all things, parts of one thing
all places, connected to each other
all people, one body, mind and spirit
the whole of time, contained in each moment
every beginning, also an ending
every ending, an opportunity to start over
every thought, impermanent, without form
birthing yet more impermanence
all poems, simply pointers
to that which lies beyond
Month: October 2010
Uphold the Promise
Uphold the promise
Your word, good as God’s
Uphold the promise
Your first words uttered
between sips of mother’s milk
Uphold the promise
first kisses stolen in the night
lasting forever
Uphold the promise
the very thing connecting you to eternity
all else yet to come
Uphold the promise
that which comes before us
and follows us forever
Uphold the promise
Honor it
Transform it
Our destiny, just a mere promise
Passion’s Fire
Cherry red fire engines awakened me this morning
Blatant reminders of all the unkept promises
Littering my life
Dividing me
Drowning today’s sun in yesterdays
Their ladders fell just short of me
“Go up they screamed!”
But deep inside I knew I could climb no higher
No steps left, nowhere up to go
This is as far as I can go in this life
Our passions can destroy us
Consume our goodness, drop by drop
Till nothing but they remain
The only saving grace is this:
Fire cannot feed on itself
Eventually even it comes to an end
When there’s nothing left to burn
I Can’t But Wander by The Lake
I can’t but wander by the lake
Inhale her beauty at daybreak
Watch her waves thrash about
In my mind there’s no doubt
Something mighty makes her dance
The very breath of God perchance
Her color changes with the sun
Aquas, blues, grays undone
The gulls adore her for a reason
Hover, soar, dive each season
Her rocky shore takes a beating
Her waves advancing, then retreating
Boats and freighters ride her waves
Carefully though to avoid their graves
One by one they make their way
Return they will another day
She plays with them like tiny toys
A game that she so enjoys
I can’t but wander by the lake
Each breath I take for its own sake
Watch her waves thrash about
In my mind there’s no doubt
Something mighty makes her dance
The very breath of God perchance
Sunday Night Reflections
It thickens me to think
Life’s shallowness,only an illusion
It quickens me to think
Life’s race, not about speed
Or finishing first, rather
About you and me being
Who we’re supposed to be
Rather than something else
We were, and thought might be better
It’s all gone
Every last drop of it
Before we know it
Then what?
Plumb the depths
Plan for what’s next
Be all we can possibly be
Questions it seems
Rude interruptions in the grand scheme of things
Those things hovering between moments
Finding us naked to the truth
Of who we really are
Violins, harps, sad but sweet Spanish guitars
Playing us, like Vegas card dealers
Wishing somehow life could be longer
Even deeper than what we know
Maybe then, your father’s dying hand
Could finally reach us
Free us from all pain and illusion
Never a perfect ending–
For anything, anybody
Least of all life
Hanging between breathes
Always awaiting a chance to shine
2 AM Reflections on Life
Sometimes the only time
honesty comes out
is at 2 AM
when the house is quiet
the sky has fallen irreversibly black
and the background noise overtakes
the foreground noise you call your life
Sometimes the only time
you truly hear
the pain of your deepest unfulfilled dream
is when the heat of your desperation causes you
to kick off the covers
and really look at yourself
Sometimes you realize things at 2 AM
that you have avoided all those years
you thought pretending would somehow save you
from facing the darkness that birthed you
and has followed you around
every waking moment of your life
Sometimes you glimpse the pattern
running through all your words, even your silence–
the pattern preventing you from letting go
of even the futile nonsense awakening you at 2 AM
claiming to be your life
Still Livin’ Just for You
Don’t much care
No one to talk to
Left it all behind
Seems like yesterday
Tryin’ my best to move on
Too much heartache
Sorrow, broken promises
No gettin’ used to
Life without you
Barely livin’ day to day
Oh baby, tryin’ to forget you
Our happy times together
Even the moments in between
Testin’ us, me and you
Just barely livin’ day to day
I kept your last letter
Read it often, so sad and blue
How you walked in the rain
Cried away all memories
Why I’m livin’ just day to day
Now all I have–this song
Lingering memories, how we were together
Spinning out of control
No idea it would ever stop
Oh baby, still livin’ just for you
Note: Written on July 15, 1969 in Tucson, Arizona
War-Torn Autumn Leaves
The woods outside my window are war-torn
Filled with red, orange, yellow soldiers
Fighting with each other, themselves
Who can standout most gloriously
A perennial war they fight
From rounded treetops
Through jagged branches
To dark moist ground below
There’s no winning the battle of color
All pushing, shoving, name-calling in vain
Eventually all leafy soldiers brown
And the snow hushes all clamoring
Poetic Alchemist 