My Turkish Sufi friend, proud of his faith, invited me to the sacred ritual of the Whirling Dervishes. The musicians wore long black cloaks and high felt hats, representing the grave and the tombstone.
The Dervishes enter, discarding their black cloaks, accompanied by a reed pipe, they start to turn.
As I watched the dancers circle continuously
in costume of white robes and conical hat
arms outstretched towards heaven
whirling round like planets orbiting the sun
becoming closer to God and inner truth
connected by physical meditation
I wondered
if God will hear my prayers
when I only kneel to pray
grief cracks the stillness
opening a door to grace
if I step inside
Rime Couee 1, 2, and 3
I.
Floating across a cool, bright beam
Drifting inside a peaceful dream
Sacred geometry
Builds the structures that bring great peace
Making the restless chaos cease
Engaging symmetry
II.
Envision Rowans in colors
Wing-ed bright spirits, light bearers
Green boughs of Oak shield you!
Gliding through enchanted grove space
Blessed by Moonlight's silver grace
Wheel of Seasons anew
III.
Floating in the oaken moon beam
Whispering ancient faery dreams
Dreamy knots-work sculptures
Star groves, my sparkly bright office!
Where this dreamer goes to practice
Intuitive culture
IV.
With psychic, angelic infrastructure!
Spiraling aloft!
Peach light, morning dew
Cool air , remnants of a silver moon
A quiet hour for a wandering mind that lies
naked in the wet grass
how exposed is every synapse
Nerves are electric , my body shivering under the sunrise
Awake and Alive
I call upon the Father
I just spoke meaningful words
Voiced communications in joy,
So pleasant, harmonious, Ahh! sweet sounds
Unfolds joyously verses words
Sweet nectar verbs as I thank God
There are three stages along the path
Of realization and accomplishment.
The first involves outer form,
Keeping the discipline, persevering
Even when there is no light.
The second begins when awareness dawns,
A glimpse of our true nature
Like a shy fish looking up out of the pond.
This is the stage of true faith and devotion
As this insight of inner light becomes the center.
The third stage is just more of the second,
A repeated familiarity with our basic nature
Through direct experience and awareness.
With familiarity comes a softening of the edges
A loosening at the core.
As the sublime becomes the everyday,
The shy fish now a flock of starlings
Confident in their numbers
Fluid and graceful in their murmuration,
A cloud of unknowing for all to see.
(9/22/26)
Every time I sit, really just sit
I'm reminded that this
is enough
to let it go and just settle
without expectation
but alert awareness
here and now.
Enlightenment, liberation, grace, peace etc.
whatever we call it - the ideal we're aiming for -
isn't a matter of building or achieving
or a process of developing or becoming
it is instead what we naturally have
when we stop the building,
relax the grasping.
Yet it is easier said than done
especially when we're young
and our ability, our habit, our desire
to grasp is so strong.
And so we use that desire
homeopathically
to grasp and really hold
until exhaustion.
And then instead of holding such ideals
and concepts, and methods
so tightly
just let them go.
Or if we must
hold the concept like the reins of
a wind horse
gently, delicately between two fingers
ever ready to release
in this
complete moment.
And simply sit, just sit
and trust that that is enough.
(First published in my 2016 book, Little Pine)
(for Stephen)
There’s a certain point in summer
when it feels like it’ll last forever
a dazed mix of complacency and lethargy
when everything is tired
from the gardens, to the dogs, to our senses.
Satiated perhaps, but it’s something more,
a sense we have arrived at the peak of the peak season,
the fullness of Leo,
in all his solar glory,
and what can top that?
Of course this is about the exact time the nights get cooler,
we notice the peak has passed,
and winter approaches
with all those chores undone.
So is life....
in all its simplicity,
and yet with this endless cycle of seasons
the endless cycle of human ups and downs also churns on,
all the things that
naturally arise in our habitual
dualistic mind.
And this is far more taxing and exhausting
than the external heat and dust and smoke,
exhausting and overwhelming,
at least for me.
So a good friend tells me something today
he probably didn’t make up
but just as easily as anyone could have;
“Everything you need you can get from a single exhalation.”
(Originally published in my 3rd book, Sun Made Flesh and Fiber, 2019)
I sit in a meditative mood under a canopy
the sun tries in vain above to pierce through.
A playful light breeze cajoles the senses
while life delightfully carries on about.
Summer lingers and we strive to enjoy
every graceful afternoon as it stretches
longingly and mercifully into that magic hour
where the sun sets to retire in its flamboyant glory.
AP: 3rd place 2026
Candlelight leans against ancient stones, a single flame steadying the dim.
My breath circles the quiet room—slow orbit returning to its center.
In that small, unwavering glow, I learn how emptiness becomes peace.
Take a minute to breathe
Actually, just exhale
The rest will take care of itself.
All around, the world is showing you
How to simply let go.
With signs as subtle as which way the wind blows.
Or if you’d rather,
Hold on as tight as you possibly can
Eventually you too will become exhausted.
Pleasure or pain isn’t the point,
Since both are subjective,
And interchangeably desirable for some.
The point is finding there is really no point
No up or down
Only that space you’ve exhaled to.
(8/10/26)
Words paint a universe where music is more than background—it’s atmosphere, gravity, and the stardust we breathe/ Here is a poem inspired by space jazz/
Space Jazz: A Dreamy Meditation
Chillin’ on Saturn station, vinyl spinning in zero-g, where the bassline tangos with distant moons and snares spark across nebulae/
Dave Brubeck drifts through airlocks, his 5/4 beat time waltz echoing as bone and starship trade places—beep bop, high orbit, a cosmic groove/
Weed-sweet notes swirl with city lights, lo-fi dust catching the glow of a suburban sunrise, where beats are meteors crashing softly into dawn/
Production geniuses, unseen, build galaxies from sampled fragments—space and jazz, nu soul and neon, downtempo dreams blooming in the vacuum of silence/
To listen is to travel without leaving your chair: fireflies flicker between cymbals, a chilled mode of existence where every track is a little more oxygen for the lovesick, the tired, the hopeful, the lost/
Dope ass mix—wonderful vibe—the universe keeps rollin’, and so do we.
lean flame
the ancient stones
my breath circles quiet room
slow orbit returns to center
emptiness becomes peace
Stimulation of the mind and body to find it's balance
I wish I could give myself completely
surrender to the arms of the unknown...
Bask in the sea of meditation and
find the serenity I have been seeking
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
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