The Reservoir

A reservoir that’s circular and bordered
by a pebbled winding trail and lofty trees,
becomes like therapy a doctor ordered,
a lovely place to walk around that frees
the mind of clutter that does not spark joy,
the taxing thoughts I have, collecting fees,
the troubles that disturb or just annoy,
blown away like foliage in the breeze.
And when I face the woes of life that slap,
the tranquil reservoir becomes my mentor,
within the hour when I stroll a lap
and orbit like a world around its center.
The reservoir gives more than what I drink:
it broadens consciousness that’s prone to shrink.

Chestnut Hill Reservoir, Brookline MA. Wikimedia.

Mario A. Pita

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Compassion Blossoms

*
Awareness seems to bloom from a spinal stem
and fills with things to touch and taste and see,
immersed within the lusciousness of them,
like floral nectar savored by a bee.
Yet it’s submerged in bitter flavors too–
the wilting that befalls each earthly bloom,
the fading that’s the fate of me and you,
a fate that sometimes may fill us with gloom.
Compassion blossoms in the world through us
who suffer differently this sting of being
alive in homes of bone and blood and pus,
with more than just a pair of eyes for seeing:
In what appears to be a heartless world,
through us, the love of God may be unfurled.

*
Supposedly, all flowers need a light,
the sun or bulb a bloom prerequisite,
a sustenance they have a need to bite
and find perhaps exquisiteness in it.
Yet there’s a flower that unfurls in darkness,
though it might be a darkness full of sun:
the dark of suffering—the starkness
of woes in life which come to everyone.
Compassion blossoms like a star that’s seen
because the sky around it is so black.
Where life appears indifferent and mean,
it brings the care the world appears to lack.
Wherever it may bloom, its petals are
the rays that beam from God as from a star.

Mario A. Pita

Mental Tattoo

A treble clef tattooed upon her wrist,
a woman sang and dance while at her job
of ringing up the items on my list
of groceries. Though drudgery can rob
a person of the wish to sing and dance,
her cashier job looked free of drudgery,
because she was employing it as chance
for savoring a song with joie de vivre.
So with the things I bought, I got some cheer,
some joy of life I had in short supply,
and I felt thankfulness for that cashier
for giving more than what I went to buy:
she tattooed in my mind a memory
of joy in dancing, and singing a melody.

Mario A. Pita

Celestial Lingo

Because the universe is written in
a mathematics tongue, I want to learn
its grammar and its terms so I begin
to understand, from leaves as of a fern,
or contours of a dolphin’s dorsal fin,
or formulas expressing how stars burn
or why a galaxy or world will spin.
But I don’t want to learn just to be brighter,
to be more clever, educated, smart.
I want to learn to better know the writer
who wrote this cosmic, literary art:
through math, a language, as for lines of verse,
I learn about who wrote the universe.

Mario A. Pita

𝜋

The person you call “you” and I call “I”
does not look infinite as numbers do,
yet in the finite symbol that’s called “pi”
infinity is present. This is true
because it stands for something, like the sky,
as boundless as the firmament of blue.
Its digits never ending, it can’t die.
This also may apply to me and you:
a finite flesh could stand for something more,
symbolic of a sum that’s infinite,
like pi extends beyond three point one four:
a universe and more can fit in it.
With pi, we’d share this deep affinity,
as finite things that hold infinity.

Mario A. Pita

Maternal Litany

For ages, You’ve been called our Father parent,
so that Your Motherhood is less apparent.
I picture You with word pairs in this psalm,
as feminine—the Universe’s Mom.

Firmament Womb
Blessing Singer
Indifference Antidote
Tender Wind
Cosmic Music
Melody Homeland
Playfulness Founder
Serenity Ocean
Tranquility Zenith
Nurturance River
Cosmos Rose
Despair Extinguisher
Forgiveness Vessel
Embrace Shelter
Loveliness Chalice
Feminine Infinity
Flowerbed Dream
Cynicism Antithesis
Buttercup Goblet
Sentiment Continent
Butterfly Releaser
Sensitivity Essence
Compassion Epitome
Invisible Love
Inner Sunrise
Rest Forest
Solid Solidarity
Gratitude Ripples
Wondrous Dawn
Exquisteness Queen

Mender Woman
Lofty Depth
Emotion Moisture
Soul Foliage
Solace Castle
Bliss Accomplice
World Unfurler
Meteor Writer
Sweetness Oasis
River Flower
Beauty Habitat
Enigma Magnet
Happiness Apotheosis
Universe Vertebrae
Immeasurable Mystery
Summit Blossom
Giggle Necklace
Precious Meddling
Constant Encourager
Feather Mother
Honeysuckle Constellation
Beauteous Unity
Ineffable Helper
Fruitful Wholeness
Infinity Fingers
Personal Universe
Strength Reservoir
Mercy Sea
Blessedness Fountain
Fragrance Embrace

Oasis Sister
Gloom Ungluer
Melody Welcomer
Sorrow Absorber
Acceptance Dancer
Orphan Adopter
Misery Easer
Ultimate Solace
Sunbeam Home
Outcast Befriender
Grievance Forgiver
Gentle Enlightener
Sweet Awakener
Care Origin
Deep Beauty
Tender Boundlessness
Deliverance Envelope
Selfishness Melter
Solid Gladness
Endearing Wonder
Nature Enchantress
Significance Kiss
Infinite Refiner
Sentiment Nourishment
Soul Replenisher
Deep Hope
Cosmos Mother
Heart Defroster
Heaven Entrance
Breeze Caress

Adoration Doorway
Conflict Resolver
Dissonance Sweetener
Woman Beacon
War Eraser
Sky Caresser
Uplifting Gift
Caring Repairer
Mother Author
Unseen Companion
Intangible Tutor
Intellect Untangler
Clarity Bringer
Foliage Language
Nonviolent Defender
Indestructible Fragility
Universe Server
Harmony Relayer
Truth Mirror
Celestial Castle
Worry Remover
Affliction Lightener
Luminous Stillness
Melodic Silence
Sorrow Refuge
Momentary Eternity
Feminine Shrine
Melody Chapel
Stairway Crescendo
Kindness Nest

Dear Harbor
Hopelessness Antidote
Universe Queen
Unfathomable Mother
Radiant Guide
Life Raft
Devotional Candle
Boundless Love
Blessedness Ladder
Soul Healer
Perpetual Helper
Song Wings
Sunlight Jewel
Invincible Haven
Desolation Shield
Smile Miracle
Timeless Presence
Brilliant Horizon
Rainbow Bridge
Pointlessness Sharpener
Chasm Passage
Friend Star
Spiritual Pinnacle
Breath Church
Reverential Tree
Mind Untier
Purpose Garden
Sunshine Rain
Morning Glory
Woman Amen

Mario A. Pita

Houseplants

Although some people might regard it weird,
I sometimes kiss plant leaves within my home,
because to me it often has appeared
they’re sentient like me though they can’t roam
around the world but must stay firmly rooted
in rounded pots that dangle from the ceiling
or rest beside a window where they’re suited
to catch the light no curtain is concealing.
Some claim that talking to a plant can aid
its growth, and possibly there’s truth in this,
and though perhaps no difference is made
in giving to a houseplant leaf a kiss,
as I want love to grow beyond belief,
I feel it sometimes helps to kiss a leaf.

Mario A. Pita