By: James Redfern
let the seasons come. let the seasons go.
let them do that which you cannot control.
chemical laws and those of mass and fate
grind life out of space over time.
working the stone against the base,
grinding out pain, grinding out joy.
let the seasons come. let the seasons go.
tend your attention. keep your watchfulness.
nourish your body and your mind.
be present in the moment.
be present in the moment.
let the seasons come and go as they will.
let the flowers bud, blossom, and burgeon.
let the petals die and fade and wilt.
let the seasons come and let the seasons go.
let so the sun rise and fall as it will.
let all these things take care of themselves.
guard your place in the moment.
be mindful of your posture and your words.
be mindful of your thoughts and your deeds.
let the music come. let the music come
from the world as it rumbles and hums,
hisses and burns and quakes and floods.
let the music come, attend to the music.
music, like beauty, is everywhere.
learn to let the music in. learn to listen.
learn to let the music in. learn to listen.
let the music in. do not be afraid to enjoy it.
let the voices come. let the voices go.
let the visions come. let the visions go.
let all the muses in, let all the muses stay,
let them come and let them go.
let the insanity come. let the insanity go,
be not attached to any of this,
but cherish it all as holy just the same.
cherish life, cherish fate, cherish it all.
watch always for beauty.
find beauty in even the ugliness,
and in the awkward squalor of day-to-day life
watch always for beauty.
let the seasons come. let the seasons go.
strive to be guided by kindness and compassion.
strive to be guided by kindness and compassion,
for these dispositions nourish the soul.
kindness and compassion
are marks left by enlightenment;
meanness and selfish striving
are always indicative of weakness.
let the seasons come.
let the seasons go.
worship not mammon;
worship only love.
be present in the moment.
take constant counsel with yourself.
be present in the moment.
let the seasons come. let the seasons go.
James Redfern was born and raised in Long Beach, California. Redfern is a graduate of Grinnell College. His poetry has appeared in High Shelf, Beatific Magazine, The Raw Art Review, Transcend, We Are Antifa (anthology, Into the Void), 2020: Good Writing from a Bad Year (anthology, Dutch Kills Press), Verity La: The Clozapine Clinic, Dime Show Review, Swimming with Elephants, Montana Mouthful, Anti-Heroin Chic, Great Lakes Poetry Press, Fear and Loathing in Long Beach, The American Journal of Poetry, Passengers Journal, DoveTales, Genre: Urban Arts (forthcoming), and elsewhere.