Our spirits touch
Like clothes drying in the wind
Making faint sparks
To conspire is to breathe together
To inspire is to breathe life into the world
I see a ladder spiraling into the clouds
Angels climb up and down it
Guanine, Thymine, Adenine, Cytosine
Words and their expressions
Messages and messengers
We cling to each other
Like clothes tangled on the line
Waiting to be filled with love
Monday, January 3, 2011
Halfway Up
The river sounds
Like a distant ocean
From here
Up above
A glacial mountain
Peeps in and out of
The clouds
Roosters and people
Playing football
Call out
In the valley below
I am surrounded by
The smell of wild mint
And burro dung
And birdsong
Like a distant ocean
From here
Up above
A glacial mountain
Peeps in and out of
The clouds
Roosters and people
Playing football
Call out
In the valley below
I am surrounded by
The smell of wild mint
And burro dung
And birdsong
Clouds Move
Clouds move
in and out of the valley
tumbling down from the mountaintops
rising up like a pillar of smoke
parting and joining, circling
they have no direction or attachment
just beautiful, clear holes
where the sun shines
on the mountainside.
Gold is the sweat of the sun
and silver the moons tears.
I thank God for the precious water
in the clear, rock lined stream.
The water joins the other water
in the Amazon, in the clouds.
Clear air enters my nostrils.
The sound of the river enters my ears.
I too am made of water
flowing around holes
to let the sunshine in
in and out of the valley
tumbling down from the mountaintops
rising up like a pillar of smoke
parting and joining, circling
they have no direction or attachment
just beautiful, clear holes
where the sun shines
on the mountainside.
Gold is the sweat of the sun
and silver the moons tears.
I thank God for the precious water
in the clear, rock lined stream.
The water joins the other water
in the Amazon, in the clouds.
Clear air enters my nostrils.
The sound of the river enters my ears.
I too am made of water
flowing around holes
to let the sunshine in
Now I Am White Buddha
Now I am white buddha
Giving peace to the world
Receiving from the sun above my head
Raindrops pour from my fingertips
A lotus flower grows in my other hand
I sit in the clouds
Look up
Giving peace to the world
Receiving from the sun above my head
Raindrops pour from my fingertips
A lotus flower grows in my other hand
I sit in the clouds
Look up
De Donde
Wherever our people are from
Mexico, England, Korea, Spain
Germany, Latvia, Scotland, Nicaragua
They all came from the past
A past that is still present
On the streets of Delhi, where
A family can be saved from destitution
By the simple gift of a rickshaw
And literacy lessons
And now we are all here
We all come from the heart
Even if it’s broken, even if
The sharp shards of an alcoholic mother
Mingle with our own
For generations to come
We circle the globe
With our feet and with our prayers
We go into the future
No longer apart but connected
We learn from the young people
The patience to hear out
Each others' stories
And listen to the Earth
And tell
Mexico, England, Korea, Spain
Germany, Latvia, Scotland, Nicaragua
They all came from the past
A past that is still present
On the streets of Delhi, where
A family can be saved from destitution
By the simple gift of a rickshaw
And literacy lessons
And now we are all here
We all come from the heart
Even if it’s broken, even if
The sharp shards of an alcoholic mother
Mingle with our own
For generations to come
We circle the globe
With our feet and with our prayers
We go into the future
No longer apart but connected
We learn from the young people
The patience to hear out
Each others' stories
And listen to the Earth
And tell
Lost Sensations
More than words
I miss the warmth of your touch
Coming from inside me
The sea motion when I closed my eyes
Lying beside you
The forest taste of your kiss
You have vanished into the trees
Sailed away
I cannot even imagine
You
I miss the warmth of your touch
Coming from inside me
The sea motion when I closed my eyes
Lying beside you
The forest taste of your kiss
You have vanished into the trees
Sailed away
I cannot even imagine
You
Tonight I Will Count Dolphins
Tonight I will count dolphins
Hemming the edge of the ocean two by two
With a running stitch
Playful, friendly, unreachable
We dive clumsily into the brisk waves
Our stories unfolded on the beach
Making a grey speck in the fog filled distance
Later we shiver in the car together
You have to be warm enough to shiver
In the dark we find each other
Two strange mammals on the edge of the land
So much heat
Hemming the edge of the ocean two by two
With a running stitch
Playful, friendly, unreachable
We dive clumsily into the brisk waves
Our stories unfolded on the beach
Making a grey speck in the fog filled distance
Later we shiver in the car together
You have to be warm enough to shiver
In the dark we find each other
Two strange mammals on the edge of the land
So much heat
Yom Kippur Prayer Poem
Bless God who made me
With room inside to perceive him
With lungs and bones that chime
With the voices of others
Around and before and after
And with my own voice
Who opened my eyes
To the rose glowing opposite the sunset
My mind to find time
For smelling the roses
Appreciating the roar of the ocean
The distance of mountaintops
The wildness of jungles
The beauty of friendship
I will hold in mind
A vision of a better world
I will hold your hand
And step into it
God bless you
Wherever you go
With room inside to perceive him
With lungs and bones that chime
With the voices of others
Around and before and after
And with my own voice
Who opened my eyes
To the rose glowing opposite the sunset
My mind to find time
For smelling the roses
Appreciating the roar of the ocean
The distance of mountaintops
The wildness of jungles
The beauty of friendship
I will hold in mind
A vision of a better world
I will hold your hand
And step into it
God bless you
Wherever you go
Many Trunked Eucalyptus
It would take five or six people
to hug you
The only one of your kind
Among the eucalyptuses
Sounding their chorus of leaves
A backdrop for the waves
Crashing way way down below
I wonder if you are just older
How long ago were you planted here
The grandfather of the entire copse
Once singing your lone song
Against the crashing waves
Then joined by others
Carrying on after you
A perpetual om
to hug you
The only one of your kind
Among the eucalyptuses
Sounding their chorus of leaves
A backdrop for the waves
Crashing way way down below
I wonder if you are just older
How long ago were you planted here
The grandfather of the entire copse
Once singing your lone song
Against the crashing waves
Then joined by others
Carrying on after you
A perpetual om
Time Under Cat
Thank God for those precious moments
When the cat graces my lap with his presence
A puddle of furry warmth
Purring and making Big Paws
Half caresses, half digging in claws
Hooking my hand with his chin
Demanding my full, bi-manual attention
I daren't even look at the screen
Only my mind is free to write this poem
While my legs go numb
Until some lapse in my Purr-fect
Pleasuring of Him
Makes him leap away or bite me.
Thank God when they end, too.
When the cat graces my lap with his presence
A puddle of furry warmth
Purring and making Big Paws
Half caresses, half digging in claws
Hooking my hand with his chin
Demanding my full, bi-manual attention
I daren't even look at the screen
Only my mind is free to write this poem
While my legs go numb
Until some lapse in my Purr-fect
Pleasuring of Him
Makes him leap away or bite me.
Thank God when they end, too.
Bilingual Rose
Rose, how can I describe you when
English only has one word for pink
And you have two colors
Of blooms growing haphazardly
A foot above my head
Pale pastel pink and deep cerise
It doesn't make any sense
If one were grafted I would understand
As though ideas are bursting in your mind
Untranslatable
This morning you made me see
My neighborhood with new eyes
And I noticed for the first time
A patch of open sky between
The gated stairway and the roof
English only has one word for pink
And you have two colors
Of blooms growing haphazardly
A foot above my head
Pale pastel pink and deep cerise
It doesn't make any sense
If one were grafted I would understand
As though ideas are bursting in your mind
Untranslatable
This morning you made me see
My neighborhood with new eyes
And I noticed for the first time
A patch of open sky between
The gated stairway and the roof
Steep Ravine
Seagulls ride the ocean wind
That slaps the rain against our window
Their sillhouettes half an infinity
Enduring in my mind
As you say you are flying
And I long to sink forever
Under your warm body
Looking up at the cloud ridden sky
A perfect exchange of ecstasy for heat
Our ship tethered to the rock like this cabin
Knowing someday the wind will lift me up
Afloat on the waves of your tender care
That slaps the rain against our window
Their sillhouettes half an infinity
Enduring in my mind
As you say you are flying
And I long to sink forever
Under your warm body
Looking up at the cloud ridden sky
A perfect exchange of ecstasy for heat
Our ship tethered to the rock like this cabin
Knowing someday the wind will lift me up
Afloat on the waves of your tender care
Poem for Dance
I dance from my heart
Sensing my body's freedom to move
Sensing the beat pulsing through my core
More ancient than this electronic music
More ancient than a drum beat
As old as footsteps echoing down the valley
As old as a wing beat
As old as the ocean
waves lapping the rocky shore
I see the figures of people dancing
It takes a leap of faith
To look in their beautiful faces
To touch, to invite myself in
However briefly, to their dance
To create something together
That we couldn't have made alone
And my heart goes out to the others,
not present
Whose core pulses or pulsed
with the ancient beat
Of the waves lapping the sea shore
the imaginary wing beat
Who are fearful, alone, or in pain
And who do not know
I am dancing with them.
Sensing my body's freedom to move
Sensing the beat pulsing through my core
More ancient than this electronic music
More ancient than a drum beat
As old as footsteps echoing down the valley
As old as a wing beat
As old as the ocean
waves lapping the rocky shore
I see the figures of people dancing
It takes a leap of faith
To look in their beautiful faces
To touch, to invite myself in
However briefly, to their dance
To create something together
That we couldn't have made alone
And my heart goes out to the others,
not present
Whose core pulses or pulsed
with the ancient beat
Of the waves lapping the sea shore
the imaginary wing beat
Who are fearful, alone, or in pain
And who do not know
I am dancing with them.
You Are a Pool
You are a pool
I step into the water
not knowing
if it will be deep or shallow
warm or cold
if I will drown or float.
I step into the pool again
regardless
hoping to warm all this water
with my heart's faint glow
wondering if I will remember
how to swim
or if I ever learned.
I step into the water
not knowing
if it will be deep or shallow
warm or cold
if I will drown or float.
I step into the pool again
regardless
hoping to warm all this water
with my heart's faint glow
wondering if I will remember
how to swim
or if I ever learned.
The Missing Peace
The space inside my head is quiet
Now I have the missing piece
You gave me, that
you didn't have to give
You thought that the pieces
were interchangeable,
that women were.
No wonder your puzzle
didn't fit together!
You thought what flies with one
flies with another, flies
because it flies
Your world is very broken. You witheld
your whole self, and gave me
just one piece
and shattered mine
Look in the mirror
Look at yourself
You are neither
all good nor all bad.
When you are whole
you can give yourself
over and over
If you give piecemeal
part to me, part to her, part to her
you fall apart, dissembling
what you think you save.
Pick up the pieces!
I thank you for the missing peace,
the quiet space inside my head
Wide open, so much that it hurts
Is this how the sky feels
when the clouds are swept away?
Spring in El Cerrito
Only the children seem to notice the water
bubbling from the brook, through the mulch
put there to stamp out the weeds.
They run across the bikepath
oblivious, their hands full of daffodils.
You walk your dog, head bent
on listening to your I-pod.
How could you hear
the birds in the bushes?
"I could eat those dandelions
but I won't," you say
gesturing on Bluetooth to the flowers
we used to call soursuckles
for which Californians have no name.
bubbling from the brook, through the mulch
put there to stamp out the weeds.
They run across the bikepath
oblivious, their hands full of daffodils.
You walk your dog, head bent
on listening to your I-pod.
How could you hear
the birds in the bushes?
"I could eat those dandelions
but I won't," you say
gesturing on Bluetooth to the flowers
we used to call soursuckles
for which Californians have no name.
Blueberries
The words I am looking for
explode on the tongue like blueberries
in the middle of a kiss,
showering us both with laughter.
Juicy, just right, not too sweet.
I wish I could envelop you
with the warm haze I feel
my heart touching your heart
like friendly embers kindling
in the afterglow.
explode on the tongue like blueberries
in the middle of a kiss,
showering us both with laughter.
Juicy, just right, not too sweet.
I wish I could envelop you
with the warm haze I feel
my heart touching your heart
like friendly embers kindling
in the afterglow.
At Peet's Coffee
Clouds move. People move.
Cars fly by, going
who knows where,
but driving.
You pause for a moment
and I wonder if
I could have made
your day a better day
just by smiling.
Cars fly by, going
who knows where,
but driving.
You pause for a moment
and I wonder if
I could have made
your day a better day
just by smiling.
What Really Matters?
Is it the leap of the heart in the moment
before you drop from the Tarzan rope?
The cold thrill of the water,
hearing yourself scream?
Or is it the moment before,
the decision, conquering fear,
holding onto the rope, letting go
of the ground in order to reach it?
Is it the splash, the people watching,
your kids watching, watching your kids
or someone else's kids?
This last adventure of summer
the blackberries drying on the bushes
or the first day of school,
the humdrum of hopes and dreams?
before you drop from the Tarzan rope?
The cold thrill of the water,
hearing yourself scream?
Or is it the moment before,
the decision, conquering fear,
holding onto the rope, letting go
of the ground in order to reach it?
Is it the splash, the people watching,
your kids watching, watching your kids
or someone else's kids?
This last adventure of summer
the blackberries drying on the bushes
or the first day of school,
the humdrum of hopes and dreams?
The Gift of Doubt
Sometimes the pale sun shimmers behind the morning fog
and I doubt it will ever burn through.
Maybe the order of days has been revoked?
I revisit the question: who am I?
As important as a fly
in the everlasting evolution of the universe.
And who are you? You turn my no into a yes
you turn my yes into a no and squash me
leaving the crazy footprints of my dance upon the sand
leaving me to doubt and know
I will build another castle in the sand
The sun will shine another day, and we'll both burn
in the endless cycle
dust unto dust unto dust
and I doubt it will ever burn through.
Maybe the order of days has been revoked?
I revisit the question: who am I?
As important as a fly
in the everlasting evolution of the universe.
And who are you? You turn my no into a yes
you turn my yes into a no and squash me
leaving the crazy footprints of my dance upon the sand
leaving me to doubt and know
I will build another castle in the sand
The sun will shine another day, and we'll both burn
in the endless cycle
dust unto dust unto dust
Links in a Chain
This you will not understand
How your face pressed itself
Into a loop, in my mind
Coming between me and my new lover
Not because of what you said
But what you did not say
Because of what you did not hear
Not what you heard
Because your eyes were always closed
You dance to the beat of your own drummer
Like a rat in a maze, always running
Around the same loop
In your own mind
'This you will not understand'
And I don't understand it either
How your face pressed itself
Into a loop, in my mind
Coming between me and my new lover
Not because of what you said
But what you did not say
Because of what you did not hear
Not what you heard
Because your eyes were always closed
You dance to the beat of your own drummer
Like a rat in a maze, always running
Around the same loop
In your own mind
'This you will not understand'
And I don't understand it either
Splash
Isn't it funny, how
The splash of a stone
On the face of the water
Is like a bud opening in springtime
But faster
Isn't it sad, how
The splash of a stone
On the face of the water
Is like a life shrinking, but
In reverse
Either way the stone
Is missing from the picture
But only the stone
Lasts
The splash of a stone
On the face of the water
Is like a bud opening in springtime
But faster
Isn't it sad, how
The splash of a stone
On the face of the water
Is like a life shrinking, but
In reverse
Either way the stone
Is missing from the picture
But only the stone
Lasts
What are you worth?
I am worth
The wide ocean, glinting
Between the houses
Its depths are as dark as
My sorrow
I am worth
The blue sky, touching
The rooftops
It reaches as far as
My love
And touches everyone
I am worth
The stars, shimmering
In the darkness
Their mystery
Matches
My curiosity
The wide ocean, glinting
Between the houses
Its depths are as dark as
My sorrow
I am worth
The blue sky, touching
The rooftops
It reaches as far as
My love
And touches everyone
I am worth
The stars, shimmering
In the darkness
Their mystery
Matches
My curiosity
Picture Postcard Spinoza
Light snags the dust
over crowded bookshelves
At the desk
photo still
Nature writes
And her words
are like spindles
weaving the threads
of our being
Our actions are
what gives
Her words
meaning
The will is not
a free cause
only
a necessary
One
over crowded bookshelves
At the desk
photo still
Nature writes
And her words
are like spindles
weaving the threads
of our being
Our actions are
what gives
Her words
meaning
The will is not
a free cause
only
a necessary
One
Casual Encounter
Three marks
make
a face
a face
and
a name
love
is good
at the time
but doesn't
bear
thinking
a space
between
two
silent walls
where briefly
some light
splashed
from the garden
is longing
to be
forgotten
make
a face
a face
and
a name
love
is good
at the time
but doesn't
bear
thinking
a space
between
two
silent walls
where briefly
some light
splashed
from the garden
is longing
to be
forgotten
Allegorical
Your father dreamed himself out of the war
into books. You eat them like chocolate;
you carry the empty house of his silence.
Now my dreams enter these papered up rooms,
this card pyramid echoed with mummies.
I draw a flush. In my hand
all clubs have the same flavour
and your father is king.
I cannot breathe, my prince charming.
I wake coughing words.
into books. You eat them like chocolate;
you carry the empty house of his silence.
Now my dreams enter these papered up rooms,
this card pyramid echoed with mummies.
I draw a flush. In my hand
all clubs have the same flavour
and your father is king.
I cannot breathe, my prince charming.
I wake coughing words.
Photographing Allonby
If there were glass in this back windscreen
it would be frosted, but the frost is inside.
It is daytime; the distances here
are obscured by white.
Little pigment would be required
to paint this scene, but for the car.
Silence disturbed by the photographer
composing an artificial landscape.
Hard and soft edges are frozen
onto his plate; he folds the tripod
leaving three small holes, and tracks
which will not be covered by snow.
it would be frosted, but the frost is inside.
It is daytime; the distances here
are obscured by white.
Little pigment would be required
to paint this scene, but for the car.
Silence disturbed by the photographer
composing an artificial landscape.
Hard and soft edges are frozen
onto his plate; he folds the tripod
leaving three small holes, and tracks
which will not be covered by snow.
A Poem Should
A poem should
make you feel good
inside
leave you elevated
An amulet
to shore up
against the fates
A poem should
take on the world
and win
A poem should
not
be afraid
to embarrass
make you feel good
inside
leave you elevated
An amulet
to shore up
against the fates
A poem should
take on the world
and win
A poem should
not
be afraid
to embarrass
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