Seeking Shining Gratitude
by
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TENDER IS ON HOLD
Tender is on hold.
Just for now.
I used to take it for granted.
The tender place in my heart
that I don't look at or talk to.
It's like: "Yeah, because,
I’m busy right now."
I know that's true.
Since, after all,
I know some tender spot
is really there
if I ever need it,
which I don't.
Not right now.
So don't ask,
don't ask how
it's working out.
Hey, I know it's there,
for later on.
If the need
should ever arise.
You know, a need…
Like for a tender –
something,
with a lover,
or a close friend, or, even,
with myself.
But, I know it's there.
Just not for now.
For later on.
When I just might need.
Later.
VASTNESS NEEDS LOVE TOO
The Vastness of the All,
did I think That All
was without feelings?
That It had no longings?
It created the Universe
out of its endless longings.
Let’s just say it that way.
So, I relate impersonally?
I allow the All to have
no feelings,
none at all?
Our Creator
doesn’t feel?
Well, that’s my mistake.
A mistake I had
never thought about.
I just plodded along.
Unthinking.
Uncaring.
I can stop, now.
As I reach a bit,
to find a way,
for returning
that loving,
from the Vastness…
I learn so much…
I try it.
I reach out a bit…
I learn I am so capable
of much love.
I had no idea.
I’d never tried.
I can carry that loving
to the titanic reaches
of every speck,
of any furthest atom,
and then the one beyond.
I just need to care to.
For even one second.
Loving becomes a vast carrier wave.
It lifts feelings up.
They soar so far out.
We share a loving moment.
A touching moment
always present now.
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Book Details
About the Book
Seeking Shining Gratitude is a collection of poems born from a lifetime of inquiry. Drawing from personal experience, Les writes with vulnerability and heartful awareness. The book invites us into moments where shame softly dissipates, emotional truths are received, and gratitude is truly experienced. These are poems to be felt. His words reach into the tender places we often avoid—reminding us that releasing our inner holdings can free our light. This first collection is both a mirror and a map for those seeking to live in alignment with deeper resonance. Les offers his poetry as a vulnerable transmission of genuine presence, one that reminds us: gratitude is not a reaction—it’s a way of being.
About the Author
Les Hait began life with a knowing that something richer was missing. A graduate of UCLA and UC Berkeley Law School, he became a California Certified Family Law Specialist and practiced from 1980 until his retirement in 2023. As a litigator, Les gravitated toward mediation and outof- court settlements, all while quietly searching for deeper meaning in his life. Convinced that life could offer more, he followed the calling of his heart into a lifelong journey of self-inquiry. Along the way, Les studied with teachers who illuminated many layers of reality, including Tony Robbins, Barbara Brennan, Abraham-Hicks, Core Energetics, Gurumayi, Joe Dispenza, HeartMath ®, Lynne McTaggart, and others. These poems reflect that ongoing search—his effort to unravel the obscured pathways to love, forgiveness, and transformation. Seeking Shining Gratitude is his first published collection.