on june 16
blooms day
we met
over lunch
and i said
you should say
things in
the mirror
to show
kindness
to your
own self
like
i love you
i love you
i love you
then it
rained
as we
walked
to the car
each one
of us
with a
styrofoam
container
dotted
with drops
*
Friday, June 16, 2017
Monday, June 05, 2017
this poem for you
a poem for you
how we might
strive all day long
in solitude
but be unaware
of any loneliness
this means we are
well involved
in the work that
can make us closer
to others
opening our heart
to motivations
beyond hope and
fear
entering
a kind of
gratitude
after much
hard effort
calm vision
of the gifts
that follow
this poem for you
how we might
strive all day long
in solitude
but be unaware
of any loneliness
this means we are
well involved
in the work that
can make us closer
to others
opening our heart
to motivations
beyond hope and
fear
entering
a kind of
gratitude
after much
hard effort
calm vision
of the gifts
that follow
this poem for you
Sunday, June 04, 2017
Friday, June 02, 2017
June 2
darkness
going into darkness
after maintaining high hopes
what is done
is done to one's self
through the consolations of the self
these lapses
in the aim for temporary comfort
lead to the opposite and no reprieve
the dog returns
to his own vomit the singer to his song
the wind never stops blowing as the wind
**
June 2
going into darkness
after maintaining high hopes
what is done
is done to one's self
through the consolations of the self
these lapses
in the aim for temporary comfort
lead to the opposite and no reprieve
the dog returns
to his own vomit the singer to his song
the wind never stops blowing as the wind
**
June 2
Sunday, May 28, 2017
the heart travels far / across the whole universe
the heart travels far
across the whole universe
and universes of universes
you can't catch them
break or take them
only admire how they are
you might shed a tear
if you do that is good
can make your heart better
you'll affectionately
see all the hearts around you
coming and going with this life
**
across the whole universe
and universes of universes
you can't catch them
break or take them
only admire how they are
you might shed a tear
if you do that is good
can make your heart better
you'll affectionately
see all the hearts around you
coming and going with this life
**
there's a beautiful road / on a blue sky sunny day
for Heather
there's a beautiful road
on a blue sky sunny day
wind keeps blowing
in a refreshing way
playing a symphony
of rustling trees
the curling waving
flicking sun-dappled leaves
of elms maples and pines
when i hear this song
i stop from my ride
and i wonder how such
clear loud beauty
so serene yet active
can exist
yet it does
without a single word
devoid of all thought
and having no fears
wind keeps blowing
in a refreshing way
playing a symphony
a beautiful road
on a blue sky sunny day
**
Medicine Lake
there's a beautiful road
on a blue sky sunny day
wind keeps blowing
in a refreshing way
playing a symphony
of rustling trees
the curling waving
flicking sun-dappled leaves
of elms maples and pines
when i hear this song
i stop from my ride
and i wonder how such
clear loud beauty
so serene yet active
can exist
yet it does
without a single word
devoid of all thought
and having no fears
wind keeps blowing
in a refreshing way
playing a symphony
a beautiful road
on a blue sky sunny day
**
Medicine Lake
Thursday, May 25, 2017
i dream i am taller / and it is just a dream
i dream i am taller
and it is just a dream
this being amusing
and also irritating
laying in bed
looking at the extra
two or three feet
extended at my shins
like in charlie and the
chocolate factory
who was the kid stretched
mike tv that's me
three in the morning
with daddy long legs
###
and it is just a dream
this being amusing
and also irritating
laying in bed
looking at the extra
two or three feet
extended at my shins
like in charlie and the
chocolate factory
who was the kid stretched
mike tv that's me
three in the morning
with daddy long legs
###
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
when you live your life/ knowing you don't
when you live your life
knowing you don't
have infinite time
to go here or there
while life is sweet
but time is turning too
appreciation of place
and setting
of sentiment
or simple gesture
becomes acute
***
knowing you don't
have infinite time
to go here or there
while life is sweet
but time is turning too
appreciation of place
and setting
of sentiment
or simple gesture
becomes acute
***
Sunday, May 21, 2017
insert time here
insert time here
in diminishing amounts
but each moment
as infinite as the last
as we move forward
the past takes on a red tinge
like from the taillights
of a car or speeding plane
as we move forward
the future is lit white
like from searchlights
from a battleship
**
in diminishing amounts
but each moment
as infinite as the last
as we move forward
the past takes on a red tinge
like from the taillights
of a car or speeding plane
as we move forward
the future is lit white
like from searchlights
from a battleship
**
Friday, May 19, 2017
or how / your goodness to me
my recollections
are distortions
mostly self-serving
but some
are innocent constructions
prayer
images hovering
a fondly remembered
vignette
or how
your goodness to me
will never go away
**
are distortions
mostly self-serving
but some
are innocent constructions
prayer
images hovering
a fondly remembered
vignette
or how
your goodness to me
will never go away
**
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
how could anywhere not be as nice / as the place we are now
going to a foreign country
where no one is ever unhappy
and nothing bad happens
after a few seasons
you forget what home was like
someone asks you how it was
you think it must have been nice
how could anywhere not be as nice
as the place we are now
**
where no one is ever unhappy
and nothing bad happens
after a few seasons
you forget what home was like
someone asks you how it was
you think it must have been nice
how could anywhere not be as nice
as the place we are now
**
Monday, May 15, 2017
dream factory of night
dream factory of night
on the assembly line
till 3 am
quota made
you can relax
***
on the assembly line
till 3 am
quota made
you can relax
***
my favorite experience / reading a poem
my favorite experience
reading a poem
the words unlocking
a door in my heart
i wasn't aware
was there
**
reading a poem
the words unlocking
a door in my heart
i wasn't aware
was there
**
Wednesday, May 03, 2017
Poem - nothing else / matters
the trees
all the tips
every twig
every twig
and branch
white knots
then suddenly
everywhere
full of
blossoms
the sky
splendid
like rose
watercolor
watercolor
or blue satin
i forget my
phone
i drive back
to see
white petals
shaking
and waving
entrancing
under
the evening
sky
nothing else
matters
****
May 3rd
Minnetonka
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Poem - who could know
let things rest gently tonight
remember you don't have to do or go anywhere
you can just sit and even stretch out
read a poem or part of a book
some music in the background if you want
free of other things you rarely stop thinking
you don't even need to do most of them all the time
most of your tasks an extension of worry
besides in a day or two it might snow
day of snow in later april
who'd know that
who could know
==
Osseo
remember you don't have to do or go anywhere
you can just sit and even stretch out
read a poem or part of a book
some music in the background if you want
free of other things you rarely stop thinking
you don't even need to do most of them all the time
most of your tasks an extension of worry
besides in a day or two it might snow
day of snow in later april
who'd know that
who could know
==
Osseo
Saturday, April 15, 2017
no objections because
you cannot say no to it
this fond thing river of time
sometimes cold deep or slow
oftentimes rushing sparkly fast
each of us plunked into the stream
i tell stories as if i was a captain
and i had a boat but i go recklessly
from swirl to swirl just like a leaf
no objections because this is life
made so sweet because
of such uncertainty and wonder
***
Out in Osseo
4.15.17
you cannot say no to it
this fond thing river of time
sometimes cold deep or slow
oftentimes rushing sparkly fast
each of us plunked into the stream
i tell stories as if i was a captain
and i had a boat but i go recklessly
from swirl to swirl just like a leaf
no objections because this is life
made so sweet because
of such uncertainty and wonder
***
Out in Osseo
4.15.17
Wednesday, April 05, 2017
i look at my mind
who i reason i am is irrelevant when centered
seeking to be protection
the order of my constructed thoughts
make a prison or a fiery bed
reeking with regrets and resentments
i look at my mind
and see it is like a cloud
if i admire it as the height of highest illusions
lit by fancy and emotions
as radiantly as a cloud by the sun
and just as substantial as a mist
with no physical foundation or reality
then all is well
***
in the fields of Osseo
who i reason i am is irrelevant when centered
seeking to be protection
the order of my constructed thoughts
make a prison or a fiery bed
reeking with regrets and resentments
i look at my mind
and see it is like a cloud
if i admire it as the height of highest illusions
lit by fancy and emotions
as radiantly as a cloud by the sun
and just as substantial as a mist
with no physical foundation or reality
then all is well
***
in the fields of Osseo
Tuesday, April 04, 2017
stamped from a similar clay
the tilt of the head
the dress
the smile
in a previous time
we parted company
you going home
to a small safe room
to a small town
to mom and dad
this time just seeing
the picture by the lake
snippets of your wishes
naive at heart
an innocent blown here
then somewhere else
blown by the world
that yearns to be deceived
---
the tilt of the head
the dress
the smile
in a previous time
we parted company
you going home
to a small safe room
to a small town
to mom and dad
this time just seeing
the picture by the lake
snippets of your wishes
naive at heart
an innocent blown here
then somewhere else
blown by the world
that yearns to be deceived
---
this morning at dawn a clean slate
i can make room for whatever i want
the pond has swaying branches over it
overcast with just a hint of dusty blue
i turn within and feather my own mind
then see each bird outside looking for seeds
this morning at dawn a clean slate
i can make room for whatever i want
**
i can make room for whatever i want
the pond has swaying branches over it
overcast with just a hint of dusty blue
i turn within and feather my own mind
then see each bird outside looking for seeds
this morning at dawn a clean slate
i can make room for whatever i want
**
Monday, April 03, 2017
Saturday, April 01, 2017
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
how we make our loved ones suffer
for what we think or call brave & good
but really just punishment and rage
directed at ourselves acted through them
mercy turn away from any thought up necessary things
you must do towards others to discipline them
avoidance of misery is heaven on earth
if only we would stay within our own circle
*
minnesota
the second day of spring 2017
for what we think or call brave & good
but really just punishment and rage
directed at ourselves acted through them
mercy turn away from any thought up necessary things
you must do towards others to discipline them
avoidance of misery is heaven on earth
if only we would stay within our own circle
*
minnesota
the second day of spring 2017
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Wednesday, March 01, 2017
they took a road
and laid it over a charming stream
on one side the water splits into two
where birch trees sway and a rabbit runs
the dream of the undisturbed stream
defying our right of way that cannot be undone
mirror like glassy and calm in response
to plans or demands
do you yearn for a stream
from childhood you knew by heart
similarly crossed by traffic or muted
by complexes of houses
do you remember how a space
was a filled
a field a farm a river a forest
^
and laid it over a charming stream
on one side the water splits into two
where birch trees sway and a rabbit runs
the dream of the undisturbed stream
defying our right of way that cannot be undone
mirror like glassy and calm in response
to plans or demands
do you yearn for a stream
from childhood you knew by heart
similarly crossed by traffic or muted
by complexes of houses
do you remember how a space
was a filled
a field a farm a river a forest
^
Monday, February 27, 2017
we all know the place i write of
your hands at a table
a crumpled note or a magazine
your father home soon
a buzz just coming off
from whatever you have
rationed by you mother
who is working upstairs
your phone heavy with texts
you go through being
smugly satisfied warm with
anticipation and deep anger
i am a phantom you filled
with desire and rejection
yearning hope and mania
but you're not here you're there
more real than here in the place
i imagine and write of
noted who is narrating
the scene begins
to pale and fade
only my selfishness remains
the great engine of desire
drove us both off a cliff
then beyond and beyond this
where even my remembering
how you might be right now
is an exercise in blind vanity
no nevermind dear nevermind
we live and new lovers and loves
when the phone rings or
a bouquet of roses appear
dear nevermind
your hands at a table
a crumpled note or a magazine
your father home soon
a buzz just coming off
from whatever you have
rationed by you mother
who is working upstairs
your phone heavy with texts
you go through being
smugly satisfied warm with
anticipation and deep anger
i am a phantom you filled
with desire and rejection
yearning hope and mania
but you're not here you're there
more real than here in the place
i imagine and write of
noted who is narrating
the scene begins
to pale and fade
only my selfishness remains
the great engine of desire
drove us both off a cliff
then beyond and beyond this
where even my remembering
how you might be right now
is an exercise in blind vanity
no nevermind dear nevermind
we live and new lovers and loves
when the phone rings or
a bouquet of roses appear
dear nevermind
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Monday, February 20, 2017
mother cries at the gate
she holds your hand through the bars
but she is going back
it will be a long journey then
to be here
even to these bars
these bright lights
these painfully shining linoleum floors
as two separate points
you get farther away from mother
your mother gets father away from you
who knows when a journey
might bring you to her
or her to you
you stay at the gate
after mother is taken away
dots her tears on the floor
like a path
to another locked and closed door
**
she holds your hand through the bars
but she is going back
it will be a long journey then
to be here
even to these bars
these bright lights
these painfully shining linoleum floors
as two separate points
you get farther away from mother
your mother gets father away from you
who knows when a journey
might bring you to her
or her to you
you stay at the gate
after mother is taken away
dots her tears on the floor
like a path
to another locked and closed door
**
hands moving in hotel rooms
drinking wine signing stationary
wish you were here glad they are not
vista outside of a perfect white beach
wind blows through the room
everything neat and paid for
from the 40th floor you see everything
everything is possible and exciting
either considering to jump or eat dinner
balanced in hotel room you know well
that one motion starts another everything
from that first perceptible accident
**
drinking wine signing stationary
wish you were here glad they are not
vista outside of a perfect white beach
wind blows through the room
everything neat and paid for
from the 40th floor you see everything
everything is possible and exciting
either considering to jump or eat dinner
balanced in hotel room you know well
that one motion starts another everything
from that first perceptible accident
**
pictures of hotel rooms
of hand signals
of outfits
of cars
of restaurants
of drinking
of beaches
it never ends
there is no narrative
only assumptions
of what is gracious
of what is stylish
of what is attractive
of what is fancy
of what is desirable
the mummery continues
wants and desires
wrapped layer on layer
until the mind is paralyzed
the true self unrecognizable
but finding true self or clarity
was never the object of this
behold my beauty
and despair
**
of hand signals
of outfits
of cars
of restaurants
of drinking
of beaches
it never ends
there is no narrative
only assumptions
of what is gracious
of what is stylish
of what is attractive
of what is fancy
of what is desirable
the mummery continues
wants and desires
wrapped layer on layer
until the mind is paralyzed
the true self unrecognizable
but finding true self or clarity
was never the object of this
behold my beauty
and despair
**
Friday, February 17, 2017
because i was dead
i could see everywhere
i knew everything
but i thought back
to when i was alive
when i fished at night
i seemed to be pulling
fish out of a starry sky
the boat moved
over the moon
an orb that winked
the great deep
blackness of time
i easily conquered
the only break
in this
were the fish
writhing and dying
gasping to death
#
i could see everywhere
i knew everything
but i thought back
to when i was alive
when i fished at night
i seemed to be pulling
fish out of a starry sky
the boat moved
over the moon
an orb that winked
the great deep
blackness of time
i easily conquered
the only break
in this
were the fish
writhing and dying
gasping to death
#
you can find me
i am in the sky
just beyond swaying leaves
i am in the fields
if you are happy
i am here too
all kinds of happiness
i am in the sky
in the fields
by the lakes
you can find me
in noon and in dusk
golden light
apple colored light
if you are happy
i especially appear
all kinds of joy
white ice
melting
tan grasses
i am in the sky
in the fields
by the lakes
*
Osseo MN
i am in the sky
just beyond swaying leaves
i am in the fields
if you are happy
i am here too
all kinds of happiness
i am in the sky
in the fields
by the lakes
you can find me
in noon and in dusk
golden light
apple colored light
if you are happy
i especially appear
all kinds of joy
white ice
melting
tan grasses
i am in the sky
in the fields
by the lakes
*
Osseo MN
Friday, February 10, 2017
Saturday, January 28, 2017
One day Jesus was walking with his students, and they passed by the carcass of a dog.
The students said, "How this dog stinks!"
..But Jesus said, "How white are it's teeth!"
"Revival of the Religious Sciences"
Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad al-Ghazālī
11th Century
**
http://ghazali.org/ihya/english/ihya-vol3.htm
The students said, "How this dog stinks!"
..But Jesus said, "How white are it's teeth!"
"Revival of the Religious Sciences"
Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad al-Ghazālī
11th Century
**
http://ghazali.org/ihya/english/ihya-vol3.htm
Friday, January 27, 2017
the devil is an innocent
marred only by a kind of pride
i am hard at work dreaming
aim to outdo even him
my fallen nature burnishes
dullness into brass
but the devil knows
all my plans will fail
and only one place
i will return to
even beyond the damned
and his plantation hell
so the devil urges me on
do your best always
doing perpetuates
more doing
the ultimate sin
*
marred only by a kind of pride
i am hard at work dreaming
aim to outdo even him
my fallen nature burnishes
dullness into brass
but the devil knows
all my plans will fail
and only one place
i will return to
even beyond the damned
and his plantation hell
so the devil urges me on
do your best always
doing perpetuates
more doing
the ultimate sin
*
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Saturday, January 21, 2017
don quixote
knight of the sorrowful face
el caballero de la triste figura
hero to those
who are out of their prime
but still dream
with a youthful heart
for true imagination
and inspiration
never age
they cannot
highest flights of fancy
these come from
some other place
beyond our own sky
a place with its own
stars and loves
compelling
*
knight of the sorrowful face
el caballero de la triste figura
hero to those
who are out of their prime
but still dream
with a youthful heart
for true imagination
and inspiration
never age
they cannot
highest flights of fancy
these come from
some other place
beyond our own sky
a place with its own
stars and loves
compelling
*
Monday, January 16, 2017
magic for this day
you
loved
nobody like you
in the whole wide world
people smile
you make hearts go boom
where you'll go
what stories you'll tell
finding out
your life that will be neat
go and look
climb the mountains
see the views
take this love with you
nobody like you
in the whole wide world
**
For Phoebe Lee
1.16.17
you
loved
nobody like you
in the whole wide world
people smile
you make hearts go boom
where you'll go
what stories you'll tell
finding out
your life that will be neat
go and look
climb the mountains
see the views
take this love with you
nobody like you
in the whole wide world
**
For Phoebe Lee
1.16.17
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Driving Home
- 8 that night
clear all the way
to the horizon
only clue to how far
was a red full moon
coming up
crisp and clear
serene beyond any
notion of news
**
clear all the way
to the horizon
only clue to how far
was a red full moon
coming up
crisp and clear
serene beyond any
notion of news
**
(reprise)
dark night
flying geese
you could hear their
in and out takes of
breath flapping in unison
nothing more
needs to be known
or remembered
**
flying geese
you could hear their
in and out takes of
breath flapping in unison
nothing more
needs to be known
or remembered
**
the view of a street
of the yellow facade
of the 2 flight-up
side-by-side row
bright brick houses
the view of a street
brave now in a
sunshine in december
light becomes stronger
gloss yellow wood
on banisters with red
corbels
the view of a street
hesitation commitment
rattle of plates
always was going on
one or two in love
or out of love
brave sun
the view of a street
---
13th ave ne
Minneapolis
of the yellow facade
of the 2 flight-up
side-by-side row
bright brick houses
the view of a street
brave now in a
sunshine in december
light becomes stronger
gloss yellow wood
on banisters with red
corbels
the view of a street
hesitation commitment
rattle of plates
always was going on
one or two in love
or out of love
brave sun
the view of a street
---
13th ave ne
Minneapolis
is there any real
don quixote?
he was the first
gentleman to set
foot on the moon
everyone knows this
just as we all know
his famous mustache
his daring eye
his fiery glance
glare gleam like a lance
his genuine weeping
we know him
for how he was
sad and thought
chivalry was dead
reading drove him mad
as we know him
for how he saw
beautiful angels in
billboards and
heard heaven
in the whispering flight
of geese
{midnight i see
12 geese gently breathing
as they flew north
into speckles of snow
did they have
a warm place to go
passing over the
brightly lit holiday
convenience store
passing overhead
just higher than the
streetlamps
you could hear their
in and out takes of
breath flapping in unison
nothing more
needs to be known
or remembered}
don quixote?
he was the first
gentleman to set
foot on the moon
everyone knows this
just as we all know
his famous mustache
his daring eye
his fiery glance
glare gleam like a lance
his genuine weeping
we know him
for how he was
sad and thought
chivalry was dead
reading drove him mad
as we know him
for how he saw
beautiful angels in
billboards and
heard heaven
in the whispering flight
of geese
{midnight i see
12 geese gently breathing
as they flew north
into speckles of snow
did they have
a warm place to go
passing over the
brightly lit holiday
convenience store
passing overhead
just higher than the
streetlamps
you could hear their
in and out takes of
breath flapping in unison
nothing more
needs to be known
or remembered}
morning at the park
you can hear cars
touching their brakes
just a bit as they
go down the hill
halfway, at walter
the sun is out
and it is perfect
like a spring day
december 28th
san francisco
couples in love
or not in love
walk up and down
talking or taking
selfies
young or old
to be in love
at duboce park
sunny warm
san francisco
in the morning
12 28 16
you can hear cars
touching their brakes
just a bit as they
go down the hill
halfway, at walter
the sun is out
and it is perfect
like a spring day
december 28th
san francisco
couples in love
or not in love
walk up and down
talking or taking
selfies
young or old
to be in love
at duboce park
sunny warm
san francisco
in the morning
12 28 16
Sunday, January 08, 2017
i sleep in the forest of my mind
its a nice big forest full of things
as big as i want it to be
i've lost track of all the trees
but every one i see
i remember and i recognize
each one is a memory
a feeling as sense of something
but i started out in warm space
clear and without need of any marker
no mountain top or valley
with wilderness uncountable
**
its a nice big forest full of things
as big as i want it to be
i've lost track of all the trees
but every one i see
i remember and i recognize
each one is a memory
a feeling as sense of something
but i started out in warm space
clear and without need of any marker
no mountain top or valley
with wilderness uncountable
**
Saturday, January 07, 2017
Thursday, January 05, 2017
the last time
i saw you
on your way
to dying
you were
all scheduled
as if going
on a long trip
preparing to
be totally
swept away
with some idea
how imminent
yet not knowing
exactly when
i said i'd
be back in
two days but
i left town
you gentle
a bit distracted
happy and in
constant pain
your face
nearly hairless
sharp and focused
inside with a
burning intensity
your whole body
never to see you
to not see you
after the big change
and laugh about
farts pretty girls
poetry or endings
i said i'd
be back in
two days but
i left town
your living room
the positions
of the 2 side tables
computer and books
recliner papers
fill up my imagination
just like pretty girls
fart jokes poetry and
endings
you really knowing
me just barely
comprehending
you letting go
for latif
----------
Orgyen Menla Medicine Buddha
OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PEMA TO TRENG TSAL BHEKANZE RADZA SARWA SIDDHI PALA HUM AH
i saw you
on your way
to dying
you were
all scheduled
as if going
on a long trip
preparing to
be totally
swept away
with some idea
how imminent
yet not knowing
exactly when
i said i'd
be back in
two days but
i left town
you gentle
a bit distracted
happy and in
constant pain
your face
nearly hairless
sharp and focused
inside with a
burning intensity
your whole body
never to see you
to not see you
after the big change
and laugh about
farts pretty girls
poetry or endings
i said i'd
be back in
two days but
i left town
your living room
the positions
of the 2 side tables
computer and books
recliner papers
fill up my imagination
just like pretty girls
fart jokes poetry and
endings
you really knowing
me just barely
comprehending
you letting go
for latif
----------
Orgyen Menla Medicine Buddha
OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PEMA TO TRENG TSAL BHEKANZE RADZA SARWA SIDDHI PALA HUM AH
Monday, January 02, 2017
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Thursday, December 29, 2016
for evan and fonta
visiting from out of town
at my friend's house
we sing the "throwing things out
the second story" song
as we toss the christmas tree
out the open picture window
then we clean up all the dry
pine needles
something of a family
tradition
the twins are 4 and his daughter is 7
smart happy kids
who remember my
improvised ad hoc yoga moves
do the abe lincoln memorial pose!
do the eiffel tower!
do the thinker!
i sing for them 'bat in my face'
and make paper boats
read them picture books
play the piano
i remember how it was
when my kids were small
a forever forever forever
contained cosy and small
it was obvious
we'd always have the books we read
as nearby as each other
how could anyone
be gone for long at all
______
Late December
Clayton Street
San Francisco
2016
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Friday, December 23, 2016
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
in the midwest
i give a shell with my christmas cards
to new coworkers and new friends
keepsakes from my favorite beach in Huntington
southern california
where the waves are always warm
it occurs to me how much i miss
seeing that beach like i did everyday
picking up shells at dawn
but how wonderful it is
to have so many new friends
i can give a Christmas shell too
*
i give a shell with my christmas cards
to new coworkers and new friends
keepsakes from my favorite beach in Huntington
southern california
where the waves are always warm
it occurs to me how much i miss
seeing that beach like i did everyday
picking up shells at dawn
but how wonderful it is
to have so many new friends
i can give a Christmas shell too
*
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Monday, December 19, 2016
Sunday, December 18, 2016
i keep digging through lines here
as if i will find you
but you are gone and it has been
a long time
the fond time i wish to recreate
is not the time it was
and you in real life barely remember
this person fair
because there have been so many
more clever and appealing
but with some once loved loved true
love goes on
even though the beloved is so worldly
even cares not
**
as if i will find you
but you are gone and it has been
a long time
the fond time i wish to recreate
is not the time it was
and you in real life barely remember
this person fair
because there have been so many
more clever and appealing
but with some once loved loved true
love goes on
even though the beloved is so worldly
even cares not
**
you understand
when they talk about
turning over your body
for fame comfort or glory
some who believe or say
they have not done any trade
quid pro quo for this or that
allowing to be handled
those are the corrupt
the ones that have given
but say they did not
they prey on the innocent
what may separate one
is not to revel in degradation
to say trades like this are good
or we want anything like it
as for redemption
no one knows possibly
or in action the right conviction
if you can
give refuge
and ask for nothing
___
when they talk about
turning over your body
for fame comfort or glory
some who believe or say
they have not done any trade
quid pro quo for this or that
allowing to be handled
those are the corrupt
the ones that have given
but say they did not
they prey on the innocent
what may separate one
is not to revel in degradation
to say trades like this are good
or we want anything like it
as for redemption
no one knows possibly
or in action the right conviction
if you can
give refuge
and ask for nothing
___
be inescapably beautiful
by loving yourself completely
by loving yourself competently
by doting on you most first
paradoxically you'll find
this wise selfishness
if you follow through
more love for all
your beauty will refine
your beauty will be bright
those around you too
become beautiful like you
<
Bass Lake
12/18
by loving yourself completely
by loving yourself competently
by doting on you most first
paradoxically you'll find
this wise selfishness
if you follow through
more love for all
your beauty will refine
your beauty will be bright
those around you too
become beautiful like you
<
Bass Lake
12/18
i choose to see you
in a certain way
that renders me blind
thinking this scene
person or face for you
complements best
but it is a cover
or a binding i foist
defacing your essence
me lacking the courage
or having such ruinous vanity
embellishing what should be respected
or tampering with innocent and fine
888
in a certain way
that renders me blind
thinking this scene
person or face for you
complements best
but it is a cover
or a binding i foist
defacing your essence
me lacking the courage
or having such ruinous vanity
embellishing what should be respected
or tampering with innocent and fine
888
Friday, December 16, 2016
someone far away
like a cinematic trick
they're right sized then
one day for some reason
you only see their image
day after day an icon
getting smaller and smaller
as it shrinks it gets brighter
finer in detail and then
blurrier and blurrier
someone far away
sighing and hoping
winning or losing
going on with each day
alone or with others
for some reason not here
**
like a cinematic trick
they're right sized then
one day for some reason
you only see their image
day after day an icon
getting smaller and smaller
as it shrinks it gets brighter
finer in detail and then
blurrier and blurrier
someone far away
sighing and hoping
winning or losing
going on with each day
alone or with others
for some reason not here
**
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Tuesday, December 06, 2016
they may write a thousand things
but do not know the words
or stop to feel anything
would someone be brave enough
to turn a verse they wrote themselves
or be any kind of a man
i'd say chivalry here is lacking
but not every one is dull some do know
a modestly without all the act
even make a verse or two
show in lines some convincing
of the appreciation of you
how you stir a contemplation
of mystery and of sweetness where
even the impossible can come true
but the lines now are many
mystery or sentiment wear out
with such dwelling
last verses done with some regret
for lack of skill or time or bravery
if only a poet could be as true as cupid
@
our nights are unequal
like many i have darker ones
some sleep lightly
with any stirring or
horror or regret
of what they did
they might be
empty or have
no mind
nothing is awaiting them
as the road narrows
at appointed time
our nights are unequal
we are who we are and become
i resist taking
the midnight vote
counting the
stoplight
as it goes
green yellow red
over and over
i sleep
and dream
of a private room
a pale bowl
and a yellow spoon
*
like many i have darker ones
some sleep lightly
with any stirring or
horror or regret
of what they did
they might be
empty or have
no mind
nothing is awaiting them
as the road narrows
at appointed time
our nights are unequal
we are who we are and become
i resist taking
the midnight vote
counting the
stoplight
as it goes
green yellow red
over and over
i sleep
and dream
of a private room
a pale bowl
and a yellow spoon
*
Sunday, December 04, 2016
Saturday, December 03, 2016
i entered knowing
now i am not knowing
i came in clear
now i may not be seeing
i can reset my surrealism
as easily as i can wallpaper a room
i aim to ensnare
some force
inscrutable truth
i was a gopher on a bike
but now i am a valiant widow
my son is my consciousness
killed on a crusade
now the crusade is a lit window
and cycle is a moth in sky
open to suggestions
any proposition
is beloved
will blow me to salvation
yet how much real irony
or tragedy
contained in a play
i act in and direct
i came in with paper
i do not know where it has gone
it may be this paper
i write on now
i'm waiting for beautiful poetry
to come into the room
but i have too much
voltare
erasmus and kant in my head
my supposed humble being
is so loud in knowingly unknowing
poetry walks by and sights
she goes to another cafe
my forced gentleness
i have become a brute
crusading
wallpapering and
widowing myself
but i will never give up
the idea of somehow
transcending
despite all of this
no one is separated
from grace
*
now i am not knowing
i came in clear
now i may not be seeing
i can reset my surrealism
as easily as i can wallpaper a room
i aim to ensnare
some force
inscrutable truth
i was a gopher on a bike
but now i am a valiant widow
my son is my consciousness
killed on a crusade
now the crusade is a lit window
and cycle is a moth in sky
open to suggestions
any proposition
is beloved
will blow me to salvation
yet how much real irony
or tragedy
contained in a play
i act in and direct
i came in with paper
i do not know where it has gone
it may be this paper
i write on now
i'm waiting for beautiful poetry
to come into the room
but i have too much
voltare
erasmus and kant in my head
my supposed humble being
is so loud in knowingly unknowing
poetry walks by and sights
she goes to another cafe
my forced gentleness
i have become a brute
crusading
wallpapering and
widowing myself
but i will never give up
the idea of somehow
transcending
despite all of this
no one is separated
from grace
*
home is a place
where you work on you vices
home is a place
where you burnish your virtue
home is
a place for the heart
the mind
the mind
the mind
home is unforgotten
home is love
home is trust
where you can be naked
and cook or watch TV
where you can be unclothed
and natural
with a lover
home
is a happy forever
home
is balanced
home is
a place for the heart
the mind
the soul
the self
the now
the later
the best
a sigh
understanding
a hug
where you work on you vices
home is a place
where you burnish your virtue
home is
a place for the heart
the mind
the mind
the mind
home is unforgotten
home is love
home is trust
where you can be naked
and cook or watch TV
where you can be unclothed
and natural
with a lover
home
is a happy forever
home
is balanced
home is
a place for the heart
the mind
the soul
the self
the now
the later
the best
a sigh
understanding
a hug
Thursday, December 01, 2016
you begin gently moving
through shapely & self curated scenes
full of luxury and sometimes terror
all the mechanisms of sleep
blind force of a lucid dreamer
who says these grand things that ebb and flow
are true with no more permanence of a fog
money and fortunes blisses and curses
beautiful wayward dreamer
who can wake as soon as they wish
into clarity and clear light never sullied
the brightest of all bright selves
like a perfect high star
that never sets over an ocean
full of tossing sleepers and seekers
rafts of their own making through nights
you with a host of other angels
saying awake! urging dreamers
in imagined darkness to shake off
our peculiar toilsome sleep
iii
through shapely & self curated scenes
full of luxury and sometimes terror
all the mechanisms of sleep
blind force of a lucid dreamer
who says these grand things that ebb and flow
are true with no more permanence of a fog
money and fortunes blisses and curses
beautiful wayward dreamer
who can wake as soon as they wish
into clarity and clear light never sullied
the brightest of all bright selves
like a perfect high star
that never sets over an ocean
full of tossing sleepers and seekers
rafts of their own making through nights
you with a host of other angels
saying awake! urging dreamers
in imagined darkness to shake off
our peculiar toilsome sleep
iii
wondering about home
between flakes of snow
or will these fields tell
hush hush is that a sign
or a bell from a church
open tonight late
i see the light in you
then follow it wondering
all transitory here
like other time zones
other cities and fields
full of signs and people
other church bells dusk
wondering about home
hush hush is that a sign
or a bell
---
between flakes of snow
or will these fields tell
hush hush is that a sign
or a bell from a church
open tonight late
i see the light in you
then follow it wondering
all transitory here
like other time zones
other cities and fields
full of signs and people
other church bells dusk
wondering about home
hush hush is that a sign
or a bell
---
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Friday, November 25, 2016
Thursday, November 24, 2016
thankful on this day
thankful on this day
snow slush
a store being open
for that last can
of yams or pie crust
thankful for family
friends and even
bad drivers or
my annoying cousins
we're all part
of a grand planned
or miraculous wow
just in time ain't
it nice thank-
goodness
11.24.16
snow slush
a store being open
for that last can
of yams or pie crust
thankful for family
friends and even
bad drivers or
my annoying cousins
we're all part
of a grand planned
or miraculous wow
just in time ain't
it nice thank-
goodness
11.24.16
A Recipe for Orange Sweet Potatoes
2 twelve ounce cans of frozen orange juice 1 forty ounce can of cut sweet potatoes in light syrup 1/4 cup dry sherry 2 cups walnuts (whole or broken into halves) Oven preheated to 350 degrees Open the sweet potato can and drain the liquid from the sweet potatoes. Put the potatoes in a glass baking dish (I used a dish that was 14 inches by 10 inches) in one even layer. Then pour over the potatoes the two cans of frozen orange juice. If the orange juice is still frozen, or semi-frozen, just let the orange juice melt over the sweet potatoes. Add 1/4 cup dry sherry and mix in the 2 cups of walnuts. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let it marinate for at least an hour, longer if you want the walnuts to be softer. You can either stick it in the fridge, or just leave it out at room temperature. After marinating, take off the plastic wrap and cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. While baking, see if the liquid covering the sweet potatoes is bubbling. Then they are done. Watch out, the dish is very hot when it comes out of the oven. Serves 4-6 depending on how much they like sweet potatoes. I keep asking my mom for this recipe every Thanksgiving and Christmas the past few years, so I figure if I put it up here, I'll have it when I need it for Christmas dinner. I know if I don't have this dish at Thanksgiving, I won't feel like I had Thanksgiving at all.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
danny
he's on the hill
loves the snow
i see his silhouette
as he has a fine time
living in a rich
imaginary world
conquering a frozen peak
or making snow fort
when he sees my
shape in the window
he figures i'm
saying hello & waves
i wave back
when i'm really worried
something
might happen to him
as if life was a terrible
series of events
because it is not
i know this in my heart
snowy night is
a sparking wonder world
full of magic
that conquers all care
even from this
worrisome mind
77
Bass Lake
he's on the hill
loves the snow
i see his silhouette
as he has a fine time
living in a rich
imaginary world
conquering a frozen peak
or making snow fort
when he sees my
shape in the window
he figures i'm
saying hello & waves
i wave back
when i'm really worried
something
might happen to him
as if life was a terrible
series of events
because it is not
i know this in my heart
snowy night is
a sparking wonder world
full of magic
that conquers all care
even from this
worrisome mind
77
Bass Lake
a dream of dreams do you have
a dream of dreams do you have
don't trade it in for anything less
or cheapen it with just or no
if it is a good one
you'll be sorely tested
then eventually changed
you'll become
both subject and object
you will be the dream aware
and as that dream realized
you'll be able to see the hope
of other dreamers
you'll realize they can see
who think they cannot see
you'll understand
those unknowing do know
then be like a light to them
even cry a tear or two
which be like
a stairway to heaven
00
Snowy Day
don't trade it in for anything less
or cheapen it with just or no
if it is a good one
you'll be sorely tested
then eventually changed
you'll become
both subject and object
you will be the dream aware
and as that dream realized
you'll be able to see the hope
of other dreamers
you'll realize they can see
who think they cannot see
you'll understand
those unknowing do know
then be like a light to them
even cry a tear or two
which be like
a stairway to heaven
00
Snowy Day
11/22/16
snow has no memory
it falls swiftly
and is
the night has no regrets
glittering snowflakes
from so high up
billow and fly
dance and then land
a warm room
a fire and a book
the radio murmuring
chapter ended
a beautiful night
----
Bass Lake
it falls swiftly
and is
the night has no regrets
glittering snowflakes
from so high up
billow and fly
dance and then land
a warm room
a fire and a book
the radio murmuring
chapter ended
a beautiful night
----
Bass Lake
Sunday, November 13, 2016
i have no refuge here
in this temporary
sweet affair
not in my heart
nor even in you
we're the same this way
no place to call home
no certainty
only in letting go
into bright emptiness
do i know
there isn't even any time
or any unfinished business
there is no separation
or sense of being apart
but still i want refuge
in this temporary
sweet affair
in your heart
in you
**
in this temporary
sweet affair
not in my heart
nor even in you
we're the same this way
no place to call home
no certainty
only in letting go
into bright emptiness
do i know
there isn't even any time
or any unfinished business
there is no separation
or sense of being apart
but still i want refuge
in this temporary
sweet affair
in your heart
in you
**
my soul is great for its emptiness
before anything was created
from a beginningless beginning
not for how many stuffed armchairs
my ass sat in
my soul is known by its serenity
bright calm and clear
from a time without knowing or mind
not for my special personality
and wit
my soul cannot be organized at all
it was never unknowable
any move otherwise is a distraction
when i recognize this
no fear
no sorrow
**
before anything was created
from a beginningless beginning
not for how many stuffed armchairs
my ass sat in
my soul is known by its serenity
bright calm and clear
from a time without knowing or mind
not for my special personality
and wit
my soul cannot be organized at all
it was never unknowable
any move otherwise is a distraction
when i recognize this
no fear
no sorrow
**
Saturday, November 12, 2016
crossing a field of flowers
or cutting wood just to be different
believing you are in the sound of god
building a house in the desert
the closets are big
they walk on the floor heavily
imagine living here with tall ceilings
and polite neighbors
memory comes and goes
do you remember the music
crossing the fence or making kindling
a night sky with one billion stars
don't know where we end up
for some time we can see with no body
feel with no thinking and hold with no hands
with perfect clarity as never before
but even this does not last
one eternity slips from another
sigh
higher and higher you fly
with no going down
back at last home
**
For Leonard Cohen
or cutting wood just to be different
believing you are in the sound of god
building a house in the desert
the closets are big
they walk on the floor heavily
imagine living here with tall ceilings
and polite neighbors
memory comes and goes
do you remember the music
crossing the fence or making kindling
a night sky with one billion stars
don't know where we end up
for some time we can see with no body
feel with no thinking and hold with no hands
with perfect clarity as never before
but even this does not last
one eternity slips from another
sigh
higher and higher you fly
with no going down
back at last home
**
For Leonard Cohen
Saturday, November 05, 2016
yellow and black
stand in line for two hours
early voting
then outside
i encounter a splendid tree
bright yellow maple leaves
a black trunk
so perfect
lamentation does not exist
i take off
my hat and just look and look
what a thing to see
yellow and black
----
November 5th
Maple Grove
early voting
then outside
i encounter a splendid tree
bright yellow maple leaves
a black trunk
so perfect
lamentation does not exist
i take off
my hat and just look and look
what a thing to see
yellow and black
----
November 5th
Maple Grove
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