As with Blondin, so with us.
Life is one breath/step after another,
with rushing waters and jagged rocks below.
Nothing can be taken for granted.
NEW EDITION OUT 2019
These poems cover over forty years. Writing them is like collecting the bubbles which stream away from the stern of a small boat crossing a vast ocean. They are all different. They are all the same. Fragile, inconsequential bubbles of livingness.
The subject matter ranges from Oxford, its colleges and ghosts, to the Far East with its temples, its hunger for life (and cncrete jungles),and its two and a half thousand year old Buddhism. Here, Theravada monks still proclaim, in the Buddha's own language, that "all things are suffering, all things are impermanent, all things are not self. Nibbana is the Highest Happiness."
Here is the teeming multiplicity of life and the utter freedom and stillness of the Unconditioned State which runs like a cack through the universe. Through this crack beings escape from the burden of becoming. Through it they return again. From one lifetime to the next. From one moment to the next.
FEEDBACK: "Blondin shows a true understanding of suffering, impermanence, karmic action, and its consequences, not to mention the insubstantiality of all that is composite as the Poet kindly points out in this work of Art..." -- Brion Sweeney, Dublin
"Brian, you are wise. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel." -- C.P. Sharma, India
"So deep... yet the message is revealing...
The powerful words... so strong as it hits every reader...
Truly... a masterpiece... only great poets could make...
Thanks for sharing, dear poet..." -- Min Sia, Philippines
"This really blew me away, Brian. Great work." -- P. McFarlane, U.S.A.
Professional Reviews
CINDERELLA'S SHOES
This poem about Cinderella from Blondin & Other Poems by Brian Taylor was posted on an International poetry site and within weeks it had attracted thousands of hits from all over the world:
'The ugly sister, Alice,
glared at the mirror with reflected malice;
gave a grin
and blew a bubble;
stroked the stubble
on her chin
and simpered, in unbridled bliss,
"What a charmer I iss!"
Adding, with a grimace,
"Who's the prettier, glass face?..."
What makes 'Cinderella's Shoes' remarkable is that it is embedded in a jewel-like collection of visionary poems which illuminate that beauty fades; bodies get sick, old and die; wealth is transitory; princesses and princes lose their palaces and castles; happiness is short term because whatever caused it is not long lasting, not permanent... Shining through these unique poems is a wise understanding of things 'as they are'; that life is a disintegrating process, each breath taking us nearer to our last breath. Each day passing is one less day of life left. The poems invite the question, what's it all about?
The answer is revealed with startling poetic genius, in the contrast between the teeming multiplicity of life and the utter freedom and stillness of the Unconditioned State, which 'runs like a crack through the universe'. It is a state of peace and highest happiness which is to be realised and found - within oneself! The journey to this transcendental goal begins with a desire to change and not suffer. A wish to fit the 'glass slipper'...
'Cinderella slipped easily into the other shoe,
was whisked off in a gilded carriage
to a brave new world where her goodness drew
her, to liveried servants and a royal marriage!'
Cinderella's story reflects the fairy tale wisdom of 'Do bad, get bad. Do good, get good.' Many of the poems in Blondin masterfully illustrate this truth. The subject matter ranges from 'The broken bird's wing at your feet...' to the Far East with its temples, and two and a half thousand year old Buddhism. They inspiringly reveal a point in the present moment, here and now, of a stillness that remains after the 'glass slipper' breaks, disintegrates and returns to dust.
And what happened to Alice?
'...She stumbled her bloody way
to a fate far worse than death.
To a tiny cell with wallls of mirrors.
Unbreakable, bullet proof, everlasting glass!'
CINDERELLA'S SHOES from Blondin & Other Poems by Brian Taylor
Linden Brough
Ariya Books, U.K.
October, 2010
GLIMPSES OF THE COSMIC or THE TAO
When I was given a copy of Brian Taylor’s poetry anthology, “Blondin”, and asked me to write a review I hesitated. Brian is a friend, neighbour, and a fellow refugee from the 60s. I’m a thick skinned ex-journalist and part-time poet myself. I’m also a confirmed atheist, so when I hear the word, “spiritual”, I reach for my pistol. Knowing Brian’s strong Buddhist faith I feared the worst, so I was pleasantly surprised when I began burrowing into his poems.
“Blondin” is a substantial collection of verse. It’s like a large box of tasty organic delicacies, which you dip in and out of at your leisure- not something to be attempted at one sitting.
The poems deal with many facets of life, from glimpses of the cosmic, to the scent of the breeze on a local Cornish lane. Whatever your taste- whether it be wit, insight, or the Tao, you’ll find something to engage you.
When you lift the lid and start eating, you’ll be sure to find something to calm your bluebottle mind.
Each person is but a grain of sand resting beside the sea. This thought sets the tone for Jill Eisnaugle’s latest poetry collection, Beside Still Waters.
Perhaps "..Quiet Storm" will help rekindle old flames buried and long forgotten or express the love so deeply locked inside of your soul longing to be released.
Regardless of where you may be found in love this beautiful masterpiece can be
