Tiny Ascetic Cave

The Poetry of Yoga, A Contemporary Anthology, Volume II is out!  Rick has two poems featured in this great anthology, alongside poems written by MC Yogi, Ana Forrest, Seane Corn, and Angela Farmer (and other yogi poets)!  On August 2 and 3, Rick and I are organizing a poetry event at Om Culture in Seattle to promote this great body of yoga poetry!  I will post information on that event on my website within a few weeks.

Rick wrote the following poem, Tiny Ascetic Cave,  while we were in Rishikesh.  I do not have the photo he took of the tiny cave we came upon, but I have included some photos of the powerful River Ganga!

Ganga River in Rishikesh

Don and Fran walking alongside the fast flowing Ganga (Rishikesh)

Tiny Ascetic Cave

Beside the River Ganga

I come upon a tiny cave,

with floor of sand

woven mat for bed,

rounded stone for pillow,

light from the setting sun

glowing red within.

The river glints and gabbles

just beyond its mouth.

The falling light intensifies

the saffron tones of Rishikesh

as chant from a nearby ashram

resounds ecstatically.

Endless human ashes

from ghats upstream,

snuffed by the all-

embracing waters,

sweep by like silt

to occupy the mind.

A million miles in spirit

from the maddening roar

of the materialistic world!

I take a photo

to look at later:

tiny ascetic cave,

at the moment

unoccupied,

a long invisible finger

beckoning me

to come inside.

Sunrise on the Ganga (photo taken by Rick in Varanasi)

The Ganga (Ganges River) in Varanasi

Tags: Poet and Instructor Rick Clark from Seattle, Poetry infuenced by the Ganges River, Rishikesh, River Ganga, SCCC instructor Rick Clark, The Poetry of Yoga A Contemporary Anthology