when the time comes for me to pass
they shall lay me neath the shadow cast
by the great oak standing silent, true
watching over me
and you
when light wind blows
in sunlight's trance
I hear your whispers
through leaves they dance
I take your hand
o'er the fields we stroll
your head on my shoulder
as the church bell toll

my God
this tree
it fascinates me
it is alive I know it
it whispers when I pass
and bows in recognition
proud and hovering over the drive
like a gargoyle over the city
always there
always watching
a reminder that there are ghosts
that shadow us
that wait for us to notice them

and now the tree is gone
toppled onto the road
and removed
like an old soldier
that served well
but just fades away
all but forgotten

now I am gone
after 11 years of watching over this property
brothers of the night
we were
it has taken a piece of me to it's grave

wile away or while away?
these are the questions one has time to ponder
when newly retired
honey wheat or white bread for my tuna fish sandwich?
toasted or plain?
why didn't I buy a few onions when I went out yesterday?
onions, cucumbers and vinegar...make a note!
which series should I begin watching on dvds
that were given to me years ago for just this time?
I guess I'll start with 'Breaking Bad'
since I've seen the first 3 or 4 episodes
then 'True Detectives', then 'Fargo' even though
I mistakenly saw the last episode
bought a water filtration system for drinking and showering
did you know that in 10 minutes of showering the body
absorbs a gallon of water and it's just as lethal as drinking it?
I gotta get back to my book...get serious man!
serious or sirius?

moths land on the screen
bathed in the light off the corner beam
they appear to me as men clinging to a prison fence
staring out at possible freedom
only they are staring in
into my asylum
they wonder what it is I do
tapping away for hours
while fixated on this screen
'why does he not free himself
from this prison
and explore the endless beauty that surrounds him'

blackbirds gather just after dawn
in the trees near my asylum
dive bombers
picking off the moths one by one
as they ponder my peculiar passiveness

food for thought

and what shall we do
when it is discovered that we are merely
fragments of imagination
pieces of one giant cosmic thought
one universal idea generated
in the absence of time
and expanding without check
by the false boundaries conceived
within the prison we place ourselves

what shall we do
when it is discovered that we are not
the only entities in existence
but one of billions, trillions
that co-exist
some in their infancy
some light years ahead of us
who smile at our naivety
long for our innocence
and capacity to love

when we find that we are not alone
even here on our own sacred Earth
when our history and myths are shattered
when our thoughts and perceptions are
forced to reboot
and we face an undeniable truth beyond our
scope of imagination
what shall we do

we shall love each other