when we learned

we asked the older ones
for the path to harmony of heart, mind and soul.
at first they said we were too young,
that we must wait.
but finally they said we were ready
and they gave us music.

we did not all understand
but some flourished and took the gift with passion.
and with their music they were able
to touch the hearts, 
move the souls,
and inspire the minds of the many.


12/6/1990

the wooded wild

at the last light of day
i stood deep within the wooded wild
and faced myself,
my fears,
my dreams,
my mortality.

i suppose i did not so much prevail
as survive the encounter
but i noted a change in the wind,
carrying the leaves in a new direction.


10/29/1990

i thought

i thought i had a thought again

just the other day.

i tried to get it down in pen,

it tried to get away.

i worked it hard

throughout the night

until the words rang true,

but sadly then i realized

the thought was nothing new.

10/26/1990

your memories of me

the waves of sleep wash over me
and i drift away,
to run aground on the gentle shores
of a distant land
and a different day.

it is there that i find my memories,
in the land where i once found you,
on the sand by the sea
with the wind and the surf,
in a place known by only a few.

i left my songs and poems there,
by the shore of that gentle sea,
that you may one day find them
with your dreams
of you and me.


10/25/1990

Lu (the traveler)

i stood at the roadside wondering;
which way will lead to my future
and which was past?
there were no markers, no signs to aid me.
but the weather was fair
so, resolutely, i set forth.
not knowing where i was,
not knowing where i had been,
not knowing where i was going - 
i had complete freedom to move in any direction.
eventually i would arrive there
somewhere.


8/31/1990

remembering you

this is how i remember you:
waves crashing on a sandy shore
clouds racing madly overhead
the wind and rain stinging our faces
drowning out our voices
great trees bending, branches whipping
as you pace the beach
under an early autumn sky
clouds racing madly 
water crashing.


8/5/1990

youth and age

the difference between youth and age?

youth lives their dreams

while age relives theirs.

7/16/1990

the edge of time

i stood at the edge of time and wondered;
if i crossed over, when would i return?
reflecting back, i saw a million images
along a line unbroken,
a million points of light
individual, alone, but connected.
each awaited my next move;
would i break the chain?
resolutely i crossed over, embracing my fate.
it seemed significant at the time
but, really, i had done it before
a million times or more.


6/23/1990

nothing

nothing that we say or do
will change what we have said or done;
the past has no future,
the present, no past.
we move along the path,
dry leaves in the wind,
none of us knowing where the wind will take us
or when it will stop.


6/12/1990

you are

you are the still-water pond
reflecting my smile.
you are the sunlight reflecting from my eyes.
you are the dream
reflecting in my mind.
you are laughter and tears,
wind and fire.
you are the one who holds me
when i am alone.


6/10/1990

the rock

in the darkness of the storm

we held on to the calm,

the stillness that preceded it.

while waves crashed on the shore

and the wind whipped the pines,

we became the rock that weathered it all

and woke to the warmth of the new sun.

12/29/1989

not because

you would find understanding
but not because i told you.
let understanding come to you in dreams,
as it came to me.

you would find forgiveness
but not because i asked you.
let forgiveness come to you in time,
as it came to me.

you would find peace
but not because i showed you.
let it come to you through forgiveness and understanding,
as it came to me.


12/10/1991

the morning

i called the morning to me,
the night having served its purpose,
it moved reluctantly but eventually arrived.
and in the warm light 
i saw my dream of you.
you smiled as a soft wind touched your cheek.
a hint of sweet perfume drifted to me
and you were gone.


12/9/1991