The Dewdrop
THIS WEEK'S BLOG
The Drawer Where I Keep My Doubts
Some people organize their lives by goals. Others, by memories. I seem to organize mine by unfinished questions.
Heather Swan – Another Day Filled with Sleeves of Light
In our time alive, what if we trusted just as the falling raindrop trusts the holding of the approaching ocean?
Mike Travisano – Bob’s Tattoos
A short story on the power of three simple words and how much they can mean and embody.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
INTERVIEWS/PODCAST EPISODES
Brooks Lampe – Shiver-Morning Baptism
Zahraa Farhat – Pilgrimage
Matthew Mazzoni – The Blue Mirror
WEEKLY HAIKU
Winter Week 3 BY FELICIA NAY
Want More?
Pigs in Winter
BY QUINCY MCMICHAEL
Snow is water, and water conducts electricity, but the electric fence will not fire as usual, buried three feet deep.
Observed by Deer
BY SARA MCAULAY
I’ve come here for raptors. Left my campsite at dawn, hiked down through blue shadows to the meadow.
MICRO GALLERY
The Anatomy of Moments
Hosho McCreesh’s visual, lyrical, haiku-like psalms are strikingly beautiful, and always striving for less.
Fore! The Record
Remembering love and laughter on the golf course, a quarter of a century ago.
BY CLINT MARTIN
FEATURED AUTHORS AND POETS
BOOK EXCERPTS
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The Way Back to Our Own True Nature: Wisdom from the Tao Te Ching
How rushing or forcing things, becoming clever or rich lead us away from living in step with the natural way of the world.
The Full Awareness of Breathing
In the Anapanasati Sutta, the Buddha presents a visceral kind of practice with the breath, that illuminates the experience of joy, calm and impermanence.
The Self is Tied to This Body Like an Ox to a Cart
One of the most well-known sections of the Chandogya Upanishad is the story of Indra, King of the Gods, Virochana King, of the Godless and their encounter with the sage Prajapati.
Each Breath One Takes is a Step Towards One’s Destiny
Teachings about the cultivation of wisdom by the Sufi Master and the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin, Hadrat ‘Alî.
The Buddha’s Last Teaching: Be Your Own Island, Your Own Refuge
The Buddha’s final words of advice to his students before he died were to take refuge in the dharma and in themselves.
THE ALAN WATTS CORNER
Running With Life: Alan Watts on Freedom and Poverty
Alan Watts unpacks the imperative not to hold on to things, but to adopt a kind of psychological poverty—or simplicity— in which the mind is clear and unfettered in a way that allows it the space for true spontaneity.
Alan Watts and Divine Play
Alan Watts delves into one of his favorite and recurring subjects – the way in which we over-identify with the parts we play.
What Have You Left Out? Alan Watts on the Limits of Perception
Alan Watts often said that in order to come to your senses, you have to get out of your mind. Watts was emphatic about self-realization and breaking through cultural and psychic barriers in order to live as a fully-fledged, fearless human being.
Brahman, God, Allah and the Tao – Alan Watts
Among Alan Watts’ most compelling qualities was his fascination with different systems of faith and his
Becoming Yourself – A Conversation with Jiryu Rutschman-Byler
“The vastness isn’t somewhere else. It’s right here, embodied in the most ordinary activities.”
Andy Chaleff on the Transformative Power of Facing Up to Our Fears
In this podcast episode, I explore death and the fear of mortality with Andy Chaleff, and we discuss how these experiences have shaped our lives.
Gaylon Ferguson on the Intersection of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism
In this podcast episode, Vanessa chats with Gaylon Ferguson, author of Welcoming Beginner’s Mind: Zen and Tibetan Wisdom on Experiencing Our True Nature.
Why I Write: Kurt Cole Eidsvig
Kurt Cole Eidsvig digs into motivation, poetic strategies, and the mystery of where the arrows of our intentions land.
A Fire Runs Through All Things: Susan Murphy on How We Can Meet the Climate Crisis
An interview with Susan Murphy about her new book and what koan practice can teach us about engaging the climate crisis.
Enlightenment is an Accident – Tim Burkett on How to Be More Accident Prone
Tim Burkett on enlightenment, meditation, and the balance of traditional and contemporary practices.
THE BEATS
BROWSE BY THEME
MYSTICS
Eighteen Thousand Universes Through Eighteen Thousand Eyes
The Sacred is the Everyday – Joan Chittister
Thomas Merton on Solitude, Authenticity and Being
Gurdjieff and The Two Rivers
Blinded by the Sun – St Teresa of Avila
“Don’t Tell Me Who I Am Yet. It Is Still Being Spelled Out”
Kabir – The Moon Shines in my Body
Rumi’s Guest House
POPULAR READS
BROWSE SUBJECTS
FROM THE ZEN GARDEN
Sharing the Feeling: Zen Teacher Shunryu Suzuki on Becoming Ourselves
The importance of keeping an empty mind for savoring the present and expressing ourselves in our most authentic way.
Iain Grinbergs – Letter to Shunryū Suzuki (from Northampton, England)
Poet Iain Grinbergs draws our attention to the sacred details around us in “Letter to Shunryū Suzuki (from Northampton, England)”.
Matthew Kohut – Rothko Chapel
Matthew Kohut allows readers to contemplate the contrast of darkness and light in the powerful minimalism of his poem “Rothko Chapel”.
Lily Tobias – Dawn Diminutive
The simple purity of Lily Tobias’ “Dawn Diminutive” is an elegant invitation to slow down and witness the honeyed radiance of morning.
Beatrice Szymkowiak – Cloudlessness
Poet Beatrice Szymkowiak’s stark piece “Cloudlessness” feels as cold and desolate as the imagery it reveals to us.
Kurtis Ebeling – Poppies
In these days of bitter cold, poet Kurtis Ebeling has offered us an imagistic window into idyllic summer with his tranquil poem “Poppies”.
David Keplinger – Man Leaves Zen Garden Untended
David Keplinger’s beautifully-desolate “Man Leaves Zen Garden Untended” is a masterclass in sacrifice and rewilding.
Daniel Dissinger – blend
Jack Kerouac scholar and poet Daniel Dissinger presents “blend”, a work of pacing, breathing, and the consummate wildness of intimacy.
dewdrops: Weekly Haiku
Our weekly haiku offering explores the spiritual relationship between Zen and art and is open to all haiku poets.
Jerrice J. Baptiste – Pilgrim
Haitian-born poet Jerrice J. Baptiste allows us a space to breathe and be still with her phenomenal poem “Pilgrim”
Jovan Virag – Torii Gates
California poet Jovan Virag serves readers as a guide up to a mountaintop Shinto shrine in Japan with her poem “Torri Gates”.
Tsultrim Nyi-O – Silence
Buddhist practitioner and chaplain Tsultrim Nyi-O offers readers a selection of Zen haiku tidbits, which leave us transcendent.
KEEP READING
‘An Appropriate Response’: Christian Dillo on the Nature of Buddhist Wisdom
What is wisdom? How can what we know get in the way of true wisdom? How can we express wisdom in a chaotic and unpredictable world?
Like Silt in a Flowing Stream – May Sarton on Solitude and Clutter
May Sarton’s Journal of a Solitude is the upshot of a journey into herself, into simplification and self-examination.
E.E. Cummings – Let It Go—The
E.E. Cummings reflects on the necessity of clearing, of letting go of the things we cling to, in order to make way for love.
Normal Days – A Tribute to the Ordinary From the Far Edge of Life
After a glioblastoma diagnosis, Tallu Schuyler Quinn wrote about what dying meant to her body, mind and heart in this series of moving essays.
In the Name of the Stranger – Pádraig Ó Tuama on the Language of The Troubles
Poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama reflects on the use of the word ‘trouble’ in Irish language, and its relationship to grief and mourning.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Lewis Hyde on Dogen and Self-Forgetting
Lewis Hyde weighs up the use of memory and asks, when is forgetting the best strategy?
The Process is Lifelong: Words of Advice to Poets from William Stafford
Words of advice for poets from one of the last century’s most prolific writers: William Stafford’s suggestions from experience.
“Penetrate Life” – Taisen Deshimaru on Living in the Here and Now
The grandson of a retired samurai, Deshimaru took a lot of wisdom from the principles of martial arts.
A Temple of Living Pillars: John Fowles’ Ode to the Sacred and Sensuous Tree
Author John Fowles on the ways in which trees and forests formed the bedrock of his own creative, psychic and religious sensibility.
My True Home is Brooklyn
BY TRACY COCHRAN
What going on a spiritual retreat with your child can teach you about mindfulness the hard way.
‘Flecks of Foam on the Boar’s Mouth’ – Marcus Aurelius on Everyday Magic
The Roman Emperor and philosopher on mortality, change, nature and the importance of paying attention to the small and beautiful details.
‘How Can I Best Serve the World?’: Brother David Steindl-Rast on Finding Our True Vocation
Brother David on doing what you love, being aware of your gifts, and bringing your best self to the table.
Please Take a Seat – Yamada Mumon Roshi on the Power of Sitting Meditation
‘Sitting can be a very serious matter,’ according to the late Japanese Zen master Yamada Mumon Roshi.
Welcome to The Dewdrop! This little journal is a digest of reflective and powerful writing focused on reading, writing and being. Scroll on for poetry, essays, book excerpts and classic texts. For best results, view it from your browser.
Brooks Lampe – Shiver-Morning Baptism
Oregon poet Brooks Lampe welcomes a strange tranquil newness with his remarkable “Shiver-Morning Baptism”.
Jay Jacobs – Last Hour of Solo Retreat on the Peak of a Fearless Mountain
In his poem “Last Hour of Solo Retreat on the Peak of a Fearless Mountain” poet Jay Jacobs invites readers to breathe and accept.
Zahraa Farhat – Pilgrimage
The Dewdrop couldn’t be more honored to begin 2026 by sharing Zahraa Farhat’s moving and hopeful poem “Pilgrimage”.
Matthew Mazzoni – The Blue Mirror
Poet Matthew Mazzoni showers readers of chaotic fragments of localized imagery in his avant garde poem “The Blue Mirror”.
Becoming Yourself – A Conversation with Jiryu Rutschman-Byler
“The vastness isn’t somewhere else. It’s right here, embodied in the most ordinary activities.”
Jenna Wysong Filbrun – Epiphany
As many faiths lean into the spiritual essence of the holiday season, poet Jenna Wysong Filbrun returns to The Dewdrop with “Epiphany”.
James Roderick Burns – Waka waka waka
Prolific short form poet James Roderick Burns returns to The Dewdrop with a themed set of tanka “Waka waka waka”.
Sheila Lynch-Benttinen – I Ramble the Bog
Poet Sheila Lynch-Benttinen revels in all the natural majesty of simply being present with her poem “I Ramble the Bog”.
