Fraternal Twins - with audio

audio link

So thirsty for the water of good
That a parched blind beggar
Settled instead for mud
Fraternal twins, one carrying, the other caring
Searching and driving each other's onward tread
Pearls strewn about shoulds and shouldn’ts
Black and white in the fertile seabed
Passing by there many a time
To stare and gloat and brood
Hoping in the heart to catch
A hopeful glimpse of purest mood
Or something else to make one mad
But like a river you elude any capture
The eyes disciplined like a soldier
Drawn scouting onward like a seagull
After crabs in the green sea’s sandy shoulder
Page after page scrolling ever downward
Desire deep within ebbs away at the soul
Turning shallows quixotic, beauty, then scoundrel
Till one should watch over and heal the other’s hell
But time and season can ne’er abide
So outmatched are they by a gaping hole
A life force not directly satisfied
A story not to be finished or told
As sunlight reflects and fragments blinding
Downcast upon foaming deep darkest sea
To raise up the mists and clouds above
Sating the earth below with dewy greenery
The lofty lowly self holds the ups and downs of life’s blood
Sometimes spent for naught, but overall meant for good
Not power’s thirst, conquest’s boasts nor bleeding greed
But for the giving of one’s life instead
Laboring in the fields of love’s fertile seed

Haiku x9 - video

Haiku x9 - with audio

audio link

Softly lay one down
Ears caressed, wind's whispers speak
White Autumn Blossoms


The cackling hens
Could not take away the peace
Of calm fall water


Sunshine overhead
Shady morning trees walking
October birdsong


Twin Pines sparrows flight
Standing in the morning light
Pumpkins, Autumn bright


Fall rain, sun's sharp rays
Butterfly quivering fade
Floral horizon


A sliver of peach
Cool against purple abyss
Autumn moon silence


Blind hidden sorrow
Dried up joy melting the heart
Silent winter tears


The more pure love is
Less faults in the heart to find
Early comes the Spring


Little pretty one
Laid low in stormy showers
Summer Rose standing

Writing - with audio

audio link

Writing is a type of mania
But without those less desirable
side affects of other self indulgent
behaviors. It helps one to shed the
straight jacket and washes cool
The burning fires of the soul
Refreshing ever those musty places
Trapped deep within
Giving voice to
Subterranean soundings.

Animals - with audio

audio link

FOX

The fox once caught

Will try to convince

His captor that he

Is the one ensnared

PIG FOR A STY

A pig for a sty

A ring for his nose

A laborer wallowing

In food, drink and mud

A slaughter

OLD BEAR

The old bear

Will not leave the trash

Unless shot

He dies a slow

Ugly death

Yet allow him to live

Again and Again

To the trash he goes

Close by the house

Until one day

A life is taken

THE COCK CROWS

The cock crows

Nudged by the unseen

So that the world

Might know

That all

Have been cared for

During the night

A LION'S LIFE

A lion's life

Full of pride

Is a lonely life

Swimming In The Tides - with audio

audio link

Death comes soon enough
No need to sit and wait
One block falls another is set in its place
A baby is born an old man dies

Swimming in the tides
Is not a task of leisure
It is however one way
of telling the live fish
from the dead

Reflect and Remember - with audio

audio link

The greatest plagues
Attack not the body
But the mind

Memory is a dancer
Just beyond my reach
So, I am learning to dance

Epigram Trio Plus One - with audio

audio link

The man undressed
Is distressed

Teachers seldom do
What they teach others to

(ON COMPUTERS)
The green grass won't grow
Where the green glass glows 

Life is a serial to be consumed
Once it is eaten the diet has bloomed. 

Desire Ask Ascend - with audio

audio link

DESIRE ASK ASCEND
Food loses its flavor
When there is no one
To share it with

As stones are for skipping
So words are for winning
The heart of a lovesick soul

The biggest mountains
Are climbed one step
At a time

Life and Love - with audio

audio link

Life and love are free
What we do with them
Will cost us our time
And many a person's help

Ripple - with audio

audio link

A planet cannot change orbit
Without affecting the solar system
Just as the expanding universe
Changes all matter, space and time
Even though the eye does not notice
Our thoughts and actions
Illusive in the flux of things
Create a ripple in the pool of reality
And thus change the world forever

A New Beginning - with audio

audio link

A new beginning,
When one is finished
Takes faith
Continuing on
Requires Hope
Allowing the flower
To stand again
After the storm
Producing lasting fruit
That falls from the tree
Of Love

What Whispers The Wind - with audio

audio link

What whispers the wind
To leaves that tremble
What says the rock
As waters fall

Beauty whispers the wind
Gushing, rushing, sparkling
Beauty, sounds the stone.

to E.S. - regards old friend

Passionate Intentions - with audio

audio link

A good thought is a fair and noble flight
But a good action is virtue
Emotions not expressed in day to day life
Are often expressed in dreams
Don't hold back your emotions and
You will sleep better at night

Passion is most well expressed
When love for another is given action
Self love, on the other hand
Is only a dim reflection of this
Like the Sun and the moon
Both are necessary

Tiny Credo - with audio

audio link

I am not smart
I am not fast
I am not best
At where I'm at

But I will trust
As well I must
In God Who watches
Over all of us.

To Love and Shine in The Eye of Life - with audio

audio link

That despair and fear across the land
Between me and thee I would certainly extinguish
But my roar is like a baby’s cry
And my power to save,
Like the lame man in front of the temple
That animation may God speak
Get up and walk my loved one,
Get up and walk
O carry the young and old in Thy bosom
Now and eternally
On the face of the earth
And in the eyes searching
There are tears stored up for a day
When many a heart shall say
Goodbye for now beloved of mine
While mouthing words both divine
And also guttural passions
Against and with the hand that fashions
The vineyard’s cluster of grapes
Under the embrace of the sun
As we drink the nectar of flowers
And sit tasting the honeycomb
Upon a blanket spread about with cornucopia
Even there one may stumble and not endure
A bridge that may not be passed over
The end of which finds the soul of man
That speck of sand
Upon the mighty torrent of something deep
In the silence and shades of specters
To rise again or not,
Once more to love and shine in the eye of life

The Poet's Voice Is Reborn - with audio

audio link

The verses do not speak
When the sun is dull and weak
Words have nothing to say
When the sky is cold and gray
The intellect flees again
Eyes overflow their dam
Swirling current in the belly
Heart pumping willi nilli
Calm rolls in after the storm
The poet's voice is reborn

How Love Begins - with audio

audio link

A girl and I went diving under the clear blue sky
On a pond, set round by fields, of barley, wheat and rye

She found there a family of ducklings, their little feet paddling
While tiny toads hopped across our path, brown, slow and dawdling

Gulls and hawks flew overhead and scurried away the lizards
Children’s voices in the hills nearby were like the chirping of songbirds

Beetles crept with each step under vineyards high above
The girl took my hand and smiled at me as we walked along in love

The blossoms of many a sage were orange, and white and purple
We held each other closely exchanging words and kisses special

Petals blue, yellow, and pink with the spicy scent of wild things
As we gazed into each other’s eyes reminded of how love begins.

Winter's End - with audio

audio link

Stars fall from frozen fingers reach
Pierced by beams of golden sunlight's keep

All souls who behold the sight
Wonder once again with great delight

At the Hand that shapes the seasons
So tide and life go through their cycles

As winter's gray head stops her struggle
To reflect the purest white o'er another

Shedding tears that yield the earth her need
Bringing joy and green and nourishment to each and every seed

Time - with audio

audio link

 

TIME

Every one heard the shot

They started off the block

The clock struck 12

They reached the end

No time anymore since it stopped

 

Wade, swim, float, sink and drown

In the sea of time and its many a storm

Were it not for the hand reaching down

From beyond that which can be fathomed

From beyond that which can be known

Yet the times of pain and pleasure

Beget joy and sorrows in good measure

No escape but death in the labor, fear or treasure

Sad, the journey traveled away from those we love

Paradoxically, it brings reunion with loved ones gone above

But sight is feeble and cannot see beyond

The toil and happiness of life and home

Time marches onward like some god soldier

Ushers life along, makes one wiser or bolder

To the frontline where work and day are finished

The structure once vacant is then demolished

Youth is not a capricious or thoughtless gift

It but helps the traveler be ready and equipped

For revelry and progeny and days of endless sun

Reflecting not upon the arduous task that they've begun

Blithely carrying the crushing weight of every year and hour

But time cannot put out the spirit’s brightly burning flower

Rather it is history that will be undone eventually

By something reflected in each soul called eternity

Herein this story we must now make an end

But conversely, let us tell everyone how it will begin

In this verse is a chronology, the reader to remind

It speaks of life’s predicament, dressed up in nursery rhyme

Of life and death and happiness, and work under the sun,

The rising unto heaven, so you'd better have some fun

For the great cosmos will one day have run out all time

Therein to announce a newly begun paradigm

 

This Spring Day Clear - with audio

audio link

Springtime is here
With wishes dear

Those of love
Those of lust
A treasure trove
to now entrust

Birds in the trees
Blossoms on the breeze

A tear in the eye
An ache in the heart
A deep drawn sigh
A spirit's fire to start

On the face is cool May air
A burst of sun in golden hair

In the hand
Of the Creator
Seas and sand
Poles to equator

Far and near, Far and near
So very near
This Spring day clear

The Being Lifted Up Doth Soar - with audio

audio link

Once again above the cotton
Rode the bronco till it calmed

Fears of wreckage now forgotten
Peace arrived here now entombed

Sun is there so brightly lining
All the horizon now can offer

Fueled by wind and fire climbing
The spirit released can no more suffer

Gliding with the winged birds
Shall the mouth dare to speak

Of that which lives beyond our words
Touching upon the highest peak

In azure and white, the hushed roar
Blazing journey through the heavens

Now the being lifted up doth soar
Grateful for all the Eternal One hath given

The Beast - with audio

audio link

The beast came out again
It came out of my hide where
He had been lurking just beneath the surface

He comes to destroy and consume
To obliterate all
All that would stand in his way

Where does he come from
What catapults him into the light of day
Up and out of the darkness

I think he feels entitled
Yes, entitled to a life of leisure
A life that does not exist

He cares not, nor empathizes a little
He is a fire that consumes
Even his own soul

I need Superman to come and defeat him
To cast him down into a deep cavern
And then cover the entrance with a giant boulder

Maybe NASA could send him to Mars
Or perhaps a Telsa particle beam
Could shrink him down to nothing

The only real way to defeat him
Is written of in the sacred scrolls'
In chapters concerning great love

Love is the power that can overcome all things
It's strength is displayed in acts of service and kindness
Illustrated in the pouring out of oneself for another

This is the only course of action to defeat the enemy
Love is surely the only way to kill the beast
And to put out the raging flames within.

Plano Vignette - with audio

audio link

Dallas is surreal, 20 miles to the northeast
I'm sitting in an airport 50s style restaurant
having breakfast and coffee

The TV is playing a string of commercials
For Coltons BBQ Ribs and alternately
Super king sized Chevy Suburbans
That are surrounded by cowboys

Well, they really know their market
As there seems to be a BBQ Steakhouse
on every street corner, with lots of
Chevy Suburbans in each parking lot

The news is reporting a problem
In Plano Texas on the freeway
It is 33 degrees Fahrenheit
And dark outside at 6:30 am

A couple of well dressed ladies with big hair
Are at the bar, in western winter long coats
And boots, looking like they just walked off
The combined sets of Dallas and North Dallas 40

One is standing drinking beer from a wine goblet
While the other sits on a stool nearby
Drinking another beer from a very large stein

I am ill prepared for the weather
I had no clue that it gets so cold in Dallas
The bar keep is a young man in his 20s
Slight of build with a long crew cut waxed down

He's got the look of a rancher already,
White buttoned down shirt, jeans and boots
Just like I probably have the look of an L.A. type
With my day old wrinkled suit and colorful Looney Tunes tie.

Winter Gives Up Her Secrets - with audio

audio link

Winter gives up her secrets
As the ice begins to melt
And the swollen rivers run

Clouds of mist
Appear upon the windows
Somewhere a door opens

Down on the ocean floor
There a wave is building
Fixed upon the tidal forces

Break open the earth
See the fires burning
Molten rock flowing

Snowy coat wearies the mountains
Smoke from volcanoes rising up
In that wintry moment

Breath deeply the cold fresh air
Quietly it speaks of past fallen leaves, and
Foretells of trumpeting spring

Let It Go - with audio

audio link

Sleep, sleep, sleep
Silent violent dreams
In quiet murmurings keep
Awaken from thy schemes
Coffee chase the vitamins
Sink in the aspirin
Churning stomach
Headache tumult
Throbbing emotions
Reverberate
Keys in hand
Out the gate
Driving down the 405
Hollow stare
From my eyes
Seeking in
The sinking hole
Deep within
My darkened soul
Music soaring
In my ear
Foggy thoughts
Coming clear
Cold dull cloudy day
Beethoven Pathetique
Finds the way
In the head
Angry thoughts
In the heart
Hard dark shouts

No wherefores,
and never why
Hide out in a box and die
Feel not sorry for yourself

Take the fight
Down off the shelf

No my friend
Not as you suppose
Turn away now

Let it go, let it go, let it go

Soften the stance
Go slow go slow
Slowly face the friends
That you know
They are not to blame
For the trouble
And the pain
In this life one
Needn't be alone -
In the chaotic
Reds, black and brown
There is support
For you and me
A gathering of community

Ask and breath
Task receive
Try and see

Let it go, let it go, let it go

When thoughtless deed
And rage are gone
As the strength surfaces
Take courage and move on

We Two Spirits - with audio

Audio Link

Precious lambs float across the sky
Loves tide awakens the sunrise
Golden lines that cannot be traced
Traveling beyond the reaches of thought
Brilliant winds speeding, height and depth
We two spirits, hearts joining
Melting with each breath

To live Again - with audio

audio link

The golden rolling, journeying ball

Rolls along, rolls along

Silently leaving

All behind, all behind

I wish to catch it, to hold it still

Somehow I know, I never will

Never will, hold it still

The leaves of the trees

Pile ever higher, ever higher

The winds blow the ball

That I cannot catch

Evermore, evermore beyond my reach

A thousand places, a thousand times

Falling farther, and further behind

Yet I cannot end my search

For ambition drives the climb

Seeking out a better perch, a better perch

Till mine eyes may see so well

To watch that ball roll over, over the hill

Stepping off the running treadmill

Knowing that the game once played

Has been played, been played so well

To escape that dreary cell

The place of fire, the place of hell

Then to live again as was meant

By the love of the Lily spent

To find the lamb, the lamb who went

To his heaven's gate, his heaven's high

There, to contemplate with affection

His tattered bride, his tattered bride

Gone Is Thy Flight - with audio

 audio link

O magnificent one
Set loose upon
The unseen ether
Above his voice is heard
Soaring ever higher
In the bluest sky
His glory is great
Beauty is his coat

But his fall is wretched
Lying broken
Among the feathers
Gone is thy flight
Where is the might
In the feebleness
Of some memory
Distorted and perverted

None is there
Who love him yet
Or who weep
Over his descent
Prince of heavens
Who rode horizons
To the four points
Mapping curling updrafts

None are left who
Know or care to see
The raptor's journey
Save the Eternal
Who created his climb
Taught him to fly
Lifted him up in
Excellence and freedom

He will not abandon
His beloved creatures
For His judgment
Is pure and perfect
Upon it rests the
Spheres, darkness and light
With the hope of all things
Until creation is made new.

Three Words - with audio

audio link

On the wings of fervent prayer
My love caught me unaware

Come away with me my love
Let me hold you in my arms

Holding hands walking side by side
Dreams and hopes in love are spoken

Shadows flee away from our love
We like doves are lifted by the dawn

Our love is like the Jasmine
Wild, fragrant, and flowering

The red pomegranate speaks of our love
With orange blossoms and nightingale's song

Sun and moon and the starry host above
Together with the Spring must boast of our love

When our eyes meet with kisses sweet,
And loving hearts are joined eternally

Three words with passionate longing pursue
I love you, I love you, I love you.