The Skunk - with audio

audio link

The skunk

Came by 
At 4:am

To putrefy

And stupefy
To cause my

Sleeping sky

To fall down

Utterly on me
I couldn't breath,

Because this

Country beast

Had been brought

To my city
And brother,

Oh my L-rd,

Does he smell

Even now,

So very #$%&*^
Being considerate

Of animals and

Feeling so hot
This one wishes

He could prepare

The little Pepe
A breakfast of

Black barreled 
Buckshot
 
Switching sides

Of the house

To re-route our
Sensitive snouts
Did not help
We'd been attacked 
Bushwhacked

And Bombed

By this little whelp
Though unseen and

Black as night,

He makes 
His presence

Felt alright
Oh dear G-d

Take this one 
Away!

Along with

His Offensive

Olfactory 
Quandary    
Drop him 
Along side

The fishes Beneath

The unknowing

Waves of sea
That sleep

Might once again

Wash over me
With
Morning's 
Florid

Fragrant 
Pungency

And help
Us all
Forget this

Buggers spray.

Poetry - with audio

audio link

Poetry is the innocence that lives in each of us.
It is that what makes us unique.
When we try to conform to something
Other than what we are, the poetry dies.
It is the stuff of kin and kindred,
The stories of our past and places.
The verse that springs up from inside of us
That is at once relevant, not relevant,
Romantic, silly and perhaps nonsensical or crazy.

Youth will not be conquered,
But overcomes with laughter and tears,
Joy and adventure; its tests the testy testers,
It mocks all the rules of love and life.
The jasmine blooms and so it is with the little ones.
Playing at this and that, daring to love and to win.
The clouds yield to blue skies and
The wind is content to stroke many
Ruddy cheeks and fluff flowing hair
With the purity of a brooklet traveling through
A bedroom window in the the waking of the day,
And in the waving of wildflowers afield.

Age is the platform that we arrive at
While striving for success.
It welcomes us on the bus
That may be going nowhere and
Turns many into window shoppers
Observing the ever changing scenery.
Alas, the bus always crashes in the end,
with great drama, and usually some tears.
But all at once we are free to exit the bus
And play in the spring sunshine once again.
No longer do we tire, watch TV,
Read magazines, pay taxes or need.

Love is that thing which gives life and breath
To all that lives in this pasture.
Love imbues the spirit with being and hope.
It is the glue that holds the cosmos in place
And allows for creatures to be made
From the remnants of cosmic plasma
Cataclysmic explosions light-years past

Love can be seen in the face of a child,
The jump of the sea creature,
Sought out in satin glowing sunset
Heard in the song of the gentle birds
Or in the storm that replenishes the deep
All mountains, fields, creatures and man.

Love is a warrior set about to heal, reveal,
To make new until all is well
Until the hunger of time is stilled
Before the caressing voice of eternity.

Deep in Sleep - with audio

audio link

Deep in sleep, the dog's barking sound
Came down, down down
'Til I swam through the billowy pillows
And comforting blankets up and up

When I reached the surface and opened my eyes
The lightless room unfolded before me
On with my cap and armed with my shoes
I leaned down the hallway like a rubber balloon

Out through the crashing wood and metal doors
I plunged into the cold light of the starsiand
Drank in the refreshing clean pool of ether
Who or what had disturbed the frightened beast

He came to my leg and I looked down, scratching his head
Together we went to investigate our domain
Two silent shadows glowering and hovering by the
Long wrought Iron gate, one looking over, one under

Stillness calling, silence more, and then,
Like some castle drawbridge, the opening gate screeched
And we specters floated into the alley just beyond
Blue corridor and walls, black garbage bins, left and right

Nothing there in the night, nothing wrong, or right
So we retreated into our fortress with God's blessing
Clanging shut the rolling door, I reached down again and
Scratched once more the ever grateful asking canine 

The four legged teddy bear seemed to say
Won't you stay a little longer and keep me company?
I strolled away straight and tall, having just saved us all
From dew, flora and crickets strong, happy for the moment's calm

Glad for the night's celestial heights
Warmed by the thought of sleeping family inside
Grateful for the gift of life
Swept up in the Creator's swirling dream

All Laid Out - with audio

audio link

I closed my eyes
And was all laid out
On the seaside picnic table
The warm sun shone down
On my face
Like a giant floodlight
The weight of the sky
Pressed down on my chest,
Pinned my shoulders,
And flattened me
Against the bench

Wind rushed over my body
Like ocean waves
Running to and from the shore 

Pushing my soul
Further and further
Out to sea.

Seagulls slashed out 
With shrieks 
To rebuff all invisible threats  

So I stretched out still further
To beyond the event horizon

There I wept
As I embraced those
Whom I had mostly forgotten

Faces so pure
That I wondered at
Their bright eyes
And soft complexions

Emotions flooded my soul
As I grieved
For not having seen
Their goodness
In too long a time,
While joy turned me
In riptide the other way

There we were, glimmering
Above the farthest stars
Dancing in a silent symphony

No want, no desire,
No wondering of anything
Other than the celebration shared
Raised up
Like a spray
Upon the spiral universe
In peace and stillness
Against a tidal crown of love
Then, an unseen hand
Waved a wind upon all,
'Til like sand in the Sun's warmth

We flew away
In currents and eddies
Sparkling in the light,
Each settling back
To the place
Of his or her belonging

Some to the heavenly
Waters above
And I to breathe
At the ocean's door

On the bench
By the shore,
My cheeks streamed
With salt water

My heart not knowing
How to stop

Though it be
Not right to say,
All that I am
Would rather stay
Raised above
With those I've loved,
Than here,
Laid out
In breezes,
On this day.

In memory of my Parents, David Horton and many others.

Cloudy Waves - with audio

audio link

Little soldiers pass me by
Sometimes near then far away  

Colored cotton balls parade
Then fade in shades from memory

Melting nights becoming days,
Blessed sands of cloudy waves

Coursing life, caressing stances
Long romantic loving glances

Humming home of warm exchanges
Execute perfected chances

A hello and then goodbye advances
Nested within these ancestral branches

Drumbeat strikes the pond in phases
Rippling on to other places

Rock to rainbow in mortal faces,
Shown in pages' ancient phrases

Falling through canopied heavenly plains
Raining down in cloudy waves

Beautiful hands create, purposefully alive
Drawn out, set about, thus to tame the tide

Onward launch, upon the harrowed ride,
From birth to death, on to other side

Drink up babes, of mother’s love and life,
With sunshine, groom and gentle bride

Slowly, softly goes the way of life,
Creature, toil, honey, strife

Curious angels gaze upon the spell
As we go along our dance so well,
Busy children wife and knave

Dreams wrapped up in cloudy waves

Breezes blanket the colored meadows
One by one each little poppy bellows
Blossoming bee and butterfly nectar

Exuberant kisses of blissful ardor

Laboring month of Maying lovers
Embracing happiness in one another,

Oh song of joy and sadness
To thee we are as slaves

Each cup that passes from vine to lips
Drinks up this crowd of days,

And Washes the sun and moon away,
Weeping tears of splendid lights arrayed,

Far above the cloudy waves

The Window - with audio

audio link

Looking back through
The dark window of memory
Through another window
At my childhood home
Long ago in another place,
As a young man I felt it slipping away
Becoming intangible, the ground
Giving way beneath my feet

On the other side of the glass
Happy faces, silent as the snow outside
Held there in the golden light
Like an animated spell
The ice glistening at the heavens,
Cold moon and stars
The air pure like Mountain water
The sentiment warm within my heart,

So I sang a song of angels
Those inside at first startled
Then came laughing and crying out
Till I was met at the door with
Familial embraces, greetings and kisses
I had once again managed
The seemingly impossible
To escape back to my place
Of acceptance, and caring
The place of love and kindness,
Where others assumed my wellbeing
Where food, good times
And spirits flew to my side
How I longed to stay
But felt that I could not
That my lease was up,
 My story was beginning elsewhere

I understand now about
What Longfellow wrote:
"And the thoughts of youth
Are long, long thoughts."
Every far off place visited,
Leaves many a fond ones behind
But visions and forces
Beyond our control drive us out
Into the winter night of life
Away from the spring time,
From the summer of home
 Although the road may
Take us back again,
We can never really stay

Oh yes, I knew it then,
Again as I know it now
Even as a boy, I knew
There'd be an end to it all
To those good times,
To that good place and
To those good folks
It was fearful to me then,
Even as it is tearful to me now
A weaving now unwoven
Allows the wind to blow
Through life's threads
And I must let go of
That which I cannot catch
Till I am caught up
In it once again,
With them, in another time
With the wind, rain and sun
In another place,
Through another window.

Little Boat - with audio

audio link

Little boat
Upon the sea
Drifting past
Where eyes can see
Horizon's splash and
Then beyond
To another
Relative home
Water continent
Blue and deep
Sunlight lockets
Dancing keep
Call of seagulls overhead
Heat rains down,
Skin turns red
Salty seaweed
Aqua spray
Swimming creatures
Salute the day
Ocean swells
Caress the hull
Sails like dresses
Walking tall
Water on lips,
Tongue, and throat,
Kindly breezes fill
Soul with hope
Beggar seals and
Friendly dolphins visit
Gliding Pelicans pivot
After fish they plummet
Waves and dreams carry us
Onto high and plunging summits.

Run Down - with audio

audio link

Run down,
Shut up,
Chewed on,
Spit out
Ground up,
Walked on,
Kicked in,
Put out
Shined on,
Black eyed,
Down south,
Passed over

Cracked mouth
Get on
Beat up,
Broke down,
Can't seem
To crawl out
Canned in,
Blanked brained,
Canceled raw
Simple spinned,
Double chinned,
Ignored, outside
Antisocial 
Crucible,
Smashed bits,
Broken cigarettes
Wrist watch
Heat wave
Don't work,
Can't save,
Money spent
Weighed on,
Trespassed,
Called out,
Shit canned
Looking down,
Train sound,
Get away
Done wrong,
Too old,
Too fat,
Too young
Too big,
Too small,
Dry skinned,
Bound to fail
Get out

Get lost,
Brown out

Sun Burnt

Played out,
Traffic ticket,
Bills to pay
Water spigot
Sick at heart,
Throw away,
Not qualified,
Grind, ground 
Punched Pilloried
No bucks
Bitter, sour,
Sanguine, reflux,
Split, coward,
Angry, stupid shit
Wipe the shoe,
Step in it,
Turning, wrenched,
Stomach pit
Threatened, bothered,
Borked, broken,
Pissed off,
Pissed on,
Die young,
Make an
End of it
Credit debit,
Charges charged,
Break the bank
Memory marred
Pay the fine,
Look away,
Find it fast,
Fall down
Dirty glass,
Barking dog,
Darkened night,
Mind of fog
Spew again
Drink up,
Penned in, 
To begin
Dream on,
Do now,
Hope long,
Fight hard,
Stand tall  
One step,
Love all

It Wasn't Really - with audio

audio link

Thought it was special,
But it wasn't really
It seemed to be magic,
Till it just sat there
Anything could have been,
But it wasn't written
Many came to see,
Then went home
Some died,
Some were born
Inside the bell was silence
Only love grows
Her budding yet blossoms
All the rest fades
Till there is nothing
Wind, rain,
Smokey fog
Aqua skies,
Hail and sun
All just sweat
Burnt away
Rising
Is

Deep in Summer - with audio link

 Audio Link

Where have all the cars gone
Not as many as before
The way seems empty,
The people faded

Ground turns brown

Quiet sifting of the sands
Lonely nightingale searches calling out

Singing, will you join me deep in summer
Longing is deep, deep in summer

So goes each one in a tunnel of
His or her own yellow sun
In a burrow of singular fun
Shooting out the other side
Of a black hole’s door
Where the light is stored
For a rainy day’s thunderstorm
Pouring down, down deep in summer

Rainy days and lightening are deep, deep in summer

Travel on to the commonplace
The business space,
The pent up race
There the heat,
It cannot touch you
Windows cannot see you
Skinny life measured out
Skyscrapers deep in summer

Offices bound in glass, deep, deep in summer

 Puffy comics barely read

In the sky play overhead
But ignore those within
Hearts line up armored inside
Against the bird song’s steady stream
Marching dutifully toward five
When ocean tide of green bursts free
All things come alive sprout and grow deep in summer

Anticipation is reaching out deep, deep in summer

Then sun and moon
Descend like dew
To moisten every eye and renew

Break down the walls

Melting shields and weapons

To pour friendship in each one
Wherein grows love
Within long glances deep in summer
Love grows enraptured and unfolding deep, deep in summer

A baby crying,
A mother calling,
A school yard full of laughter
The Ice cream melting
Slowly down the horizon
The crickets playing
Old timers talking
The light of lives shining deep in summer

Families and neighborhoods deep, deep in summer

Ladybug and ants
Creep along the rose stem
Sigh and wipe away the perspiration
Buttery thick the air

As twilight fades
Restless flies in kitchen never notice
Pleading, clinging June bugs
Breath of sighing flora deep in summer

Damp heat,  and insects thrive deep, deep in summer

CRASH, goes the screen door
Moist aimless hair
Dirty ruddy freckles,
Glowing, curious, eyes
Hanging, questioning mouth
Drinking in breath
Corners turned up in happiness
Animated hunger deep in summer
Smiles of the young are deep, deep in summer

Jays and Starlings
Weaving nest and song
Crow cries out his raspy word
Starry Night comes to birth
Life circles about the streetlight

A dog barks

Then Silence

Rest calls the creature deep in summer

Stunning silence is deep, deep in summer

A tugboat groans somewhere in the dark
Something hisses, the night glows red
Yawning coke ovens across the deep

Burning rivers find relief

The distance whispers back
Breathing, beating, black, pulsing

The steaming heart of a steel press
Sounds in the night deep in summer

And the rivers flow deep, deep in summer

Sleep comes to bed, raccoons play outside

Humid, stormy dreams conjure,
In the yard skunk and possum wander

Under damp linen clouds, like seeds plowed
Traveling faces, friends, and family,

Lips, arms, foes, charms, till the soul is calmed
Then refreshed by cool morning breezes
As clarity of day quietly calls our name
Awakening as night and creature go to sleep deep in summer
A heart beating, beating, beating deep, deep in sssssssummer.

The Lamb - with audio

audio link

Once, while in the day of rest
K'dusha rent this earthly vest
A silent wind flew to another place
Azure surrounding flame of swirling white
No care did follow there
Only the quiet roar of myriad voice
Joined in Spirit, the distant many called out
Filling the waters above the earth
"K'dosh, K'dosh, K'dosh. . . ."
As the sound settled in this life
"Holy, Holy, Holy"
"Adonai zvah-ot, m'loh kol ha-aretz kvodoh "
Dreamlike universe seemed to turn
"Is the L-rd of Hosts"
Till awareness came to something near
"The whole earth is full of His Glory"
Standing alone was the Lamb
"All of creation is full of His Praise"
Gentle, yet strong, with seven eyes
"Baruch K'vod Adonai mimkomo"
Holding all within an unwavering gaze
"Blessed is the Glory of the L-rd in His abode"
A great explosion in a column of blinding light

Broke through the universe and shown down

Enveloping the earth and filling all

Calling out:  "Shema Yisrael …"

"HEAR OH ISRAEL, THE LORD YOUR G-D,

THE LORD IS ONE, Adonai Echad"

A restless wind blew throughout the earth
The Ruach of the Almighty swept over its surface
With a voice quiet and still speaking out
From within the unseen torrent
"Sleepers awake now for the time has come"
Until one by one the people with faces turned upward
Began to open their eyes as the shadow of God
Passed over them like a great eagle with wings outstretched

There in Jerusalem I saw them, Arisen in truth,

Myriads upon myriads bowing low

Before the Great and Mighty King,

Messiah Prince of Peace, Son of David

Then from the silence came a brilliant flash,

"All of creation is full of His glory!"

Caressed by the Torah of His Saving Love
The words rang within, then coming to myself again
I thought of the scriptures and was humbled:
"Be at rest and know that I am He," HaMakom (The Place)
Holding all things together, in the hollow of my hand,
Shepherding Jacob, comforting His people...
..And we like snow pure and still, knowing He is God 

As this time melts away. . . ..

Psalm 121, Isaiah 52:1, Zechariah 14:9

The Sloth - with audio

audio link

Goodly now
The night is come
Wine must needs
Leave the hand
Fly flees not,
Seeing not the bed
On the pillow
Lies sweaty head
Air is still
Wet and thick
Hanging round
Like dragon's breath
Distant cars
Pass like songs
Till silence
Creeps in
To put aside
The lazy thought
Lay here upon
Canvas cot
Flora exhale in
Mind and senses
As Berried Bushes
Bring about
Bear's drool
So Nick Bottom
Doth make a fool
Donkey becomes
An Ass to know
Tis not spring
But summer now
Jasmine delights
This tired swoon
Orange Blossom spiders
Dance in the moon
Whilst Stars and planets
Fall in fast
Dark matter
Wise and vast
Radiate to
Crowd out
All starts
Save the play of
Little quiet
Gentler hearts
Roll away ,
Roll far away
Drowsily,
Overturned
Now
Is sinking
Day.

Writ Out - with audio

 audio link

All shut up,
All writ out
Try to write,
It won't come out
Try again,
Turn about
Stretch the words,
Make them shout
The head is empty,
Nothing's there
No feelings felt,
No despair
Clever quips
All flown away
Muted strikes
The end of day
Blood turns still
Thick as cotton
Stillborn thoughts
Now forgotten
The new idea
Does not sketch
Withdrawn upon
An empty nest
A sling of sighs
With none to cast
Colors withheld
No stained glass
Not to worry,
Nor to pity
Hemingway lives
In a far off city
Shakespeare never stooped
Down this stair
His hand touched not
The mundane fare
So what of it when
Wispy wind sought
Is withheld and demented
Then tied in a knot
The smoke of this
Scrit is but sot
And thus contented
With his lot
The pen refuses
To put the jot
So silly strings
Need not be missed
Of nothing written,
Nothing wrought
When the lines all
Come to naught.

Dreaming Again - with audio

audio link

I was dreaming again, of untroubled time
But the watchers came and killed the dream
Dressed in hollow lab coats white and clean
With no ears to hear my scream
And secret words behind the walls were spoken
My head hurt and inside my words were choking
The labor of my hand was turned against my name
Wide eye stares and rubber faces
Official chicken gibberish words spake out
Till from deep in the earth rose up anger's shout
My mind could no longer see,
But the grabbing of their collars and slapping of their faces
My words had not syllable, could write no sound, no cases
For the hideous creatures shrieking had no gentleness
The skinner box was closed and the righteousness
Of the headless invisible ones crushed all that was good
Breaking heart and will, looking on behind darkened hood
Oh so tired to carry, that which needs be buried 
The boxer had no place to strike at blood and clay
For the shadows on the wall had all run away
Back to their places behind the day
Back to where they'd been before
Little dictators one and all
Gone home caning in Singapore
Do not chase them, let them go
For anger doth kill the mortal soul,
They like spiders run to count vibrations
Caught up in coolie whispered lies
Those black hole bellied spies
Sucking out all life from the hive
Till they fall fast like broken lines
From the weight of shallow hollow spines.

Long Lost Ladd - with audio

audio link

LONG LOST LAD

I'm lookin for a long lost Ladd

I knew him well,

I Knew his dad

I found him on the doorstep

Saw him on the dialpad

But now he's gone away,

I hope not angry,

Perchance not sad

He climbed the bears nest

Divined the sailors' shipwreck

Now on land,

Then again on deck

Where'd he go now,

This son of the Titans

To feed the waif

And fill the wayward

With food and tale,

Folksong and ale

About the meek and strong

Beautiful in every heart drawn,

Till all with sleepy eyes it seems

Are ready for the comfort of dreams

'Tis said a hand on the helm

Gives warmth to the soul,

For those who know the pilot's skill

And so the winds whisper still.....

Laddy, where have you gone to son?

A Moment With the Torah - with audio

audio link

I grabbed hold of the Torah and hugged it close,
My head going into it's cover
Pressing against the softness of it's velvet
With eyes closed and in a moment
Before we began to sing
I felt my soul travel off to be with Him
Enraptured and enfolded
By His Almighty presence
For an instant
All cares and worries faded
I thought to myself
This must be what it is like
To pass from this world to the next
No thought of responsibility, toil,
Nor the weight of this life and others
Just a short time of peace in the warmth,
Comfort and shadow of His outstretched arm
Knowing the Sabbath rest,
But more than this
To be all enveloped
In stillness without desire
No intent did take me there,
Nor did it bring me back
It was the sound of our voices
Canting the words of the Torah processional
Down from Sinai Moses descends with
G-d's holy word in his hands
It was an auspicious time
A time when G-d's voice
Could be discerned in dreams
Not a voice of anger toward Pharaoh 
But one of love and correction
So that we might know for ourselves
Beyond mere trust,
But rather by experience
King Davids words of Psalm 23.

Winter Night - with audio

audio link

I love the winter night
The cold dark so stark and bright
No one out, none in site
Walk on for miles in silent moonlight

So peaceful is the fair
Midnight cleansing air
That washes over me
As my dog and I pass there

Stunning the resplendence
Of its pristine clarity
Like a mountain stream falling
Making soft the mind's horizon

Gently flowing
Carrying us along
While others sleep well
We continue on

All of us wrapped up together
In the watchful starry blanket
A sea of souls, the Painter's brush strokes
Canvasing the texture of innocence

Like one who takes my hand and
Calms that which tries to comprehend
The unending unseen extending out
Beyond the steps I set about

On to the unspoken blowing whispers
Over the white snow and black Terran lake
So refreshing to this ethereal kite
Pure and beautiful, the winter night

Some Kind of Purgatory - with audio

audio link

When the travelers' sleep began to thaw
The shadows had not yet gone to rest
A moment in the wall of cold, then harnesses buckled
Once again the iron gate called out its ancient sound
Beyond the colonnade and gardens two sprites shown
A lone sentry watched as we entered his regard
Marking our departure from the place of dreams
A coyote, that crooked shade, paused, then flew across the way
Opening an unseen lock to let our vessel pass
His bushy pale grey tail flagged us onward
Out and into the main channel's current,
Between the mouth of the railroad's black underbrush
And the opposing forest of cobalt house shrubbery
We passed by in our heated soap bubble
Black shadows danced about on the corner
As if driven by an oven's pungent breath
Like black flames in some kind of purgatory
There in the tender wisps of white morning mists
Dangling like bait on unseen strings
Until the great metal Leviathan
Came down hard and fast with a wail and a snort
To swallow everyone, his soul and future
Carrying them off like Jonahs to Nineveh
Where had they gone, to whom would they prophesy
My head turned round,
There my little one was left behind
To bathe at sun up in a cheery water polo soup
While I drifted on into the hazy blinding sky at high speeds
Then coughed out and delivered on the doorstep
Picking up where I'd left off and
Stepping into the clock of the dream breaker
I Slowly awakened to glare of florescent lights
With the warm smell of strong coffee
Pouring through my mind

Sleep

For now to sleep
The bygone way
To leave behind
The things of day
To travel on
A darkened stay
Into the light

Of thoughts and sprites
Forgone and last
To wrongs and rights

Beneath the mast
What cannot be
He must work past
In hungry rings
Of future's Milky Way
All the things
That we conceive
Flights of spirit,
Souls, you and me

G-d rocks the cradle ever gently
Into the not yet and spectral jello
Beyond the reach of fractured sun-ray

Blanket and pillow
On silken bedding bare
In the quiet stream
Of cool night air
Befuddled, troubled,
Peaceful, clear
Looking for one
Who passed by here
Through hallways long

In garden passages
Delighted to be swimming
Up in the breezes

While yet resting
With princes and sages
Unseen family testing
Help turn the pages
Enter one swept onward
Brave blind coward
Doors and currents please
With lilting birdsong
Unknowable day to seize

Clouds recline and kiss the dawn
Misting joy on sunlit buttercups
Bid the morning haze begone

Spreading out far and wide
Lifting spirit and every eye
Telling of the news
Herein lives another day.

Horse Hoof and Hound - with audio

audio link

Upon hearing the sound
Of  horn, hoof and hound
Like mountain streams gone river bound
Refreshing waters underground
In canyons deep where oceans abound
Done round and round and round
He ventured and stumbled on like a funny clown
To the peopled boroughs where the lights shown
Up and down around the mounds
Over the hills and statued lawns
In distant floating nights
In breezy chirping dawns
On his face grew dew and sun
Guiding to the place and town
Of schooled and steepled vagabond
Where the only safe one
Was the rabbit on the run

The glory was great and wine ran freely
Kisses like roses, fragrant, blushing and lively 
Those in tails and wedding gowns danced gaily
Rocking babies in their cribs slept well
Old ones rested and blessed the spell
With stories long gone and present to tell
So the spinning spun along in the dell
And all things seemed well done and said
When on the green the fox turned red
Startled by the black sound of a gun
Well before it's shout the race had begun
Come spring, come summer, come fall undone
For life and horizon
Origin and destination
Cursing, fighting and alienation
Creating, loving, with much dedication
Toil, blessing and damnation
Prayer, song and coronation
Flowers, fowlers and commendation
Prosperity, fools gold, joy and lamentation
Of living, dying and regeneration

Till the muted coo coo looked on without animation
In the pasture cows lowed to slow the expectation
Time's point ever sharpening while dulling sensation,
Shot an arrow from a distant quiver
Below, Country and  town  began to shiver
Breath on his lips was fleeting, and the clouds fickle
Southward Ducks and Geese looked down like angels
Upon each newborn calf, lamb and foal
The bell in the in the market place began to toll
With howling the windswept snow-squalls flew
Slowly hands of ice on placid waters grew
Then all was calm in his mind's landscape view
All he had been and done, those he'd loved and known
'Till the days were gone and scattered shadows shew
Now lain aside were cap and gown
As vacant white sleep lay quiet on frozen ground
Silently, fly away, fly away sight and sound
Far from his bosom, where he lay down 
With the earth his bed, the cold his blanket,
The snow his pillow, G-d his comfort,
And death his crown.

The Well of Night - with audio

audio link

The Well of night is frightening
The dark hides many things
To look therein is fearful
What is found there is terrifying
Inside the broken rings it brings

The Sunlight sinks down upon the barrier
Reflecting on the surface of it's pool
And gives me strength like a warrior
To carry on strong, yet my heart is cool
I dare not peer into that place

For this strength is weakness that must pass
In that day far away but sure
When tidal season brings the rain
To wash away the dredge of sludge
To drain away the underwater pain

When night is broken and peace shall reign
There baby and elder, sick and unwanted
Large and insignificant are to gain
Then I will lose myself in clear blue sky
On resting vapor's floating sigh

With stars for companions by and by.

A Prayer for loved ones - audio link

 audio link

Oh the pain, Oh the pain
For my loved ones
And their fading strength
Like a breath that I cannot catch
Like the fleeting moment that is past
As I climb a mountain of emotion
To the pinnacle of prayer
There I spy release from evil's lair
For my beloved ones tender and slight
To see them struggle against darkest night
Oh Lord fan the spark of life
His assurance calms my fright
I do not know where they travel
In His ship of peace can be no evil
I take comfort in this right spirit

Oh the pain, Oh the pain
Of my loved ones ripped away
Their faces fade to black and white
Speaking softly in my night of their day
Showing me things I'd long forgotten
They clap for me while I play
Silently they tread away
From my field of cotton
In their eyes a knowing look
Welled up with tears of joy
My heart is sad and lachrymose
With the longings of a boy
To be enfolded again in arms now lost
Where they are I cannot be
Where they be I surely go
To the deep black night of heaven's sea

When the sun shall wash away our memory
And we embrace at the end of day
Restored anew in Love's endless country.

Time and Being - with audio

audio link

The twisting cloudy mists
Of all that we seek to grasp
Slips away to become
That which we think we wanted
And when we find ourselves
In the place of our desire
A pebble comes to break up
Our reflection in the pool of vision
At that instant the crash of time appears
Violently to rip away part of our life and
For a fleeting moment we come
Face to face with our mortality
In the cold damp tomb of
Our now uncertain future
No matter how we distract ourselves
In the flurry of life
A piece of us shudders
Waiting for the shock of death
To deliver us into
The still and roaring presence of the Eternal.

Oklahoma - with audio

audio link

Oklahoma is that state
Which bares the worst scars
Of our country in its very soul
An Indian head penny
Minted and pressed out
In the great depression,
It's land still breaths the threats
And curses of the dust bowl
The spirits in the plains wind
Have drawn from deep wells of hatred,
Bigotry, hardship and bitter sleep
The ground yet boasts of
The blood of black tar
And the willows rest alone
The air is like dusty coffee
The people like a painting
For the clocks there are surreal
The earth is become brown and even
Supported by the hum and bumpy line
Of a bug-like pickup truck on the horizon
Fear not, for Oklahoma is a wide
And mighty roaring river of faith
Burnt and tested golden
In the furnace of time
It will carry each contemplative soul
Back to his or her destiny
Some on a whirlwind,
And that with great simplicity
Don't chase away the blackbird
When you catch his scrawny tune
His song may be the freshest event
That will split the serenity of your plateau,
Save the light of G-d
In the hearts of men passing near.

The Old Oak, In Memory of Robert Frost - with audio

audio link

The old oak stands stretching tall
Full of sweet dripping sap
That smells so like mash
Who's stain of sticky resin stays

As I walk away with turned back
And feel the weight of sunbeams
Coming through his fingers
Striking out my shadow

A ponderous wonderment of strength
In his robust limbs and branches
Casting down cool patches of shade
Baring and bending, filtering light

In that shelter the birds alight
Fluttering along the creaking bough
Their songs a shower of blessings
Flowing down the ripply, wrinkled trunk

Grasping twisted roots find their way
Ants tickling the belly of amber red leaves
That crackle and swish with life, while
From the Old Oak's base flows a legacy

Of warmth to the spirit, and
Refreshment to the soul of creatures
A Spring of words traveling ever onward,
Curling, drifting and working through each eddy

Telling truths and secrets - this one to be sure,
Even as the woolly bed of winter comes
To bring the Old Oak blanketed sleep...
There is Another, Who smiles to see him wake.

The Speaker - with audio

audio link

Analogies like allergies
Spring forth like pollen
In the flower of a teaching

Oh those diagrams
Shine like diadems
In the mind of the speaker

Get off of my perception
It's too free to be used
For building up your ego
Which has gotten so huge

Lift up a mountain
Drink up the sea
Capture the wind
Its all the same to me

How is it the man does not hear
What has to us become so clear
That the clouds have crowded his ears

Syllogisms, stories, little jokes
Enthymemes, quips, anecdotes
Pickles, olives, artichokes
All seem so very much remote

To those waiting for the news
Thirsty for some hidden truths
But never there to find

Once eclipsed and passed over,
Behind the blind, drawn
By the words... of the speaker