her eyes are
full   of  fire  bright
shining   golden   flame
her mind wanders  into
the   night  shining
all the same

slow river
silent, smooth as a mirror
shining with the sky

I used to look at others
wishing that I could
be more like them

not knowing that
inside their minds
they also stood apart

I used to ask the others
for permission
to accept myself

not knowing that
I was the rightful ruler
of my heart

hurting yourself
will not help
anyone else

Bright star winking in the night
Radiant bringer of light
Sailing westward past the trees
Almost fast enough to see

Ancient light graces my eyes
And I feel what I have learned
Dizzying to realize
That I am the one who turns

One by one
I will pull out every thorn
One by one by one

Row on row
I weave them into armor
Row on row on row

Three candles burning in the dark
Beneath a great oak tree
In a triangle
The same spark
Set fire to all three

Each candle held a symbol
Which was writ on it in red
With the rhythm of a tymbal
A soft voice came down and said

By the Moon and Earth and Sun
Let these three melt into one
By the Sun and Earth and Moon
Let these three become triune

if I could reach out
through the veil
of illusion
could I describe
what I had touched?

branches wide
safe and sound we live inside
just like the old ways

in a tree
like a sailboat in the sea
drifting into space

we cannot separate being from seeming
we could be seeing things
we could be dreaming

what small percent of this can we perceive?
we cannot know
we can only believe

the truth is everywhere
dark as the night
our minds overflow
with visions of light

how much do we see?
how much do we make?
how sure can you be
that you are awake?

this is my thought, this is my prayer
if you are real, if you are there
protect the ones who love you true
and make it safe to worship you

they call you God, Allah, Hashem
you light the way for all of them
they follow you
what's in a name?
they all believe you just the same

how many voices sing your songs
together where many belong
and through the terror and the flames
how many voices called your name?

reward the ones who keep the faith
make all the holy places safe
if you can hear me
if you care
this is my thought, this is my prayer

What if all you see is a
Projection of your mind?
I am just a part of you
Like all of humankind

When you see your enemy
What path do they follow?
How far will you go from the light
To chase your own shadow?

I am in a dark place
Show me the light
And lead me home

Pink petals
Swirling up into the sky
Prettiest whirlwind

Could someone ever love me for exactly who I am?
Quite possibly, but I still have my doubts
For this to happen I would have to share all my secrets
I don't know if it's worth it to find out

One day I will find someone who I want to show my soul
Someone I want to stay with till the end
Someone for whom I am willing to rethink all these walls
And ask myself this same question again

Each turn of phrase a branch, each rhyme a spark
And still the fire burns out of control
For centuries it's raged into the dark
To cast the monstrous shadow of our soul

Of heroes we still follow to this day
And villains we are still afraid to name
No river, no ocean could wash away
The visions we have seen among the flames

sand and snow
why are we afraid of these
ghostly messengers

I wonder
if some ancient part of us
remembers that day

long ago
when the dragons ruled the sky
there when the night fell

we survived
to wonder at this omen
winter is coming

deep in the flower
stationary
in the dark waiting to grow
hidden within the sanctuary
there where only faeries go
seductive as confectionery
sweetest siren silent sings
a message evolutionary
carried far on borrowed
wings

If someone saw in four dimensions
I wonder what they would see
And if they looked at us
Would they see not one person
But a tree

With all our lives laid out together
Branching back mother to mother
Back to when we became humans
Where our branch joins with the others

Would they see not just our timeline
But those of the molecules
Which branching back away from us
Return to plants and animals

And if they looked far back enough
Would they see us all join as one
Woven upon the helix Earth
Which wraps around the spiral Sun

one day I will bloom
like the Moon

the phoenix
flies again in time
and time turns ashes
into diamond

wrapped up tight
waiting dreaming in the dark
do I dare to hope?

all of us
circle dance around the well
infinitely deep

my thoughts are drifting
wandering
dancing like petals on the wind
they climb the sky
and fly wherever
ride the timeline
like a river

death is the shadow of life
the silent darkness
of the sky

falling
into emptiness
life is the revenant of death

we rush
we run
we jump
we play
we say we are not animals

and how will we
describe ourselves?
if not animals
then what else?

they cry
they laugh
they sing
they dream
are we as different as we seem?

do they have words
to call themselves
not animals but
something else?

From time to time
From day to day
I see the world
In different ways

How different then
Must it be
From the perspective
That you see

How does the world look
Through your eyes?
I wish that I
Could read your mind

But it is hidden
In your head

I'll show my mind
To you instead

I am the sky
The world is my
Eye

Music they share
Singing they roam
Deep under the air
The sea is their home

Secrets they keep
Unknown in our lands
A song in the deep
The sea understands

a heavy stone
is lifted from
the loamy ground

a slender stem
tender and pale
first greets the wind

and rises slowly
to become
green with the Sun

Rainbow bird
Whirls and swirls in a vibrant
Typhoon of colour

My heart is dark
But my mind is
Bright lightning

What would you say
To the world
If you could?

Would you say
I love you?
Would you say
Be good?

Would you tell your secrets?
Would you tell a joke?
Would you be afraid to speak
Lest you misspoke?

What would you say
If you knew you’d be heard?
How would you choose between
So many words,
So many different
Forms of expression?

As for me
I would ask the world a question

I read a message
Written on a screen
In a dream
Three words

‘Everyone is agnostic’

Sometimes dreams tell the truth

The rabbit
Is swept up into the sky
By the golden hawk

Trembling
But for the very first time
Not afraid to fall

Compared to other animals
I think that humans are quite strange
Whenever we look at the world
We think about what we can change

We live in snow and build houses
We shave our fur and wear fur coats
We feed our babies formula
And drink the milk of cows and goats

I wonder how our life would be
If there were someone else like us
Who could not live in harmony
And used their tools to alter us

I wonder what we would become
In the hands of the powerful
We who have turned to dogs and cats
The children of lions and wolves

When you are in love
It does not matter
How beautiful other people are

Even the brightest star
Fades into the light
When the Sun shines

I am afraid
To make a mistake
But the longer I wait
The more I make

To wait makes haste
And haste makes waste
If I start now
It will be OK

Water takes its time
Water takes its turn
Water does not catch fire
Water does not burn

Water works together
Better than alone
Water washes walls away
Water cuts through stone

The creators gave their lives so that we might live
That is the most precious thing anyone can give
Scattered all across the sky shattered into dust
But they have not ceased to be
They came back as us

The creators could not see, they who brought us light
But what they have come to be has a trillion eyes
The creators could not know, they could only shine
But what they have come to be has a trillion minds

They who came back as the Sun and the peaceful Moon
They who came back as the sea and as me and you
Gathered in by gravity, by the god that keeps
Our little family
Together in the deep

When we look into the sky, we know it is our home
No matter how dark the night, no matter where we roam
The endless cosmos holds us close, for it is who we are
We are the creators now
We are made of stars

One by one
Raindrops fill an open rose
Beauty overflows

Like the Moon
Blooming soft and delicate
Earth kissing the sky

Uprooted
Drifting, flying without fear
A vine in the wind

Shining Sun
Chases me out of my bed
In the cool morning

Some paths are made by force
Suddenly
Carved into the ground
Branded on the world

Some paths are made softly
One day at a time
A memory of ten thousand footsteps following
The path of least resistance

What if you felt no more shame
Imagine that

What if you just loved yourself
The way you are
Imagine that

What if you forgave yourself
Imagine that

I hope you are kind enough
To let yourself
Imagine that

Our minds are always full of peace

In the same way that

The sky is always full of stars

I found a monster in the dark
Deep in my mind, my strangest part
I banished it, it would not go
It sank its teeth into my soul

And then we fought night after night
Until I had no strength to fight
Then for a while it took the reins
All I knew was pleasure and pain

But one bright day we saw the light
Through our two eyes, monster and I
We joined together, strong, allied
No more battles, we both decide

To this day we remain entwined
And now the monster's wings are mine
Now we are one, monster and me
Now I am whole
Now I am free

If you want to understand
If you want to know
Read the truth
Between the words
The shadow of my soul

Words are windows
Words are walls
Some words are trapdoors
Come into my labyrinth
Stay forevermore