Les Deux Magots: ‘Simply Being Right Here Right Now’

Writers gathered at the Les Deux Magots, AKA Hill Family tasting room, on Dec. 10 to share poems, capturing the personal as well as the universal nature of being right here with profound, memorable verses.

I remember singing a song as a Threshold Singer in Napa that invited the listener to stay in the present moment to relish in the gifts present to us (from “Be Here Now” by Ray LaMontagne):

Be here now, never mind about the past
Be here now, let the future take care of itself

We were free to compose our own verses, but many of us were inspired by the Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer poem:

Right Here

These autumn afternoons I find myself in the garden
Not weeding
Nor harvesting
Not scanning for aphids
Just standing there

Lynda Rae Hyland wrote about an imaginary rock:

Away from the dull grey sea of rocks,
It sits on the sill, warm in the sun

Geoff K. Leigh imagines that:

His settled demeanor
erases monkey mind
Deep breathing leads to  tranquility

Michael Watersongazes out on his backyard and:

Wonders at a Monarch’s opalescent fluttering

Kathryn Santana Goldmanurges the reader to a sacred space:

I kneel
my breathe settles
I remember what it is to be still

Patricia Reiswoos us to give the gift of presence to each other:

Let us silence our inside and outside words

Betsy Romanoffers:

Being human was never about surviving –
But for moment
simply being

Barbara Abbottdescribes a scene where:

They hold each other close as if time stood still.

Cathy Carsellsings of John Lennon’s wisdom washing over us:

Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

Valli Ferrell courts us to imagine a fermenting wine’s life:

In a protective vessel and a dark quiet space

The conclusion of the Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer poem calls us to:

Plant an inner garden
One you visit without a step
One that asks nothing of us
Except that we find ourselves there

Dear reader please consider these last three verses, be with the words right here, right now:

What of my black whole self, where time stops. – M. Lyon

My granddaughter runs over, climbing into my lap. – J. Petraglia

She sleeps in a bed of birds, I put her there in my dreams. – Robin Gabbert

Please send your comments to [email protected]

Send your thoughts to Marianne Lyon at [email protected]

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