Close your eyes.
Turn off the lights.
Take a deep breath-
Let it settle right.
Shake out your shoulders.
Stretch out your legs.
Fill your chest.
It'll be okay.

Take this chance.
Make it right.
Let this calm
Last you the night.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
Let hate go
With a hearty shout.
It's not yet tomorrow,
So start with today.
Just take your time.
It'll be okay.

Mr. Rogers grace exists
in miniature cities of kindness,

the tranquil tones of forgiveness,
level to the eye of a single frighten child.

For him, and in that moment,
that child is the  most precious
thing in the world.

He blesses them with positive ways
of dealing with their feelings;

the benediction of accepting them
for exactly who they are;

even when everything doesn’t
go exactly the way they hoped,

shows them how to smooth the
dissonance into a beautiful inner music;

store up the blessings
of an ordinary day;

love the ratty, special toy,
even as it grows old;

to know with absolute firmness,
as parents, that anything

mentionable is manageable
and to be human-

and that’s ok.

I am not Christian but I have deep reverence for the teachings of Christ and his love of humanity.

I am not Roman Catholic but I recognize the life-affirming power of community, communion, and ritual.

I am not a Moslem but I find beauty and usefulness in the teachings of Mohammed.

I am not Buddhist but I have seen the results of meditation, daily spiritual practice, and putting aside my own ego.

I am not Taoist but I have felt the peace of the way of simplicity and harmony with the Tao.

I am not ancient Egyptian but I know the power of the Sun in the heavens, and I honor the Holy Mother Isis whose name has been hijacked by terrorists and propaganda machines.

I am not Wiccan but I have danced with the natural cycles of the year and the moon; I have known the power of the Earth and my place within it.

I am not Jewish but I will not forget the lessons of suffering, wandering, Silence, and discipline they have taught the world.

Heathen. Pagan. Atheist. Heretic. Believer. Trickster. Demon. Saint.

Paradoxically, I am none of these things and All of these things.

I believe in a humanity that can transcend the enslaving dogma and intolerance of patriarchy and religions used against us, to see ourselves, our god(esse)s, and our highest noble values in the faces of each other and all the natural wonders of this universal dream.

Original Sin = the Original Lie.

I believe in the goodness and greatness of us all.

Won’t you be my neighbor?  <3

Brooklyn
is LONGING for his warm presence
because this place is cold
without him—
the fallen SOLDIER
who was lost in a sight
of a snow angel
in a battle of FRIGHT CAR

faith
that we never loose
and a pinch
of a never ending hope
awaiting for his HOMECOMING
in a cold Brooklyn
that even with
the heat radiating from a FURNACE
the cold won't melt away

catching
a hold of the SOLDIER
in a mid-frozen way
and in count from ONE—
to NINE
he become a man of no BENIGN
tempted by control
triggered by words of fear
he comply himself as a SOLDIER
of cold blooded missions
and for that cause—
Soviet is harsh

darkness
on a DAYBREAK
was enough to fill harshness
inside parts of him
that are already RUSTED
as the result of
being more a machine
than a man himself

wishing
from the depth of his consciousness
that he could turn back time
to where he was SEVENTEEN
with a hold of a friend
and a smile that was genuine
not a killing
and a destruction machine
that he is now