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

FINITE BOUNDS

How do you align yourself
To the earth?
Are you clinging
As if you thought
Gravity was about to expire?
Or are you jumping?
Trying somehow
To escape
Finite bounds

HAVOC TO HARMONY

I. Wonder who will
Pick up the gauntlet
Who will see it
Through to the end
The door is off
The hinge
But still standing
But a small wind
Can cause havoc

II. Rainy days have returned
Along with the wind
And those who brave
The external perimeter
Will like to see
The flowering
Of the desert

III. Looking for harmony
At a railroad station
Skipping over
Mud puddles
Beside the track
The ongoing rush
Of humanity
A sense of doom
Not too terribly
Out of proportion

EBB AND FLOW

I've remained sporadic
The ebb and flow
Of daily life
Finds me often unprepared
For life's little accidents
I sometimes wish
My understanding
Exceeded my ability
To process
My experiences
But to be caught
In death
While still alive
Is a most
Unnerving thing

THE WHOLE LOAF

Each month moves
Like sliced bread
The whole loaf
Will soon be eaten
Everyone here
Is part of
Everyone there
It's a rotating mass
Of perilous velocity

THINGS FALL

It doesn't seem to matter
If the wind is falling
Things fall
All by themselves
The circumstances
May not be apt
But somehow
The blocks
Find their niche
And never move again
And if there
Was ever anything
To boast about
It's long forgotten

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW

It's my window to the world
When I gaze outward
I see new things
In fact all is new
The past is
Light years away
One planet
Teeming with life
The most amazing thing
There ever could be
And it's right
Outside my window

SECOND CHANCE

We may laugh
At the surroundings
But if they surround
Do not they also entrap
And if they belong
To someone else
Then what are we
Doing here

Is it so difficult
To know where
We should be
Is it wrong
Of us to ask
For a
Second chance

TIMELESS EXPANSION

There are books
Yet to be explored
I seek a
Timeless expansion
Withering of the
Vine of
Far-flung empires
Gold-dusted
And surreal
I liken the
Temper of the times
To a magician
Standing on an otherwise
Empty stage
Beguiling the audience
With sleight of hand

SATURN

Leaning
Preparing to fall
Saturn is high
In the sky
Rings around rings
Around a
Body of absolute
Neglect
Meaning distorted
And hearing
Unimpaired
What is freedom
In a context
Of near belief

SUDDENLY

Suddenly
The sky has turned blue
And the clouds
No longer linger low
In the darkness
That ensues
We'll lose sight
Of the horizon
And just like now
Words will fail

AS IT SHOULD BE

The energy expands
Across a limitless space
And as it feeds
Upon itself
The air is ripe
With change
It's a new season
No need to apologize
Echoes of sadness
Intermingle with
Drowsy countenances
This is just
What it seems

As it should be

MAKING SENSE

Making sense
Is the preoccupation
Of the mundane
It's a fantasy
To believe
In the veracity of the past
The past changes
Even more
Quickly than the present
Who knows
How much sunshine it takes
To build strong bones
Too much
And the outer layers
Decay
Too little
And you crumble from within

MINDLESS RUTS

Ordinary times
Beget feelings
Of conformity
Mindless ruts
Leading nowhere
Words in a
Foreign language
Undecipherable
And too ambiguous
For easy extrapolation

PROPER NUANCE

I can predict
Almost nothing
And the truth
Is on the loose
It's a sad day
But autumn is near
And then we can
Celebrate death
With proper nuance

EMERGENCY CALL

Seemingly desperate times
Provoke unusual responses
An emergency call
May mean a cat
Stuck in a tree
Or it could signify
That nothing
Is really wrong

VIGOR

In this day of mourning
Let there be light
Let hope filter
Through the smoke
And may the ashes
Reconstitute themselves
Into beings of vigor

A FAMILIAR PLACE

This place looks familiar
A lived-in look
The odor is not off-putting
No wine in the fridge
But the cheese isn't too old

HUMAN FRONT

Compulsion has no place
In a mediocre society
All is quiet
Along the human front
Behind the scenes though
There's a quite
Different entity

LONELY PLANET

It's hard to realize
And also to comprehend
What's going on
On this lonely planet
In this forgotten
Star system
We're on the fringes
Too far away
To do any good
Only capable
Of hurting ourselves

RESPONSE?

Out on the distant ocean
A storm is headed
For the shore
All is serenity here
Some grow restless
At the inactivity
And wonder if some
Response is warranted
No one has yet
Supplied an answer
Meanwhile
The storm rages

QUITE A DAY

Quite a day
Shouldn't that be enough
Why long for
Other pastures
You relinquish
The breeze of your youth
For contemporary chaos
As you disdain
Friendly chatter
White-washed walls
Seem more sincere

ITTY-BITTY

Absolute charity
Is a doggerel version
Of supreme command
Itty-bitty is the word
Of deep thinkers
And pretenders
To the throne

RECKLESS BEHAVIOR

Does a dog
Bark at nothing?
Is there a reason
To shout?
Outside our little corner
Of the universe-
Is anyone listening?

Our fate is certain
To think otherwise
Is to fool ourselves
We're ants
In the cosmic scene
Not dogs of war

Numbers go on
Without end
Moving restlessly
In search of a destination
But when finding it
Not stopping

Is there a point
To this reckless behavior?
If there is,
I'm not seeing it

PURE COINCIDENCE

What is beating
Inside your chest
Is not your heart
But an artificial device
That can float on water
If need be

And what is necessary
But the love
That comes from travel
And interaction
With foreigners
Whether they live on earth
Or somewhere beyond

Some places
We recall
Not even as places
Where we stop
But as places
That we merely pass by
Yet they remain
In our memory

You thought you
Were saving your soul
But you were really only
Making this life
A little more austere

He cast his vote
And it was no
He was right
But sadly, sometimes
The majority rules

To be sophisticated
Requires sophistication
Or lacking that
An ability to cast
Caution to the wind

Who moved the rock
Who jumped for joy
Who was left standing
There is no simple explanation
Other than
Pure coincidence

I'm not out to write
A perfect sentence
But I'd like to see one
I need a formula
For success
A new recipe
That ensures my survival
But if cream rises to the top
Should I get use to
Skim milk

CRACKED PAVEMENT

What sounds do you hear?
What are you listening for?
Footsteps in cracked pavement
The rumble of a
Washing machine
The dishwasher
Spinning mightily
Valiantly fighting
Dirt and grime
Or are you listening for
Something else?
What could it be
But murmurs
Little tidbits of information
Pouring out of
Wall-papered walls
Trickling down from
Holes in the roof
No relation to the
Sun above
It's not that life
Is complicated
Though it is
It's just that we wish
To simplify it too much

EMERGING CHAOS

On a stormy afternoon
Some things congeal
A happy coincidence
Where strands of matter
Dissolve
Into the ether
And miracles
Happen on
A quotidian basis

My life
Is a poor substitute
For what people see
In the emerging chaos
There they find
Comfort
And a sense of belonging
A whirlpool
Of inactivity
And a dazzling
Display
Of cosmic fireworks

He wasn't here
To win accolades
To himself
Or acolytes either
All he sought
Was in the wind

It's silly to be afraid
Isn't it?
Because we know
Our time is short
And nothing
Of gravity
Is pulling us down
We should therefore
Soar above our travails
And leave behind
Our fragmentary existence