Friday, August 26, 2022

for K at 40 (in process)

 

SEPTEMBER

 

 

Tumbling images.

Old grey cur

hops on 3 legs,

tagged w/ a red bandana.

Summer flowers

prickly to the touch.

Late buzzing bees.  These old bones sag weary.

Walking past the schoolyard,

I look for you

in all your childhood

pain and glory.

Filmy vision,

weak eyes obscured by tears,

I see you now.

Wish for those littlest moments

to cling to me,

absolved of fear and obligations.

 

9/14/21


Twin jugglers set our stage.

Nature and nurture combine,

entwine with trails inside,

thus structuring our fate.


Take up the tale, my star lit dear,

of how we now have wandered here.

Now’s waiting; don’t be late.



Epic journeys cycle into each successive now.



Wandering song, waft and wave.

Rise aloft, fall to softened tone.

Encode the call we each aspire to

hear,

become entranced with

through fear, romance, death,

enhancement to repair, to own

the tune we play.



Sound waves, calls with urgent eloquence,

soothes night fears with lullaby,

comradely cheer.

Warrior song --

carried through

long brave trails, travailed years.

our song, our vow,

harbor of our power.

 


 


 

Sorcery speaks, entangles.

Stars and hearts emerge.

Wooden ships voyage eternal sea --

journey of ages spiraling outward, free.

Easy found trades, winds recycle seeds.

Back to the gardens of pagan lore --

earth, air, sun, and transforming water.

We wander days of potent destiny,

deep mystic incantation spins the tale,

of a possible age in birth.

Love song 'tween man

and Earth.



Phoenix Fire strength fills open hearts.

Incanted flame implores spirit world to succor, exalt

He who hath endured tribulation, but never succumbed,

perpetually cast stronger toward powerful

consciousness.

Elements always in flux,

adaptable, to align with intention.

Pure essence to ignite:

Saddened, enraged, radiant,

tempered to exquisite artistry

to flow with the forces

of nature


delicately balanced

between what could be

and what we will allow.


Let your mind drift and wander.

Take a leisurely stroll through

what feels good, right, beautiful...

engage? 


 




9/14/20

 

Within the sacred crystal

of the moment

question and answer merge,

synthesize eternity.

 

 

a world of inconsistencies to ponder

questioning is the key

 

 

finding 

questions, keys and doors;

realizing history is only destiny

when explorations cease;

invitations from space and time

come complete

with choices

 

 

Travel broadens, expands the skein of us. 

Doesn’t surely lead to trust nor lessen tension.

Still, to explore, add to what we all know,

the more we learn to question, to quest

 

we articulate the important questions, 

take them in as guides, 

converse with them as colleagues, 

play with them as children, 

look through them as windows on our future world

the question becomes:  

are we strong enough in our authenticity, 

integrity, and collective power to act appropriately?

 

 

 

promote questioning in all the public places

 

Questioning makes us wise.  Resist

hypnotized consent:  “Yes, oh great glowering

crowd, yes, Sir Mighty Educator.  Your words

stink with deceit under sweet perfumes, narcotics

draining of ability to decline.”

 

 

question everything

accept or reject with clear awareness

and flexibility

 

The question:  Do we wish to learn where we each

find context, or prefer to live within what we

assume?

 

 

What everybody knows

is often just what most of us

are too lazy or uncaring to question

 

The dangerous questions 

are constantly being asked by real life circumstances. 

We who hear do feel compulsion to answer disturbingly.

 

 

 

 

I think the real question is, why 

do so many people hate their lives 

so much that they prefer to live in dreams 

of ultimate destruction?

 

 

The big question?

How humans can learn to live

successfully together, doing

what needs doing in our own

best interests.

 

 

we must question our metaphors, 

our underlying principles, 

our shared or unshared perceptions, 

in ever more precise attempts 

to cover the distance.  

But who has the time for that?

 

long walks that suddenly awaken questioning: 

"Where am I going? 

Who is this "me" 

that has a destiny 

or merely flits along prevailing wind?"

 

 

Caught in conundrum ‘tween twilight and dawn

Formerly someone, lost without form

Back to that question you asked being born

and the answer that started when?

 

 

It’s that question we need to explore,

experiments that intrigue us,

that essential project calling for our attentive exercise,

work to improve our lives that feels real,

that gives us shining dreams, appreciation

for who we can be

 

 

We are called to ask ourselves 

what it is that we truly value—

what will matter in the end 

when we question the meaning of our lives? 

 

 

Questions can be so comforting. 

Anything can be supposed as 

simple what ifs. 

It is only an idle question, 

not threatening nor 

demanding. 

 

 

What it is to be human.

In search of the answer

questions met on the trail.

 

Art is experiment

Self-constructed frames,

playful perspectives,

layered suggestions,

prayers and questions

subtly arranged

Angst, worry, tension as well as heartache

or heartsong or fleeting vision of perfection, 

or what we feel, think, know, question -- 

these are all food for art. 

 

 

Questions unanswered

burble and spike, like loud arrogant gas

rumbles.

 

 

Not to detract from dramatic renditions

of sober reflection – every exception

still begs the question we lack language

to ask.

We digress from distressful suggestibility

onto easier path.  Does it matter?

To whom?

 

 

I see your reflection.

The answer decodes the question

a higher order includes us all

 

 

 

 

 

Send a question to the universe

in due time the reply appears

kinda like scrying

 

 

When in doubt, ask questions --

why assume

intuition will come through?

Peace offers a great deal more of benefit than fighting

when in doubt, ask questions

 

 

we tend to move through the world 

with blinders and coded boundaries, 

not seeing what we see, 

but what we have told ourselves 

or been told so long 

questioning is never sought

 

 

How rise beyond mistakes, examine, question

beliefs, accept, trust  

eternally a now

not sanctioned by our faith?

 

 

Free will or fate?

Not the relevant question.

 

 

It's not that I have sure answers

or clear questions

or any reasons why.

It's not that I even know

that there are answers.

I merely dare to try.

What can I ask of you?

Hope those who share my cares exist?

 

 

 

If I could devise, discover

words and gestures, embodied 

answers to join us all 

in happy equilibrium,

I would gladly reach out

so far my arms might break.

I would fly above the fray,

call cleverly to

mesmerize, dismantle stagnant walls

that crassly hold nirvana at bay.

Would you dare to question fate,

exercise escape?

 

 

 

As the waves blow, the winds flow, 

the sands sift with sea

And faraway stars shine in soft mystery

Her eyes shine with starlight and stare at the sea

Asking questions as ancient as night

Expecting no sign to appear.

 

Nourishment will arrive soon.

Knowledge will take longer.

Think on your questions.

 

 

Intuition insists

the answers exist.

It is the questions that await asking.

 

 

Without question or shame, we murdered as if to keep score.

Without honor or remorse, we laid waste to our host,

to our only home,

then cursed her for not giving more.

 

 

Beat down, swallowed in

sweat, too hot for questions

to make sense.

 

 

Is there an answer? (or nest of answers)

What is the question?

What is our quest,

if we allow ourselves that story?

 

 

A quest full of questions.

A fool's 'oliday.

And, have I mentioned,

no promise of pay.

Just a born again supplicant

reshaping the code,

creating the tale I'll tell

when I'm old.

 

 

It's not as if I have the answers. 

What I have are open-ended questions 

into which theories and possibilities 

can be dropped.

 

 

truths we can learn or discover

truths we feel, experience

truths we know we do not know

truths that change with

point of view

or time

Why fight

over truth, under stubborn banner?

Truth is neither

question nor answer.

 

 

Do you get what we're all missing?

We could be questioning and listening.

Giving credence to each other's dreams 

 

 

Adapt   Persist  Question

 

 

 

 

private harvest

9/14/19 

 

Loosening from light, long hazy days ebb golden.

Private harvest.  

Shamanic gifts of remembrance,

Sun grown fields and buzzing industry

spun into fine fabric, textured tapestry.

 

Soar o’er awakened sky, past to now.

Taste surprised by juicy essence of 

perennial harvest revelry.

Real lives yearn, feel need

for some promised warmth of care,

shared extremities that nurture hope

of shared deliverance, hands and minds

together strong;

surge of survival over uncertain destiny,

return to thrive, if we might find that energy.

Private seas pull grand tiding.

Attached to this Earth,

mired (but not beyond mirth, cosmic inspiration),

energies blend, fuse.

See, smell, taste chemical reactions;

hear reverberating air.

Recombinant winds call timeless tunes.

Rhythmic movements re- and un- engage,

ever changing, never wholly new.

 

In these moments stuck in migrating vibrations,

skies descend, dark mirroring.

Smell the woodsmoke, intoxicating, soft and sweet.

Feel in the electric falling starlight,

spells of renewal, of power to look back

upon our falterings, to find the seed now grown

yet changing still and ever, able,

willing, co-creating in the illuminated shadow,

invoking the peace of dissolving twilight,

of midnight's hopeful resurrection,

of the hinting sky that lightens before the dawn.

Wizardry of synaptic awareness,

unlikelihood of consciousness;

Dreams, Visions, Epiphanies, ineffable insights

too dear to deny.

Realign expectant gaze toward peace, 

plenty

-- planetary necessity. 

Take peace into each breath, each incantation,

from the strength to align impeccably

with your deepest truth.

There is no limit but that will assigns.

 

Celebrate 

‘round feast laden table, exultant vibration.

It is time to reap ecstatic harvest

of moonbeams dancing to dawn.




9/14/17

 

Energy dervishes, drunk from fruits of Earth, swirl,

become ecstasy.  Sun falls from Western skies.

Emergent space aligns.

 

 

Caught up in days’ parade; now take it in.

Peaceful moments safe with friends and kin.

Joys of open grace, sad tinge of loss.

Simple blessings, call of goals beyond.

Under dispersing clouds, upon solid ground.

 

 

 

Wealth of starlight, bed of Earth

Every miracle seeking birth

Clouds arouse the care of air

Music flows through every where

 

 

 

Bestowed honoured place

in ritual chorus.

Celebrate

‘round hallowed table, exultant vibration.

Energies blend, fuse.

Recombinant winds call timeless tunes.

Rhythmic movements re- and un- engage,

ever changing,

never wholly new

 

 

 

 

I wish you peace.

I wish you love.

I wish you time to

explore your essence.

I wish you safety.

I wish you patience.

I wish you exquisite dreams,

brilliant nights and

dazzling days.

I wish the world

a sweeter disposition.

I wish for peace,

for love,

a more merry age.

I wish we are gifted

the wishes we yearn for.

I thrice charge these wishes

and beam them to you.

 

 

 

to celebrate

 

enraptured --  

to feel your presence as joyful

serene electricity

so in love with this moment.

Glorious, revels to carry through 

lean days between.

 

 

 

 

Each movement a chance

to discover new senses,

new meanings, new methods,

new facets and forms.

To swoop into dance,

heal with celebration,

imbue inspiration,

play out loud in mad storm.

It's not about amassing a fortune,

elevation, acclaim,

becoming a star.

It's not about

living up to some value,

but valuing living because

here you are!

 

 

 

 

Celebrate, honor gods of good fortune

Eat, drink, share beautiful stories

Very merry blessed Be



9/14/15


Do we? Live like undead slaves? 

Do we only move as directed, never dance freely in a whirling wind; 

never touch finger to foreign finger for a thrill of acceptance? 

Never savor music assimilated within from all the exhausted nights 

swirled into revel excitement? Do we not breathe and inhale airs 

unexpected, strangely calling to arcane desire? 

Such solemn sensuality. Vibration lingering warm and sweet. 

Music of heat rouses drowsy ecstasy. 

Images that stay. Music that accompanies a day’s montage of duties. 

Musicians play. Enchanting sylph narrates stories to sinuous 

back beat, tingle of chimes, subtle percussions, intense expressions, 

leaps, cunning stumbles, daring falls, crawl into spellbound sound. 

Scheherazade myths, archetypal passion escapades, 

poignant weeps, salient shouts to power. 

Passionate friend, mystic teacher, seeker of meaningful action, 

means before ends. Feel each instant’s music move in tune. Reach 

into balance within limits of room, laws of motion, draw of elation. 

Extemporaneous. Each mood enhances majestic release, 

stretch for a piece reflective and deep. Remade in music, 

not just while it’s playing. Ordered vibrations cosset, hold like a 

heart-bound twin. Will-fueled tonation, music imbues momentum, 

interweaves, keeps up incentive to become, overcome.




9'14'14



Be of good cheer.

Engage with this time,

this day.

Our world is but a moment.

Take it – play!

Raise a glass to you,

righteous pioneer.

Forward from here.

Remember, be present

a gift of good cheer.

 

 

 

 

Devotion

 

 

A child with a secret

unaware.

A serious persona

able to pull onward

celestial strings, curious circumstance.

Able to twirl and prance on cue,

to state with a glance,

to unassume.

 

Jestar, demigod disguised as troubadour 

wanders Earth to learn human tricks,

linguistics.   Sources music as communication.

Someday soon, when runes align with stars and signs,

grim portents,

mask dissolves.  Wisdom sings.

Those who listen, respond in apt devotion,

clear resonance,

decrypt sage clues,

engage in sacred quest, accept reward.

Stories harvested over ages,

night to night reveal exaltation.

Filtered gifts of layered sleep.

Receive what is sound to honor.

Longer tales soar and weave.

Keep close touch to melodies that compel

elegance.

 

Where do we learn cruelty?

Indignities impressed in our youth,

imposed as we grow.

Where do we learn beauty?

Purity --

full interplay

conscious engagement

directed vocation

 

Once upon a time in a village of yore,

there had been bequeathed a home

for wayward children

that the streets be clear of filth

when the fine folk made their daily

perambulations.

In the wee hours the wee ones

were expelled to hunt nonhuman

vermin, the occasional mad man.

These became their supper stew

to maintain servile strength.

Children who outgrew set parameters

or acted unruly could too become stew.

Or they could sneak away from the hunt

to wherever their story might be made their own.




9/14/13


Trial by Wonder



And the young monk

on the hillside thrice gave

weight to his staff against

greenhold ground found this day

along his sacred quest.

In answer, the land opened,

revealed a winding descending stairway.

The monk feeling bidden, ventured down.

Below, he became aware he had entered

cavernous chamber lit by broad torches.

An array of ancient armament displayed

upon a large wooden table, its edges

intricately carved.

Exquisite poignant music, angelic pure

voices unsullied by words emerged from

vibrating air.

“Welcome, child. You are expected.

Nourishment will arrive soon.

Knowledge will take longer.

Think on your questions.”

An old wrinkled presence, kind without sign

of emotion, spoke and settled into

luxurious green tapestry now clearly carpeting

the room.

The monk had embarked on his journey without

expectations.

That was one of the rules.

He eagerly followed each of seeming reasonless

instructions, on and on.

Now he had reached a place of contemplation,

a different kind of challenge.

He considered his questions in short mental movies.

Brought to him food exactly suited to invigorate,

water like clarity washing through him.

His mind paints the walls, animate characters flicker

in shadows. These converse with the monk, and each

other. Merry questions cavort as shapes, colors,

directions. When the monk awakes, he is walking

a familiar trail. The teller of his tale has decreed

it leads to a sacred hillside.

He hums to his steps, rehearsing his questions.

Their answers reside in his trusty backpack.

He has collected and carried these shiny pebbles

with intention to fabricate a magnificent rock collage

when the appropriate backdrop appears.

How lucky to be a monk in a time of such

abundance.

 

 

 

9/14/12


Happiness -

Captivatingly fleeting, unexpected thrill.

Coming upon a gorgeous serenity that abruptly halts

all complaint; enraptured --

so in love with this moment.

Vital we know, we must hold awareness,

“It’s possible!”  This bliss experience.

Glorious, revels to carry through 

lean days between.

More than possible, a commonality, even in response

to simple stimuli, gentle pleasure 

despite pervasive pestilence, terror, 

boredom, defeat.

I want this for you:  to feel your presence a joyful beam;

that I may be 

vicariously 

happy.

 

sane chemical sea

serene electricity

synapses smile

 

 

 


 

 

best wishes

 

 

A wish

to be part of the family Artist

on the invitation list to clan ceremonial feasts

A wish

a trusted confidante,

or three,

who cherish, intrinsically enjoy

my projections into poetics, philosophies

A wish

bouyant laughter

free of responsibility

for all those embarrassing foibles

A wish

endlessly recursive beauty

deep azure reflection

assuring stars

confections dark and

gloriously textured

A wish

sincere tears, encouraging embrace,

a soft enduring face

carrying future’s surprise in wise

ancient eyes – blessings happiness wide

A wish

euphoric rides, cool winds

kicking out a beat demanding dance

with every shadow, street, encounter

 

I wish you believe 

and succeed 

in wishing.

 

 

 

 


The art of being human.

Painted layers.

Long revisions, as the mural wall continues

circling, spins through pigmentation,

clarification to deepening mystery.

Tentative tacking, pasting, cut-out bits,

lived and fiction, for effect.

Ever new embellishments.

Trapeze experiments.

Sequins, glitter, lace.

Colours, brightly clean to muted counterpace.  

Scatter-washed in seasons.



2011

 in the rhythm


Shell the peanuts.
Scrub and cut potatoes.
Knead the bread dough.
Pluck and chop the herbs.
Music in the fixing, in the mixing,
each practiced movement.
Music of each meeting,
each task a jaunty dance.

Held in cogent vibration,
safe in sound, lightly bound,
guides to sense from sensation,
turns lessons to merry play.
Easy to commune, catch the tune, taught with glee.
Such fun these school days can be!

Back in the forests, the caves,
the glades,
elemental chemistries exchange,
sonic waves call wanderers home;
soothing dark fears with lullaby,
comradely cheer.
Know us by our song –
music to carry through
long brave trails, travailed years.
If the Word is our binding charm,
our song is our vow,
ever renaming power.
Engaging, blending, restorative potion;
energy, purpose, pleasure of motion
enthused by
acoustic muse.

The people united,
hanging together to avoid
being hung
one by one.
Growing their rhythm, get carried along in a
strengthening hum
tuned to common cause.
Ringing poetic, wrapped
together, in a banner of furious sound.
The people, excited, spring in their step,
clear on their ground, can not be kept down.

Entrapped, entranced
Who is to be gained
by loosening the ties?
What you remains
released into surprise?
Feel, beneath your eyes.
Ease into the rhythm.
Blessed familiarity –
heartbeat through pulsing memory.
Breathe, connect with the real –
the gift of air, of skin,
of enchanting chance encounters,
of ringing melodies
strong enough
to call to lucidity
your most precious name.

There’s always a child
dying
to play
loved and protected
through audacious curiosity,
worries over being too big or
clashing to fit in.
Little one, listen:
Condensed to soft-voiced
Song,
loving companion
on treacherous icy walks
in winter rain
embraces from within.
Intone and be heard, protected,
assured of unsuspected glory.
Song imagines your story.

Surging through heart,
lungs, air
our ineffable beauty
sings.

 




9/14/10


vibrate trails



Red balloon Sun sets below gray roofs lush green leaves

Relax, evening's ready to flee on the breeze,

run off to join brilliant carnival dizzying noise,

comedies, party parades, grand applause,

costume resplendent rebellious glittery glee

Play the big stage on the midway; wind of weary road recedes

Play for the cause, for the team, riding their stories


Pay toll to chance crossings uncertain roads;

emotion fused memory flows, shaman's intimate reverie, midnight liquid cabaret;

fingers, face, desire, dance a montage music inspires


Sunswept mirage bright highways; magic never comes easy on desolation trail

Charisma of injun joe, old bonnie, ageless desperation

lost to unpitied gaps, boarded home

Listen sagelike to secret smiles, touchstone melody,

long-tone remedy for living hard, dying slow alone

Crash flea-ridden roadside traps after the show goes eternally on and on;

wrenched gut throbs, eyes blurred to the howl

Twilight crowd a'clamor for loud resilient community;

tranced instant glamour distant from day's insanity entrains yearn for humanity

Learn flexible grace staggering crowded stadia; fade lines between day and night as you play


Pay toll to chance crossings uncertain roads;

emotion fused memory flows, shaman's intimate reverie, midnight liquid cabaret;

fingers, face, desire, dance a montage music inspires


New York City smells coarse, blood, urine, spit;

Boston's vomit, dead fish, pre-hangover-dawn

Callous palaces imbued in dank beer, rowdy song

Limpid eyes scour cerulean sky, watch clouds transform, mirror dreams

Out on spiral fire escape grates, escaping inside heat,

sway to jungle beat, mesmerized memory carried on breeze

Catch that whiff of inspiration; spin out an anchor of sound vibration

Notes transmit emotion -- magic of music


Pay toll to chance crossings uncertain roads;

emotion fused memory flows, shaman's intimate reverie, midnight liquid cabaret;

fingers, face, desire, dance a montage music inspires




9/14/08


Of the Day

 

 

In the beginning,

before threads unfurled

for reassignment,

basic forces vied

in the throes of creation.

Telescoping backward,

watch the magic

explode.

Faery storms,

vivid electric bursts,

eternity sings in language

unfathomable.

Over vast aeons,

threads weave into fabric.

Recognizable forms

play out destinies.

In this great game of life

infinity recombines.

Take pleasure in moments

tied in gaily colored threads

for remembrance.





Minstrel Song

9/14/07 

 

Come gather round kids and I'll strum you a tale

Of a Queen of the Nile and her King Ishmael

Of great daring deeds and a pure holy grail

And how your dreams can come true

O' now listen to know what to do.

 

Deep in the desert, dark in the night,

the Queen was awakened in terrible fright

to see her king levitate, surrounded by light.

Now, what does she do? 

O' seeing her dreaming come true?

 

Oh, babe, I dream of you again

Your vision haunting me

since I don't know when

Asleep in your arms, your voice all around me

These dreams always hound me

'til I want to give in

do as you bid

even if it's a sin.

 

The Queen called her champions to come to her aid

Her manner denying that she was afraid

She commanded that their attention be paid

to finding out what was true

O' she told them what they must do.

 

"You must venture forth 'neath the light of the Moon

to find in the desert this specified dune

under which is hidden a great sacred ruin

where you'll find the grail that's true.

O' Now go, you know what to do."

 

They did as she bid them and found the ruin site

Yet the King was before them, encircled in light

Loyal to his station, the Number One knight

grasped the grail so true

O' despite what the King might do.

 

The King, from his perch, floating in air,

surveying the knights his Queen had sent there,

commanded compliance with his majestic stare,

saying:  "I am the Lord of what's true.

So, this is what you will do."

 

Oh, babe, I dream of you again

You've been haunting me

since I don't know when

Asleep in your arms, your voice all around me

These dreams always hound me

'til I want to give in

do as you bid

even if it's a sin.

 

The knights became sailors, and far did they sail.

The Queen ruled the kingdom without King or grail.

With his increasing powers, the King Ishmael

brings to dreamers a message so true,

when awakened they know what to do.

 

Oh, babe, I dream of you again,

secretly haunting me

since I don't know when.

Asleep in your arms, your voice all around me.

Beguilement hounds me

'til I want to give in;

do as you bid,

even if it's a sin.

 




No comments: