the woodcutter

the steady, dull beat
of the woodcutter's ax woke me,
not the cracking of the wood
its cohesion forced from it
crying out, echoing across the yard,
through the frosted window that separates us.
or was i dreaming?

in my dream-like state
i imagined myself to alternately be
the woodcutter
the ax
the stump,
alternately giving, taking, receiving.
i experienced the harmony
as the dull, monotonous thud 
of the woodcutter's ax woke me.
or am i dreaming?


5/2/1991

the illusion

life takes on a life of its own
sometimes
becoming so full of itself that
only during the quiet times
does the memory of
and connection to the other side return
where life is rightfully perceived
as illusion
a puff of smoke


5/2/1991

Dear Adam and Eve

dear adam and eve,
remember that apple you ate?
i have just one question:
was it worth it?
i don't mean to sound ungrateful,
you kind of being my ancestors and all,
and things could be a lot worse
though Lord knows they could be a lot better, too.
don't get me wrong,
it's not as though i haven't disobeyed God before.
i guess i have.
but jeez louise, it didn't have to be this way!
so what's the story?
was it worth it?


4/30/91

let me rest

i searched many years to find my soul
and, once found, spent many more years
trying to make peace with it.

i did not climb the mountain
"just because it was there",
or live silently in the woods
trying to find my voice.

i would not have walked this path at all
but that the journey brought me
ever closer to my quest.
and now, finding peace,
let me rest.


4/28/1991

no wonder

no wonder

i can't hear myself think...

my brain is on vibrate

he watches them

near the park bench
where the old man lives,
along with a host of doves
and a squirrel or two,
rush the lives of the mobile alone,
the fast-tracked desperates.

he watches them quietly from afar,
finishes his bottle of brown-paper port
and anticipates the arrival of the cops
who will send him on his way.
this is his human contact.

he doesn't judge them, but marvels;
what wretched lives they live!


4/26/1991

why ants never venture out during hailstorms

an ant,
i believe his name was Milton,
stood atop his castle of sand
shouting his defiance
(as much as an ant can shout
having no lungs, tongue or vocal chords,
but none the less
they can get upset too and
are not afraid to say so,
thank you very much)
at the gods of foul weather.

well one moment Milton was all full of himself,
the next, his ant skull was crushed 
by a hailstone the size of a pea.
wasn't much left of his sand castle either.
but you can bet his protest had been duly noted.


4/26/1991

a rose

yesterday

i picked a rose that wasn't mine.

it wasn't the first time.

the rose was for

a love too far away.

i placed it then

on the place where now she lay.

Piper

footprints and shadows

the Others told us
our lives were memories,
footprints and shadows,
mostly illusion. 

what have we done?
they asked,
what deed or thing will outlast us?

we didn't know how to answer
so we left them in their caves
and wandered into the meadow

leaving only footprints and shadows,
memories,
to mark the way.


4/24/1991

the distance between us

in the daytime we would walk
ever searching
reaching out across the void

at night our dreams
were filled with travel
not to places
but to our moments together

until finally we found a place
where we were no longer aware
of the distance between us.


3/19/2011

contentment

a kiss was left
on blushing cheek
breath became shallow and quick

time stopped
as arms embraced
tears mingled with laughter
until nothing was left
but contentment


2/25/2011

tomorrow again

i want it to be tomorrow again,
the kind of tomorrow we had as children;
the kind we looked forward to,
like our birthday,
or Christmas.

i want there to be no sorrow again,
just the carefree times we had as children;
each day filled with hope and wonder.
each night filled with sweet dreams
and peace.

i want to see the flowers again,
i want to see them through the eyes of children.
but i must wait for tomorrow then;
for it to be tomorrow again.
today seams unusually old.


2/1/2018