anywhere with you

the streets after midnight tell a different story,
of echoing footsteps and the chill of fog.
the glow of a streetlamp provides scant reassurance.

it rained earlier.
the pavement still shines and puddles dot the walk.
a pale mist rises from them like ghosts.
like memories.

i turn a corner and realize
i have no idea where i'm going,
or if i even have a place to go.

i should be sleeping. dreaming.
in a warm, dry bed somewhere.
or anywhere with you.


5/26/1991

Seeking after the Truth

i broke down the door
trying to get at the Truth,
i thought sure it was hiding
under the bed - or in the closet

it wasn't

the breeze through an open window
sent shivers up my spine
this is eerie i thought

although i didn't find the Truth
i did get around to cleaning my room
now i need to fix that door


5/17/1991

Reason

God created reason
so that man may find a path
leading away from chaos.

man used his reason
to construct walls to imprison his soul,
and endless roads, leading nowhere,
upon which he could lose himself
while racing madly through life
trying to make sense of things.


5/17/1991

a good day

it was a good day to stay inside.
the winds howled angrily
like wolves in the wood,
cold teeth biting deeply
as frightened clouds fly away crying.

it was a good day to stay inside.
fire crackling contentedly,
the wood giving up its secrets,
filling half-closed eyes with dreams
as we lay in warm embrace,
smoke and fire.


2/27/2020

footsteps

most of us stumble through life
footstep after footstep
with only the shifting of the sand
to keep us from realizing
we are walking in circles.  

if the great mysteries of life were revealed to us
would we be amazed?
humbled?
or would we blink and shrug
and continue to stumble
footstep after footstep
until the sand swallows us...


5/14/1991

your eyes

your yesterday snow filled my today sky.

it covered the walk and caused the boughs to bend.

i tried to see it through your eyes.

it will never look the same again.

circa 2008

reluctant dreamer

i am the silence of the night,
the shadow in a dream.
i am the face that stares back
from the stillwater pond.

[you break the image and look away
then wake to add more wood to the fire.
shuddering, you draw closer,
eventually to dream again.]

i saw the tree that no one saw
falling to the forest floor.
go there with me,
help me pick up the pieces.

i am the silence of the night,
the shadow in a dream.
i whisper your name as the breeze
softly kisses your cheek.


5/12/1991

traditions

God grant that each generation
produce in sufficient numbers
those who would honor and preserve tradition,
and those who would challenge it.


5/11/1991

the sunrise

no one saw the sunrise but i,
shivering in the sand.
the soft lapping of the waves, hypnotic,
lulling me until a coal popped in the campfire
sending red sparks in every direction.
the first blush of sunlight
hinted on the distant horizon,
like color glowing on a new bride's cheek.
then, gradually spreading across the sky,
it set fire to the clouds trying to escape.
soon the heat reaches me
and everyone else stirs awake.
too late - no one saw the sunrise but i.


5/10/1991

banking on life

i always thought
time was like money in the bank
and i was a millionaire

but i began to worry
when the interest rates fell
and my credit was suspended

i got religion 
the same day i received
my first overdraft notice.


5/9/1991

two leaves stranger

like many of our age 
we were strangers to ourselves
but not to each other.
as soft winds blew through pear wood
we stirred and were awakened.
many paths lead to this place
and as many lead away,
but we took the same path.
we were two leaves that the wind scattered
but could not part.


5/7/1991

cycles

life is probability
death is certainty
and time is master to both.


5/5/1991

clarity (koan)

from a distance
the forest seems impenetrable
but as we approach
a path appears


5/6/1991