Category: Poems

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Letting Go..

Steve Rowe

Pick up a stone and hold it in a clenched fist; There are 2 ways to let it go; You can turn your fist palm down and let it go so it drops to the ground; Or you can turn your fist palm upwards and unclench letting it rest in the palm of your hand. People that have been hurt emotionally, Sometimes say they are going to be Buddhist; And practice ‘non-attachment’ so they don’t get hurt again; This is not the Buddhist approach; In fact this is aversion and will bring the same pain as desire. To develop an … Continue reading Letting Go..

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Mass Slaughter

Steve Rowe

I have been kept in prison; Forced to take drugs, Forced to have sex; And my children were slaughtered. When I become useless to my captors; I too will be killed. The terrorists have no compassion, They say everything is for the ‘greater good’. Their leaders manipulate them, They are constantly taught to have no compassion for me; If they want to be fed, They must torture and kill me and my babies. The mass slaughter should end; One day compassion and kindness should rule, Respect and equality for all should be normal; But I fear that day is a … Continue reading Mass Slaughter

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Inside Out

Steve Rowe

How do you want people to treat you? Then treat them the same way. You want respect? Then give it and earn it. You want people to see you as a good martial artist? Then work hard and become one. You want respect as a martial arts coach? Then act like one. You want to be treated as an adult? Then behave like one. You want the coach to teach you well? Then be a good student. I study people and most can’t see the obvious. They complain about their treatment, That they’re not treated with respect, That they’re not … Continue reading Inside Out

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I See You

Steve Rowe

I see you…. Because I meditate and practice neigong, I see you, I see the savage beast when the mask slips, Maybe only for a second, But I see you. I also see the angel, When you have pure altruistic compassion, When you really care; When your caring is free from fear or pity, When there is no desire for an end result, That’s when your angel is looking through your eyes. My unfettered mind see’s how you wear your body; The tension borne from fear, The bowed head, the lazy slouch, The jutting chin and darting eyes; The deepest … Continue reading I See You

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A Walk In The Woods

Steve Rowe

Today I went for a walk, Well, actually a shuffle; The ground was uneven, With 14 surgeries on my legs, I can barely move. Everyone passed me by, But I had the advantage; I could see everything they missed, I could hear what they didn’t, I could smell and taste what they couldn’t. I felt sorry for them; I had constant pain to let me know, That I was alive; I was grateful to walk, Grateful to be alive. I hadn’t smelled the earth for years, The moisture from the rain and river on my skin and tongue; The woody … Continue reading A Walk In The Woods

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The Eyes Of The Dead

Steve Rowe

The first shovel full of earth hit the lid of my coffin; My dead eyes stared at the other side; So that was it, another vehicle worn out: And what had I done? We all know we’re going to die; But we push it to the back of our mind; And behave like we’re going to live forever; But each day leads us onwards; To that one inevitable end. Another sod hits the coffin lid; My body has expired; Because I’m not ‘me’ anymore; I see everything in a different light; My perspective has already grown. In the back of … Continue reading The Eyes Of The Dead

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A Golden Cage Is Still A Cage

Steve Rowe

A Golden cage is still a cage… If you are an adult, And someone else tells you what you can and can’t do, What you can and can’t wear, Where you can go and who with, You are a prisoner. If you have to ask their ‘permission’ to do anything, When I hear ‘I’d love to go/do/wear that, but my wife/husband/partner won’t let me’, Or ‘I’ll have to ask the ‘boss’, All I hear is ‘I am a prisoner and am too scared to free myself’. There are no bars on their cage and yet their fear is their prison. … Continue reading A Golden Cage Is Still A Cage

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The Softest Touch

Steve Rowe

  I am a ghost, a wraith; Passing through life with the softest touch. I own nothing and no-one; Anything bought belongs to the Earth; And any person loved is completely free. I am only here to learn; I stand on the line between life and death; Free to love, cherish and enjoy; To embrace pain and suffering; To understand how one creates the other. By not blundering, not ‘forcing’; But stepping back and yielding; Only using the softest guiding hand; To bring imbalance back to the Tao. Stiffness, clumsiness and ego; Trying to prevent or force intention; Only bring … Continue reading The Softest Touch

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A Different Tao

Steve Rowe

I’m on a different path. I’m a vegetarian Buddhist Taoist martial artist. I fight for peace, not war. I don’t have to convince everyone I’m ‘hard’. Don’t need to threaten them. I’m not so scared of everyone that I have to snarl like an abused dog sitting in the corner. Not so needy that I have to behave like a Diva. Don’t need to make myself look bigger by making others look smaller. I prefer to support what’s good, not shout about what’s bad. Don’t need new trendy names or pretty clothes. A turd rolled in glitter is still a … Continue reading A Different Tao

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The Secret Of Internal Power

Steve Rowe

The Secret Of Internal Power The Secret Of Internal Power, Is in the spine and body core, Learn how to manipulate these, And you will have great natural power. There 4 pairs of spine and core skills, Understand them in the neigong, Learn them in the qigong, And then apply them in technique. Soften and connect, Open and close, Stretch and compress, Twist and release. One normally follows the other, But you release after every skill, A release can be fast or slow, When you release you always then soften and connect. There are a multitude of ways to pulse, … Continue reading The Secret Of Internal Power