One of my earlier marine paintings, watercolor, Jane Kohut-Bartels, 2006
A sad time. A 16 year old cat, Rose, has disappeared for 9 days, and probably has gone off to die and our 30 plus goldfish in our pond were killed by an algaecide that shouldn’t have. Life is uncertain, and all we can do is hang on.
Lady Nyo
Bhava Yoga
Morning’s roseate sky
Has been blasted away,
Branches now whirligigs
Swirl with a fierce southern wind
As windows rattle in frames.
A tattered umbrella
Shades from a relentless sun.
I listen to Bhava Yoga
The vibration of Love,
Where imagination meets
Memory in the dark.
Yet surrounding these soothing tones
The world outside this music
Conspires to disrupt, sweep away
Any centered down thought, reflection.
The fierce wind demands my attention.
Still, the pulse of Bhava Yoga
Draws me within,
Feeds imagination with memory,
Calls forth something as enduring as the fury outside,
And I feel the pulse of the infinite.
Our lives are lived in the spheres of
Inside/outside
And we are like birds,
Clinging with dulled claws to
The swaying branches of life.
Jane Kohut-Bartels
Copyrighted, 2012
Tags: Bhava Yoga, fishkill, life and death, poetry, Rose our 16 year old cat, sadness
Lady Nyo's Weblog 
June 22, 2013 at 2:20 pm
Oh Jane. What a beautiful poem. How appropriate as you imagine your beloved Rose going off to die, a little piece of your life between inside and outside, part of you with her wherever she has taken shelter. And finding the dead goldfish. Sad. It’s so hard having creatures come in then pass out of our lives. But it is the fierce wind, and cling with dull claws we do. When the wind is calm, the stillness lets us remember. love CS Rose, Rose, blessings on you, furry being.
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June 22, 2013 at 2:20 pm
ps That painting is stunning.
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June 22, 2013 at 5:30 pm
Oh, CS….that is such a kind expression of your compassion. Poor Rose, 16 plus and such a cranky cat. But so independent. She escaped through an opened window and I am usually good about that around her. Perhaps we can’t control lives around us…even those smaller beings that are part and our responsibilities?
Yes, we only can cling with dull claws to life.
Thank you so much, CS..
Love,
Jane
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June 22, 2013 at 5:33 pm
Thank you, sweetie. It’s a little darker on the website for some reason. Looks like it’s billowing smoke out of it’s back end. LOL!
I have done a couple of marine paintings, but haven’t thought to go back to them until recently. Atlanta is so damn landlocked and I miss the water! Perhaps it’s that and the beginning of summer?
I hope you are well, think about you often.
Love,
Jane
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June 23, 2013 at 12:38 pm
Hi Jane, this was a lovely poem, with strong contrasts and imagery. The last stanza was especially poignant and encapsulated the theme of the whole poem.
Very sorry to hear about Rose. She’s been missing before, if I recall, and eventually came back. I can only hope she does the same again this time.
The painting is really lovely! I didn’t know you’d done any marine pictures. You have a marvellous talent for watercolour, it’s a difficult medium.
Nick 🙂
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June 23, 2013 at 1:49 pm
Hi Nick! Oh, it is so lovely to hear from you!
Thank you so much for the compliments on “Bhava Yoga”. I wrote it last summer in the middle of a wind storm! I tried to be aware of what was happening around me…the physicality of things, and also the internal thoughts. These two elements made up the poem.
Rose: Frankly, Nick? I have little expectations now. She’s been gone, the bad girl, for 10 days this morning. The most she has been gone. Ever. But, she was 16 years old and perhaps she thought it time to leave and curl up somewhere and die. Cats are independent creatures, as you know….but we did have a lovely grave prepared for her under a beautiful rose bush. But perhaps she thought better.
I am so glad you liked that painting. Yes, I’ve done a number of marine paintings, and quite a few are with water. I love to paint reflections from the land into the water…almost a double painting, I think.
Can’t wait to SEE you in October!~ It will be at Halloween, and we always decorate…even when no kids appear. I get to eat all the candy, then. LOL!
Love,
Jane
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June 24, 2013 at 9:48 am
LOL, well, don’t eat *all* of the candy, save some for me, please 😉
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June 24, 2013 at 1:08 pm
LOL!~ Ok…I’ll share. Do you Aussies have Halloween Down Under???
Hugs!
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June 24, 2013 at 1:45 pm
In Australia, you’ll sometimes see kids going house to house doing the trick or treat thing on Halloween, but that’s about it!
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June 24, 2013 at 3:02 pm
Here in the South the Baptists and Methodists have it locked down: they say it presents a satanic message. Bullshit! It’s a fine old tradition that these bible thumpers have tried to destroy. But these same folk have little to say about the damn gangs that run their streets and neighborhoods. Now, that’s satanic!
I come from the North, and it was a wonderful holiday for the kids. We dressed up in homemade costumes and went begging. It was a lot of fun and we waited each year to plunder the candy offerings of our neighbors.
A few years ago, a black kid came to the gate to get his candy. No costume and I asked what he was supposed to be?? “A Player”. I didn’t know what that was, but now I do. Poor kids…they are robbed by the ignorance and arrogance of religion and culture.
I always have candy and carved pumpkins. I have had adults ask me if this year I will have treats for the kids. They are hopeful that someone isn’t hiding under their kitchen table. It’s a combination of religion and selfishness that adults don’t stay out of at least ONE holiday that is meant for children.
I LOVE Halloween. Perhaps it’ the witch in me….
Jane
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