POETRY: THE MUSIC OF MY HEART

By Ron Matsusaki

This book of poetry spans two decades of my life and my heart.

This book is not just a book of poetry. Rather, it is a book of insights about life that gleaned personally over two decades. More than the entertainment value the poems may provide, I share with you something much deeper. To assist you, I have tried to categorize the themes in chapters and provide explanatory endnotes and cross-references.

My first poem, “RUNNING,” was written in 2002 during a time of turmoil in my life. I was looking for an answer as to why my life seemed to be going downhill. “RUNNING,” therefore, was written with a negative bias toward myself. The poems that followed were largely based on experiences that, in one way or another, also touched my heart. I call poetry ‘The Music of My Heart” because, in them, my heart speaks, singing a fanciful or heavy song, or something in between.
I write in a style I call “freelance.” They may rhyme or they may not rhyme, or they might be a mixture of both. Almost all poems are metaphors. Almost all bear a message that is usually expressed in the last verse. I often personify “inanimate” objects.

When I begin a poem, I have no idea, whatever, of what a poem is about to express. I just let my heart speak. I never plan a poem: a word or phrase randomly pops into my mind, I sit down, and I let my heart say what it tells me it has to say. Only at the end do I know what I have just written and give it a title.
The first half of the book contains the lighter poems, and the second half contains heavier moods and themes. The transition occurs in PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. The poems are sectioned according to theme, but there is considerable overlap. I have provided explanatory endnotes, especially for the poems of PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND which may have esoteric references (e.g., “DEVIL’S TABLE,” “THE DEVIL’S PRICE”). If, however, you, the reader, derive a personal insight/benefit from any given poem, I suggest you refrain from reading the endnote. Doing so could change the benefit you derive. I emphasize that this is your book to derive whatever you might.
I purposely left UNIVERSE, the most important chapter, to the end, as UNIVERSE expresses the denouement of my life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798369401590

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Copyright © 2023 by Ron Matsusaki.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 07/21/2023

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1 LOVE

Chapter 2 LIFE

Chapter 3 FANCIFUL

Chapter 4 FREEDOM

Chapter 5 CHILDHOOD FANCY

Chapter 6 HOUSES WITH A HISTORY

Chapter 7 FRIENDSHIP

Chapter 8 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

Chapter 9 CORPORATE GREED

Chapter 10 EVIL

Chapter 11 GOVERNMENT

Chapter 12 HUMAN FOIBLES

Chapter 13 DISCONNECTION

Chapter 14 SOUL_RESTLESS SOUL

Chapter 15 SELF-ENTRAPMENT

Chapter 16 FUTILITY

Chapter 17 PERCEPTION

Chapter 18 INSIGHT

Chapter 19 SATIRE

Chapter 20 PURPOSE

Chapter 21 UNIVERSE

Dedication

To my mother, my father, and to the Universe

that has showed me so much

FALSE PYRAMID

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In the quicksand of common life,

We wallow and sink even faster

Because we, all of us, fail to realize

Who, in life, are our true masters.

Only within ourselves are we ruled,

No entity on earth has such power.

To relinquish such is a choice, so

Misfortune we, ourselves, endower.

Life has become a rising pyramid,

With the wealthy pushed to the top.

The energy for the perpetual edifice

Is a base, refusing to apply a stop.

Sinking, sinking, sinking in the pit,

With no helping hands to grasp.

As all hands are sinking together,

For the weighty pyramid can’t last.

Remaining then will be our hearts

That have perhaps learned a lesson:

That we all exist inside us equally

And there is no further question.

Our hearts will survive, no matter,

Such is a truth we can hold on to.

But will we realize that we are life

And that a social pyramid is untrue?

We once lived life for one another.

Living in a society on equal ground.

The answer to our vertical society

Is inside—the only place to be found.

We are humans and have dreams,

That is distinction that we all share,

Misfortune fades, dreams come true

As we reclaim our hearts so rare.

October 11, 2022

Cornwallis Park, Nova Scotia

Chapter 1

LOVE

INTRODUCTION

Love is my favorite topic of all, as there is no greater energy and no greater experience in existence than love. I am not referring only to the love of one human being for another but a much greater level of love.

Love is the root of communion with all things. In the last chapter, UNIVERSE, this all-inclusive communion is called ONENESS.

The most critical message of this chapter on LOVE is that to experience true love, one must first love oneself. I did not understand this myself until the last few years. One has to learn to honestly respect, honor, and like oneself. When this love of self (not narcissistic love) is accomplished, the physical world and the Universe open up—life becomes alive as we experience life from the heart. Another way I describe the experience of living life from the heart is living life from the inside out rather than from the outside in.

It is an error to believe that when true love comes to us, from the outside, that we will be happy. True, someone bearing true love may come to us, but love must be a two-way street. If we fail to love ourselves, we cannot receive external love as we should, and we cannot give true love. A two-way communication of love cannot exist if one does not love oneself. An imbalance will always exist.

By the same token, love for all things – what I call ONENESS in the last chapter, UNIVERSE – cannot be achieved unless one first loves oneself. I learned this a few years ago, and the world became a different place for me.

The message just discussed is contained in such poems as LOVE BEGINS WITHIN, FACES OF LOVE (last line), FINALLY CONNECTED, RAGS AND RICHES, and GIFT OF LOVE. This message will be found in other chapters as well.

The reader will note that the theme of love in my poems appeared mostly in the last few years, identified by the years 2020 to 2023 and the place of writing, Cornwallis Park, Nova Scotia. This coincided with the realization that one has to first love oneself to truly love others and love all things.

MOST PRECIOUS THING

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The most precious thing in life

Cannot be made nor bought.

The most precious thing is love,

And how this thing I’ve sought.

Covet trinkets you don’t have,

And squash others in the way,

Happiness you will not find,

As your needs drive love away.

At the end of your journey,

When you find nothing’s there,

It’s too late to make a change,

And your trinkets will not care!

Modified September 3, 2007

Alberton, Prince Edward Island

LOVE BEGINS WITHIN

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Thank you for loving me so much

That you taught me how to live.

You taught me how to love myself,

Now I can love you even more.

I thought I knew all the answers,

But my arrogance ran so deep.

What I saw was but poor illusion

Of what a life of love truly meant.

I thought love came from without,

But you showed me, in reverse,

One cannot truly feel real love,

Unless one learns to love oneself.

My dear, you taught me this well,

So now I love all life’s pleasures,

But most of all, my sweet darling,

My love for you is very dear.

Thank you, my love.

March 16, 2022

Cornwallis Park, Nova Scotia

FACES OF LOVE

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Love is a morning glory

And a butterfly in the sun.

It is sparkling, shimmering

mountain stream

And a babbling little brook.

It is the chirping of a finch

And fluttering of a dove.

Love is all around in life,

From tree to tree to tree.

Love is above us in the sky

And clouds that saunter by.

Love puts us to bed at night,

With a kiss upon the head.

Love is warmth of a touch

And the smile from a face.

Love’s reach is boundless,

So beautiful when it’s freed.

January 27, 2021

Digby, Nova Scotia

LOVE IS

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Love is like a summer rose,

Radiating beauty in the sun.

Love is like a gentle lily pad

That supports life as ONE.

Love is like a yellow butterfly

That flutters in life’s breeze.

Love is like an eagle in the sky

That soars so strong and free.

Love is like a glowing hearth,

Keeping out the cold of winter.

Love is like a shining diamond,

Of radiance, pure, and forever.

Love is like a big blue ocean,

Which mountain waters seek.

Love is like a plush meadow

In which life always beats.

July 27, 2021

Cornwallis Park, Nova Scotia

FINALLY CONNECTED

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Finally, I am connected to the

Source,

Threw out my pride and, too,

my remorse.

We weren’t designed to grovel

and beg,

Our purpose was to learn and

share instead.

Love is always at the gates of

our heart,

It is we humans who keep

love apart.

Statues upon statues, we busily

erect,

While the foundation of life, we

glibly neglect.

Human statues always crumble

and fall,

When love and true sharing can

remedy all.

September 21, 2003

Alberton, Prince Edward Island

EMBRACING LOVE

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Where love dwelleth, I will curl

in its blanket.

Where love cometh, I will rise

to embrace it.

February 7, 2021

Cornwallis Park, Nova Scotia

LOVE AND RICHES

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Of all the jewels on this earth,

Love within makes us rich.

Riches can make life simpler,

But therein lies a fatal hitch.

Riches make one light, at first,

But riches weigh quite heavy.

Riches remain outside oneself

And a burden they can levy.

Money cannot free the heart,

The heart must, alone, be free.

If riches help one’s brothers,

Then it is used as it should be.

Fret not that you are not rich,

If your heart is rich with love.

Love bears no encumbrances

And is free as a morning dove.

July 24, 2021

Cornwallis Park, Nova Scotia

GIFT OF LOVE

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There is no greater gift

Than the gift of true love.

There is no greater treasure

Than love from another.

I speak not of idle love,

Love that’s here and gone.

I speak not of convenience

That suffices for the now.

I speak of love that’s true

That stems from the heart.

I speak of love that lasts

And weakens not with trial.

I speak of love that respects

Rights and lives of others.

I speak of love undaunted

By sneers of selfish men.

I speak of love that gives

And expects nothing back.

I speak of love that cares

And supports one another.

I speak of love of the past,

Gone in doldrum of today.

I speak of bygone love

That once was our way.

I wish so I knew this love

And felt it in my pores.

I wish I could bring it back

To heal our human sores.

February 25, 2005

Alberton, Prince Edward Island

Modified March 19, 2005

GLOWING LOVE

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I would love to hold your hand

As we walk through a spring meadow.

I would love to sense your lovely grace

As we move among bowing willows.

I would love to share the ground

That you walk upon with dainty touch.

I would love to feel the warmth

That glows from you so very much.

I would love to live with you as music,

Meeting all of life’s measures together.

I would love to know the amazing fun

Of peace and rapture in all weather.

I would love to know my heart inside

So, my love, like you, I could fuller see.

I would love to be like that very person

Who glows love as she walks with me.

March 18, 2022, 1219 hours

Cornwallis Park, Nova Scotia

SITTING IN THE GARDEN OF LOVE

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Oh, that I could be in a peaceful garden

And love would set on a petal

before me.

Oh, that it would swell and open my heart

For all the elves and fairies to see.

Once struck, my heart would not

be the same,

For it would see all glory before me.

The skies, the clouds, the streams, the flowers,

And my heart’s now singing so

happily.

Love is the golden eternity of

mortal man,

The radiance of a rare lily that

never wilts.

It is dewdrops that shine like

diamonds,

Brilliantly, as our tapestry was

woven.

Merrily dancing to the harp of love,

The elves and fairies circle on the petal.

Conjuring up a magical crown of love

That floats down onto my heart

to settle.

Oh, that I would sit in a peaceful garden

And love would set on a petal before me.

Oh, that it would swell and open my heart

For all the little elves and fairies

to see.

July 20, 2021

Modified March 19, 2022

Cornwallis Park, Nova Scotia

LOVE IS EVERYWHERE

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Love is a forest of peace and joy

That flourishes in any weather.

Love is a bounteous waterfall,

Whose shimmer has no equal.

Love is a flower of radiant color,

Whose velvet petals never fold.

Love is a magnificent friendship

Shared and never to be broken.

Love is sky of warm baby blue,

Whose span reaches to infinity.

Love is the cloud that drops rain

To nurture the seedling below.

Love is the hands of a mother

That wipe away tears of sadness.

Love is the essence of ourselves

That can never, ever be removed.

Love is the fuel for us to learn

And the joy when we discover.

Love is the eternity of our hearts

That reigns supreme throughout.

Digby, Nova Scotia

February 6, 2021

PURE ESSENCE OF LOVE

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Love is the infinite, boundless

Pure essence of Mankind.

Though it may be covered,

The essence is there to find.

January 26, 2010

Digby, Nova Scotia

LOVE RESIDES IN EVERY MAN

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In the heart of every man

Is an essence sometimes hidden.

But it is there in his heart,

And there it remains a part.

Love is the root of humankind.

It is the essence of our being.

It is the foundation of the soul

And bears every kind of cold.

Be it hidden or be it exposed,

Love never changes its presence.

For if we possessed it not,

We would surely wither and rot.

January 27, 2021

Digby, Nova Scotia

LOVE

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I want to walk with you in the garden

And gaze upon your gentle radiance.

I want to feel the warmth of your heart

And hope that nothing will us part.

January 26, 2021, around 0100 hours

OCEAN OF LOVE

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Our human life is like a river

That collides oft with obstructions.

Mother Ocean may seem distant,

But a mother’s love never quivers.

The ocean waits with truth and love

To summon the river to her breast.

It sings harmony of wondrous music,

As in the soothing coo of a dove.

March 15, 2021, 2114 hours

Cornwallis Park, Nova Scotia

MYSTERIOUS LOVE

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The coliseums of all eternity,

The great eagle of the skies,

The majesty of all cathedrals,

Measure not against the why.

The why she has always been

And forevermore will she be.

She stands right next to you,

She has dwelled inside of me.

We love each other mutually,

Most of mankind fails to see

The greatest love in existence

Is unconditional, pure, and free.

March 5, 2022

Cornwallis Park, Nova Scotia

SWEET BUTTERFLY

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My sweet, sweet butterfly

With wings of gold and blue.

You lit softly upon my hand,

With a purpose, oh so true.

You left me with a seed

For me to plant and start.

The plant was a vine of love

To wrap around my heart.