Ten years ago I gave James Broughton this orchid for his 85th birthday. His life partner Joel Singer left it in our care; it hasn't stopped bloomingThe Angels of Our Keeping
They are the keepers of our company
keeping us in touch keeping us in tune
They keep us widely awake to wonder
They are the keepers of our rash felicities
They keep love from growing decrepit
keep our limbs from going rickety
keep our hotblood from thinning out
They believe in the triumphs of the flesh
However beloved one day you may find
my parts scattered like those of Orpheus
my body dismembered by vexatious maenads
or literal-minded literati
Do not weep when you hold my shards
Put me back together one more time
as you have done many times before
and play my heartstrings in memory of our music
Even in my ashes even in my tomb
I shall be reconstituted by your love
thanks to our keepers who have kept us
metamorphosing in the marvelous
-- James Broughton
The yogic gardener Steven Shaun peers from behind James Broughton's gravestone at the cemetery in Port Townsend, WA, where he lived his last 10 years; if you click on the image you can read another poem, The Gardener of EdenToday is James Broughton's birthday. He would have been 95.
For those who don't know, James Broughton (1913-1999) was a pioneer of experimental filmmaking, a central player in California’s creative beat scene, a bard of sensuality and spirituality, a preacher of Big Joy. (He called himself Big Joy in the last part of his life.)
Broughton was a poet in the tradition of Rumi, Hafiz, William Blake, Walt Whitman, and other ecstatic, Divine Trickster poets who trick, tempt, tease and seduce us into a direct, playful, and wondrous relationship with life, God, nature, and each other.
I was fortunate to have known James for the last 10 of his 85 years. And today, in Port Townsend, I'm formally kicking off The Big Joy Project, which will include a website, and film, and a biography of James. More to come on this, but if anyone feels moved to make a contribution to the project, it can be done through the White Crane Institute.
James and I 'mentored' each other: he asked for help with prose, I for help with poetry
3 comments:
Lovely words...how appropriate that the orchid in your care hasn't stopped blooming!
Thanks your two most recent blogs Stephen.
The orchid continues to bloom, a “gear” somewhere in the universe has shifted and now, as you’ve beautifully stated ....
“Our story needs to shift – from greed to compassion, from conflict to cooperation, from me to we. And we’re shifting it.”
We can live with ...
generosity, trust and our reputation,
or
greed, fear and our suspicion.
One necessitates
courage, humility, and faith.
The other results in,
arrogance, suspicion and certainty.
Neither is easy.
Both have long term outcomes.
Sending you love and best wishes,
kw
Thanks for the comments --
and for all you're doing to help with the shift!
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