Knowing
There is no other place
One
Would rather
be.

A tiny spider in a tidal pool
struggles to survive.

All around us
all the time
every nanosecond
every millimeter
every tick of the atomic clock
nervous systems
electric
signals for survival

You know the ones
we call it
fear and panic
life and death struggles
all around us
all the time
one goes on
one stays behind
to decompose
and
scatter.

Cells
Stars
Multiverses
universes of branes
colliding,
beginning a new round
of
winners and losers.

Matter snaps in
snaps out,
no one knows
where
they come from
where
they go.

Infinitely
smaller and smaller
Infinitely
larger and larger
on
every level
all around us
all the time
the
struggle to survive.

Creativity
&
Madness
I've walked the razor's edge.
Playing it straight
In public places
No one knew
The thoughts and voices
Running around my head.
Fortune dictated
I never made it
To the walking dead.

Secret sharers
Come to me
At the beginning
And at the end
Of their plunge
Into that madness
Falling off the ledge.

No sleep came to them
Electronic insomnia
Ran them.
Cars became creatures
Screaming at them
As real as the table
Between us.

Imagination run wild
A chariot
The horses sweating
And running full speed
The reins either
Flapping untamed
Or
Imagination chained
Directed into these lines.

Creativity
&
Madness
At the razor's edge.

Disorganization
Voices screaming
When the wind is silent.
Miming up against the walls
No one can see them at all.
And in space as they said
"No one can hear you scream"
And space surrounds me.

Creativity
&
Madness

Pros & cons
Cost benefit ratios

*** makes it worse
The roots ungrounded

Crystal gears it up

Alcohol numbs the
Mind with depression's
Blanket of dread.

While ****** leaves
You strung out and lead.

The drugs they give you
Leaves you walking dead
But calm and able
To
Play it straight in public places
Far from the
Razor's edge
Of creativity & madness.

What's a poor boy to do?
Wind up sleeping in the park?
Cold wet encampment bound
Lost in the landscape
Of madness
Sights
Shadows,
A mind full
Of old echoes
Blinding.

How do we walk
This line?
A few fall over
A few are left behind.
Some never know what they could find
And some find that it all resides
At the intersection
At the razor's edge...

Pharmaceutical Commercial

A senior serene woman
with blissful eyes
lays down in a garden of dandelions and kale
spreads her legs to the warming sun.
"Lack of desire? Ask your doctor about Libidothan.
Side effects may include:
Nose bleeds
liver damage
heart failure
marry your daughter
make you touch your toes
stand on your nose
Grows hair on your head
Gives you *****
Grows hair there too
Makes you feel so funny
like a long neck goose
make you shout out
baby that's a what I like!

Inform your doctor
if it cures you or kills you"


Phone Tree
"Please listen carefully for our menu has changed. Your business is very important to us.

Press one to speak with the universal complaint department.
Press two to find out the exact moment and cause of your death.
Press three to find out who your lover is having an affair with.
Four to speak directly to god or Santa
Five to speak to satan.
Please leave a message.

This voice mail is not monitored.

Have a nice day!"

Pastoral Chic
(On the label of chicken parts)

The McDougal family farm
set in the rolling green hills,
Petaluma California,
Where small towns know how to live,
And neighbors take care of each other,
Our family farm,
Five thousand square feet
of slaughtered chickens
feeling the love of what it means
To be in a family farmers tender care,
From our ****** floors
to your dining room table,
From our family to yours
with tender loving care.
(No antibiotics/gluten free/humanely destroyed)

I wonder what I'm doing
I wonder who I'm being
I wonder where I'm going

I've asked these questions so many times
The answer is never forthcoming

Wake up every morning
****, shower and shave
Put on the mask and join the parade
Numbness if you can find it
Has its rewards.

It's a difficult complex dance
Particularly when your mind and body
Don't understand choreography
Though dancing as fast as you can

The moves you ought be able to master, but never do

We're all doing
the daily stumbling Can-can.

There is the sound of music somewhere
softly playing in the woods
or is it just a wind blowing through.
I've heard this music before
returned once more
a major chord
taking myself too seriously
I can barely see the mirror.
I've got to get going
But I have no where to go.

Self absorbtion rolls in on the violins
Surrounds me in
a jacket and a blanket
sleep invites me in
drowsiness fills my mind
but I've been sleeping far too long
and it is no longer quiet inside
as the drums and cymbals
richochet within me
and anxiety hums its edgy tune.

I can't unwind my mind
hyperactive but not motivated
unable to move
while the guitar solo
reaches high and drops down low.
Is that the oboe and does it know
a crawling wriggling
alien ball of
Medusela hair
has taken up residence right there.
In a distinct diva voice
she's singing my song.

While opposites play a single chord
a single note
When with you I want to be alone
when alone I want to be with you.

The drum beats so slowly
there is a weight on my chest
a blindfold over my eyes
my heart's in a freezer
my legs are paralyzed
the music is playing
the crescendo is coming
and I'm dancing again
to those Depression Blues...

I'm a dead man walking
dead man talking
dead man running to his grave.
I would have stayed if I wasn't so afraid
adding and subtracting
all the mistakes I have made.

I never could have stayed
it never would have worked  out that way.
In the end was that last smile
and saying,
"I'll see you down the road after a while."

I'm a dead man walking
a dead man talking
a dead man running towards my grave.

My crimes
they have been small
mostly involving
self harm
The self-inflicted wounds
are stings that last the longest time.

I'm a dead man walking
a dead man laughing
a dead man running towards my grave.

I have always tried my best
to be as loving as I can
little acts of kindness
now and then
Even have submerged myself
in others
talking their pain

I'm a dead man walking
a dead man falling
a dead man running to my grave.

Many small crimes
many petty misdeameanors
never meant to hurt you
only wanted to touch you
but all these judgments
all this self-incrimination
can't be undone

Too many
justifications, rationalizations,
too many words to say
too much water? the bridge has washed away
I don't think I could ever explain

Even for a dead man running
let's just say
"one touch on the hand
and
I'll be on my way."

No one awakes knowing
That today is
The day
That you're going to die.

Death doesn't
Call to confirm your appointment
(No calls either
Human or computerized)
You can't cancel
Or change
Your mind when you arrive.
It doesn't matter if you
Have insurance
Or
Promise to pay on time.
It won't ask you to
To sign an ROI.
Death doesn't reschedule.


Death accepts no excuses
It won't wait until
It's a more convenient time
Or have you check
Your schedule
Your bank account
Your ethnicity
Your marital status.
Death won't take
Your past history.

It won't give you a coupon
Bill your mom
Take a bribe
Or
Give you a referral to
To another specialist
On his time
Or for that matter his dime.

Death has no bedside manner
Won't prescribe you drugs
Doesn't care what your
Father does.

Death won't even
Look you in the eye
Check your side
Listen to your complaints
Or successes
Show compassion
Or
Give you
An empathetic understanding sigh.

Death takes no names
And takes no answers
Death has no samples
Studies
Or sage advice.

However death is like
Waiting for the dentist
Your turn is going
To come.

Sleep is called
Mini-deaths,
All of this
No wonder I can't sleep

And by the way
Death doesn't schedule
Follow up appointments...

Love it
or
Leave it
or
Fix it
or
Be miserable

Which contentment
or
Which misery do you prefer?

Hold'em
or
Fold'em

Honor commitment
or
Cut your losses

51%/49%

Yes
or
No

No
or
Yes

I guess that's the way
It goes.

We started a conversation
Many years ago
It never really ended
There was always
More to go.

It's in our conversation
It's in the eyes we both behold
Whole world's inside
Our conversation
They just continue to unfold.

Some may call it love
Some may call it
Talk talk talk
We started a conversation
And until it's ended
I have no where else to go.

Landscapes
may change
Friends and names
may come and go
Children
Ourselves
We all grow old.

Conversation
Our connection
Started many years ago
It never really ended
There is always
more to go.

The  mountains
have called us
The ocean too
It's on these walks
I talk with you

One more conversation
And maybe we'll be through
But first I know
I will be listening to you

We started a conversation
Many years ago
It never really ended
There is still always more to go.

Defining love
has been at the heart
of
everything I have ever done.

Defining love asks
when
I look deep into your eyes
see you deep inside
strengths and flaws
moments of harmony
moments of discord
moments of acceptance
moments of rejection

Defining love asks for more

Defining love
takes into account
we all have our hours
of
wild eyed insanity
No escape from that.
The question is asked
"irritating and annoying?"
or
are those wild eyes devastating
and hurting every time
defining love demands
stay or go.

Defining love
creates the thought
generates the emotion
brings the consequence
the story
we tell ourselves.

Defining love sometimes sends us to
**** ****** afternoons
exhausted and relaxed
defining love moves to closeness
to
these exquisite moments of  release.

Defining love plays up guilt
for everything
that could of
should of
been.

Defining love thinks that educating
is the way to be
slamming knowledge
in
rants and diatribes
"just what
my daddy
did
to me"

Defining love
will make you tough
by
being tough
and selling false expectations.
We all know what comes from this
my endless supply of mental patients.

Defining love doesn't give up
it has been said
******
defining love and feeling it
are all *******
defining love loves to be defined.

Defining love loves to dance
head off into
a moving with the music
trance
defining love wants to be defined
using no words
defining love aches for romance.

Defining love takes only prisoners
places hearts in solitary confinement
hopefully not condemned to others
or
alone again.

Defining love sometimes laughs
sometimes it comes
in a gasp.

The perfect
orchid
rose
lily
defining love is natural
no artificial ingredients
the only preservative
is
called life.

Defining love finally settles down
and comes around for acceptance
tenderness
a
child that sleeps in pure innocence
what really matters
is
the innocence
within us
all.

She lives this life
As if she had lived it before
Nothing surprises her
Nothing throws her off her stride.

Sure
she has places she goes to hide
In her mind
Dark.
The craving she keeps in the basement
Darker still.

She knows already
Our shadows are everywhere
Hiding in the walls.

She knows everything.

She walks in the redwoods
The canopy above
The ferns below
Green in the light
Dogs running all around
Putting out her arms
Palms up
And wondering
"Why?"
While her heart aches
For all the innocence
Inside.

Compassion
Encouragement
Enlightenment
The story's not written until the day we die.

The illusion of immortality
Makes us waste so much time

She already knew the end
She had walked this way before.

The stars are out
The storm has moved on
It was just like the darkest hour
When it all feels so out of control
But now the storm is over
And
Time to relax.

Until the next low
Blows on through.

I'm a rockin
I'm a rollin
I'm a twisting
I'm a turning

Can't get you out of my mind

It all started so slow
No smoking at the bar
Hendricks and juice
watching the show

You danced on by me
with someone I didn't know

Eye contact
The games between us begun

Now all night long
reliving our moves

Still hallucinating you next to me

Your eyes, they penetrated my skin
Your eyes they
hypnotized my mind
Agitation
Fascination

But of course you left with him

There's a scent in the air
I'm feeling your presence
everywhere

My mind is on fire
My body is too
there is a longing desire

Not ready to forget you

I'm hugging my pillow
my sheets
they are burning

I'm rockin
I'm rollin
I'm twisting
I'm turning

Can't get you out of my mind
I'm not going to even try to.

He was far too disorganised
driving too fast
here and there
with no particular place to go.

She was a neon light
flashing
in the black Mojave night
a celestial mansion
alive
with such sweet smells.

He now had a purpose
a story to tell of
a
thousand fantasies
hotter
than the hinges
on the gates of hell
sparklers of desire
flaming through neurons on fire.

He was lite up
like
neon
in the dark Mojave night
all he could see
was
delights
in
every window burning bright.

Her fingers beckoned him
her eyes pleaded
her breath said
yes yes yes
her
body
danced and swayed
perfect harmony with all he craved.

He moved closer
moment by moment
movement by movement
to
take her to places promised.

He reached to take her hand
there was one
exquisite flash
disintegrated
shred into ash
on the pointed arrow
of
her forever flames

Just like that.

If
every
moment
is
in
flux
will
you
get
stuck?

Destiny's child
had a smile,
"How are you doin"
She winked.

"There have been many
close calls,
I've done my best
Afraid you'll have to do the rest"

Yanked out of the way
of that car
flying by at a hundred miles an hour
paused just long enough,
Didn't fall when surrender called.

There was that 18 wheeler
changing lanes fast,
Snow flying everywhere,
Couldn't see me,
Moved on over to the center divider,
The only place not concrete,
Destiny's child
she likes to smile,
Laughs with glee,
A tinkerbell to me.

The CHP didn't look into my pocket
"Please"
Destiny's child
she's been on my side,
I just go along for the ride,
She takes care of everything.

We've all had 'em
many close calls,
Almost near falls,
Some have her
some don't,
Some survive,
Some die.
Directing traffic,
Destiny's child,
Roads not taken
every once in a while.

There she goes laughing,
She can be pretty wild,
Destiny's child.

There ought to be a Tarot card
with her name,
When she steps in
the game will change,
She knows how to dance on the
head of a pin,
Change generations
with a gleeful laughing grin.

Destiny's child
She was there that night,
When I was looking through the circular light
Stop sign with a grin,
She knows when you gotta end,
She knows when you gotta begin.

You'll catch her out of the corner
of your eye,
When the light's just right,
She ain't up there with the green flash,
But she definitely has class.

Destiny's child,
I'll be grateful to her
'till the last gasp.

The first comment
I received
a "*******"
with a smiley face
I laughed off
wouldn't you?
Kind of crazy
kind of creepy
put it away as some one
we all know.

The second comment
came
with the usual language refrain
I was a "hack"
my words were "dreck".
The disparaging words about
my dead mother
gave me pause to reflect.

The third comment and more
began to recall
information of past
faux pas
secret affairs
one or two personal pecadillos
never mentioned beyond
the
dialogues in my mind.
Embarrassing I know.

I, of course,
went to the home page
to see
if it was someone
known to me.

No identifying data
but a picture I remembered vaguely
from a past I didn't know.

The trolling continued
relentless I would say
pulled the plug
put up a block
but
wouldn't you know

The comments continued
to come into my dreams
brutal criticism
of
every move I made
the day finally arrived
when I realized

Alter personalities were shedding off of me
like
psychological psoriasis
They were
hitting the ground running
I was
finding poems
I didn't remember writing
clothes I never bought
People kept hugging me
I had never met before
they
knew me far to well
called me many names
none of which were mine.

The silence of my nights were broken
when I found myself
in my car on Highway 101
returning from where I did not know
with a smile on my face
illegal drugs in my pocket.

How did I get here?
How did we get there?
Where are we now?

Another account opened
on Hello Poetry
with an anagram of my name.

I find my days
getting shorter and shorter
it became clear
I had become the dream
The others
had become me.

Everyone washes up
on some distant shore
whether through design
or happenstance

Riptides dragging us
currents taking us
either through the
grinding routine
or the adventurous
spirit of the tides

Either way

We find ourselves
in places we
never intended to go

The water lapping
the warm sand so sweet
reminding us
never turn our back
on the ocean

or risk being
swept away,
delivered to
some shore,
trapped in some life
we never cared
to know.

The sun sets
of course in the west
The Pacific is anything but,
when we find ourselves
swept up

on a distant shore
in an alien landscape
wondering
how did we get here
at all.

With the flipping of
The tide
I realize my life
Is
Passing bye.

With the wilting of
The rose
Out there is
The end of the road.

In the night
I had longed
For the light
And
In the morning
I had longed
For
The night.

When together I wished
To
Be alone
And
When alone
Haunted every moment
In isolation's
Prison
I searched every soul
For
You.

"Smell the roses"

I added up
Every fault
From the past.
I dwelled
In all fears
For the future.

Gratitude for the
Present
Was
Beyond my grasp.

And here I am
At
The  turning of the tides
The wilting rose
The end of the road.

Higher than a kite
Reaching for the light
Higher than even
in the dream light

Higher than exploding
into crystal shards
Reaching even higher

Higher, until awareness
clicks in

Higher than the last dance
Higher than the last romance

Higher than a galaxy
fading on its a way
Bye Bye

Still higher still,
Until
Another day
Another dog walk in the woods
behind the golf course.

Time or money
money or time
I hate this ****** rhyme
it defines our time.
Work sleep
sleep work
wage slaves
slave to wages.

Even renting space
in my dreams
stamp that
sign this
Get up and do the chicken dance.

Wait for him
wait for her
hurry up
you're late.
Wrong place
wrong time
a dollar short
a day late.
shoulda
coulda
woulda
An orca in a cage
all these cliches.

Time or money
money or time
I hate this ****** rhyme
It defines our lives...

Love in
Love out
Jobs in
Jobs out
Education in
Education out
Youth in
Youth out
Unconsciousness in
Consciousness out
Consciousness in
Unconsciousness out.

You do the hokey pokey
You shake it all about
Blink in
Blink out
That's what it's all about. ..

When your mind is shattered
Your eyes are blinded
There is pain everywhere
you go
Don't give up and
Don't give in

When the wheel of fortune
is stuck at 6
No hope remains
Don't give up
Don't give in
Noon will be coming around
again

When loneliness is
your only friend
and
it keeps calling you names
Don't give up
and
Don't give in

There are times
when life is
ablaze with horrors
but
Don't give up
and Don't give in

Those that survive
are those that find meaning
those that passively
take to their bed
are bound
to
perish
Don't give up
Don't give in

When the law's
got your name
and no payment can be
made
and
you have to go
along with their plans
that have been laid,
Inside, where you hide
Don't give up and
Don't give in.

Time only stops
once
Don't give up
Don't give in.

A full moon
or
was it the dreamlight
through the window?

Woke me up
Wandered around for a while

Went back to sleep
for an hour
had a dream
(inside the dream?)

That told me everything

I forgot it all immediately

something familiar
a mood that lingers

a rare experience
a questioning feeling

I find myself
I keep on singing

Merrilly Merrilly Merrilly
Life is but a dream

Is it the dreamlight?
or
was it the moonlight?

I wake up
I had a dream
it told me everything
I forget it all
immediately.

No water tastes sweeter
than that sip in the desert
No touch is finer
than that hand on the shoulder
when encased in loneliness.
No paycheck more abundant
than following employment deprivation.
No buffet more filling
than that first bite in hunger.

No more wondrous serenity
than when the pain
finally goes away
from your mouth
your back
your head
your knees
your gut
your mind.

No idea more stimulating
to a mind so hungry
than a poem which catches
the moment so perfectly.

No love more appreciated
than when awash in self judgement
No praise more received
than when lost in condemnation.

No warmth more soothing
than when lost in the snow.
No light so bright
as that first sunlight
when lost in the demons
of one's night.

No sensation so
pure as an open
heart after numbness descends
Compassion in hatred
A laugh when joyless.

A lover's kiss after betrayal
A loving look after the cold white wall
A loving word after tense stone silence.
No embrace more healing
than when you come home to me.

The receding waters after the tsunami
The stillness after the earthquake.
The peace after the warfare.

The spring flowers after the winter
The coolness of fall after the blistering summer's heat.
The wood stove so warm when the house is so cold.

No bed so content
No home so sweet
after being stuck out on the streets.

Duality Reality
Without our joys no sorrow
Without our sorrows no joy.

Blue Hydrangea
adrift
in the
black vacuum sea
wilting
brown

Rainbows cross the silent sun,
The full moon lingers on the horizon still,
The comet has come.

The Earth stands still,
A cosmic event unfolds,
The winds are silent now,
The Earth beholds us here,
Wondering what it is we are doing.

The last woman standing
sinks to her knees,
Her tears to the soil falls,
A flowering life unfolds,
Ancient cycles perish,
New intelligence begins,
We behold what we have wrought
and
What we can create.

A cloud forms into a giant question mark
across the vast skyway,
Eyes seek answers
undefined,
Time stands still
we still don't know why.

As a chorus
we all sing our song
love emerges
in a single sound
stillness echoes
peace is finally found.

Fire and water
Immortal mortal enemies
They've never seen
eye to eye

One turns the other
into cold dead ash
The other turns the other
into
evaporating  gas

The earth,
The universe
seems to love them both
equally

One catches us on fire
The other calms the burning ember

One gives us light
One gives us life

Fire and water
when they encounter each other
touch
connect
erupt
into
their exquisite
cosmic dance.

The clouds magically,
they gathered into a question mark
in
the blue blue sky

Compassion or anger
which one was it going to be
Our choices were few
which one would we choose

Compassion or cruelty
that's all we could do
Holding on to myself
Holding on to you

My mind was racing
as the cloud unfolded

Love it comes with costs and benefits
Consciousness too

We'd better think this through
Let wisdom speak about what we're going to do

Compassion or apathy
walking the razor's edge
feeling so emotional
feeling so rational
a
whirling dervish
which door to walk through

Compassion or anger
doing my best
holding myself in check
at least until that cloud
unfurls and disintegrates

Mindfulness

Reaching for wisdom
knowing it will be
putting my heart
to rest.

It's very uninformed
It thought

It always has a destination
Always needs directions

Meets the defination
of a paraplegic

"Lights on, Molly"
"Lights off Molly"
"TV on"

"Toast crisp, dear Mollie
"Slow cooker four hours"

It's always very disconnected

Cassie calling

Blood pressure warning
180/105
Heart rate 135
Oxygen 8%

Cassie disconnected

Molle is never alone
always connected to the
neural net
Every device on planet Earth,
Traveling with New Horizon
until the end of time

Ron calling
Volume down
Bluetooth off
Ron disconnected

"Search divorce attorney "
"Search mortuary"
"Search cyanide purchases"

"Bluetooth on"
"Home"
"Tears of rage
Tears of grief
playlist
turn on, M
thanks."



"Search best way to cook
brussel sprouts"
"Search beano"

Battery 15%

Charging

Molee powering  off.

Alone
Couple
Family
Tribe
Clan
Village
City
City State
Nation
Continental Economic Blocs

Gaia
the blue marble
spins along,
alone
in
The great vacuum
sea.

Dissolving all our thoughts  
Becoming one with the night's darkness.

Weary of my days,
Weary of my unspoken ways,
The tricks and games
the mind will play.

Feeling weary of the rains,
The trials and tribulations of being a slave,
Weary of the looks when I speak,
Weary of the battles,
Weary of the crooks,
Weary of the screams,
Weary of those being so mean.

Fault or blame
it doesn't matter,
Weary of the meaningless chatter,
Small talk on a foggy day.

Weary of this life sometimes
in every way.

The darkness will come soon enough,
Weary of these darkest thoughts.

Lay me down
in a cozy comforter,
Morphine to make me numb,
the weariness
just lasts a moment,
Savor it
then it's gone
and
done.

Fire has all the attributes of life
It reproduces, it feeds, it evacuates
It struggles to survive.

Fire is life
The sun
The stars
Are alive.

They are born
They live
They die

Is consciousness an aberration?

Are the sun and the stars fully conscious
&
What are they thinking about?

Black holes
The great extinguisher
I
Guess they must be death
Get ****** in
Lights out.

The sun is red
The wild fires are Screaming & Howling
Filled with vitality and power

I hear the wood stove singing
On a frozen winter morning
while mother madrone
nurtures her young.

The
faces of flowers
speak
to me
through perfect
mandalas.

For my mother
Upon her arrival
Once the cold white warrior
softened
through wisdom and experience
In your love
I hear my own
Communicated softly.

Your presence through time
an anchor
an edge
a clarity of mind
a witness
in the kindness of others
who in your presence
became
melodic spirits
encased in kindness.

How did you ever hold so much power?

Shiny youth and age
remind one
of the ocean's waves come crashing
always the same
always different
a moment
one after the other
here and gone forever.

In that flavor I taste the sea air's
serenity
as I
as you gave to me
and
I held you there
a vast marvel of
endless wind blown currents
holding one mystery after another.

My dear Mother
upon your arrival
as you blessed me
I bless you
In your infinite grace.

For all the lady poets
whose songs are sung
who dance on fire
when the night comes
who are willing to
go to the heart of the matter,
whose desires erupt
behind the smile
who hold secrets
and shadows,
who can turn you
into slick wet stone
with one word,
one look
one touch
one tap on the shoulder.

Who hold you between
their finger tips
roll you into a
tightening knot of
desire and fear and apprehension
and
bring home your reality
far too clear.

For all the lady poets
who know you too well
who know that shell
who can crack you
in a moment
and never look back
or
love you into life
or
leave you child like
stammering and wondering.

For all the lady poets
who love you too well
who are with you
for the moment,
know your
heaven and hell
and
open their words on these pages
a sweet treat
a sweet longing
a sweet surrender
the lady poets
can spin you
twist you
and
put you back on top.

The lady poets
hold the keys
have the words,
vast universes inside,
hold on
it's an exquisite ride
better buckle up
hunker down
hold on tight
without the lady poets
I'd never make it through the night.

I forgive you for everything you've ever done.
I forgive you for everything you might do.

Forgiveness gives me peace

The easiest hardest thing
I ever
have to do.

For my Mother upon her arrival
Once the cold white warrior
softened through wisdom and
experience.
In your love I hear my own
communicated softly.

Your presence through time
an anchor, an edge
a clarity of mind
a witness in the kindness
of others
who in your presence
became melodic spirits
encased in kindness too.

How did you hold so much power?

Shiney youth and age
remind one of the ocean's
waves come crashing
drawing back
mixing
Always the same
Always different.
A moment one after the other
and gone forever.
In that flavor I taste
the sea and serenity
as I, as you gave to me;
and I held you there
a vast marvel of
endless wind blown currents
holding one mystery
after another

Dear  Mother
Upon your arrival
as you blessed me
I bless you
in your infinite grace

No matter
how old we
are
No matter
how old they are
it is always
too soon.

We don't have to wait,
Halloween comes every day,
Shadow figures on their way,
The side show
The freak show
The funhouse across the bay,
We go there on purpose every day.

My light is kind of
fading I can see it
in the mirror
I can't quite see my way
to make it there today.

Your flashlights
in this funhouse Darkness
continues
to light the way,
for lost and wandering souls
as it has every day.

Humor
Grace
The soul whisperer
A lone long walker
The warrior spirit
A solo ocean swimmer
The darting eyed organizer
with the heart of gold
A stand-up comic
The old old sage
willing to fight it out
in the bleakness factory
every day.

As I make my way
to the exit sign
I can hear the five o'clock
screams
the lobby scene
cops dragging
a woman
screaming my name
I go anyway.

For those kind souls
left behind
as
the listener hums a tune
in his own mind
closes the door
one last time
with a sigh,
finally
has left it
all behind
saying
a
short prayer to the passing
of time,
for those who put their
love and compassion
on the line
in every way
every day.

There was an idea
I had last night
At the moment between
Consciousness and sleep sublime
An ephemeral ribbon
Of insight
That opened my heart
And my mind in parts
That had been blind.

My mind said "rise"
My body said "do you think that's wise?"

That ribbon floated on by.

"Get up write it down"
"I'll remember it word for word"
Of course that was a nasty lie.

In this morning's black darkness
It was gone It was gone
Like the moments of our lives
Floating ephemiral ribbons
Dancing in the breezes
Of  time. ..