Surya Lights the blazing candle in the sky
and our day begins
on a pillow of clouds my spirit
bows at His vast blue altar

In fact, gods, goddesses, earthlings
and all the inhabitants of the Cosmos
kneel and prostrate at His glorious, life giving Feet

Today Lord Surya ascends to His northernmost
temple in the heavens
Courtly tablas boom, traditional Indian trumpets blare

Sweet sticky aroma and flavors of
sesame and jaggery confection
overflow in banquet halls on earth and in Kailasa

Colorful kites, bits of starry confetti
drift downward from the celestial celebration

David and I, our hands folded in prayer
stand on the front lawn offering our salutations
to the Golden Lord

By Serendipitous good fortune, my brother Chris just happens
to pass by at this moment and stops to join
us in our Sun worship

Happy Makar Sankranti
May Surya Deva's auspicious saffron rays
bless you with Peace, Love and Prosperity

the pretty white cloud
could simply not give a ****
about my problems.

why do you chew me up,
America?
why do you ask me to stand under
your flag and its stars, when in a clock’s
turning, i move as sheep to pens, going
from stall to stall, all to learn about you,
America?

why do you hold me on your tongue,
America?
why do you let your baby sheep be
slaughtered in their pens, while your
bleating is too loud for anyone to
end the massacre of the babies;
why is there no discussion,
America?

why do you show me off,
America?
why am i on your tongue, like a snow-
flake on a child's, or the straw
on a sheep's; or the dryness on a man’s
when he is done chewing his meat,
America?

why don't you spit me out,
America?

why don't you let me sit in the mud,
by the **** and the bones of the butchered
animals,
America?

why can’t you stop the bleating--

i am the swamp
unkempt or pure
rigored beyond ‘cognition
seeming paths
stretch back and forth
linearities apposition

inside the coloured tangle
patterns resist significance
and anything like an echo
reminds one of the distance

for the knots
of rotting wood
surrounded by its perish
stand deftly
in the path
of man’s approaching garish

and before you even know it
beginnings reposition;
there’s nothing certain but the fate
of body time collision

What's Amaranthine?
Those beautifully painted skies
blended with shades of pink, blue and purple
or your star like eyes
that dazzle at the gaze of mine.
What's Amaranthine?
The deep blue ocean blessed with marine salt
or your aesthetic and revered soul blessed with no faults.
What's amaranthine?
the splendor and magnificence of nature embellished with the flowers of spring, summer and winter
or your serenity,
which is as calm as a summer sea.
What's Amaranthine?
The immortal and unfading vigor of the universe
or the heart marred with scars,
craving for the undying and unconditional love of yours.

Funny, how after a long protracted illness
everything in nature is so acutely
radiant and refreshing

The fountain grass crouching near
the French trellis
shakes his lime green mane
and roars: "Good Morning!"

The little sparrow chirping his
**** off in the pin oak tree
permeates my ears with
rhapsodic melody

Golden eyes of Cape May daisies gazing
giddily up at the sun
lights up the garden

Egyptian roses swinging their
fragrant censers
march in stately procession

Divine Mother, Goddess, High Priestess
with eyes the color of sunrise reflected
on aquamarine ocean waves and sea foam
taps her healing wand over Winter's
crystal head

And the terrestrial world, all that is
mortal, morbid and subject to decay
springs to life....again...and again.....

perhaps the best way
to understand
ourselves,
is to understand
nature
and all that surrounds us.

Her skin's camouflaged
by bark, or so it seems
but really
a lost purpose
for it is not her doing
in the days of old
it's the whisper of time
to prepare her
for the final dance
reluctantly she gave
her body swirling and bending
twisting and turning
in the airy stage
a perfect Giselle
when finally she stopped
and there she lay still
a perfect camouflage
by earth
only her dismal soul
dissolved in the Northwind.

her curiosity had her
daydreaming in the forest.
Avocado leaves tremble briskly
singing its season's chorus.

she listened to the sounds
of squirrels swarming
jumping from tree to tree
like they were performing.

chirp, chirp goes the birds
growing its iridescent feathers.
Animals assembling together food
for the crisp, chilly weather.

she daydreamed
as she studied the mantis green
stems tickling against her sweater
fostering a picturesque scene.