EDIT_Selected Pages_ LPFV by Jon Meyer

LOVE POEMS FROM VERMONT
reflections on an inner and outer state
poems and photos by
JON MEYER

Love Poems From Vermont: Reflections On an Inner and Outer State
Poems and text Copyright © 2019 by Jon Meyer
Photographs with embedded poems Copyright © 2019 by Jon Meyer
ISBN: 978-1-7332328-0-7
ARC
No page, poem, photo, or part of this book may be reproduced in any way or form or by any means,
by printing, photocopying, electronic or mechanical, recording, or by information in storage or
retrieval systems, in any part or whole without permission in writing from Brilliant Light Publishing,
L3C; PO Box 824, Norwich, VT 05055.
www.brilliantlightpublishing.com
Printed in the United States of America
Our mission at Brilliant Light Publishing, L3C is to promote the work of poets and writers from
the New England community who illuminate the inner and outer states of our natural and cultural
environment. We accomplish this by featuring poets and writers; providing their name, a brief
author bio, a sample of their work and where to purchase books, as well as details of their upcoming
readings, workshops, and other events. We also intend to support the many poets and writers, and
booksellers of the New England area by providing links to their websites.
Cover Photograph: The Unknowable: Great Winter Clouds © 2018 by Jon Meyer
[space for statement about the paper used in printing]

INTRODUCTION
Love Poems From Vermont has been a project that started in 2003 with poems
influenced by living in the State of Vermont, seeing its beautiful vistas, its towns,
architecture, and above all, its nature. Vermont counts as citizens some of the
best poets and writers anywhere. In fact, Vermont has more poets for the size of
its population than any other state.
In their anthology, Roads Taken: Contemporary Vermont Poetry, editors and poet
laureates Sydney Lea and Chard deNiord state, “With its mystical landscape and
fiercely self-reliant citizenry, Vermont has inspired poets from its earliest days.”
I owe a great debt of gratitude to Ghita Pickoff Orth who patiently explained
the nuances of poetic writing when I studied with her as an undergrad at the
University of Vermont. At UVM, I learned about many poets and writers,
mystics and Avatars, and was especially drawn to the inspired poetry of Rumi
and ghazals of Hafiz, as well as writings by Dickinson, Emerson, Tagore, Kabir,
Blake, Du Fu, Rabia, and Teresa. The writings and presence of Meher Baba,
Darwin Shaw, and V.S. “Bhau” Kalchuri were particularly inspiring. I have been
reading and thinking about their work every day since being introduced to them.
Bhau liked the quotes I embedded in my illustrations for his book, Awakenings,
so I have used this technique in this book as well. He listened to some of these
poems and specifically encouraged me to keep writing poetry and produce this
book in particular.

Chard deNiord in his poem, "The Gift" memorializes Ruth Stone's process.
“The Gift”
In memory of Ruth Stone
(June 8th, 1915—November 19th, 2011)
“All I did was write them down
wherever I was at the time,
hanging laundry, baking bread, driving to Illinois.”
This may be the process of more writers and poets than we realize. I can only say
that the poems in Love Poems From Vermont seem to have emanated from the
beyond, and flew by. I did need to snag them and write them down immediately
or they would have disappeared. Some may come from the loving influence of
those inspiring ones above. To them, I am very grateful. My wife Deborah has
not only been inspiring as well, but has also been instrumental in reading these
poems and honestly commenting on their content and language.
These poems were selected from a group of over 400 written down between
2003 and 2019. The style has evolved into “short, post attention span poetry,”
i.e. quintains (5 line poems) illustrating the inner and outer states of Vermont’s
environment. After writing these poems down, I researched where I could find
Vermont places that would complement the writing, and set out on visual
adventures, often carrying the fading memories of poems read and written.
Opposite each poem, I have noted the adventure of finding the visual image.
Commentaries are usually noted near the end of a book, but I find flipping back
and forth to be annoying.
Thousands of photos were taken over 16 years in search of matching the written
poems. The major regions of Vermont were covered, as well as all seasons. Some
of the places visited were well known to me and others were new discoveries.

My time searching for images generated many exhilarating experiences of our
state’s environment. Vermont allows a celebration of the natural environment
and Vermonters have a passion for preserving it.
Although our state does have a share of strip malls and suburban sprawl, I have
focused on its broader ability to inspire inner thoughts, inner sounds, art, and
poetry. The order of poems is arranged according to the rise and fall of inner
and outer sounds from the poems and their images. Our very lives rely on a
breathing rhythm, and our heart beat – systolic, diastolic. We can hear both.
While reading the poems and observing the images of Vermont, please also listen
for the hoof beats of the white horse, the dripping sound of icicles, the rise and
fall of mountain top breezes, and the rush of a waterfall. This poetry adventure
has deepened my love for Vermont and its ability to make one marvel externally
while reflecting inwardly.
The goal of Love Poems From Vermont can be summarized by a quote attributed
to St. Francis of Assisi, “A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many
shadows.”
– Jon Meyer

THE UNIVERSAL YOU
As you read these poems, please consider the You to be everyone, anyone,
everything, one You greatly love or one or those who need help, need love, or
Your personal lover, or beloved, beyond all these, and beyond beyond all of
these. Out of respect, You is always capitalized and at the start of a line.
Here is a partial list of names for You.
You
The One
The Ancient One
The Great Spirit
The Light
Friend
Creator
The Endless One
Awakener
Compassionate One
Companion
Infinity
Beloved
Close One
Merciful
Inner One
The Goal
Nourisher
The Destination
Formless
Steadfast
Fearless
One Without A Second
Ageless
Victorious
Infinite Bliss
Supreme Soul
My Shepherd
Holy One
Giver of Peace
Changeless
You Breathe In
You Breathe Out
Ever Alert

Liberator
Invisible One
Mother Earth
Divine Mother
Protector
Pure Essence
Purest
Bountiful One
Forgiver
Vibrating Void
Infinite Multiverse
The Unknowable
Supreme Being
Supreme Spirit
I Am
Almighty
The Anointed
Ultimate Healer
The Entirely Merciful
The Most Merciful
The Perfection
Revealed
All Glorious
Timeless One
Formless One
Infinite Peace
Infinite Lover
Beyond Everything
Highest of the High
High and Exalted One
Sacred Spirit

DEDICATION
For all those who love and for all those who will love.

CONTENTS
1. You Sent Your White Horse
2 The Source of Our Love
3. The Unknowable
4. The Exchange
5. Your Thunderous Silence
6. Can Love Save The Planet?
7. Dawn
8. You Made My Multiverse
9. Burn The Distance
10. The Brook Murmurs in Spring
11. Nascent Headwaters
12. Message
13. So Bright!
14. Snow In Winter Woods
15. Our Hearts
16. Forgiving
17. Heart Whispers
18. Sages Declare
19. Unspoken Word
20. Sleep My Love?
21. Level of Love
22. Pump The Breath
23. Your Dream Floats

24. Involution
25. Soaring Flights
26. My Bags Are Packed
27. Climbing From The Abyss
28. My Escape
29. Not For One Time
30. Come Close
31. Be Wary of Bliss
32. I Sit Quietly
33. Inner Clouds
34. The Quiet in Here
35. Trust Not The Mind
36. Life’s Companion
37. Long After Departing
38. All That Is Me
39. World’s Riches
40. Bloodhound
41. Everything We See
42. After So Many Years
43. Up The Long Mountain
50. All I Inherited
45. The Rest of My Life
46. Joy’s Opportunity
47. My Self Imposed Exile
48. Disentangle
49. The Quiet Beyond
50. Icicles
51. Reflection
52. Every Stone
53. You Are My Legs
54. You Ignite My Spark
55. Sharing

56. You Are The Gift
57. Master Poets
58. Disperse The Clouds
59. Moon Lady
60. Please Accept Me As I Am
61. Restored
62. Love’s Sky Garden
63. Letting Love Flow
64. Efface
65. Letting Go
66. Elegy

1. YOU SENT YOUR WHITE HORSE
The white horse has symbolized the
balance of wisdom and power, as well
as purity, and more…. and is connected
to destroying evil and bringing about the age of
truth. I searched for a suitable white horse across
Vermont after writing down this poem, and finally
found this white horse living down the road from
me!

YOU SENT YOUR WHITE HORSE
You sent your white horse
To carry me away my beloved….
Where I go doesn’t matter anymore
As long as
You are the destination.

2. THE SOURCE OF OUR LOVE
This golden sunrise shining through the
clouds looked back over Lake Champlain
from the Champlain Islands. This was a
beautiful morning about to happen. Taking specific
sunrise photos like this one required considerable
planning for the right light during the start of the
right day.

THE SOURCE OF OUR LOVE
The source of our love
May be hidden,
But it is closer to
Reality than all
We can perceive.

3. THE UNKNOWABLE
I
was driving one winter morning on Vermont
Route 4 between Quechee and Woodstock
when I saw this sight. The air was cooling a
bit so the snow covering the hills was giving off a
beautiful foggy mist. Above, the sun was shining
brightly on the clouds, producing a yellowish
ethereal glow. It struck me that this scene would
complement this poem.

THE UNKNOWABLE
The unknowable essence of
You and me intermingles
Like morning mists
Drifting down the valley
Between pristine mountains.

4. LUMINOUS RIVER
The river beside Vermont Route 30 in the
state’s southern region turned out to be the
perfect choice among many of Vermont’s
luminous rivers. The photo required patience to
wait for the sun’s reflections to light up the river.

LUMINOUS RIVER
The exchange between
You and me
Becomes a luminous
River flowing to….
Liberation.

5. YOUR THUNDEROUS SILENCE
After writing this poem, I asked a friend
where I could find a thundering brook.
The answer: There is a thundering brook
with falls near Kent Pond in Central Vermontaptly
named Thundering Brook Falls. Upon
approaching the area, I could hear the sound of
fast flowing water, but when I reached the base of
the falls, all other sounds but the thundering falls
disappeared.

YOUR THUNDEROUS SILENCE
You run to greet me on
The path to love….
Without a footfall sound.
We meet…. and I embrace
Your bliss and thunderous silence.

6. CAN LOVE SAVE THE PLANET?
This is one of the great questions of our
time. After contemplating this possibility,
and writing down the poem that arrived, a
flood of dozens of additional poems kept coming.
I kept writing late into the night, and they arrived
for days afterward. This will become the follow
up book of poems and images that will appear
next. The tree growing up through the engine
compartment of this old truck is thick enough to
have been growing there for decades on this back
road in Central Vermont.

CAN LOVE SAVE THE PLANET?
Can love save the planet?
Consume less?
Love more?
Desire, want less?
One by one....maybe.

7. DAWN
This was one of the early poems written
down. But finding a sunrise near me was
difficult since the sun rises behind the
hills. The 5-year search for the optimum Vermont
sunrise (looking east, of course) ended with the
thought that the causeway to South Hero in the
Champlain Islands could possibly be a spot that
would produce a good image facing east over water.
Watching weather predictions helped choose the
day. It required leaving at 4 AM to arrive at the
causeway just before sunrise. The result was worth
the wait, and the drive.

DAWN
As darkness slips
Away to morning rise
I look for
You, softly calling
Your name.

8. YOU MADE MY MULTIVERSE
Words for a poem again floated by
with the contrast of many potential
universes to a simple flower.
Developments in cosmology have led to the theory
that we live in only one of many universes. This
universe is vast, but multiple universes could be far
beyond vast. All of that contrasts with the beauty
of a simple flower, a beautiful wild orchid.
These wild showy lady slippers bloom for a brief
period in late spring in the Eshqua Bog Natural
Area between Hartland and Woodstock. Recently, a
460 foot boardwalk was installed to make it easier
to see these incredible orchids. Check Eshqua Bog
Natural Area on www.trailfinder or www.nature.
org. This natural wetland and fen were left over
from the glacial period 10,000 years ago.

YOU MADE MY MULTIVERSE
You made my multiverse
Alive with bloom
Of spring. Fragile petals grow
From my bog to meet
Your silent words.

9. BURN THE DISTANCE
After the bonfire burns high and hot,
the steady flame allows a closer warm
inviting glow. A local bonfire is reduced
to these beautiful ember-logs. This poem pays
homage to Bhau Kalchuri’s (2011) story, “Burn the
Distance in the Fire of Love” and also refers to my
illustration of that story.

BURN THE DISTANCE
Burn the distance between
Your smile and
My embrace my love.
We are so close that I breathe
Your breath.

11. NASCENT HEADWATERS
I
searched all over Vermont for a scene to
illustrate this poem where headwaters clearly
appear. This was a great treasure hunt. I found
these headwaters gushing from the rock above
Bingham Falls in Smuggler’s Notch State Park near
Stowe.

NASCENT
HEADWATERS
We trekked up
Ancient mountains
To arrive at nascent
Headwaters and glimpse
Your breathtaking nature.

26. MY BAGS ARE PACKED
I
met an elderly Maharini (Queen), and simply
asked her, “How are you today?” Her response
was, “My bags are packed and I’m waiting at
the station for the Lord to come and take me away
in His train. He is late.”
In the mid 19th century, White River Junction,
Vermont was served by 50 passenger trains daily.
Now Amtrack runs two trains per day through
WRJ station.

MY BAGS ARE PACKED
My bags are packed
And I await
Your arrival... to
Take me beyond
Where I can go alone.

27. CLIMBING FROM THE ABYSS
The Quechee Gorge on Route 4 is a popular
Vermont destination, and well worth a
visit. After many visits, the light and color
was right for this photo.

CLIMBING FROM THE ABYSS
Climbing from the abyss
We heard the glory
Sound of suns. Sun’s
Venerable rise is now
Your light of all I see.

32. I SIT QUIETLY
This view from Sentinel Rock State Park on
Hinton Hill Road in Westmore, Vermont
looks down over hills surrounding Lake
Willoughby. When caught at the right time of day
or season, this is one of many breathtaking sights
in Vermont.

I SIT QUIETLY
I sit quietly my love...
To withdraw from
All distractions
That are not
You.

34. THE QUIET IN HERE
For many years, hikers and climbers have
sought Vermont mountain summits for the
exhilarating views, the climbing experience,
and the quietude of mountain peaks. Vermont
provides places for outer quiet that lead to inner
quiet, such as this high mountain trail near Ludlow.

THE QUIET IN HERE
How can we get
To the quiet in here?
The quiet is there.
We just have to ignore
The noise around it.

35. TRUST NOT THE MIND
Hiking to Vermont summits provides
many inner and outer benefits attainable
within a few hours. The views are both
soothing and spectacular.

TRUST NOT THE MIND
Trust not the mind my love,
But only heart beyond
All reason. The head
Endures but I don’t live
There anymore.

40. BLOODHOUND
Daaman is a Hindi term referring to
the extreme end of a sari or skirt of a
garment. Holding a daaman or hem
of the mother’s skirt is what a child does in a
busy crowd, in order to feel safe and avoid being
separated from its mother. This also relates to how
a bloodhound is able to sniff a garment and follow
the scent across the countryside. To illustrate this
poem after it floated in on a scent, I researched how
bloodhounds do their job sniffing. I came across
Lisa Robinson who lives in Vermont’s Northeast
Kingdom. Lisa and her bloodhound Redford offer
a service to locate lost pets. If they can get on the
scent trail of a lost pet soon enough, that pet
can be found. Since Lisa doesn’t charge for this
service (pet owners voluntarily pay her expenses),
her love of pets and bloodhounds make her one of
Vermont’s great unsung heroes.

BLOODHOUND
You made me the bloodhound,
Gave me a sniff of
Your garment, then
Sent me on a wild search
For discovery.

43. UP THE LONG MOUNTAIN
Camels Hump, the third highest mountain
in Vermont, is the iconic destination for
many hikers. Views of it from all sides
are magnificent from Burlington to Shelburne,
Waterbury, Bolton, and many other towns in west
to central Vermont. The mountain itself serves as a
metaphor for our quest to really know ourselves.
Over a period of many years, I took hundreds of
photos of Camels Hump, looking for one that
would work with this poem. Then in the spring
of 2019, I noticed an unusual view from Route 2.
To get the right composition, I had to bushwhack
down to the Winooski River, through boot sucking
mud, and up a steep muddy bank to see the river
with the mountain in the distance.

UP THE LONG MOUNTAIN
I follow the river, up the stream
And over rocks placed
There by ancient changes.
At last I reach the summit to find
You and I were there all along.

44. ALL I INHERITED
This Norwich, Vermont farm scene needed
many tries to find the sun and clouds in
the right positions with the proper color
and exposure.

ALL I INHERITED
I spent all I inherited
From the estate of
Your loving glances. No
Riches are needed to
Approach my beloved.

46. JOY’S OPPORTUNITY
The poem came with an indication of how
sorrow can etch the stone. This led me on
a search for authentic stone carvings in
the Vermont landscape.
Vermont’s archaeological petroglyphs were one of
the most difficult sites to find and to photograph. It
took some searching to find the Vilas Bridge since
it is in decay and no longer used. The carvings
are below the bridge in a spot on a cliff above the
Connecticut River. On a number of trips the light
wasn’t right to find the location of the petroglyphs,
and photos taken of the area rock didn’t show
them. Finally with advice from Gary Fox of
Bellows Falls, and Annette Spaulding, petroglyph
hunter extraordinaire, I was able to arrive on a
day with the right natural lighting, and spot and
photograph the carvings that they pointed out.
The anthropomorphic figures were carved by
Abenaki native people between 300 and 3,000
years ago. There are likely more carvings below the
ones shown, but stones dumped against the rock
carvings during the bridge construction in 1930
hide them. The petroglyphs face west, which could
possibly be significant since Abenaki tradition
describes west as the direction that Abenaki souls
travel after death.

JOY’S OPPORTUNITY
Sorrow can etch
The stone but
Joy’s opportunity
Returns with
Each sunrise.

48. DISENTANGLE
If one can disentangle the inner noise,
many good things can happen. This barn
is on a peaceful back road with a beautiful
overview in Norwich, Vermont. Many hours
(and photographs) have passed bicycling by this
spot. Norwich has a wealth of lightly trafficked,
peaceful roads like this one, perfect for a bike ride,
run, or walk.

DISENTANGLE
Disentangle the inner noise
Until all is still and
You and I
Identify as
Timeless companions.

50. ICICLES
It was a clear winter day with a few puffy
clouds. The icicles were just starting to drip
from my back porch roof. The sun lit them
up as its rays penetrated the icicles. I thought
about the poem’s premise- that Vermont’s winter
produced beautiful icicles that dripped down, with
the chilly water making its way into the brook,
then into the Connecticut River, and out to sea.
During this cycle, some water evaporates in the
sun. The vapor rises and cools below the dew
point, and air pressure drops with altitude gain, so
water vapor condenses into clouds. Then the cycle
repeats itself (like a rondo in music).

ICICLES
Dripping light pipes
Play, flow to the river, sea,
And back to score blue
As weightless wisps….
Our rondo begins again.

51. REFLECTION
I
was driving north on Route 7 in southern
Vermont, and drove by this still autumn scene.
It took me a few miles to realize that this
matched the poem, “Reflection.” I turned around,
drove back, parked the car, walked into the marsh,
and waited for the water to regain its smooth
surface to take this photo.

REFLECTION
Searching?
Inside is where
Clear reflection
Teaches.
Finding? ….loving.

56. YOU ARE THE GIFT
As an undergrad at the University of
Vermont, I was invited many times to
swim at the Huntington Gorge. The
gift to me was always having something already
scheduled. Dozens have died diving into this
deceptively beautiful spot with jagged rocks and
powerful currents below the surface.
The end of a Vermont September brings the
breakdown of chlorophyll, so the green in leaves
disappears and the yellows and oranges are left to
wow the eye. Red anthocyanin pigments develop
to form the reds when a moist summer is followed
by fall’s warm sunny days with cool nights without
frost. The waterside photo shown is typical of fall
foliage in Central Vermont at that time.

YOU ARE THE GIFT
You are the
Gift of complete
Value. Why should
I pursue
Anything less?

57. MASTER POETS
It was exciting to visit Robert Frost’s maroon
and white farm house in Shaftsbury off
Vermont Route 7A. It must have been a great
place to write poetry.

MASTER POETS
You have given me
The matchless gift of
Living in an inspired
State. My compelling
Choice? Share.

58. DISPERSE THE CLOUDS
Vermont has so many pastoral hillsides.
When the sun shines through and around
clouds at the end of the day, wondrous
scenes occur. By traveling through these hills on
many evenings, occasionally a specially lit cloud
like this can be seen.

DISPERSE THE CLOUDS
Disperse the clouds
Covering The ruins
Of My imagination,
And let me see all of
You.…

62. LOVE’S SKY GARDEN
At the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National
Historic Park in Woodstock, Vermont,
this garden is maintained by master
gardeners and makes for an inspiring visit. They
even encourage you to take some flowers home!

LOVE’S SKY GARDEN
Tug on me. Pull me
Up from the poet’s
Meadow below to
Meet in love’s
Sky garden.

65. LETTING GO
In the first half of the Twentieth Century, the
Elizabeth Mine was the largest producer of
copper in New England (three million tons
of ore were mined between 1943 and 1958).
Now on the National Register of Historic Places,
the mine, after it was abandoned, became the
source of toxic metals and cyanide runoff that
polluted the Ompompanoosuc River (which flows
into the Connecticut River), making aquatic life
unsustainable. The cleanup and mitigation of the
site has led to the installation of a large solar panel
array.
“Letting Go” describes the process of reducing
wants to see a bright reflection of the inner. This
photo was chosen to illustrate the poem on many
levels through a Vermont Superfund site. The
letting go process in the poem is a positive result
as is the repurposed site in the photo.

LETTING GO
Letting go of
All my wants but
You... prompts me
To peer within
Your blinding reflection.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Deborah Meyer
Jonas Meyer
Rustom Meyer
Jessica Meyer
M.S. Irani
V.S “Bhau” Kalchuri
Darwin Shaw
Bill and Diana LePage
Scott Lesniewski
Ghita Pickoff Orth
Ed Owre
Mary Jane Dickerson
Lynwood Shiva Sawyer
Steve and Daphne Klein
Kati Osgood
Sandi Pierson
Chard deNiord
Lisa Robinson and Redford
Annette Spaulding
Gary Fox
Doug Lufkin
PHOTO CREDITS
Sugarbush Airport/ Carl Johnson,Tom Anderson
Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park
Fielder Farm/ Bert and Sarah Dickerson
Robert Frost Stone House
Stonebridge Farm

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jon Meyer graduated from the University of Vermont, where he studied poetry
with Ghita Pickoff Orth, art with Ed Owre, and learned of Avataric advents.
He then pursued grad studies at Rutgers (MFA) and Pratt Institute (MID). His
writing has appeared in The Village Voice, ARTnews, ARTS, New Art Examiner,
Visions Quarterly, CRITS, Q, Dialog, Art New England, and other publications.
As Department Chair, at University of Maryland/Towson U, Jon Meyer led a
small team producing a film about one of his students, Dan Keplinger. This film,
King Gimp, won the Oscar at the 2000 Academy Awards and appeared on HBO
numerous times thereafter.
He has had his art work in a number of international touring exhibitions, including
“Outward Bound: American Art At The Brink Of The 21st Century.” This group
of artists representing the US, included Rauschenberg, Dine, Lichtenstein, Flack,
Ringgold, Grooms, Fish, Close, and Christo, sponsored by the Mobil Foundation.
Meyer has given public lectures and workshops across the US, Europe, and Asia.
His work has been exhibited in over 60 solo and group exhibitions (including
18 museum exhibitions) and has his work in 20 museum and public collections
in North America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. He has received 12 research grants/
sponsored projects, including a National Endowment for the Arts grant. Meyer
has served in administrative capacities in academe (department chair, dean, chief
development officer).
His love for Vermont’s mountain peaks and seasons has inspired him since he was
a boy. These helped him discover the inner reaches of Vermont and beyond. The
thunderous silence of Vermont woods in winter is especially uplifting. He has been
writing poetry for over 40 years, and lives in Vermont with his wife Deborah.