Triangle Delight

The sun is warm

  on my body

as I step my

right foot back

for triangle pose.

My mood is a

little depressed

   with a splatter of

anxiety thrown in.

    I lengthen & reach

with my front arm

  placing my hand on my

shin. I roll my heart

up to the sky,

     stacking shoulder

on shoulder, and

extending my top arm.

I turn my head upward,

my gaze finds this

little fluff of

         cloud

to rest on.

              And from

somewhere deep in side

my core

   A little bubble

of delight

     floats up

turning my mouth

into a smile

sending a little

  charge of pleasure

to my brain.

sky,

        cloud,

                      asana,

delight !

 

 

by  b.d. burton

 

Exchanging Smiles in Rockland Maine

“If in our daily life we can smile,

If we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will

profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.”

Thich Nhat Hahn 

I had just sat down on a bench in the shade when a loud truck horn blared

right next to me and startled me. I looked up and must have smiled

because a woman walking by, smiled at me, and said 

“You have such a nice smile!”

I smiled even bigger. Now it came from my heart and included

smiling with my eyes too. I thanked her for her kind words.

I guess the moral of this story is:  practice

smile asana, lion’s roar and face

yoga. Exercise all our smile muscles

on a regular basis. After all, smiling

compliments don't happen that often, now do they?

bd burton, 7/23/25

 

 

I came upon

a small sandy

beach on a rocky

shore in Maine.

   My feet said

“Take your

damn shoes off

& put me in

that nice cold

sea and wiggle

your toes in the

sand.” 

  My brain said

“Don’t be an 

idiot, it’s too much

work, the water is

probably frigid, then

you'll have sandy

feet.”

  My heart intervened

& said “Do it! Your 

feet know best. The cool

sea and sand between 

your toes will give you 

a little shock.

Everything will come

alive. This will feed 

your soul. Do it!”

Did I get my feet wet?

What would you do?

bd burton-7/23/25

This Moment is A Good moment

 

This moment is 

a good moment.

Let me rest a

bit here

   before

         the sun

peeks it’s golden

   globe

over the 

   eastern horizon.

Let me rest in

 this twilight,

    this sacred

in-between,

    this stillness,

even before 

         the birds

begin their songs

      for the day.

Let me not

     rush ahead

with worry &

    planning.

Let my eyes

absorb the orange

    light

           as it reaches

into the blue

    sky of a

new day.

bd burton

3/16/2025

some days I like mosquitoes more than people

 

Some days I like mosquitoes better than people.

I know, you're like, “Are you crazy? Mosquitoes suck your blood.

They spread all kinds of diseases. Malaria, West nile, Zika and

many others.”

Yeah, that's true but Mosquitos don't know that, They’re just being 

who they are. They suck blood to survive to procreate they’re

species.

As a species, humans seem to like to kill each other. It started with

throwing rocks at each other and then shooting arrows and spears, to

guns and bullets, to airplanes dropping bombs, and firing

missiles, to nuclear bombs that can wipe out not only all of us

humans on earth, but also all mammals, birds, reptiles,

insects including mosquitoes.

I don’t hate people. I love my family and friends and most people

I meet on the street. And certain individuals have called out for 

non violence, and have developed cures for diseases, and work

compassionately to care for the wellbeing of others less fortunate than

they are. We can do good things.

But there are some days when I like mosquitos better than people.

Not everyday, but some days.

bd burton - 6/15/25

The Sky is Falling

 

The sky is falling

(2/11/2025)

I have a spider bite on my foot

& it itches.

I want to scratch it

but I already did that. 

it's all red & puffy.

I placed a cold wet compress

on it. 

I watch some news to distract

myself. (bad idea)

now I think the sky is falling…

The president did this, the congress

Is divided and does nothing, A billionaire 

who bought the election has access

to all our data, half the country is in an

uproar, the other half is in shock, as

thousands of people lose their jobs, women

& men in africa will be dying from aids &

starvation because the president

stopped the aid. All the farmers that voted

for him are upset because the price of grain

has fallen because the president stopped

the aid. etc, etc, etc.

I turn off the news and my foot still 

Itches, I still want to scratch it & now more

than ever I feel like Chicken Little and think

the sky is falling..

bd burton