Slicing the Moon

About the Book

Slicing the Moon

A Poetic Excursion by Royal L. Craig

Come fly with Icarus!

Drink wine with Rumi!

Contemplate with Lao Tse!

Ruminate with T’ao Ch’ien!

Cogitate With Nostradamus!

JOIN IN THE MYSTICAL ADVENTURE!  TAKE A WALK WITH THE POET INTO THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY OF THE SELF!  CONSIDER THE BEAUTY AND THE CRUELTY OF NATURE!  Thrill with an actual nightmare experience!  Explore the world of haiku and tanka.  All this and more is in this companion book to the author’s earlier success, Bedside Manor, Poetry & Prose to Dream by.

Who are we?  Where did we come from? Where are we, and this world of wonder, heading?  These and other questions are explored in detail.  The author has investigated or studied the works of Aristotle, the Rosicrusians, the Gurdjieff study groups, the Essene studies, Eckankar, the Sufiis, the Desert Fathers and the Eastern teachings, as well as the teachings of Kirpal Singh.

Each poem is provided with an introduction: how the poem came into being, or to what the allusion is referring, or the historical reference that inspired the poem.  The reader feels that he or she is having a visit with the author and what his private thoughts were at the time of writing.  The only things missing are coffee and cookies.

The author’s studies in philosophy, mysticism, spirituality, and realism combine to produce an unusual blending of poetic expressions that probe, confront, and challenge our perceptions of the world we think we know.  Both the harshness and transcendent beauty of life is presented objectively in a uniquely original style.  This book surgically opens questions on the meaning of life and puts them under a poetic microscope.  Who we are, what we are, what our purpose is: all worthy of investigation of the poetic insight.  A book you will treasure for years to come.

From seed I came

And seed I send

Into that future life

Nature is not excused from the scrutiny and the author is pitiless in his examination of her indifference to suffering.  Violent death from teeth or claws is a terrible thing, yet for many it is the daily price paid for being here.

Take off your mask

You cunning stepmother

That brewed this cup of living

Brimming with rampant desire

The beneficent side of Nature is also celebrated.  Spring is an especially joyful time.

Listen to the meadow stirring

Can you smell the fresh awakening

All the woods about are dancing

Feel the sap rise in the pine tree

As the rolling snow retreats

The wonder and mystery of life is explored throughout.

I am the dark forest

You permeate

Why do you disturb me so

The secret world of fractals is explored.

Everything is becoming

Today is the embryo

Of all the futures

A section is reserved for Christmas greetings and the reader is invited to use them for their personal messages.

Open this package in your heart

And breathe in this gift of Peace,

Share it with a friend,

Politics is touched on briefly

The Constitution is getting harder to read

The Declaration is growing fainter

The Brother is getting Bigger

Humor is not forgotten.

Things don’t start

Till Elbert gets here

Elbert never gets here

Eat your chicken, boy

Do the good book say that?

Nope, just me

A nightmare is described in detail.

The hair rising on the neck

Passing rooms of dank secrets

Reaching to the farthest corner

Of an ancient fear

We even have a warning from Great Spirit.

Brave warriors, wise chiefs, long-house questing

With the sweat-lodge and pipe,

Now purified, read my signs.

A place in Virginia tells a story

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About the Author