Of One and Many Worlds
By Rayn Robertsof Madera CA 93639
2006
ISBN 0-9714003-9-3
Trade Paperback $15.00
94 pages
Reviewed by Barbara Evans, editor for PoetsWest
Rayn Roberts is a poet of many worlds, as revealed in his latest collection of poetry. His wide range of
interests-from the natural world to the nature of humankind, is evident of an intellect graced with warmth
and humor. He looks unflinchingly at these worlds with a clear-eyed honesty and a hefty dose of
sympathy for our failures as human beings. Even as the world, as we know it or perceive it, crumbles
beneath our feet, Rayn Roberts pulls us up and reminds us to have faith in our fellow humans:
All the threats and disasters, / carnage, death, / mass suicides, suicide bombers / and nuclear bombs /
through tyrants, mad kings, / dictators, blind presidents / The starvation of innocent billions, / all
genocides, torture / the insane abuse of our own kind, / the slaughter and rape of children / the
senseless ruin / of our home, the Earth. / Whatever cruelty some are capable of, / It is always met and
overcome / by the greater forces of the human heart, [from Why I Believe in the Human Mind]
Social justice is a recurrent concern for Rayn Roberts and he gives voice to that concern in his poetry.
We may feel a sense of despair with the course of human events but the poet offers us a way of looking
at the world. Rather than putting the issue at the level of governments or government agencies,
however, he brings the issue down to a personal level in how we treat each other and how kindness to
each other can restore our sense of humanity.
Yes, it all begins with small acts of kindness [from Acorns]. What a beautiful thought! We tend to feel so
helpless to change the course of events but a small act of kindness is something each and every one of
us can do to help make the world a little kinder and to ease the pain of daily living for those who are less
fortunate. When we do these small acts of kindness, we allow love to flow, as the poet suggests,
through the door that has been opened. More than a moral act; they can be the means of transforming
the self. In effect, these small acts of kindness also become transformed into a stand against the cruelty
of rogue leaders and oppressive governments.
Though Rayn Roberts gives us his insights into the human condition, he makes no claim for having the
answers for how we achieve a more just and less violent society. He lets us know that ordinary life offers
possibilities, that we can give meaning to our lives and those of others by meditation, by those small
acts of kindness and by discarding what is false in our lives. He acknowledges the gulf between man's
aspirations and the world in which we live. Those who would make a stand for justice and who try to cut
through the ambiguities of society and religion risk defeat by the contradictions in the political universe.
Truth lies between people / who are afraid to exchange views of it; so sometime / the greater vision they
might have given one another is lost. [from Seers.]
Perhaps the core of his belief system is best exemplified in the mid-section of the book. Titled "One
World Twelve Poems," these short and snappy pieces, most of them no more than ten or twelve lines,
sharpen one's perception with their humor. These are everyday images, everyday sounds but now
refracted and magnified. It's magic.
The old monk said he'd been at war
for centuries…
had not yet won, which is why he
continues returning
life after life…and then
as if to show me
a medallion, he said, "One day
I may tire of the fight,
make peace with every country
on the continents
of my body."
and walked away…without another word.
[from War Veteran]
One of the unexpected pleasures of reading this collection is the wry humor that Rayn Roberts brings to
his view of the world, as in his "Meditation on a Clock." Aware of the pull and wishing I was a bug. Life is
so simple for a bug. In a number of his poems he reflects on our connectedness to other living
creatures, such as the tadpole in "Sameness" or the pheasant taking flight at the movement of the
poet's head in "Why Do You Fear Me?" or the raucous cries of crows in "Crow Wisdom." He feels their
presence with an acute understanding of our relationship to these creatures. In his communion with
other creatures, they become personified and he reconciles his individual awareness with the world
around him.
While I sat on a bench
A pheasant peeked out
Of the underbrush nearby
I only moved my head
To look up and see it
When it took to the air
As if I was a hungry cat!
Did you think, pretty bird
I wanted you for dinner?
I was only reading a book.
[from Why Do You Fear Me?]
The poet's keen observations of nature, its small creatures, and those small happenings all around us
that we don't notice echo his sensibilities to the dual nature of man and his place in the universe. He
exults in the beauty and harmony of the natural world and it is during these moments that he loses the
sense of individual consciousness to become part of the greater whole. If we think about it, we all long
for something outside of ourselves: a oneness with our world, its mountains, its streams and other forms
of nature. This is a mystical urge to which one cannot be indifferent even though the poet may have no
explanation for it.
One of the poet's tasks is to find a way of setting down what he has learned. Each of Rayn Roberts'
poems has a rhythm of its own. In these poems there is an economy of phrasing yet they reveal a warm
and varied humanity. His poems are an affirmation of his connection to many worlds and in this sense
they speak for us as well. The poet's ideals are spiritual and his poems are spiritual critiques of man's
progress (or lack of) in the modern world.
It's not the known that holds the secret to knowing more.
There is more than what we see and know here and now….
It's not what you see or know that can hurt or help you.
Be still as you move, keep an eye open for the invisible.
[from The Web]
One salient thought or conclusion to reading this collection is this: Many of us are experiencing deep
despair at events and crises affecting our lives, our society and our planet. We look for answers. The
poet too looks for guidance in the philosophy of the great teachers of both the East and the West, like
Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela. (And we recall that the greatest leaders
for social justice and non-violent resistance in the twentieth century have been men of color.)
RaynRoberts became a convert to Buddhism after living and working for several years in Asia. We all
benefit from the poet's shared interpretation of East and West philosophy. Fully aware of the conflicts
and problems on the home front as well as regional conflicts around the globe, he confronts the
contradictions of our universe. He doesn't give us the answers but his clear-eyed existential philosophy
gives us guidance on the road each of us must take. The poet takes the age-old questions of who we
are and what we are about, but he does not flinch from those questions for which there are no answers.
When we only dream of achieving some sense of unity with our worlds, we can have the kind of
guidance that is no further than the small price of a book.