Heart's Eyes Spoken

If I was to begin to discern

How far a heart might expand

I might begin 

To deem it necessary

To trace the banks 

Of mighty river

And embrace 

The "Peace"

That spans its breadth

An Easter Sunday

Procession 

Began in the Bogside

The sky itself

Wept

As our march

Paid hommage

To lives

Cut down

Through tragic

Acts of senseless

Violence

Calls for justice

Still echo

In the wind

Unanswered

Bogside muraled mosaics

Commemorate a struggle 

For Liberation

Brandywell monuments

Of

Those felled 

During it's call

Whom would not 

See it delivered 

Song lyric

Incarnate 

Gasyard .. housing 

Community resources

Chest heaving

Sinew burning

Whilst scaling urban mountains 

To the pinnacles

of Creggan...

A commanding view

The reward of exertion

Ancient Oaks

My very life-blood

Niall of the Nine Hostages

Gives rise 

In subsequent generations

to

Colmcille 

Ancestral inheritance

Unfolds

My soul 

Houses the energy

Of Druidic 

Worship 

and

That of 

Christian crusader

That fashioned

The floor boards

Of his church

From

The sacred forest

Lineages .. mine

From either side

of an ages old

Conflict

A sworn oath

To kill each other

Then

Housed in my heart

Historic walls

House 

Gastro & cultural diversity

Start at "the diamond"

And weave 

An endless array of

Treasured memories

Town square

Children and pets

Providing 

Endless entertainment

While they enjoy

The water display

Guild Hall 

Stunning architecture 

Undergoes endless

Metamorphosis 

With transitioning

Daylight

Epic amphitheatre

Skyline 

Embracing cloud animation

Heart-stirring sunsets

Moon-bathed Foyle 

Reflecting Lunar 

downloads

Mother Gaia's lifeblood

Vital artery 

Transporting vitality

Along its winding path

Also holds 

The mourning energy

And anguish

Of those abbreviated lives

That could not 

Or would not 

Find community

I will always

Hold you 

In my heart 

And pray

That you now 

Know peace

My ancestors

You walked this 

Land

You are this land

My heart 

Was torn asunder 

By your age 

Old 

Conflict

I seek

Peace 

That you will 

Know peace

How then can I go?

I don't think I've ever left.....

R. O'Neill  (Oct. 07, 2017)

  

You are the Mystery........

"Leave everything you know behind"

Would that be

Once.. twice... thrice?

Mindsets, belief systems

Relationships, address

City, Country

Vocation

Temporarily .. permanently? 

Live the old life

In a new way

Literally 

Begin a new?

What will ensure

That which was left behind

Isn't stalking ya?

Waiting to 

Reseed & resurrect itself 

In the new garden..

What of the old?

To be reconstituted 

And therefore

The matrix of the new??

All that is new

Not necessarily "improved.."

Tradition has blends

Of merit & obsolescence ..

For certain 

A new lens availed

A entirely unique mirror

Subsequent to

The release 

or suspension

Of all that is familiar

And then see 

What presents without it...  

Who are you?

Without all the former

Habitual trappings...

Much to be discovered

Beyond resignation 

And presumption

One may find

More than ever imagined

And realize 

Much that seemed 

Integral and necessary

Is no such thing.

An intriguing correlation

exists

Between what's possible

and what's "unknown.."

R. O'Neill (October,  04, 2017)

Heart (attack)

Intriguing the volumes 

of those

That would hold 

It true

That evolution

Is an inner journey 

And that each be

Guided 

By their own 

Heart 

Yet from

These same lips

Are uttered

Suppositions

Such as: 

The ideal man is......

This is what it is

To be a women....

Inside of a breath

This heart-guided self-determination 

Is unceremoniously 

Usurped 

I know far less

Than 

What I might suppose

i know

About my own soul-journey 

How then could

I presume to know yours?

Have you ever

Stopped to consider

The pain inflicted

Through trespassing

Upon the heart 

of another?

Yes you

With your dogma

Do you suppose

It's esoteric

or less "traditional" 

Rhetoric
Would be received

Or perceived 

As any less of an assault

To a heart that 

Didn't invite it?

Now you lay 

Yourself to sleep

The prayer 

That soothes you

Is yours to keep

If instead 

Upon another's heart

You beat

Consider 

As you sow

You reap

R. O'Neill  (October 02, 2017)

Shadow Un-boxing...

"Only the shadow knows...."

Knows what?

That it can 

Be profoundly influential

Without an awareness

"It" actually exists..

The discovery 

Coming out from 

Behind the shadow

Is not easy 

First of all 

Because of 

It's unconscious nature

Beyond that

As awareness deepens

That which is revealed

Isn't necessarily

That which 

Will be revelled in

Not necessarily 

On one's 

Tell me 

a little about yourself 

"Resume."

A useful distinction

Is awareness

Followed 

By taking responsibility

Without an ongoing

Identifying with 

What is then 

Discovered

If self-admonishment

Becomes activated

That in itself

Might be considered 

In the light of 

Illumination 

It must be considered

Unhelpful 

To consider oneself

Limited by these

Shadow aspects

and certainly

There are 

Further shadow elements

In operation

If one considers themselves

Superior to anyone 

That hasn't undertaken 

This self-examination

Disdain 

And claims of 

"The Unconsciousness" in others

Self-righteousness 

And 

Claimed specialness

More an invitation

To seek further

The shadow 

Than any true 

Mastery

Nobody is of 

More (or less) 

Value to Humanity

What is gained

By upholding

These shadow ways of being?

What is 

In it for you

If you insist

You see more of 

Me, than I can see 

of myself?

Just as likely

Avoidance of self

In claiming to see 

Another

It would take 

Someone that has

Very thoroughly

Looked at 

Their own shadow

To be able to 

Truly see another

Without imprinted themselves

Upon what the "see." 

It's pretentious

To believe 

You know better 

Someone else's journey

It is arrogant

And invasive

To impose your 

Unsolicited "views"

On anyone else

Each ought to be 

Afforded 

The dignity 

Of their own journey

Even an accurate

"Read.."

"Well-intentioned"

Could potentially 

Do more harm 

Than good

If imposed

Before it's 

Time

Words to live by

Might include

If your view 

Wasn't invited 

Then your view

Wasn't invited....

R. O'Neill (September   30, 2017)

There for the Asking...

No "claiming" it 

While embodying it

Perhaps more readily 

Reflected from another

Though at the same time

A need for that reflection

Would lack humility

A reduction

Or representation

Of Limitation

Would not 

Constitute humility

A falsity 

Is perpetuated

By one

That presents

As though

They are less

Than they are

No virtue

Nor higher good

Is served

By such a deception

A secure knowing

Of who you are

Is not to be confused

With a boastful

Tireless horn-blowing

Nor a clambering 

Self-Disparaging

Barrage 

Aimed at 

Eliciting the strokes

Of others

The wisdom of Solomon

Might aid in determining

When withholding 

The known answer

In order to allow

He or she

Upon their rise

To be shored up

By their being allowed

To provide the solution

Denotes a path 

Of humble Leadership

Great leaders

Are more readily

 Lost in the crowd

Than drawing one 

Upon completion 

They  

Quietly slip away

You won't recognize 

Them by the throngs

of followers

You might know of 

Their presence

By the

Vast wake of 

New leaders in their stead

A cup kept full

Is in truth 

an

Encumbrance

Teach 

What you most

Need to know

Thereby ensuring 

Your own

Ongoing evolution

Continue to 

Develop 

and

Deepen

The ability

To craft

A 

Better question

Stay curious

Be in awe

of 

What you don't 

Know

Live in 

Wonder

R. O'Neill (September 27, 2017)

Through the Looking Glass

What is it you see

When you claim

To be looking 

At me?

Will you insist

I am 

the

 drought 

famine

poverty

Reflected

In your cold stare

Through eyes

That evade

The contents

of

Your own soul

To be sure

Your's might well

Be the shaft of light

That illuminates 

for me

The dark recesses

&

Corridors within 

That lay

Beyond my awareness

Or my current

Readiness 

To assume ownership

Of those facets

Of my humanity

I've needed 

To seek beyond

My own story

That I could 

Begin to see

Closer to the truth

If you are particularly

Attached to 

Your lens

on the world

The view 

You perceive

Which would include

Any assessment 

of me

Would necessarily

Be defined

By your story

Nobody writes

My story

But me

You might 

Be invited to 

Provide a contribution 

To the story

You may 

Be invited to 

Provide a perspective

On my story

Uninvited assessments

Are renounced

and not taken

To heart

Though they 

Might be examined

And sifted to 

Determine 

Any useful truth

 for my

Evolution

Reflections

Can serve 

As a useful measure

For self awareness

Comparison

To others

Or expectations

Of another

Based on their

Own story

Not as useful 

"Be the change"

Will occur

When each

Based on self-reflections

Determines where

And in what way

They could 

 contribute

To

A better world

And 

Reflecting that change

R. O'Neill (September 23, 2017)

Brothers (Hear me thus) - Covenant with the Goddess

Do I speak for all men?

I cannot presume that designation..

I do not - "speak to the choir"

As a man

With a voice

And a presence

In a mosaic

A cell 

In the body of humanity

I consider

My sacred responsibility

To issue my voice

Upon the collective consciousness

There will be those 

That continue to imagine

I require their permission

to speak

There could remain still

Moments I consider it true

Both 

Are deeply flawed

In premise

Enough!!

I now address

Those men

That continue to:

Debase, Diminish, Devalue

Abuse

Exploit

Attack

Malign

Intimidate

Manipulate

Dominate

Ridicule

Oppress

Continuing

To seek out

And destroy

The feminine 

Can you not see

You wage war

With 

The very loving essence

That carried you

That bore you

Unto this world

That holds

Nurtures

Sustains

& 

Beats your heart

That is 

Your heart

You seek 

To destroy

The very best

Of Life

You condemn

Yourself

To a lifetime

Of

Self-Hatred

Until 

You relent

I am

A voice 

For the discontinuance

Of a perverted 

Diminished 

Dishonouring

Representation of Masculinity 

My brothers

I will out this 

Anywhere I encounter it

To ensure 

My own life

Is spared

The mantle of hypocrisy

I lay to bare

My own soul

Upon the altar

Of this page

I ask 

All that is Holy

To 

Expose

Make visible

&

Identify

All 

Ways

Shapes 

or

Forms

There remains:

Any energy

of 

Mistaken beliefs

Influences

Indoctrination

Fear

Insecurity

In me

That 

Don't fully 

And 

Completely

Stand in homage

of 

The Divine Feminine

Source them out

And 

Heal me at their source

And 

Release them

I was taught

That 

Gratitude 

Appreciation

Love 

Service

Humility

Atonement

Are action words

Don't tell me

Show me...

Today

This is my 

demonstration

R. O'Neill (September  20, 2017)