{"product_id":"mother-poems-and-a-crack-in-time-9781732218345","title":"Mother Poems and A Crack in Time","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the Introduction\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI began writing \u003cem\u003eMother Poems\u003c\/em\u003e during a turbulent time in my spiritual life. Composers of spiritual poetry from India, such as Ramprasad Sen and Lal Ded, give us permission to express anger, sadness, and frustration alongside more conventional devotional feelings. They show us that our highly personal relationships with God and Guru do not demand we exile any variety of human expression.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn October 7, 2023, a larger turbulence erupted. My poetry and other writings took a sharp turn toward documenting my responses to the first live-streamed genocide in human history. \u003cem\u003eA Crack in Time\u003c\/em\u003e is an outpouring of tenderness and admiration, of horror and grief. It enumerates crimes and speaks innumerable pleas. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese two groups of poems contain much of what could be called prayer. While always devotional, they each attempt to bring disruption, doubt, cruelty, clarity, and chaos onto our paths of awakening. I gathered them together in one book as a modest demonstration that all aspects of life are connected, and so are we. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eGaza Mo(u)rning\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e I wake up.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The neighborhood is full of sunlight and birds.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e I make my tea and start scrolling the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e buildings and bodies\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e bombed while I was sleeping.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Then some mornings I just have to bow down.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e On the kitchen table\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e I rest my forehead in my hands\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e and begin to pray.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSarasvati, Shambhavi:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Shambhavi Sarasvati is the spiritual director of Jaya Kula, a nonprofit community offering opportunities to learn and practice in the direct realization traditions of Trika Shaivism and Dzogchen. Jaya Kula is located in Portland, Oregon. Find out more about Jaya Kula and Shambhavi's teaching schedule at jayakula.org.Shambhavi holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Mills College and a Ph.D. in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University. Before founding Jaya Kula, Shambhavi taught comparative literature and new media studies at Northwestern University. She is the author of an academic book about posthumanism and seven books about spiritual life and practice. These days, much of her creative output can be found at kindred108.love.","brand":"Jaya Kula Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51623449624850,"sku":"9781732218345","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_e71d8f20-78b0-4cb5-b6d7-9cca3850a217.jpg?v=1758637752","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/mother-poems-and-a-crack-in-time-9781732218345","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}