Using the intellect
to understand God
A circle unending
no light in the fog

Our mind like a hammer
to pry and to nail
Constrained by our motion
and destined to fail

But deep in our essence
that we’ve named the soul
A voice is there calling
a bell waits to toll

To ring in tomorrow
with songs of today
Proclaiming the music
—our spirit’s ordained

(Beaupre: January, 2022)

Shedding a final tear
from the cellar of my pain
The walls close in the sorrow
imprisoning me again

Breathing a final sigh
into a memory you forget
My words trapped into silence
—alone with my regret

(The New Room: January, 2022)

Hear…
before speaking the words
unwritten

Speak…
after writing the words
unheard

(Hotel Majestic Saigon, Vietnam: January, 2014)

I hate the business of writing
the commerce of word craft
the tedium of publishing
the deadlines imposed

I hate the word count
the editing and proofing
the book signing travel
and agents exposed

I hate the promotion
each workshop and fair
the reviews and the podcasts
the bookstores that sell

But I love the writing
when the words come together
releasing my spirit
—my fortune to tell

(The New Room: January, 2022)

Leaving the things we need the most,
we come back for what we love

A circle squared from inside out
—the cream to rise above

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)

Memories of a summer day,
chasing colder winds away

Lasting treasures so defined,
lace the corners of my mind

Zephyrs of a distant past,
breath unto my soul’s repast

Every hope and wish redeemed
—melting fast this winter freeze

(First Book Of Prayers: December, 2021)

Tumbling down the stairs
of misfortune

Slipping on the banana peels
of time

A curtain came down
on his opening act

The Fat Lady singing
—unrhymed

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)

In the poverty of sound
hides a final goodbye
Mortgaging the silence
with debt to decry

A tenancy of sorrow
with melody banned
An orchestra homeless
—foreclosure at hand

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)

Spiritual commerce
Poetic lies
Phrases for sale
Proselytized
Prescience begins
Necessity ends
Words given freely
—tomorrow defends

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)

The essence of wisdom
lies in simplicity
hiding in plain sight
—for eyes that can see

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)