I am the water moving through the earth
The lifeblood of withering roots
Stirring ancient sediments
To nourish new pursuits

I am the language of truths ineffable
Encoded in the rhythm of your heart
The secret DNA of crystals
Informing their mineral art

I am the earth moving through the water
The tides are my breath's interval
Mountains bow to the sea's advance
A dance of push and pull

I am the darkness hidden in the light
The contrast that lets us see
The nonexistent difference
Between you and me

Goodnight anthropocentrism—
Mitochondria swim in your stardust
But Contraverse awakens on the
Frontiers of the Valerian Kingdom

At the gnarled staff of the Oil Sage
Taking root between the Earth’s furrows
Springing forth fountains of sweetest Nard
The Jewel of Jatamansi emerges glistening green

In it the eye of the beholder finds the
Seeds of a once forbidden dream
Germinating in the juices of this Gem

Out of it the silent roar of a thousand fields pressing
Aromatic oceans through bursting buds
Of Lavender pagodas rapturously trumpeting forth
Framed by stacks of soft sweet musky Sage
Broad and leathery like elephant’s ears
Curtained with a soft cascade of Orange blossom snow
The sweet kiss of Neroli on your brow

Imbibing the senses with paralyzing pungency
Tangling tendrils to heartstrings
And pulling us beneath Rosewater pools
Floating breathlessly ensconced in a dream
Primordial songs whispering wordlessly,
“Wake whenever you’re ready . . .”

Running blind and barefoot
Every breath changes us
Subtly yet entirely

The fullness of exchange
Meets my mind with
Wakeful momentum

Every step a catalyst
Charged with precision
And power

I can never stop
I can never look back
This is what I am now

What wondrous wilds await us
Oh, we, the children of the vine
Our naked toes dance through freshly picked berries
Ushering fountains of wine

Bathing in bubbling sunsets
That blend the heavens and sea
Painting the face of the moon with the stardust
That makes up you and me

Players and waterfall drinkers
We swim with the stars in the sky
We sing that the fruitful serve the many
Even when they die

What wondrous wilds await us
Oh, we, the dewdrops of the morn
When sunrise beckons us back to the heavens
From whence we once were born

Axels and chains and
Feet and brains
It's the bicycle beats
And the trees and the streets
Join the lines in the sidewalk
As I ride and I talk
To myself,
"Breathe in," &
"Breathe out," --
Burning and churning to the
Grooves and the cracks
Red light's the only chance to relax
Racing the bus and flashing a grin
To the sorry folks trapping themselves therein
Ecstasy building with each revolution
Wiping my sweat away, tasting pollution
Grinding and winding a path on my bike
Where cars and pedestrians hate me alike

The weather's changed
Now and again
Windsocks escaped on
Blustery winter afternoons
Dormant grass and
Sleepy-eyed foliage
Chasing off the cloudless sky
For one last stolen
Dreamy afternoon, when
Unseen ice puddles lurking
Below shortening shadows
Made us quick-of-foot,
But despite the bright and
Biting wind, to no
Sweet destination did
Travels take us
But to find meaningful
Solicitude in all the
Morning's glory--
The world still half asleep
Turning round and
Pulling up the covers,
Drifted lazily back into the
Stoic state of Winter,
Dreams freshly on the
Tastebuds of nectar-giving petals
Bringing warmth to the afternoon

It's silence where we
Learn the most about
Each other, about ourselves

Words unspoken are words thought,
More potent than the
Guts of storms

It is the pain and power of the
Sound after shattered glass
Strewn about the floor

Unspeaking

Stares

Necessity beckoning
Broken pieces into
Trash bins

Uncollected memories
Ignored bites of information
Transforming into
Ghosts and whispers
Self-willed inanimate
Matter
Creating and destroying
Us