The Unpaved Road

Ever since I've learned,
The road to Hell
Was paved,
I've walked the path less traveled.

My thoughts are my own,
Like sparrows fly
Above,
In harmony with nature.

If my way were paved,
With motive good
Or bad,
I would miss the crunching
Of the stones
Beneath my feet.

Rainbow Chaser II

Dear Rainbow Chaser,

You've awakened in a world that needs to justify your being.

If you haven't already, you will feel fear.

There is a hope within this anguish.

A hope that is liberty.

A new sense, I think, a wonderful sense,

That will develop naturally.

Listen to the melody that plays in the wind.

Listen to your forever dreams,

As you rise and fall to the rhythm of the waves.

Do not fear to be free.

A house with many rooms

Wander in the shadow of what's real,
Which bears down on the uninitiated like a veil,
Confusing the masses, confusing the senses,
An endless path to roam.

Witness the birth of thought!
Swathe imagination in a blanket of desire!
Wander no more, awaken and soar,
Welcome home lost soul, welcome home.

A Poem for Peter

We worked to the rhythm of forklifts,
Surrounded by men with strong backs;
On our shift was a worker named Peter,
Who had spent his life filling the racks.

He spoke very little, but whistled a lot,
To a tune that nobody knew;
One evening we spoke for a minute- no more,
But in that minute my consciousness grew.

"What are your plans for the weekend?"
I asked him one Friday night;
"Ice fishing," he answered quite briskly,
Then he smiled; an uncommon sight.

I laughed 'cause I thought he was joking,
I was young in body and mind;
"Ice fishing," I put forth naively,
"Is nothing but a waste of your time!"

He didn't stop smiling or walk away,
Instead he looked deep in my eyes;
He spoke very kindly in a fatherly voice,
The way of the aged and the wise.

He said:
"I guess it is something you must do to understand."

Many years have since passed and the warehouse is closed,
Life's current has swept me away;
To another life without concrete walls,
Where I write poetry, I sing, and I play.

One morning while I was meditating,
Sitting still and clearing my mind;
My child asked what I was doing,
When I told him he wasn't unkind.

He didn't judge or laugh at me,
And he was curious, to be sure;
Then, when my child spoke to me,
His voice was wise and pure.

He said:
"I guess it is something you must do to understand."

I don't know what happened to Peter,
But the story that lives in my soul;
Has him happily living in Heaven,
Looking down through an ice fishing hole.

Curing the Soul

Abandon existence
Imagine, fear
An end to all joy?
An end to all cheer?

Collapse into the void
Empty, dark
Float painlessly,
Into life's spark.

Connect with all being
Infinite, true
Realize eternity,
As an essence of you.

Ignore Heaven's choir
Naive, astray
Feel the cold chill of night,
The bright pain of day.

Live and learn much
courageous, bold
Each moment as a gift,
Grow wise and grow old.

Then, abandon existence
liberated, assured
To begin once again:
The soul being cured.

Live each day as though it were your first

Before i knew of anything, i knew of love.
Love was already there.
In everything my eyes fell upon,
In every breath of air.
i can't recall what came next,
Was it hope or was it fear?
If only i could remember,
Life would be more clear.
'Live each day is it were your last',
Does not a Heaven build.
It makes of life an empty cup,
Waiting to be filled.
To walk as one enlightened,
And really quench your thirst.
Awaken each and every day,
And live it as your first.

Peace

i look at the space before me with a passionate desire to fill it with something meaningful.

A poet may see a metaphor in this, an artist may have found a kindred spirit.

The voice that speaks to me from within whispers, "What is wrong with what's already there?"

i breathe in the stillness.

Freedom

The sun died quietly
While the tethers and chains
Forced our eyes to look east-
Those of us that could see at all.

Not one among us cried,
Outside of our own suffering,
For the loss of the light
That went out in the world.

A promise was made
That the sun would return,
But still we turned to the darkness
Begging for our freedom.

Then came day,
The sun was reborn,
Our faithlessness exposed,
Our freedom denied.

Life's a Celebration

I've seen mountains and oceans,
Heard whispers in the leaves,
Dined with dragonflies when time stood still,
And held his little hand in mine.

He grew with every step he took,
Found stillness in a smile,
Took a breath which was my heart,
And sang the songs of innocence.

He sang:
"There is no end to wonder",
"No escaping what's meant to be",
"Life's a celebration to the end",
Then he stomped his foot down hard.

I've seen rainbows and daisies,
Felt love - more than my share,
I've prayed with the sun for a thousand hours,
And he taught me one day.

Rainbow Chaser

Dear Rainbow Chaser,

The horizon is never too far away,
Your dreams are just over there,
Somewhere.

Believe what i say,
Let them float in on waves,
To you.

You don't even have to move,
In fact, it's better if you're still,
Don't wake up.
Sleep...
Sleep...
Dream.
And listen for your dreams on the waves.

Majestic Dawn

Consider thy purpose, oh Majestic Dawn,
In grand recluse thy spirit doth shone,
To whisper spells in sacred song,
That halts dark Night from living on.

A covenant of passion, each brilliant ray,
Of which thy doubtless heart shall stay,
On bitter chase of looming grey,
That swallows Dawn to bring forth Day.

Each dew drop left in thy fragrant wane,
An Angel's suffrage of grave disdain,
To Mankind's own inveterate pain,
That thought of purpose need be lain.

Singing from the Soul

He told me,"the lyrics are the hardest part, but once you learn to sing from the soul, it's easy."

His name is Markus and he sings from his soul. Everybody else just walked by and i never learned their names.

The Tale of Two Brothers

Once upon a time, two brothers found their way,

Into the woods, one fine spring day.

They skipped and they jumped, they ran and they climbed,

Excited about all the wonderful things they would find.





Chipmunks and squirrels scampered in and out,

To see what all the noise was about.

And birds flew out from their hiding places,

To sing their songs for the smiling faces.






"Look! We have new friends!" the eldest had spoke,

He stared in awe at the forest folk.

He then ran ahead with a noble thought,

"Let's feed them," he said, "let's share what we've got."









They climbed into trees, but frightened the birds,

They chased after the chipmunks saying soft, kindly words.

"This isn't working at all," the younger one said,

"What if we let them come to us instead?"






"Good thinking," said his brother, "we'll stay perfectly still,"

"They'll come to us then, they'll see our good will!"

The birds sang a song for the words he had stated,

And the boys filled their hands with seed, and just waited...






...And waited...













...And waited...

"They're not starving today," big brother pointed out,

"My arm's getting sore; I'm beginning to doubt."

"Let's be patient," said the youngest, "Like Mom always says,"

"Good things always come, if we're patient that is."





With that came a flutter of wings from above,

Wings that agreed with what the children spoke of,

Then the birds came down from the trees to feed,

From the hands of the brothers that were holding the seed.

The brothers were very proud of themselves that day,

And wanted that feeling of joy to stay,

So they promised each other they would always be kind,

And try to keep this lesson of patience in mind.

God is in the Rain

To look beyond what we see, into what we believe.
To know it is hard and do it anyway.
To feel there is more to care about than ourselves.
To hear the rain break against the window.
To taste life; sweet not bitter.
To touch another soul.
And to know why.

It Just Grows

It can be amazing or not. Perhaps it's just a weed.
It didn't try to grow, but it did.
From a seed in the ground. Competing for survival.
In a garden where it didn't belong.
i am a weed.
Growing toward the light.

Love Is...

We met as children and have loved each other for over twenty years. In all that time she has never tried to change the way i see the world.

This blog is for her.