RUNS AGROUND

How long before this boat
Runs aground
How long before this structure
Loses all integrity
How soon before this sinecure
Becomes a real responsibility
And how long before this street
Crumbles into pieces

EXCEPTION TO THE RULE

Any rule or ruler
Must have an exception
To itself
Any God worth his salt
Will be flexible enough
To bend at the right time

Any measure or measurer
Must be willing to suspend
Belief long enough
To allow creatures of the ground
To fly

ANGER

People sometimes
Mistake
Their anger
For their good sense
And the resulting chaos
Can at times
Be comical
But when the anger
Turns to violence
(And it often does)
We give up any hope
Of finding our way
Out of the darkness

DEVELOPING MIST

I don't see you
Anymore
You disappeared
Into
A developing mist
Maybe
I could find you
If I could
At least see
An outline
Of your self
But the mist
Keeps growing
And my time here
Is short

SILENT PARTNER

I see the sky

In shades of gray

I see the earth

As a

Silent partner

And I wonder

If I will

Transcend

Both

BUMS

They’re making coffee

For the bums

The bums

Are asking

For doughnuts

They’re printing paper

And calling

It money

The bums

Know better

THESE WALLS

These walls

Do not speak to me

And this floor

Does not

Welcome my feet

This place

Does not

Remind me

Of anything

In particular

Should it?

SLITHER

Don’t point me

To the passing parade

The blood is running high

I’m left for dead

On a field of trampled flowers

Don’t throw me to the wolves

Not yet anyway

Watch me slither

Then beg

For a second chance

CRITICISM

When you criticize

You don’t always take into account

What it means to be human

We’re not machines

And if we were

The criticism would still be invalid

Now don’t take this as a criticism

Of yourself

It’s just our way

Of commenting

On your less than salutary behavior

NOTICE

You tend to deceive

Yourself

When you seek

Some kind of notice

You think

Notice is acceptance

And acceptance

Is security

You can only

Follow yourself so long

Before you start

Going in reverse

LOOKING OVER ONE'S SHOULDER

Looking over one’s shoulder

We have the advantage

Of being safe from all harm

And the opportunity arises

To follow the created muse

All the vacant worlds

And until now unknown

Destinations

Suddenly become reachable

As well as knowable

Will we take advantage

Of this revolutionary opportunity

Or will we be satisfied

To stay put

And remain frozen on the ground

RELENTLESS HAPPINESS

Dark clouds

Are trying to form

But your relentless

Happiness

Is a cause

For their concern

They wonder

As they wander

If you will be

So kind

As to forget them

PEANUTS

Stay away from Peanuts

Even if you like them

They may not like you

Stay away from the sun

Distance is good

When you see it as a little orb

In the sky

You can still feel its warmth

But you won’t be paralyzed

By its heat

Or blinded

By its brilliance

SELF

Personal ego aside

What’s left?

Only the entire

Universe

Is this your idea

Of Nirvana?

What about

The Yin and the Yang

Of Existence?

Let’s not kid ourselves

We broke down

A long time ago

And if by admitting it

We come closer to the

Light

Then maybe it’s time

To accept the facts

But don’t take my word for it

Find out for yourself

If a self is still there

LAND OF THE LIVING

I write
From the land of the living
Where there’s no place
For dead memories
I send greetings
To those who are also alive
Your existence is no longer doubted
Neither is your ambivalence


I know
That it’s no use
To warn you
You plan to go ahead
With your ambitions
But just remember
That to live
Is no small thing

REACTION TIME

It's never
Going to be
One way or
The other
It'll always going to be
War
And
Peace

And it's never
Going to be
A universe
That's not dynamic
The nature
Of reality
Demands
Ceaseless movement

The best
You can do
Is step along
With the cadence
And learn
To follow
By improving
Your reaction time

CLOUD

I wish that I could turn around
Without moving
I wish that I could see
The end from the beginning
But all I see
Is a haziness
And a cloud
Descending
And inside
The cloud
The likeness of humanity

TRY AS I MAY

Try as I may
I can't overcome
The power
Of inevitability
And the too human
Longing for neutrality
The only battle
Worth fighting
Has long been lost
And the only
Moment
Worth re-living
Has dibs on it

SLOTH

To languish
Is yet another form
Of  living
It proposes sloth
Which is a reachable goal
When you look
A trillion miles away
Similar characteristics
Can be seen

DEEP SLEEP

I must have
Missed a day
Where is my memory
Was I abducted
By aliens
Or in a deep sleep
Where the dreams
Themselves
Are dreams

FREELY PERSPIRING

Freely perspiring
Not heeding
The warning signs
I wonder if
A new beginning
Is possible
But that would
Require breaking
The laws of physics
And that's a sin
Without redemption

WHEN GRAVITY RETREATS

Clinging vines
Become an anodyne
When gravity retreats
And the sunshine
Appears only briefly
Between rain showers
Everything is growing
Who can change or divert
The forces that
Mold this planet
Nothing is too real
But so much is transparent

WHEN THE HORSE IS RUNNING

When the horse
Is running
It's best not
To reconsider your options
It is now time
To pray

I can't re-discover
The wheel
But I can pretend
It's not as round
As it used to be

When two worlds collide
There's always a chance
That meteors
Will find their way
To another galaxy

Is it possible
To move toward
Myself
I think not
It's a melancholy morning
And I need
An anodyne
A simple one will do

How is your morning?
Isn't it ironic
That the sun
The great giver of light
When shining
Blocks our vision
Of the universe

If your week
Begins in the middle
Where does it end?

What sobers me
And that which
Soothes my soul
Is a gift of time
And it only
Gets better

LAST RESORT

He wore thorns
As a last resort
But no one paid attention
He wondered if
There was life after death
But he had never heard it mentioned
How much rain is enough
Will the ground bubble over
Clouds seem fuller
Darker
And more content
When they hang low
In the twilight

BENEATH THE SURFACE

It's been almost
Two months
And the flow
Of time
Appears unimpeded
Or so it seems
But what lies
Beneath the surface
But the rumblings of an earthquake
A change so great
That it's not
Noticeable
Those who travel alone
Do not make
Recognizable paths
But their footprints
Are heavy
And withstand
The elements
And the erosion
Of time