I saw it when you die
sign of beautiful goodbye
Now, all I want is simple "Hi"
I miss you, please hug me tight..

My demons accompany me wherever I go
They follow my trail
They rejoice over my defeat
They kiss me goodnight
They whisper in my ear
In a language I can't quite decipher or grasp
So come take me anywhere but here
Take me to the land of uncensored dreams and long-forgotten memories
Come rekindle the fire within me
Come take me anywhere but here
For I desire nothing but a deep restful sleep

It's in not
letting go
that we fail
to grow-

to the unneeded
we hold
the worthless clutter
the fake gold-

the intrinsic
we leave behind
too much cobweb
in our mind-

too soon set in
the searing years
in life's wilderness
we shed our lonely tears.

It's not restlessness
     but the quest for meaning
     that has herded me
     into this sojourning

    the dust of my life
    has not settled yet
    a voice is beckoning
    my mission I mustn't forget

   every self of its own
   does need careful cleansing
   there's pollution unceasing
   suffocating and threatening

   my heart I'll wear
   on my sleeve in this offing
   home I'll not be heading
   until I've found my soul's healing.

Feeling is tactile
not an abstraction
each draws a picture
in translation.

What do I see?
what do I seek?
as yet, before me
all is fuzzy--can't clearly speak!

I scarcely know
what to believe
either way offers
me no relief.

No, not the least
I will not be cavalier
retreat is not cowardice
I am absolutely clear-

wise Chinese saying I remember:
there's a good lesson in fear
when you know there are tigers
in the forest--why should you go near?