The red-bellied woodpecker and I
are one. It has always been
that way. See the blue sky?

And do you see all the ways
a cloudy world wishes to have
its say? Twisting and pulling.

Twisting and pulling. Twisting
and pulling. Yet, the red-bellied woodpecker
and I are one. It just is.

And you and I are one. Calling
out is the sky. The sun begs
the questions to be done. A ball of

Fire. And all this twisting
and pulling. Twisting and pulling.
Strung out and wrung out --

And a woodpecker. Red-bellied.
         In the sun. In the sky.
                And you

And I

Very little indeed
          Might you ever know
But if you do not plant the seed
           You can be sure it will not grow

Where did my last avocado go?

******!



Outside,

The year's first snow

Is falling

This I've come to see:
      that it could not be otherwise

A gray day colored green
      beneath a chilly winter sky

See Sun rise

as Crow flies

Cardinal sings

and Spring arrives

Down beside the river

a snowdrop petal lies

A
Yellow flame
flickers
in the thin and
dark hours of morning

       Brave souls
       every one of us

I dream of you
       and that part of me
forever missing
       forever singing

I can’t help but notice
Sunflower’s disregard for words
It is far too busy
becoming

Breakfast for Finch
Beauty for Human
Nectar for Bee

In a jar on the counter
ever so patient
wait next year’s seeds

“inshallah,
inshallah,”
he would say

“inshallah,
inshallah,
I will return home in May”

and “god-willing,
god-willing,” we say
might the almighty soul find a home
and might this
be that day

Find yourself an imaginary friend
Name him or her "Jasmine" or "Mickey" or "God"
          It's been done before

Where would I be if I didn't land
Once or twice a week upside down
          Neck deep in the sand

Smell the flowers if you can
Pick one or two and carry them home
          Put them in water in a jar

Keep them there
And say "thank you"
           To God or Mickey or Jasmine

To Earth even
Love yourself
           And others too

As best you can
And if or when
           Darkness or despair or doubt

Refuse to leave you alone
Seat yourself
            In the Heart of the Woods

And take rest

Hey Jesus,

     I am wondering:

           Is it time we forget all that "sin" business?

     Let people die as they might die?

            And live,

      As they might live?

           What do you say?

is a breakfast food

"loneliness"







is okay







i loved her then







and i love her now





put milk in the fridge






and give love to a cow






dream all the dreams






and when you wake






say "wow"

Exultation
Elation
Rumination
        This bird-less sky
        shall not ruin my mind
Sun on our skin -- we are more
We are more than what you
Might ever see. Blossom.
        Fruit. And Fall.
A gentle rustle in the leaves

Early Morning Christmas Tree


I.

on branches, ornaments hang

a bright morning

beside the green tree

presents below

pine needles above

This day has been decorated for us



II.

I wake up all sleepy on

cristmas day and see the green

glittering cristmas tree in the

early risen light present are stacked

under the tree for it is christmas

day

This is a poem for the Blackwater
       of your being
where death lives
       beyond your seeing
and the white swan floats
       above your keeping
This is a poem for the Blackwater
       which keeps you breathing

The small poem

of your tired hands
your bent back
your hunched heart
and your silent, lurking seed of longing

Feed me that.

this moment
is as brief as they say it is -
              light rain falling
              on a still lake

this moment
is as brief as they say it is -
              light rain falling
              inviting this earth and its inhabitants
              to wake

                                 to wake

                                                        to wake

The way outward
is inward
say the Ojibwe
Well it is getting late
and I am feeling as if the world wants answers

A flame burns low
and somewhere in the woods a wild
voice rises
through that of the birds
the river
and the wind

It is full of longing, despair and lust
A sightless woman
sings light into the dark
long after dusk

crows chase a red-tail hawk
over snow-laden fields
snot blown clear from my nostril

unbound darkness
through which
a seed is sewn

i dreamt strong

about the beauty

which together we’d make

and held on long

until through pain i learned

you are not mine to take

and just like that

it’s gone

the heart does sometimes ache

now we have a song

and with tremors of love

earth eternal does quake

i met men in france
with whom i forever dance

i stumble into freedom
forgetting my own pants

and when it seems there’s nothing else
“come on home”, sing some plants

as for love? dream and dream
let there be another chance

The fire
sets wood aside
saving up for another day

While the flame
grows smaller
until only ash remains

like flowers

like a candle

like children singing a song

like you and I singing a song

about flowers

beside a candle

new life

growing roots

Blossoms

And the sweetness of our fruit

The full moon rises quiet
in the night
behind the cover of clouds. Light
is light is light. Seen,
or not. Where the eyes go,
where the hands move,
where the heart stirs, love
may grow. Time

lives outside the circle. A
statistic small and frail.
The wind is real.
Voices of crickets and katydids.
The hungry web of the spider. Look,

and be found. Be found,
and behold. Behold,
and be held. Be held
by the web. Be held
by the light. Be held
by the moon
rising quiet
in the night.

im carrying on,
entirely unable
to speak

just quietness
and questions

like,

come
, won't you?

it's a nightly presence,
nightly presents

divinely surrendered
magically tendered
finances tenured,

in the wake of your heart,
lord,
I'm rendered

Enough!

       be it already

                                           a word is a word

                                 amidst many words

Watch this:

        Breath in

        Breath out

                                          And just like that

                              the surface world is digested

Do it fully

                                    and for goodness' sake

             Do it wholly

few words  
  
     are always true

       like     “light”

       and     “dark”

       like      “god”

       and

“I love you”

If we would do a little less
            we might come to see
the love of this world lives
             in simplicity

Each moment.
Each moment runs rich
like a river after rain --
        murky
        and full of what surrounds it.
        What moves it. What bends,
        twists and turns it so.
        Alive with where it has been,
        and alive with where it will go.

Each moment
runs rich
like a river after rain --
        wet and heavy,
        full of joy,
        and full of pain.

Each moment
runs rich
like a river.

        Be there.

Day comes on fast
so i bury my head in the leaves
I put black paint on the railing
cuz it looks good
and they’re gonna pay me
A morning of love
whatever that may mean to you
will keep you full
as the world stretches you thin
They’re gonna have to stop me themselves
I’m done
stopping myself
Give me the whole **** mountain
and wrap me in the great blanket of stars

This world is mine too, you know

Mr. Squirrel
And his twitching tail
Upon the gray roof
Set before the cold blue sky

It is best not to fill your own cup

I go down to the river
To see what’s for sale

And I come back a giver
— Fat like a whale

I think I oughtta write a poem today

But something tells me to be quiet

So, I’m left with this

        


            Are you listening?

Gently,
this
is enough

Twelve vultures
seven black and five turkey
Like honey in hot tea
I’m gone in early morning

In Subotica, it was doves
night and day
from the library, the town park
and above the ice rink
clouds glowing pink

“Let there be birds in the poem”
she says

Let there be humans
too
let there be a body
tucked against
another body
let there be hands
moving slow,
here and there
let there be blood
flowing
freely

listen
a mountain dove
is cooing
in the late Winter sun

maybe I’ve been humbled

yet again
maybe “maybe” is all there ever is
maybe “God”
maybe loss
maybe I’m afraid to hurt
to be hurt
to accept

maybe I like the chase
maybe I want that old love once more
maybe I’m better off without it
maybe I can love her just like this
(and maybe that’s enough)

maybe I reach too high
maybe I’m looking too low
maybe I am human
maybe I have trouble with acceptance
maybe all this isn’t quite so bad
maybe there’s an awful lot of love in this world
maybe the cold can be fine too

maybe Crows are King
maybe Christ
is the breath of all beings
maybe Life
is what happens
when we sing

mugwort mama
mama momma
come home
come home mama

sing mama
mama sing
mugwort mama
mugwort sings

oh mugwort dancing
she  dances darling
oh dance, dance,
dance us home

laughing papa, papa laughing
oh papa, papa
papa
is laughing us home

loving love
mama loving
mugwort mama
mugwort is loving us home


<3

This is not the world as I knew it

And yet it’s all I know

Do you believe in?

What is a ****, really?
         And which seed, next, shall I sew?

Not just questions of the garden,
         They live everywhere we go.

No answers here to be had
         But by asking we may grow

See the creatures, how they're milling?
         Some for song and some for show

It can all be a little scary
          Left, right, above and below

From the far field
          One truth the body always knows

Live faith and sing a song
          Any which way it goes

Live faith and sing a song
           Any which way it goes

some days i wake up
      and all i see is you

so now, i wonder,
       is it me that you see too?

like darling, oh darling
      can you believe this view

goodness heavens, honey
       is there anything quite so true

perhaps,

      you are already aware
      of the undying
      nature
      of life
      --

if not,

       may i direct some attention
       toward angry chopping blade
       of  mower -- symbol
       of "death"
       if there ever was one

and flowers

       which bloom
       lower
       and lower
       beneath reach of blade
       of that funny old mower

so i sing with you now

      oh dandelion and chicory,
       sorrel and clover --
      how love carries through
       over and over

words like “love”
and “fear”
and “loneliness”

on a long road
which does not end

and two feet
which take turns
one
then the other

maybe 'it'
is just one more
far away place
maybe the gift
is this breath -- oh
sweet smiles on each
and every face

it is the flavor of this world
which carries me through

it is the strangeness that i love,
curiosity,
and nothing left to do

musk
fox
and funk

spice
posh
and skunk

will she love me?
perhaps
she already does

the weather
that is this world -- everything
is, will be

and was

I’ve become the monkey