Poetic Meanderings about the Lung Function and its Meaning in Chinese Medicine

The Lung Canopy

LUNG IS THE UPPER SOURCE OF WATER

Oh Integrative yin elixir…the roots of heaven float high on 

the mountain of life condensing into thin air 

A canopy of rarified mist linking critical and vibrant fluid

lingering in the soul like pure drops of functioning DNA

LUNG IS A METAL ORGAN 

remembering an ancient past that metallically shines 

a Sensitive and alluring glow into this present moment; 

an Awareness easily moved by the winds of change

and settles into pockets of fear and grief, coagulating densities 

that defy mental appreciation and furtive functioning

LUNG DESCENDS ENERGY 

Cooling and mysterious, this effluent life force

links the cosmos from above with The Essence below

that drops to the root of our Heavenly Nature

and expresses its vitality through all the vital organ systems 

Awaiting a unique but communal Heavenly harmonic resonance.

LUNG IN CHARGE OF RESPIRATION AND BREATHING AND QI

The Lung as rhythm maker aligned in unison with the heartbeat of creation

serving synergy and flow as divine tides beat fervently within the canopy

Pure Essence raining down its integrative glory 

fertilizing the spark of life grasping for connection.

LUNG IS THE MOST SENSITIVE ORGAN

Oh sensitive soul of creation inhaling us into existence

with each radiant breath glowing embers 

of a unique creation that descend into a river of functioning flow

An organism containing a myriad of intricate vessels 

that are woven into a pattern of wisdom that 

blanket a surrendered soul into transcendent Bliss.

METAL ELEMENT AS SURRENDER AND DESCENDING ENERGY

Oh precious elixir of nutritive yin that captivates the life force 

on each and every breath and allows us to surrender the yang

and expulsive and repelling nature of discarded toil 

and strife that serves us no more. Via the Large Intestine, we come to know the relief of 

what no longer serves and stifling restrictive pain of holding on too acutely.

FINDING THE COURAGE TO RELEASE AND LET GO

Do I have the courage to let you go into the ethers?

to dry and wither as you crackle down on a new earth 

of awareness that hold our walking vision and to know 

that unto Everything a season and time for Being

Can I allow Nature to take its course?

I grasp in my warrior knowing that tempting fate in 

a surge of will and haste can only foretell 

a dismantled tone that carries over into weakened form.

DARE I LET GO AND TRUST THE TRUTH OF LIFE?

the drying up, withering away, falling apart and decay

will i allow Nature to take its course

without the clinging need to use my will and force

FALLING INTO SURRENDER AND THE METAL SEASON

the leaves are changing. the brilliant colors of fall

the last gasp of summers vibrance and energy 

locked away for a moment with such pristine clarity

that we will drive miles and miles to cherish the wonder

GRIEF IS THE EMOTION OF THE LUNG

Am I ready to let go and allow change?

the familiar comfort of the present is tied

to a past that needs a reckoning

or essentials of change harken an awakening within

an emergence to Truth and dawning of intrinsic courage

will I allow this powerful force to emerge through 

the cracks of pain that will never be repaired

except in the Divine kiln of compassionate flame;

FINDING THE COLORS OF FALL WITHIN

the colors of Fall blanket a healing rainbow that 

will lead to the bleak intensity of a harsh clandestine winter

I am learning to awaken to what is going away

this form that will never be quite the same.

and presently attune to a full heart orchestra

of what is possible in the patterns that spiral 

waves of energy to the core of being and lay purpose 

to the heartache etched in the many colors of my attachment. 

LEARNING TO LOVE WHAT CANNOT STAY

you are falling away and will not stay

I cannot make you see the Love that remains 

after I have learned to accept the pain… 

this beautiful awareness that hurts every cell

will never be the same again 

and only the memory remains of the time

we shared nature’s Blessing –

all that has been witnessed and cherished 

since the beginning of time and those 

harmonic chords are stored in the lungs 

that breath a rhythm of loss that prepares 

the way for a new cycle – the breath of the past

is familiar and yet whispers change in exchange 

for the secrets that cover up what has yet

to be integrated and understood. 

GRASP & RELEASE 

will you linger just a little longer

like a family gathering on a porch 

at the end of summer where only

laughter and memory fill the air

with good food cooked with a full heart 

and shared with a generosity of spirit 

that understands that healing 

is alive until the very last moment.

life and breath…each inhale and exhale

each giving and passing away 

an opportunity 

until we rest in peace –

all that has passed is integrated into 

the earth –  into our earthly body that

becomes knowledge in the bones as old as the hills

which speak history in volumes condensed

into momentary enlightenment  –

that builds over and over again until it passes

in the beautiful splendor of painful surrender

seeing in the blink of an eye – the tear echoes

the beauty of knowing this moment won’t last

but it is as perfect as they come because of togetherness

Because we lived it to the very end of its present glory 

and like to inception we saw it to the end 

and let it go like the exhale inside of us 

– the expiry of our form- in all its Love finds its way 

back to the Void and Dark recumbent glory

A drop of Qi in the every changing canopy of life

I remember what the River teaches as it flows through me anew.