As you know by now…if you read my poems from time to time
when it comes to putting my thoughts and words together…
I am partial to the rhyme.
(It’s how I start my day)
But today’s blessing does not rhyme…and I hope you think I’m right
when I say Lao Tzu’s wisdom and his prose are more beautiful…
than any poem that I could write:
)And still appropriate today)
In dwelling…live close to the ground.
In thinking…keep it simple.
In conflict…be fair and generous.
In governing…don’t try to control.
In work…do what you enjoy.
In family…be completely present.
("Bristlecone", 2016, original pen and ink)
Samsara
Beneath the titillation of Samsara
the veneer of morality waits.
Or is it the opposite?
Beneath the veneer of morality
the titillation of Samsara awaits.
Either way, it’s the same thing,
the whole damn mess
being one giant game of seduction.
But that sucking sound
at the heart of seduction….
pulling us in
to a void
that's impossible to avoid
the force at the core
that makes the ten thousand
whirling contents irrelevant
Ah, that!
“Darkness within darkness
The gate to all mystery”
the old sage mentioned…
(9/19/23)
Home is where the heart is
Two eyes looking back at me
In your presence and embrace
The safest place I’ve ever been
The place I’d like to stay
Constant laughter
Complete vulnerability of just being, me
I think this is perfectly how it should be
We fit
And I can’t help but feel
Like this is home
And everywhere I’ve never been
You feel like home
The home I’ve built within
The home I’ve placed my love in
We meet on the road
But once and I cannot tell you
In the time we have:
"We are one."
"What's left, what survived, what remains
Of old dreams, old wars, old loves."
We share atomic lives:
Small, brief, unpredictable orbits,
Curious flurries of motion and smiles.
Who you become after I go,
I can only guess
Except by the photos
Of occasional touring strangers
In which I watch you grow,
While you remember an eye,
A camera, a wave goodbye.