appreciate your thoughtful comments and useful feedback, thank you, Glenn.
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What a beautiful poem harkening back to the wisdom of water! I didn’t even notice it was a sestina.
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Thank you very much, Toni. Using the homonyms helped a lot with it.
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This is a pensive sestina, jade, meditative and calm. I love the way you describe blue in the second stanzas as:
‘…so deep, at first its surface is all you know
Until you realize its sum, from core to air
Shifts by season but its integrity bears.’
I also love the way you’ve captured the essence of the river in:
‘There are no scales with which it weighs
No bias in its flow as it shares without a know
Water understands that giving life to all is holy’.
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❤ I appreciate your comment Kim and happy you liked those passages.
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Oh gosh this is masterfully done! ❤️ Especially love; “Blue so deep, at first its surface is all you know/Until you realize its sum, from core to air/Shifts by season but its integrity bears.” 🙂
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Sanaa, thank you so much and glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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This is incredible. The kind of thing one should read first thing in the morning, every morning. I especially love: “It goes about and does, without want to weigh Its nature…Water does its job and goes, balance sheet bare.” Very buoying.
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I’m so glad you were buoyed by the poem, thank you 🙂
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Nice line: “Water understands that giving life to all is holy”
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Thank you, Frank.
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Loving the reflections of the power and beauty of water in the sestina form.
This is my favorite part:
No borders as it moves, serves all, asks no cent
Its purpose, bringing life, no agenda does it bear
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Grace thank you very much and am glad you enjoyed it.
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Your poem had a natural flow to it much like calming waters. I found it to be filled with wisdom. I didn’t realize it was form until I read Bjorn’s comment. Well done! Below is my favorite part.
Currents, crystals, mists overcome each stone to bear
No hesitation nor refusal, no options does it weigh
Water finds a way to do, Mysterious Mother’s heir.
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🙂 Thank you very much for your comments, Truedessa. Glad you enjoyed the poem.
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This is beautiful Jade! I love how you show water as a free spirit without bounds. Holy water that brings life to all!
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Thank you Dwight and am happy you connected with it 🙂
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Very nice work!
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Infused with the rhythm and contemplative tenor of your inspiration–really wonderful Jade. (K)
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Thanks so much, Kerfe.
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Such a lovely flow to your words which like water, impart a feeling of tranquility. ❤️
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Punam, thank you and glad you connected with tranquility in it 🙂
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You are welcome, Li. 🙂
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Outstanding write !
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Thanks Chris glad you enjoyed it.
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This is a lovely poem Li, but that is a 10 hour long video, so I stopped watching it after 6 hours.
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lmao. When I looked for a “water sounds” on youtube almost all of them were that long, which is unusual, but I’m guessing people play them on their phones while sleeping? Glad you enjoyed the poem.
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Wow!
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🙂
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Wow! JadeLi this is really, really good. Still waters run deep into your soul.
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Len thank you so much for your thoughtful comment.
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This is gorgeous Lisa! The image is breathtaking!
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Rob thank you so much.
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Water is a fine draw for those who have imagination…
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🙂
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Powerfully written with deeply spiritual undertones. I enjoyed the way you played with the homonyms. Lovely write.
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Victoria thank you for the thoughtful comment. Glad you enjoyed it.
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Beautiful and flowing just like a free spirit. I love this!
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Eugenia, thank you so much for your comment.
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My pleasure!
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An altogether lovely post. And thanks for the link. Time I re-read, and this seems to be an excellent translation which I haven’t seen before. Also the TED talk sounds like a must. 🙂
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Rosemary, thank you very much. Very happy you enjoyed the post 🙂
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