February 2012
0212 Start Again (in D minor)
Every time i find my way, i only get to go so far,
then some shit will hit the fan, sometimes it leaves a scar,
and when it blows up in my face, and i am seeing stars,
i'll know it's time to start again, while trying to reset the bar.
Even when i'm falling down, i am planning my next rise.
I know from flat upon the ground, my first move is toward the sky.
Let's start again: Persistence, my sincerest friend;
well, she and i will persevere, until the bitter end.
Let's start again: getting up, a daily trend;
starting out without the fear of what might be around the bend.
Life can get to feeling hard, if you're guilty when you're feeling good.
Tell me, did you get this far avoiding what you think you should?
All i know is, no matter what, i am happy when i'm understood;
and i really would Love everybody if i could.
Even when i'm falling down, as long as i don't die,
while lying flat upon the ground, i'll be trying to get high.
Let's start again: Persistence is my dearest friend,
and she and i will persevere until the bitter end.
Let's start again: getting up, a daily trend;
starting out without the fear of what might be around the bend.
How many times will i fall down, before i can't get up no more?
I will not let me sink and drown, i'll swim until i reach the shore.
No matter now, how many times, there's only one i can't ignore,
and that would be this time around, take it all, and hope for more.
Even when i'm falling down and i know it's time to die,
i'll start my swansong on the ground as i get up and fly.
0112 Who Are WE Really?
If i don't like who people see
when they look at me closely,
why wouldn't i try to change?
And the first thing to change
would be the energy exchange.
So what you see
is the image of the me
i am trying to be.
Look no further and be Edified...
Delve deeper
and run the risk of scaring us both away.
I look forward to the day
when i am the image i set forth,
by basking in the energy
and the loving warmth of the Universe's embrace.
But until that day comes to pass,
as we are standing face to face,
look in my eyes...
see through the disguise
i place before me.
See as clearly as you can
through your lens
that: whoever i am and whatever i be,
i am for thee
since you and me are WE
with ALL there is.
WE are the Universe.
Hopefully in harmony.
1211 The Prodigal Son
A loving father with two sons divided all he had to give them.
The youngest one took what he got, then left to find his living.
Bad choices and misjudgment had reduced him to the position
of lusting for the food that all the pigs refused to give him.
"My father treats his serving men far better than he does his pigs.
I shall return and plead with him to work within his pig bin."
The journey home took him to places his body could not go,
as his mind's eye led him through the slideshow of scenes
in which he brought himself to be so low.
Falling at this father's feet, prostrate, outside the door,
He said, sincerely, "Forgive me, please. I am asking for no more
than to be your groveling pig hand, for a roof, a meal, a floor."
But before he could express his wish, his father pulled him to his breast,
then held him tight, and firmly said, "My dear boy!
You are in my arms again! I had thought that you were dead!"
So the father sent a servant to tell his first-born of the news,
and to go and get the fatted calf, and to gather up the booze,
"For tonight there will be singing, non-stop dancing, and a feast!
My baby boy has been raised from the dead - from the belly of the beast!"
The oldest son, when he heard the news, did not rejoice as did his father,
because he had held a more critical heart in relation to his brother.
Becoming bitter, he refused to lead the calf down to its slaughter.
So the father went to speak with him to see what was the matter,
to let him know, in certain terms, the calf would get no fatter,
and to set him straight, once and for all, and to end their ceaseless banter.
All the first-born could say was, "My brother's no good!
He has squandered all that you gave him!
Now he's back to beg for more, and you persist to save him!
I have always been here, right by your side. I never cease to do your bidding,
yet you refuse my friends and me a goat or the booze when it's fitting!"
But the father just grabbed him in an embrace filled with compassion,
affection, and joy, and said, "We've mourned four years for my son that was dead -
Now God has returned my baby boy! He's not in the grave!
He's come home to hug; not to tease, nor to fight, nor annoy.
Everything that I have is yours to enjoy."
"You have yet to truly discover the bounty of riches I've entrusted to you,
but your jealousy makes my soul shudder.
I've never once had you consider your ways,
though I knew I'd have to one day or another.
So I would that you'd let me tell you what to do.
Go hug your baby brother!"
1111 Sunset @ Union: While Waiting for a Tow Truck
Blushing brow and reddened rims,
see colorful clouds as daylight dims.
Off in the east the moon is nigh
as dark and gray becomes the sky.
No more red orb is western view,
but dim-lit clouds of pinkinsh hue
hang lazily -
no seem of care,
yet I am thankful
they are there...
to show me nature
with art and flare
and drive away
my deep dispair.
1011 Two Variables in the Same Equation
For
being more
than i appear to be,
some people are not sure
what to make of me,
but leave it to the cats and dogs to judge sincerely,
and you will see
how quickly they will be
cuddling in aside of me.
I Love You
like a prophet Loves his God:
with all my soul.
If you don't Love me in return the same way,
hey, that's ok,
even if between us there's abrasion,
perhaps you're only unaware that we are whole,
two variables in the same equation.
0911 O, Gentle Wisdom
O, Gentle Wisdom within me,
why must it always be
i am so ignorant of thee?
Not that i do not hear ye-
your words are clear,
yet soft as a whisper;
and so concise
it's easy to add
a, "Yes, but..."
-or just continue
with the plan at hand
as if ye hadn't interjected...
...i look forward to a day
when the gentle sway of your input
guides my every action...
i would that were today...
What else can i say?
0811 Death Sentence
The scent of death lingers
in the air
from the rotting corpse
of a road kill deer,
laying near the curb,
just out of town,
on the corner of
the cemeterial grounds;
decaying quickly
in the summer's heat;
displaying death
on a one way street;
at the base of the sign post,
below the sign
that says "one way"
not unlike time.
0711 Cat Hair Contentment:
Happiness and Bliss
Happiness is standing sideways with a stiff breeze
while pulling cat hairs off my shirt
and casting them, one by one,
to the wind.
Bliss is standing sideways with the same stiff breeze,
but pulling cat hair from my cat in clumps
as he plays with the leaves of the reeds.
Grabbing at them with two soft-fingered mittens,
he places his stamp of approval
as he perforates the leaf with his teeth.
I find it works out best for both when
the breeze catches his hair
before it reaches my shirt.
0611 I Dare Say Robert Frost Would Admit
I dare say Robert Frost would admit,
at the point of his journey where his poem was inspired,
that the road less traveled was least on his list
of the things that he though his poem was about;
more so, I think, of the thoughts one amuses
as he ponders the path he so seldom chooses;
in hopes that he might on some special day
when he get around to somehow returning that way.
0511 The Flower and the Bee
The flower
does not go
after the bee,
it simply presents itself
in all of its glory...
and the bee
cannot resist.
0411 Fermata
Sometimes I play the fool
as intensely as I can.
My mind tells me I am insane,
but my heart won't let it end.
I tell myself to let you go,
get onward toward my goal...
and yet I'm drawn
right to your door...
hoping for...
a little more...
of your eyes...
looking into mine...
a smile ( =
and a giggle;
and a long and snug embrace...
0311 Water Falls
Water falls so many times before it meets the sea;
but being there is temporary, for its yearning to be free
evaporates its very sense of belonging.
You'd think it would like to stay awhile,
having traveled for so many miles;
at least to rest and reminisce about where it has been;
but to ride the tide with all the rest
for some would not seem like the best way
to spend eternity.
There are those, at least ONE for sure,
who would not stand a moment more than they had to
of just going with the flow, and doing as they're told...no...
No. For the likes of such as these
who have been sucked through standing trees
as through a straw,
even having to await the thaw...
who will be on their way
come break of day
as soon as they
can change their phase...
then, standing with their heads in clouds
while chanting all their solemn vows
to the ONE who made them as they are
they dance and sing with praise.
0211 Acting Interested
The greatest role that can be played
by any actor upon a stage
is that of the interested audience member.
For, well you know the agony,
as the spotlight's bearing down on thee,
when it's time to let the Muse run free
and dance with vulnerability.
This is no time for "Make Believe."
On the contrary, it is time for you to believe
you are the role that you are in.
So begin to be your sincerest self,
and tap into the deepest wealth
of the emotions that you hide within.
Then, once the light moves on again,
it lands upon your dearest friend
who needs the support your attention brings.
We are all one upon the stage,
like different words upon a page
who, together, can say anything.
0111 MISTAKES
1210 The Kiss
The bliss of a kiss...
to be touched by your lips...
is a pleasure i wouldn't begin to resist.
Do not hesitate.
There's no need to wait any longer...
for the feeling to grow stronger...
i'm building up the courage to insist.
So kiss me!
1110 What Leads the Butterfly?
Is she driven by thought?
Conformance to laws?
Or not driven at all-
Whimsical
So peaceful in flight
that peace itself
exudes
in waves of light
and infects any eye
that can see.
Free to flutter
any which way she happens to go,
in rhythmic dynamics
moving this way and that;
but she is headed somewhere
by whatever leads her
she has a journey,
by a path so seemingly random
you might never notice it.
If you follow her
you may just see what leads her,
or at least where she has been.
If you try to catch her,
she just continues
whimsically on her way
to the next grotto,
or waterfall,
or field of wildflowers,
stopping only where and when she pleases
for only as long as she feels like staying;
and when she happens upon a suitable mate:
she dances...
and frolics...
then flies on...
And where does she go?
I don't know.
I have yet to follow her home.
1010 Striper @ Sunset
It was a crisp autumn evening,
October, i believe,
a nice brisk breeze across my cheek
made me glad i wore long sleeves.
The waning sun was hot upon me,
now it’s sinking low,
as the light gets dimmer,
it grows colder,
and the cloud-lines start to glow.
And as i’m writing and i’m fishing
taking in this painted scene,
a striped bass pulls my pole back—
and i can’t give him slack—
So i stand up reeling easy,
then fight him to the bow,
rod-tip skyward…
playing firmly…
pull him in…
right…
NOW!
Flapping, slapping, clapping;
Ratt-L-Trap rattles and rolls,
so as i dance across the deck
with contentment to my soles,
i grab the fish over dorsal fin.
Now i’ve reached my goal.
I pull the hooks out carefully,
then pose him with a grin;
smile confidently,
and toss the sucker in.
Christ has been quoted as saying,
"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."
Where karma claims,
do unto others as you will have others do unto you.
The main difference lies within the vowels:
karma carries a small i
where Christ an o and u.
Karma won't tell you what you should do.
It only offers an opportunity to be aware
that every wave you make in the pond
is going to rock your boat;
but not before it is added to
by the effect it has created
while rocking everything else within the pond.
Every move you make
affects every one of us.
We are all in the same pond.
0810 Butterfly
If a butterfly lit
upon your breast,
caressive
with its wings,
and let its spirit
dance with yours,
then taught you many things:
of all the beauty it finds in flowers;
of early morns and evening hours;
of shaded pastures;
gentle showers;
of what it sees in you...
Would then you let it fly away?
Or find a way to make it stay?
A jar might do with a holy lid-
No, not God,
Butterfly forbid!
Let it fly.
It's on its path;
which led to you-
What did you learn?
Now let it be led to all
the gentle hearts that yearn.
0710 Just Be
Every cell in the hand
has but one purpose:
to be -
and to do
what it does-
unworried by what all the other cells
may be doing-
or thinking-
with so many cells in such proximity,
all being so self-centered,
one might even expect chaos
but with all of them working together as one,
without any need for intent,
or even awareness,
the hand can do some wonderful things...
Just BE
and do whatever it is that you do best.
0610 Living
If living was easy,
everybody would be doing it,
but as it is,
so few of us do.
The rest of us default ourselves to a lifetime of existence.
Living, takes energy,
and an active attempt
at actually focusing on your dreams,
not worrying about what seems to be
the issue of the day,
but going your own way,
and while you’re there,
enjoying every second of the day as it unfolds.
Behold!
Your dreams are not the goal,
they are the map that leads you on;
a bearing for you to follow.
If we are truly blessed
there will be no journey’s end,
just an endless jaunt of exploration,
leading to an understandingof who we are
right now.
0510 Please Don't Pick the Flowers
No matter what beauty a flower possesses,
i will not try to make her be mine.
Though she look dazzling in lacy dresses,
to leave her be is divine.
Should i covet, and she be willing,
i could clip her with ease from the vine.
Take her home, give her top billing,
let her scent effervesce as we dine.
Adoring her beauty in the privacy of my place,
with a memory of the field she is from,
where, we first had our intimate embrace,
where her sisters still reach for the Sun,
who, in harmony bowing along with the breeze,
all stand together for admiring bees,
exchanging their pollen,
every one of them buzzing,
eve’n’ drowsing in the shade of the trees...
But the one that was taken will for awhile delight me,
yet she will wither away from the field.
Though i keep her in water, and sing to her softly,
cut off from her nurture she can not be healed.
I feel it is better to come home without her,
basking content in a passing embrace,
with the memory of her standing along with her sisters
and the glow of the Sun on her face.
0410 Hugs All Around
Although i cannot hug everybody,
and but one man be,
i can hope to inspire you all
to hold each other for me.
My goal being
a Universal Embrace.
every molecule:
US,
face to face,
standing,
cheek to cheek
and breast to breast.
Our arms all around us,
like a cardigan vest,
wearing compassion-
-in Love being dressed;
with all our affection
sincerely expressed.
0310 For Valentine's Day (Nothing Personal)
Before you fall in Love with me,
be aware, my heart's not mine, for thee,
but for The Artist, whose creative eye
saw fit to doodle me, by and by;
and on ev'ry solitary stroke of the brush
that's been pressed to the canvas,
i posess a crush.
I am in Love with:
each gentle, passing breeze...
...bubbling waterfall...birdsong...butterfly...and tree...
each evening's dimming, every drop of rain,
all of the stars in the sky, and each kernal of grain;
the canvas, itself, the brush in The Hand,
the palette of colours, every granule of sand.
Each breath i ingest just:
fills me with joy!
Please, be unoffended, i wish not to annoy,
but you see, i can not be, in Love with thee, alone,
for as much as with thee, i am in Love with a stone.
0210 Be Mine, Oh Please Be Mine
Before you feel today is good,
Each day you're special. Understood?
My love is constant.
It does not wane,
Nor ebb, nor flow,
Each day's the same.
Other emotions all have their place.
Hurt feelings may cause a need for space.
Put plainly, though,
Like Sun and Moon,
Each day it's shining,
And if there's gloom,
Still shine it does,
Each day like noon.
Before you feel today is great,
Everyday I love you. It is my fate.
More or less, today is time, I know,
In certain ways to tell you so.
No matter what, I love you heeps.
Err not, my Love, it never sleeps.
0110 The Disclaimer of the son of a Saint
Should i open wide my heart,
and so, let you see my soul,
you would be under some ruse
if it seemed i had control,
or were somewhat enlightened,
or was somehow above,
any of the "goovna"
we all groan to Love.
Like you, i've got issues,
which, with at points, i conflict,
and i tense up - more than sense up
embracing stress - i constrict.
I am driven, almost senseless,
past the point of intense pain,
and i criticize and tend to judge
anyone critical or judgmental;
and complain about how others
always have to keep complaining.
(Also despite my best attempts
i still pre-judge those who practice prejudice.)
But occasionally i become aware
of how i've acted in unawareness,
and i get the chance to judge my Self
with sincerity and fairness,
and learn compassion in the fire
of Self-judgment and forgiveness.
Strengthened by my finding fault in my Self like every other,
though i struggle hard within my Self to be a loving brother,
i commit my Self to Love my God
even better than my mother.
1209 Thoughts Inspired on a Walk in the Woods
There is a pace at which all things become visible,
another when everything is audible,
and a third where one becomes invisible.
The obvious escapes the driven.
Shift to neutral - do not brake,
just allow your self to slow.
Quiet your mind - listen...
Quiet your spirit - hear...
Breathe in deep through your nostrils - sense...
Synchronicity may suggest
that you are on the proper path,
but signs can only show you
where you think you ought to go.
To the one who slows themself,
who hears, sees, smells, and senses,
to them the path will be revealed.
Do not follow - but lead...
If you find your self given to criticism,
judgment, or complaint,
you have been successfully distracted.
1109 It's Lonely at the Top: Ode to a Leaf
0909 I Watched A Butterfly
Not think about women?
0609 Mt. Allamuchy:
a silly but accurate account of my first (and last) solo climb
Atop of the summit i was standing alone,
0509 Be Beautiful
0409 A Poem for April: Fools
Misery and discontent
can often spread without intent,
for as we worry, we wear a frown,
and tend to bring each other down.
It takes the fool to be the one
to inspire joy in everyone,
each their own specific style,
infecting all with pleasant smiles.
Should you find it in your heart
to play the fool and do your part,
you will find before too long
that your world is filled with song.
Do not speak ill of anyone,
(include yourself here, just for fun,)
and see the good in every soul,
(then help them see it, that's the goal.)
While you wander through the weeds
singing songs and sowing seeds,
you may find upon occasion
that you have run across abrasion.
Do not tarry there too long,
cast your seed and move along.
0309 Looking Up
One clear dark night as i lay down supine upon some grass,
i stared intently at the stars as not to let one pass.
While counting meteors i recounted how my hard life has changed
since i have started looing up i've seen things rearranged.
It used to be, i could not see through the clutter and confusion,
but peace-filled night-times such as these has ceased my disillusion.
Now wide-eyed, i lay, open-minded, no thoughts of obligation,
i let the lights of long ago illume my meditation.
Enlightened by a billion suns, my details seem so minor,
i organized them on a napkin stained with coffee at the diner.
0209 Blizzard in a Cedar Swamp 2003
I'm lying in a cedar swamp on a snowbank piled high,
listening to the north wind as the cedars sway and sigh,
seeing through the sillouette, the moon is shining bright,
rising up beyond the trees and lighting up the night.
I walked a mile through knee-deep snow to rest here in this place,
to see the sunlight disappear until there wasn't any trace of light,
or treetops, or snow around me, no contrast to be found,
only wind, and scraping trees, but not another sound.
I watched the sun set, then the moon rise,
i saw the tree tops reappear,
i lay softly on a snow drift while i contemplated fear:
i'm not afraid of my aloneness; i'm not afraid of night;
i'm not afraid of falling; or of climbing any height.
I'm not afraid to meet my Maker, i try to do my part
to understand the Artist through the study of his art.
0109 Plain As Day
I saw a sculptor, plain as day,
chiseling, on some hardened clay;
as all the pieces fell away i closed my eyes.
The image stayed...
For years i pondered; and tried to draw
the image of this metaphor
in hope i could record the scene
before it was no longer seen
on the palette of my mind.
One eve's repose, as i reclined,
through the opening of my eye i find
a deeper image has come in view.
The sculpture holds a chisel too;
gently sculpting,
the sculptor's heart.
The artist, smiling;
a world apart;
doing what he loves to do.
Watch fir this, you'll see it too.
12/08 The Destiny of a Water Molecule
If you get in my way,
i will flow around you.
If you cause too much resistance,
i will smooth your edges with soft persistence.
If you dam me,
i will grow deeper
and rise above it.
But i will
reach the ocean
eventually.
I am water.
It is my destiny.
