THESE ASHES

What we have lost we will again find new

Sorrow is the nourishment to make love bloom

In the fires, these souls will return soon

These ashes, a new India will rise.

Forget the words of criticism; and what are called lies

Look to the words of the Gita to find all the love, peace, and purity 

Understanding is lost in the minds of those who can't see the sunrise

As Maata Ji cries, her tears purify the waters of the Ganges

We enter another time of colonization of our souls' new freedom we hold

These ashes, a new India will rise.

Look to the flag safron of courage, the white of purity, the green of fertility.  

As the Dharma Chakra walks these auspicious lands

Love is in the purifying fires of the cremations.

The soul released in the smoke forming a new nation

The ashes are the mortar to form the base for the flag can fly high  

These ashes a new India will rise

A new life, a new determination for the mind

Peace, Love, and Purity again we will find.

©Copyright Thomas J. Dooley

Notes: 

 

MAATR DIVAS (मातृ दिवस)

Conditions come with unconditional love

Woven in the colors of maatr's sari

Draped around her, she is a queen

Maatr divas, there is nothing she would not give us

The life, the love unending, not knowing where it comes from

Respected and cursed in the same breath

But the love she gives is the way she forgives

Cooking with so much love, performing massala magic

Spicy to the tongue filling and satisfying 

She is the first to give and the last to receive

Maatr divas, there is so much she gives us.

Controlling and spoiling waking you every morning

There is so much to her day you're not knowing

Return the love with your eyes and with your words

She brings truth to the words of the Gita.

She brings breath to the flute knowledge is the tune.

Feel it deep inside of you

Maatr divas, there is so much to celebrate

The traditions the honor of love given

Taking in the moment in caring arms, hold it

A season that should be every day.

©Copyright Thomas J Dooley 2021

Notes: 

 

P.L.P. (PEACE, LOVE, PURITY)

Looking for something we don't have, every woman and man 

Looking something in the sands as it sifts through the hands

A knowledge to understand walk as humans in this land

P.L.P. what we dream what we strive to be

What I see in you I hope you see in me

A deep feeling we all need to feel free

Hope for justices a victim soul within our hearts we will hold

Giving up is not giving in when pictures can be seen within

Good trouble is the call today as we continue to pray

P.L.P. what comes from the heart to the eyes should never be a lie

Not an activity; it is feeling experiencing the giving without receiving

It is something deep that we are needing

An emotion used as a lie just for a momentary feeling 

A word used and abused for a momentary lie

Look deep inside connect with the eyes; this is true life.

P.L.P. what we look for is a clean slate removing that self-hate

Steady the mind invasion a white page floating in an ocean is your stage

A point of light in you shining bright; it is the life that is always new

The white sari transforming the sister into an instrument hear her sing.

The tune of the flute flowing through me, and you 

Feel the knowledge it has the directions to what to do

Peace is the dream we strive to be

Love is an emotion of giving without receiving

Purity is starting over; it is what is inside of you.

©Copyright Thomas J. Dooley 2021 

NOTES: 

DALITS

What is it in me that makes your perception of me

Why is including me just a means of excluding me

Is it I am not worthy of God's kiss because of this?

*Dalits is how I feel buried under these feeling

I dream of peace, love, and purity

But no one sees that in me

The list of my faults are long

I check the long list to try to change them all

But it is you that I wronged as my list goes on

Dalits is how I feel buried in the silence of unforgiven 

But asking forgiveness is just a sin

But this is how I know my place just to fit in

No matter where I place my shoes, no matter where I sit

I look inside for my own forgiveness, but how do I do this

When anyone sees my struggles, they are pushed back on me

Dalits is how I feel buried under the sweepings of leftover life.

Living in the night always wrong, never right

Proudly claiming the last place inline

No matter what I do, it is never good enough

When done with so much care and love

Alone I hear the father's wisdom as the forgotten son.

Dalits is how I feel buried under blocks of guilt.

Used to build a wall of silence shut off from the guidance

The respect I give the respect I receive is like tasteless *sabjiyaan 

©Copyright Thomas J. Dooley 2021

*Dalits the lost caste in Indian culture

*Hindi for vegetables 

NOTES:

 

 

 

EXILED TO SILENCE

These feelings I feel are like an attack

Excluded from living life wondering what I lack

What do I say when I am always told I am to blame

Exiled to silence in search of some kindness

As my mind is lost to the wilderness

Where is there any kind of friends

Hearing the call with no voices

On a path with no choices

To a destination that is of my own creation

Exiled to silence in search of some forgiveness

Feeling the blame for every mess

Where is the end to all this mental stress

Alone in this silence, why am I so different?

Living in mental shame hiding is no longer a game

It is a means to avoid negative criticism 

Exiled to silence in search of some peace

In the kings garden, I nap in the swing

To feel my mind relax so free

I dream of India's night sky with a moon so bright

Were Prakashmani reflection can be seen

That is where I wish I could be

©Copyright Thomas J Dooley 2021

NOTES: 

  

HOW DO YOU CRY

In the light of day, there should be no shadows, no douts

Is that what respect for life is all about

How do you cry when there is no time for life?

How do you cry when hate is all you can find?

How do you forgive every time?

With marching feet, the calls for justice and peace

These sounds still echo from the streets

Will the next tear to be shed will be for you or for me?

How do you cry when life is just a short time?

How do you cry when a lie is revealed as hate?

How do you forgive next time?

Serve and protect until the next death

Mistakes and excuses do not make you innocent

Justice and peace are political vinegar and oil

How do you cry when this happens every time?

How do you cry when the tears run dry?

How do you forgive this time?

Tears spilled on the streets of Minneapolis.

No one should die for a light to be put on racial justice

Living and dying has no longer has any purpose

How do you cry when you have no tears?

How do you cry when you walk with fear?

How do you cry right NOW?

©Copyright Thomas J. Dooley 2021

Notes: 

MAGIC SPELL

What are the words from blessed lips that are heard but always missed

A soothing phrase whispered in one's ear during one last breath

Stepping into the next beyond, not knowing the destination is the only fear

Magic spell more than calling out a name who can't hear your praise

More than a phrase said over and over again that only you can say

The preacher tells of a destination they never been

But still living with their own unconfessed sins

The path that they lead you is in the direction of deceit. 

Magic spell more than the son of man who never touched dry land

More than a political speech, people blinded by leaders own greed

Haven and hell the chose of the red or blue pill 

Heaven is a destination not spelled out in a will

Hell is a destination with a long list that we all hope to miss

Magic spell more than words that provoke mystical things

More than the psychic lines spelling out your destiny

The guru gives you a mantra, every day, it is all you can say

They want so much from you, never knowing the things you do

Just need what is inside to understand what you can't see with the third eye

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2012

I DON'T MATTER ANYMORE

Alone in this room with nothing to do

Thinking of the outside and the direction of my own life

Sitting at the window watching the world pass by

Thinking what are my dreams what are my goals

Questioning everything I know and am told

Finding a direction for me the soul

I don't matter anymore. 

Sitting here behind silent doors.

My values faded some time, never to exist.

My path is paved with cobblestones. 

Through the night and the day, I walk it alone

To a destination, I will never know

What am I doing here at this point in time?

Believing my own lies hearing them whispering in my mind

Am I held back by pride or the unspoken lies

I don't matter anymore.

Don't know when I am wrong.

Until it is wrong that I do

It is my choice to care when no one is there

But who is there for a moment singing my praise

Soon they just fade without a word to say

Searching for a place of comfort to rest the mind

Confidences is just a dried out seed never to grown in me

Just to dry up in the weeds

I don't matter anymore.

Waiting for a call that will never come

For some, there are conditions for love

Many take to the streets calling for justice and peace.

Individuals each one question am I truly free.

Marching in remembrance of the forgotten son

Insults are thrown sometimes, bruising the heart.

The ignorance hides the pain, just wanting to claim some fame

Even Karen hides thinking that she has a right to your life 

I don't matter anymore.

Behind this closed-door locked with the key of silence

A silence that is louder than any noise

©Copyright Thomas Dooley 2021