another year passes by you

the sadness in your
eyes

like old newspapers
blowing down
a deserted street

the hunger in your voice
drifting between
a laugh and a scream

and your troubled heart
forever
chasing light
down a dead end street

we searched for meaning
in the shadows of dreams

What happen to the nights
when we only wondered
what tomorrow could bring?

the clock smiles
and it is a sad smile

and coming through an open window
tiny red eyes on dainty feet
scurries around
the 4 corners of my prison  

where the dice roll
but never fall

 so,

hold on,

st christopher
former saint
taken off the calendar

O lost angel
guardian angel

say a prayer for me,

and like the shadows
thrown by the corner boys
as sunset approaches

i'll follow you down

into the tall
grass
where the lions wait
for wounded
dreamers

can you spare
a little faith???

O, st christopher

I ve been locked up
way too long
in this crazy world

please.

tell me.

how far is heaven?

I thought if I could swallow the stars
I’d be as beautiful as the evening sky
I tried one night    with fireflies
They burned my throat
Their legs striking at soft flesh
But my skin did not glow
No moon crawled from my eye sockets
I was left with corpses in my stomach
I soon learned I would only ever be
A cemetery

Spring's entry... ⛅🌿
From a nearby tea grove...
🌿🌿🌿
A lady's song fills my cup...

Glass plate,
With apple blossoms 🌼🍎
and rose hips...
Cranes fly south...
To my mother's palm trees...
🌴🌴🌴
snowy garden
full of wild apples🍏❄
bare branches...

Apple season, 🍎🌸
The slow ripening
of my womb...

Apple pie,
smells like Muhammad’s hands
cinnamon...
🌸🌸🌸

Second spring lockdown,
☀️🌿
Gazing at the daffodils
From the first one...
🌼🌼🌼
Open window,
Under the Silver mulberry tree,
The voice of a srange woman...

Red grains,
From magnolia cones,🌺
Grandmother's beads...

Among the water of 🌊
a fish bowl, 🐟
My first apple blossoms...
🌸🍏🌿 🌸🍎🌼🌸
Disappear into the stars...
⭐🐟⭐🌊🐟⭐🐟🐟 ⭐

Flowers
are my real friends
I know their language
They're
never
crestfallen
Our friendship
is a blessing

Ask yourself a question? What is at the root of every conflict?

Anger?
Go deeper.
Personal rights?
Deeper.
Ignorance?
Still deeper.
Correcting error?
Keep Going.
Ego?
Nope.

At the most fundamental level
every conflict comes
from the inability
to understand
the other person's perspective or position
and to respect their right
to think, feel and believe
as they choose
(instead we attempt
to negate
and eliminate
these things).

Everything else,
including that listed above,
all arise
from this root cause.

Now ask yourself this.
What would the world
be like
if this root cause
of conflict did not exist?