desire is quicksand
a trap to suffering
the liberating tree branch
is knowing your desires
are imaginary and fleeting
you can let them go

happiness is easy
it's easier to drink soda
than juice celery
it's easier to scroll facebook
than read a book
it's easier to watch internet ****
than romance your lover
it's easier to freeze the fat
than exercise and eat well

yes, happiness is easy
but when did it become
another addiction?

we explore the world
but what good is that knowledge
without creation
we create works of art
but how limited are our creations
without exploration

we are human
we cannot be perfect
but we can always be better

the grass and plants
the trees and leaves
they all seem to dance
in the cool light breeze

this world is theirs
i’m just passing through
they lessen my fears
as i write a haiku

thank you sweet nature
for your peace and care
i will be less of a stranger
with time, I swear

to walk your own path freely
with a creative heart or

to walk the well-trodden path strictly
with control and ambition

the former breeds love
releasing buried tension

the latter breeds fear
stimulating addiction and paranoia

there is nothing wrong
with a disdain for authority
break their rules
do things your way
just don’t get caught
you are no good to anybody
locked behind steel bars
or expelled from school
take their degrees and accolades
use it against them
make this world a little better

we sit in our gray cubicle
(or corner office if you prefer)
use up days months years
even decades of life
to reach the dream
oh, that elusive dream
dangling about in the unknown
forever in the future
forever out of reach
forever a mirage

do not force things
better to flow like water
moving around resistance
changing form
as the terrain changes

all that we know or imagine is
bound by limitations of
language, body, and mind

language limits us
for how can we communicate all
with only words?

body limits us
for how can we sense all
with only our body?

mind limits us
for how can we let go
when fear imprisons us?

love is the saving grace
love breaks the shackles
of our earthly limitations

language cannot fully express love
body cannot fully hold onto love
mind cannot fully understand love

yet we know love
when we experience it
that makes love the most real of all