365 Poems

My challenge to write 365 poems in 365 days, starting in June 2009. Poems are listed in order of last to first.

THE END AND THE BEGINNING (365/365)

It’s the end and the beginning
Loss and thrill rolled into one
Cycles weaving through each other
The time has finally come
No more looking back, just forward
To the blisses, come what may
Feast on the universe
Dance through darkness
Stride with pride through each new day

ON TOP (364/365)

So happy
So peaceful
So full of love
So brimming with potential
Powerful, hopeful, creative
On top of the world

BLEEDING HEART (363/365)

The truth of it is you loved me
But not enough to give an inch
The truth of it is, that hurts
That you could love me less than completely, short of forever, with half of your heart, and say that you care
It makes me sick
And I feel sorry
You’ll never know
Just what you lost
Negotiating love
It’s a tough business
But your heart’s gotta be on the table

READY FOR MORE (362/365)

This is an invitation
For more love
More success
More money
More devotion
This is the time
For more passion
More wisdom
More laughter
More fun
Moving up and moving on
I’m ready
I can feel it

WALKING AWAY (361/365)

Your trash washes up on my shores
As the night rises
I walk the dark shoreline alone
Head down, hands in my pockets

WHICH TONGUE (360/365)

Would that I could see with the eyes of God
Gazing out over infinity
Maybe then I would know the right words to say
To get what I need from you
When you speak with Time’s tongue
The words land more gentle
My instinct is fear
And speaking in arrows
The question is clear
How long will I love him?
The answer is sealed with each crafted word

INFORMED BY FREEDOM (359/365)

What feels most freeing
Or least constricting?
What opens doors
And what burns bridges
What gives you options
And what makes you stuck
What makes your heart grow
And what shuts you down
What gives them wings
And what weighs them down
Follow your bliss on that yellow brick road
Do it with courage, brains, and flow

ADVICE (358/365)

If you can’t seem to do anything right
Be kind and respectful
It works every time

SURPRISE (357/365)

The best birthdays
Contain surprises
Commemorating the moment
You first opened
Your eyes in this world

BLESSED (356/365)

Blessed are the peacemakers
The bridges
That allow us to meet
Blessed are the friends
Who get you through it
Though they may be gone tomorrow
Blessed are the moments
We ushered in love
When no one was deserving

DESPICABLE (355/365)

Why are you wasting my time?
Drop the baggage
Take a load off
You had it wrong then
And you still can’t think straight
If you’re not courageous enough
To choose a better life
If you’re not humble enough
To let someone help
If you call men fools
Who choose love over money
Then at least keep your misery to yourself

LOVE STINKS (354/365)

Love that strong is a blinding light
When you’re just waking up
A righteous nuisance
The status quo
Fits like an old shoe
We are
Creatures of habit
When misery is good company
And faith and hope are miles away

RELUCTANTLY PATIENT (353/365)

Becoming aware of my shape-shifting
Reactions to unpleasantries
I’m trying to plug in
To the real fears, the inefficiencies
That push up into my foundations
Like stink weeds
Knowing there’s a baby in that bathwater
I play the mom for now
Mommy viper, coiled and perched

SWEET FURY (352/365)

Ask yourself this question
What do you want from me?
What if it’s not enough?
If I’m a candy waterfall
And you wanna lose weight
I can’t throw skittles at you
Or harass you with starburst
My love is a song on a stage
But you’re not even in the building

STIFLED (351/365)

I miss breaking into your house
Falling asleep on your bed
Holding your hand in the car
I miss sex on the beach
My little blue dress
Steaming up the windows
I miss leaving dirty messages
Going away for the weekend
Cooking together
I miss last-minute meals
Shrouded by importance
Undressing each other
I miss me

FANTASY (350/365)

Is it just me,
Or do I really need
Your tatooed biceps
To throw me up against a wall
So close I feel your heat
Wet lips against my neck
What would I give up?
For your dark skin
And sparkling eyes
Lighting up my world
Your breath against my cheek
The low rumble of your words
Who would ever know?
The chemistry we share
Like keeping magnets apart
The nuclear fission energy
Of life lusting for life

FLESH BARRIERS (349/365)

How could you resist
Being pulled in by the arms of God?
That spark is in you
And in everyone
I just want to unite
But our bodies get in the way

PROUD (348/365)

Queen of the worms
A sparkle in a rock
Proud little creatures
Playing our brainPods

LIGHTS OUT (347/365)

Believe me, this nonsense
It’s all gonna pass
We don’t know what tomorrow will bring
We think too much
And know too little
Gotta learn when
To throw off the switch

LEAVING (346/365)

We are two autumn leaves
Falling off the tree
Dancing ’round each other
In wide and smaller circles
Being blown this way and that
Heading for the compost pile

SLOWING DOWN (345/365)

There’s something about massage
Or petting a cat
That makes time move more slowly
Or perhaps time always moves so slowly
And I just move too quickly

STRUGGLE IN THE CITY (344/365)

A man was laying, slumped on the stairs
That go down into the subway
He looked up at us
His yellow eyes and dark face
As I was walking down
I stopped and asked him if he needed help
He looked at me
A face swollen and one eye infected or gone
And said painfully
I just need a coffee
I said “Oh, okay,” then left him alone
He needed much more than a coffee
I told the operator about the man on the stairs
Got on the train and burst into tears

THE VIEW (343/365)

I’m on the precipice
And it’s exhilarating
On the edge between
Falling and flying
Time and energy
Movement and rest
I’ve planted a seed
And it’s starting to grow
A life of its own
Amazed by my child
And its silver-lined wings

CLIMBING (342/365)

I’m climbing the peak
Can see glimpses of the next valley
Its meadows look so inviting
I can’t wait to rest there

NIGHT THOUGHTS (341/365)

I guess it rained while I was working
The roads are black and quiet
I guess you made it in safe
It was too late to call
When I thought about it
I guess I should get some rest now
Another day of business tomorrow

WANNA FEEL GOOD (340/365)

We are wonderful catalysts
Enzymes
Unlocking the energy of the world around us
Did the rocks feel bad about turning the plants into oil?
Does the sun want to die
When it burns someone?
I’m tired of the misery
And this left brain
What good has it done for me lately?

DONE (339/365)

Too tired to write a decent poem
My stress and time crunches
Compounded my troubles
I’m bruised and broken
At least I have family
And a cat to love me

LONG DAY (338/365)

I could see how someone could get lost in the pages
Caught in the web
If I never went out
I would always find the words
Present the best me
With no one to test me
But I’m weak in this moment
I can’t be there for you
I’m a sucker and a drain
I can feel my own weight
And I wanna be light
Don’t want an easy way out
I’m just tired of myself
Guess what? I’m just tired.

INTENTION & COURAGE (337/365)

He’s dancing with her intentions now
Her mind paints the future in broad, bold strokes
Then all that is needed
Is the courage to drink from her own cup
And be satisfied, as it is good

SOULS RISING (336/365)

She held my hair back
While I vomited, shaking
This happens every minute
Of every day
All over the world
We are all carriers
Of the diseases of our ancestors
Bless the patient souls
Who tend to the unfolding
Year after wretched year
With calmness and empathy
The painful evolution from
Misery to bliss

THE COLLECTION (335/365)

I’m walking around in yellow and pink
My head’s a grey cloud
My body’s an outline
Sampling from the vendors
I’ll make a nice supper
And invite everyone to the feast

OFF TRACK (333/365)

Need to get back to my practice
My rhythm
My daily uplifting
Reminders of heaven
The vision gets tunneled
When you get pummeled
Time to dust myself off
And surrender to wisdom

PRACTICE GODS (332/365)

We’re only human
Pretending to be gods
There are thoughts that keep us focused
And there are impulses that keep us mired
And there are systems ’round the world
That take the focus off ourselves
Because when all I see is me and mine
I’m a black hole that scares them all away

A BETTER TOMORROW (331/365)

Was it that the murderers and thieves
Adulterers and cheaters
Could not see the error in their ways
Until he showed them they could be loved?
Is it not obvious to a man
That sins against any fellow man
Retard your growth
Burn your bridges
Keep you trapped in walls of hopelessness
Who is our savior?
Who can touch the hearts and minds
Of our youth?
Who can convince them that the narrow path is worth traveling alone
And that faith, hope and love build bridges to the future of your dreams
When there is safety in numbers, mediocrity, and fear

ONENESS (330/365)

What can we infer
From whence it came
It showed up spinning, growing and fading
Small and furry with sharp sharp teeth
Isn’t it obvious our minds are the keys?
We are ice in a glass of water
Somehow remembering from whence we came
In our songs and poems and pictures
It’s all a clinging or running from oneness

GROSS MOVEMENT (329/365)

If the animation
Of a group of cells
By scientists
Proves anything
It’s that chemicals dance
Like leaves in the wind
And what makes us special
Is the breeze we are flying in
And the paths it took
Long long ago
And far far away

DISTRACTED (328/365)

It is what it is
This hair
These clothes
A shell over what’s real
Get down to the energy
The life
That’s always the same
Wants the same things
All else a distraction

COMMUNITY? (327/365)

All these people strugglin
Who struggles in a real community?
Eighteen and you’re independent
And can’t depend on anyone
We’re still moving toward the gold rush
Taking the family that will fit on your caravan
But what do you do when it’s fools gold?
Play the fool and tickle the man
You’re a long way from Kansas, son
There’s strength in numbers, delusions, and drugs

REST (326/365)

There’s too much going on again
A nap’s a sweet escape
No day off in 3 or 4 weeks
I’m starting to go insane
A cluttered room is a cluttered mind
One day in seven for rest is best
Or at least one day in ten would do
I can’t produce so low on juice

untitled (325/365)

They’ve come to you for interference
Don’t play the nihilism card
Your thumb on the hose is building up pressure
150 pounds and I pop
And we’ll all get sprayed

FINDING THE MIDDLE (324/365)

I see a gong and I just want to hit it
Thousands of years and it all turns to dust
Is that really all there is?
I want to love while seething
Have courage while fearing
Smile while crying
I don’t want banal bliss
I want to be moved
Is that all there is?

WASTED (323/365)

They come here to be invisible
They came here to live in the fog
The mind is full of lies
That paint the world in shades of black
The only way to kill the spark
Is a chemical blend of ennui
That numbs the pain of the night
And gives you an itch to scratch in the morning

BETTER ONE DAY (322/365)

All we have is today, this moment
What you are doing now
Determines your future
Your thoughts are merely bones
With no meat
Castles in the sky
What can you do right now
To be a better person?

MIND GAMES (321/365)

Stomach knotted red faced
Go away head case

GET IT (320/365)

If I can see it
I can be it
If I can dream it
I can do it
Where there’s a will
There’s a path
Where there’s work
There is reward

LOVE RIDE (319/365)

Ride a manta ray into the clouds
Close your eyes and hallucinate
Tumble down a canonball
Spread your wings and catch a wave
Go somewhere just out of your mind
Leaving not a trace behind

POINT AND CLICK (318/365)

Tired of these doctors
And their stupid theories
Western medicine is so limited
Focusing on the cure and not the cause of the disease
The wisdom is in the history
Understanding all the systems
Inflammation is not a drug shortage
Telling you nothing will work but the pills

HARD TIMES (317/365)

I know it’s hard
It always gets hard
As long as the hamster runs
We will face obstacles
Threats
But you’ve done it all before
Many moons ago
Don’t you remember?

EDITOR (316/365)

Words are for edification
The mind is a generator
The mouth a poor editor
Who is sitting calmly at the desk
Deciding which words move forward?

BATHE (315/365)

How does truth smell?
Have you ventured near enough?
Can you feel what excites you
What makes your heart light?
We all know fear
It lurks in the pits
Of the parts we ignore
Our nether-waste-lands
But once you get a taste
Of the peace and ease
When communication flows
And intentions are revealed
It’s a bumpy ride back to the isolated badlands
Better to sunbathe on the shore and stay fixed on beauty

FLUID (314/365)

Go with the flow
Is the greatest advice
That doesn’t mean surrendering a greater cause
It means being smart in your negotiations
Sometimes the flow drops or curves sharply
The wisdom is maintaining steadiness in your craft
And being aware enough of your surroundings to stay in the current
We all ride the waves through time
And get knocked off the rafts through inattention or mistakes
Fluidity is efficient, a drop in a wave
Rigidity fights for life in a sea of change

HEADPHONES (313/365)

Just a few more steps
Till you reach tomorrow

GETTING THERE (312/365)

The art of motivation
Words must touch a truth
That person is ready to hear
Do they trust your intentions?
Confident or bossy
Pushback or a pushover
Communicate or die

EXPLAIN LOVE (311/365)

I’m tired of talking
I’m tired of words
They get in the way
Of communication
Sometimes I can’t see the beauty
Through all of the filth
We’re just simple creatures
Trying to explain
Love

MIND LIFE (310/365)

If I only had no left brain
When I needed to be free
If I only had no right brain
When emotions cloud the scene
If I could sleep with just one half
The way some birdies do
It would make my life more simple
And more productive probably too
But now the two sides
Both need rest
They have worked hard today
Rest in pieces
Rise in pieces
Jointly conquering each new day

SENSATIONS (309/365)

I slip into bed naked
Every cell in my body
Shrieks in ecstasy as the covers
Are drawn in over my tired limbs
I go limp
And the ants scurry around in my head
Pouring up and out of their anthole
And busily crossing paths
Searching frantically for answers

WHITE RETREAT (308/365)

Blessed bliss
Sugar infused happiness
A white room
With wiggle room
A retreat from reality
And its hard questions

BEACHED (307/365)

When I feel raindrops, I wonder
Have I been sheltered for too long?
I guess we can never prevent people from stepping on landmines
Near us
But how much should I be researching and advertising their existence?
It seems an unattainable human endeavor
To maximize harmony in our spheres
I cannot stop the play of karma
Nor should I always strive for peace
Sometimes distress and unrest are needed for motivation
And removing barriers exposes holes to fall into
“You must see a man to become a man”
So perhaps I should just busy myself with polishing the vessel
For who knows what tomorrow may bring

OPENING (306/365)

Sparkles, spreadsheets, blood vessels
There’s something wrong
But I can’t put a finger on it
Seek some advice
Let a teacher find you
Be open to a new way of living
Tomorrow’s a new day
I will take his advice
And let life touch me more intimately

STILL GROWING (305/365)

If you were truly the best at what you did
Wouldn’t your reputation precede you?
If you were the tallest tree in the forest
Would you need to tell others to look up?
Sometimes we build fortresses to protect our growing kingdoms
But the walls send mixed messages,
Of unreached triumph, and of fear

NOT SURE ABOUT THE NECTAR (304/365)

So this is what God feels like
Knowing the end result
Yet letting Nature
Karma
Play out
Without stress or interference
How cold and boring!
How long would you want to be loved?
Forever?
How sickeningly sweet
I’ve fallen asleep during plays with too much drama
And too little
Who wants to live like the rocks
When you are human?

HUMAN LOCKS (303/365)

She might have come here to be a hero
Someone hurt so badly
A few breaths from death
This is a person who’s traveled a great distance
She might have come here to be a healer
To bring others back from the dead
She wonders,
If the light is so transforming
Why is it kept in human locks?

GAME TIME (302/365)

Every day I find new games to play
That help me learn the world
I try peace and I try worry
I play fat and I play skinny
I battle and I refrain
I set limits and restrictions
I plan and then I gamble
I push forward or step back
I show compassion or disdain
I keep it quiet or sing all day
Each win or loss informs the next game
And time just dawdles on

PROGRESS (301/365)

There’s nothing like the thrill of creation
That fantastic bubbling up from within
Followed by the exhilarating task of
Navigating around the rocks in the river
As you are carried ever more rapidly toward your creation’s destiny

LIVE TODAY (300/365)

How much time slips through young fingers
While we wait for inspiration,
Muddle through mediocrity,
Stuck in the imaginary web of our worries.
Just as words are forever, so are the actions we don’t take.
Regret is for the hasty and the timid alike.
“What would you attempt if you knew you would succeed?”
A caring word,
An action worthy of your talents.
Worry is a heavy suitcase.
Your talent is not a burden, it’s a chariot.
Sometimes God walks among men,
But his home is in the sky.

OTHERS (299/365)

We’re just starting to figure out
Who we really are
What motivates us
What moves us
We can talk so fast now
To so many others
Now we know what the rest of the world thinks
Was it a surprise?
Is the joke on you?
With the dissection of religion
What organs of truth will emerge?

EVERYDAY TRANSFORMATION (298/365)

To create you must consume
To live you must die
That’s why we don’t get excited
About things that don’t matter

LOVE ECHO (297/365)

If you meet enough people
And listen to their stories
You will find the master key
That unlocks every door
You become like the sage
A participant, even puppet, of the drama
And an audience member at the same time
You begin to hear the same song
Playing over and over in the background
And become adept at predicting the notes
Then the question becomes
How much to interfere?
Or
Is an echoing love dance the only efficient response?

DON’T KNOW (296/365)

Dear Lord,
I don’t know…
I don’t know…
I don’t know…
I don’t know…
I don’t know…
I don’t know…
I don’t know…
I don’t know…
I don’t know…
I don’t know…
I don’t know…
I don’t know…
Amen

FUMING FOR THE WEAK (295/365)

I made it through another day
Neither predator nor prey
Though the stars shine down on each alike
I’m still disturbed by weakness

RELATE (294/365)

Limited minds
Need words for the limitless
We don’t all relate to love the same way
We are both what we know and what we believe
But it’s hard to name a set of beliefs
So when you talk, speak of love
And speak of your understanding
We are books with no covers
Just trying to relate

THESE DAYS (293/365)

These days
I can’t imagine what thirty more years will bring
I’ve lived so many lives already
These days
I still take on too much
I need to be more sensitive to the balance
These days
Are nothing like I pictured they would be
What a thrill, what a life
These days

SWEET TOOTH (292/365)

Sugar pop
Bubblegum
Chocolate covered strawberries
Gumdrops
Thin mints
Candied brown walnuts
Krispy kreme
Ice cream
Lemondrops
Wednesday

DON’T WAIT FOR WHAT YOU WANT (291/365)

Only love will heal
Not time
Not money
Only light can illuminate
Not fear
Not isolation
Only hope
Sometimes as fragile as an eggshell
Will carry you into a new life

SENSITIVE (290/365)

Most people are too fucking sensitive
Including me
We hold onto things too long
We let pain take up residence
Without growing from it
Write a summary from the parts you understood
Then throw the rest to the winds
Do us all that favor
Your life doesn’t have to be spotless or normal
To live boldly in hope of a better tomorrow

UNTUGGED (289/365)

Not quite living in a house of peace
Still waiting on the porchI’ll know I’m well inside
When I can bear an insult without blushing
I can see a need without my mind racing
I can give without expecting
I can love without ceasing

SING (288/365)

It’s so easy to forget the dream
What’s real
The trash of our illusions
Fills up our houses
Meditate always on love
On music
Only these are true
I keep thinking
If I could only write a song
And sing it on a stage
Then I would know who I am

LUKEWARM (287/365)

Walking in a lukewarm swirling airbath
The morning rays greet me
I move slower than my thoughts
My dreams have time to rise
As I gather ingredients
Carefully thoughtfully
Hoping
I’m a drop deep in the ocean

TODAY (286/365)

Today is where the praise is
Today is where the work is
Today we fill the cups
So tomorrow we all can drink

CREATE (284/365)

It’s all your dream
You could stop in a pinch
But why quit when you can create?
You could paint the most lovely life
The greenest sets
The coolest props
You could surround yourself daily
With people that inspire you and push you to dream even bigger
As the slime left the mud
And the fish left the sea
So must we rise above ourselves

A CRAVING (283/365)

Beginning again
A lust for power
Not the cruel kind
Power that moves
Efficiency expressed
Pure intentions
Not giving up
Until the body gives out

GRACEFUL (282/365)

Billions of footsteps
Have walked here before
If you listen, the wisdom
Echoes off the walls
There’s a way to live gracefully
It’s already been done
Prove you’re immortal
Ageless as the sun

LOVE WITHHELD (281/365)

Bend the nameless masked men
The games are about to begin
Take down a list
Check it thrice
Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice
The rabid little wolves
Are the ones to watch out for
Love withheld is a hundred year mistake

A DAY CLOSER (280/365)

It’s all still passing through the pipe of my paradigms
Every moment confirms the truth of my understanding
Older and wiser
Knowing what is needed for harmony to exist

COMING UP FOR AIR (279/365)

I held my breath going through this tunnel
But I’m starting to see the light
I gasp for air
Like an underwater dream
And, astonishingly
I can breathe

SWIMMING (278/365)

What’s inside that big black afro?
A throaty laugh I could curl up into.
I watch you and I see sparks of what’s real,
Cause lately I’m having trouble relating.
This little light of mine,
What’s it got to do with them?

ACTIONS (277/365)

It’s complicated right now
Being squeezed by a cloud I can’t see
While I am trying to expand
Am I moving too fast, or too slow for red rover?
Caffeine is toxic, my belly a fist
I’m really not stressed
But my list’s getting longer
There are questions unanswered
Projects unfinished
And I don’t want to rest

CITY LIFE (276/365)

Kundalini at the grocery store
Apologize no more
This is San Francisco after all
Sit back, enjoy the show
Never a dull moment here
The shops down Mission Street
Rich with stories of their owners
People I will never meet
So many footsteps crossing paths
Invisible on sidewalks wide
So many beings coexisting
Breathing heavy air seaside

NO MORE BOOKS (275/365)

What would you want to know if you could ask?
I couldn’t think of anything
The lust for success is a reaction to fear
Equanimity
The only rational response
A forbidden fruit
It would taste so heavenly
But I’d be too cool for school

DOORS (274/365)

So many possibilities
Analysis paralysis
The best I can do
Is walk through doors when they are open
Look for doors when I see walls
And point others to the doors
I can’t walk through
I can only be at one place
At one time

I AM (273/365)

How can I always remember who I am?
I’m a song
I’m a crowd
I’m beauty
I’m love
I am justice
I am hope
I am you
I am the future
I am a feeling
I am creating
Letting courage conquer fears with every stride

FIX THE WORLD (272/365)

Teach them to fish
What helped you?
Why am I happy?
What should they know?
Finger on the pulse
Or out of touch
Orbiting too far
Or far too often
Worry breeds worry
Peace breeds peace
Stiff and stuffy
Or loose and useful

LEADER (271/365)

Who is going to step forward when their name is called?
Who will get off their high horse to be the bigger person?
It takes courage to see the world through another pair of eyes
To tolerate the hurt in others
Give them space so they can heal
It takes work to reach outside yourself
And take the hand of one who’s fallen
The reward is in the vulnerability
The prize is the trust you gain
Trust is the land on which love is built
And love feeds the community

LONG LIVE (270/365)

How much information do the clouds need
To know where to rain?
Why must we compute, compute, compute
Mothers are an evolutionary adaptation then
Or we might die as often as the clouds

CYCLES (269/365)

One more chance to say it better
But you’ve set me off and now I just want to tear you apart and build a better man
There are no more excuses
I must proclaim clearly what is expected
But I’m sick of explaining the obvious
I’m tired of your twisted hollow words
Stop fucking talking to me
Get down on your knees
Family is a burden but who wants to come home to an empty house?

YUCK (268/365)

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that we are all trying to protect the same country
It’s not easy
Leaving freedom and bliss
For incarnation as a naked creature
Always fearful for its own survival
Defending and attacking on shivering legs
Clinging to familiarity
Fending off attacks both real and imagined
Shrewdly positioning for social status and acceptance
It’s not really about healthcare, is it.

ITCHY (267/365)

I slip into bed
Like my favorite pair of socks
The fluff hugging me in all the right places
Hoping my words today
Matched my intentions
I only get one lifetime to work with these gifts
Trigger happy

OUT OF PLACE (266/365)

An Indian flute song came from my showerhead
How out of place it seemed in the city!
The pace here feels artificial
Unlike the native in the forest meadow
Sitting in the sunshine, while a bird flaps its wings
Until I remember the volcano
Or the ocean
But the volcano is forced
And the ocean is pulled
I suppose
Not unlike the people
Rushing around the city

UNNECESSARY (265/365)

How many times
We grieve what was lost
When it was never really ours at all

IRONMAN (264/365)

In an ever-changing world
Let your heart be at peace
Like the molten core releases heat
Add slowly turns to iron

INNER CRITIC (263/365)

Try again tomorrow
You must be so patient
Your loudest critic is yourself
She loves to run her mouth

ALL THAT IS LEFT (262/365)

I just read a book
About the life I might have lived
Now all that is left
Is to be quiet

BUBBLEGUM FASHION (261/365)

I went hunting today
And I killed it!
Adorned in bright happy colors
But none of them are local
Sustainable
Luxurious
All the stores are candied fronts
For the same factory
A bubblegum machine
For the salivating masses

NOT DOING (260/365)

I took the day off today
The universe seemed okay with that
The sun smiled in approval
While I bathed in a bikini
Then walked to the hairdresser
My mind took a vacation
From the endless mindless gabbing
As I napped upon my book
My body groaned in painful pleasure
As I tended to its tension
Maybe healed in some small sense
Tomorrow’s steps will feel much easier

TIME (259/365)

I’m not your mother
You’re not love
Then what are we in this for?
I’m getting more impatient every year
My saving grace is grace
My neurosis lurks and pounces
My burden grows
A monkey on my back
Chattery and good company
But he’s weighing me down
I was born to play
So don’t pencil me in

IMAGINE (258/365)

May the sun set on the wrongs of yesterday
May they scurry off to another corner of the planet while you sleep
And bite someone else’s leg
May you know peace
And may all who live in the shadow of love
Step boldly into the light and drop the weapons of wicked words
Shed the armor of fear
And pick up shuttle
You can weave real, lasting peace into the fabric of your life
With every breath
Every thought
Every action
It all begins with you
Why waste another minute?

TOUCH (257/365)

I’m covered in patches
Invisible stitches
I need your hand
I just can’t feel them
Light up my cells
Smooth out my wrinkles
Love reaches out
Touch me, I’m gold

CREATORS (256/365)

Misery & mistakes
Green little creatures
The power to collect and create
Is the most envied job in the universe

STOP OR GO? (255/365)

It sounds like an arcade down there
Noise and games
Stop the train!
Or wave it through
It won’t stop in my small town
But it comes by every day
With its steam or pollution or noise
Who is responsible?

LOVE OF LIFE (254/365)

Life is worth living when love is in it
Love is balance, peace, and kindness
Loving makes me a tolerable creature
Love is warmth on a windy day
Love is a light heart
Free from mind’s chains
Love is a gift more valued than gold
Love is your future
Love lets go
Loving is giving – all are deserving
Open the gates you locked long ago
Love is a highway
A two lane road
May your soul come to rest in love’s quiet coves

LOVE & GAMES (253/365)

Oh baby, yeah, baby
Tell me what I want to hear
You’re an itch
I have to scratch
Come on over here
‘Cause the blood reveals the pain
Of the war against my womb
They say it’s better off a tomb
Until I reach my thirties dear
But abstinence won’t keep a man
For ten years while you plan
Marry young and make the babies
Or sleep around then tie one down
Just in time to buy the diapers
What’s a modern girl to do?
Keep her sanity or chastity
Go to work and go to school
What are the rules in this new era?
Born in chaos either way
Good enough’s not good enough
When there’s time enough to play

PEACEFULLY FALLING (252/365)

A hundred autumn leaves
Gracefully dancing down across light currents
On a backlit tree
The sun sets on the person we
Grew out of today
Now, only laughter and fond memories

MY HEART (251/365)

My heart is a purse
With gold latches
In a tall, square, blue velvet box
Open it
It’s filled with confetti

NONSENSE (250/365)

He’s strumming a guitar
Sitting at a desk
Piled high with papers
The marshmallow man
Walks through the chain-link fence
Skin patterned blue
Plaid and paisley stripes
Creeping up the arms
Like a sky infection
Twice
I got a long way to go
To get back to where I was
I’m in love with my bed
Tomorrow I rise

INNOCENT BURST (249/365)

Plump juicy strawberries
Ripe and sweet and wet
Bursting in the mouth
Then dying red and sumptuous
Anger’s like a sneeze
We all should say “God bless you”
In ugly outbursts of all kinds
‘Cause ugly is false and passing
The devil inside
Makes you lonely
We’re all born to glow
In the innocence of love
But we can’t always help it
In our weakness we will fail
Best to do no further harm
Get some exercise
Be aloneGather support; do your calisthenics
To keep the demons
On the outskirts
You’ll need vigilance and blessings

IT’S ALL IMPORTANT (248/365)

The grass is as important as the cattle
And the cowboy and his dogs
And the horse
And the birds high in the trees
All glory asks
Is that we do what we are able
It’s so hard to tame these minds
But your actions can be beauty if you move with pride and courage
And environmental nuance

IN THE DESERT (247/365)

A side-winding snake
Glides over the packed desert earth
A wellspring of cold clear water
Gushes generously ahead
I slurp out of my clean cupped hands
Burnt but refreshed

BODY DIVERSIONS (246/365)

I wanna do a backflip
Just to prove
I can move my body
Any way I like
I want to curl up next to you
And fall asleep on your arm
To feel your heart beating
And your waves across my skin
I could stare at you all day
And get tangled in your beauty
Diversions in these bodies
Fun and sex and nudity

FANTASTIC VOYAGE (245/365)

I know my life
Is the most important story ever told
The secrets of the universe
Are hidden in me
I know the terrain
I will be my guide

RAGE GAME (244/365)

Have you ever watched yourself murder
In cold blood
With no remorse
And thirst for more
In the absence of God and love
Have you ever felt your face
Twist demonically
As you shoved a stranger
Felt your cheek grow numb in rage?
Have you ever stabbed someone
Then enjoyed
The quickening of your pulse
As you watched them struggle
Has rage infected you?

ONLY HUMAN (243/365)

It’s not that humans are basically good
That gives me hope
But that they’re basically basic
We make people complex
With our words and gossip
When the truth is usually simple
Neither moved by evil
Nor compelled by good
A human acts human
In response to human needs
If you are still confused
There is no lazy
There is no stupidThere is only human

IT’S TIME (242/365)

A lump in my throat
But pride in my step
My training was perfect
I am ready and excited
For all that can be
It’s within my reach

RIVALRY (241/365)

A healthy distaste
That squeezes the heart
Similar enough
But worlds apart
A push of a magnet
Of opposite pole
Your actions a joke
Your words burn as coal
In the furnace that fuels
My escape from this earth
Distanced from you
Finding my truth

SPRING CLEANING (240/365)

Clear the clutter
Find a place
Make some space
For magic

SEASICK (239/365)

Blue faced clowns
With jester hats
Scratching at the door
Looking for flowers and grass and sunshine
But there’s a leak and water’s on the floor
A gun to the head of a faithful friend
Sometimes they just kill themselves
But if we are what they were
There’s order in chaos
And comfort in order
So life marches on
In predictable succession
It all makes sense when they’re gone
Then back to the bliss
Behind our brains, pull the curtains
And stop the show
And the sounds and color of black infinity
Silence the narration that rocks the boat

FIGHT INSIDE (238/365)

I’m dying on the inside
And I keep on dropping bombs
One by one
Down my throat
I moan and miss my mom
I no longer pause before killing
All offenders must be put down
One by one
Stoic and focused
Fiercely claiming my ground

ZONES (237/365)

Let us be known
Not for how we drag or push
But how we make room
For a soul to bloom
What is the key that unlocks their door?
Where are the wounds to their inner child?
Step aside and let the fresh breeze in
As gentle as palms on a crystal ball
Or a hand on the skin of a grieving friend
Guard my actions like my words
And know you are safe under my wing

COMMON WISDOM (236/365)

Everyday I’m adjusting myself
Everyday I look at what I need to change
Ain’t no shame in my game
I believe in being calm
They say they don’t believe in God
But God is the first word out of their mouth
When things go wrong

SLEEPY (235/365)

Softly drifting toward my dreams
Weaving scenes, colors bleed
Shed the stress
Melts off the bed
Cradled, cushioned
Fearless, dead

PASSION AND PERFECTION (234/365)

Perfection without passion
Or passion sans perfection
Both are incomplete
But don’t tell me perfect is a myth
That’s something losers say
When they’ve failed along the way
Resurrect the vision
Up your dose of discrimination
Send your energy in the right direction
Perfection is a framework
That guides human effort
Ever striving, never despairing
Passion patches up the voids

LIVING PURE (233/365)

I’m tired of the fear
The panic attacks
When my name is called
I want to live like honey
And float in milk

SUCCESS STUDY (232/365)

Study success
What is its pattern?
Who does God touch?
Look outside yourself
Sometimes we tell ourselves
Bedtime stories
Wherein we are the heroes
But none of us flies solo
Except to the grave

MOTIVATION (231/365)

What moves you?
Who is pushing or pulling?
What drives you on?
Who whispers in your ear,
Who tells you what success is
When to be happy
What hangs from the stick just out of reach?
Then who tells you you’ve failed?
Is it the truth?
Who withholds the prize?
What makes you feel angry and insufficient?
What holds you back?

ENERGY COLOR (230/365)

Love is gold and pearls
Opal swirled white
Covered in lace
Enveloped and hooded
Above the skin the surface
Is alive and electric
Talk to the plants
Your energy is quite tangible
Not just a flush or dilating pupil
But an aura larger than you

WAR & PEACE (229/365)

Telling others that you are worthy
That you are special
Is redundant
You were born worthy
You are nothing but special
Or you would not exist
Others are too worried about their own abilities to measure up
To listen to your resounding gong
We all have a part to play
So save the sad soliloquy for Armaggedon
You’re home and the war is over
Adjust to a new era
In times of peace, enforce the bonds
Yes, we must test our resolve for success
Pull the knots to expose weak spots
But enter with caution
Into easy but unfamiliar territory
Your post traumatic stress is bound to interfere
Be ever aware of the sleeping serpent inside us all
Which devours both evil and good when its basket is kicked

BUSINESS (228/365)

How big is too big?
I start a business
It grows to 250
Then start another
Let’s fill those holes
The empty buildings
Look wrong on Main Street
I’m good at this
Let’s do it right!
Put people to work
What do we need?
There’s too many eggs
In too few baskets
I’ll start an army
Of Maslow leaders
We’ll change our country
One block at a time

ENERGY (227/365)

How do you handle a lightning bolt?
Let it cool down, dissipate, lose the charge
Emotions are real
But jagged and sharp
Not gentle or respectful or thoughtful
By nature
Express if you must
Then the work begins
In the calm afterstorm
To repair what was fried
And find shelter in one another

WORDS OF OURS (226/365)

Mr. Llaneous
The opposite of quiet
Social networking
Makes people nervous
We’re not supposed to know
What’s on your mind
So many words might carry disease
But we can’t shut up
These minds of ours
Are ready to be tamed
By the whips of masses
From a distance
Silence in the new age
Is not a virtue
But a resistance
To the future

BURIED ALIVE (225/365)

A hidden success
Your secret triumph
Not newsworthy
Notable or ad-friendly
But a step
In the right direction with a heavy foot
And a friend by your side
The crowd didn’t cheer today
But “life ain’t a track meet —
It’s a marathon.”

ISSUES (224/365)

Understanding expectations
Imperfect communication
Fears are illusions
Failure impossible
Live to succeed
You make the rules
Change the game
Sniff out the fakes
Imperfect by nature
Disregard the sad
You eat that cake sometimes
And it tastes so good going down
But you’ll regret it tomorrow
Nothing you do will change the past
But you can walk with pride today
And maybe brighten their day

PUNISHED (223/365)

A tickle in the throat
That’s all she wrote
Cough up a lung
Isn’t this fun?
Mucus for miles
Half-hearted smiles
Tissues and cough drops and water
Oh my!
Can’t we be over this illness already?
It’s taken its toll
Wasn’t that the goal?
Now leave me alone
You’ve already won.

6 WORD MEMOIR (222/365)

Fearing change, accepting change, making change.

GOOD WRITING (221/365)

It’s like wrapping a present
To give to someone
Pulling in all directions
Fitting the corners
Smoothing the wrinkles
Securing straight and snug
Then applying the finishing touches
Winding the ribbon and meeting on top
In a neat bow or a burst of joyful curls

LONGING (220/365)

I’m longing for you
From my head to my toes
I still remember your first hug in the kitchen
But the chicken was stinking
In the can on the left
And that first sweet embrace was quickly erased
But the dance of our lives
Had only begun
And I left you in Albuquerque
To meet up in hot Miami
And you chased me to Montana
So I came to California
Finally home in San Francisco
I ly in my big bed
With thoughts of you in my big head
My partner, knight, and lover
And so much to discover

STILL ME (219/365)

I look straight into your large green eyes
The pupils wide black pools
You gaze into mine
So small and so blue
We stare and your lids slowly close
For a moment I was there
In that room with myself
All consuming, all blissful, all free
I left in tears as I returned to this world
Still itching, still spinning, still me.

EVOLUTION SERIES 1 (218/365)

Evolving into higher order
Taking energy from somewhere
We all feel it in us
A force for life
Defying the natural laws
In a spike of time infinitely small
Miracles happen

PERSONAL (217/365)

But how do you really feel?
That story inside your head
The one you tell yourself every time it happens
What do you say to yourself
To get to sleep at night
When you don’t measure up
When you’re making that purchase
When you’re looking in the mirror
What do you say
That alienates others
Before you meet them
That closes opportunities
As you approach them
What thoughts are holding us back?

WITHOUT YOU (216/365)

My lover is gone
I stir the pot
Don’t whine! Don’t whine!
I’m ready not really
Another wasted day
Without you

LOOKING BACK (215/365)

I’ve become the person I always despised
The wussy, cold blooded Californian
Liberal agnostic
Who takes deep breaths
Walks miles a day
Calls veggie burgers a meal
Buys her fruit organic
I never understood the girl
Who dabbles in astrology
Reads of the east
Who admits she doesn’t know it all
Especially about life
Who champions thinking twice
About issues once so black & white
I’ve accepted so much change
It’s a pattern ingrained
I thought I’d like security
But restlessness drives me
I await tomorrow with baited breath
Of course I believe in change
Anything less would be my death

YOU CAN RUN (214/365)

Why am I paying 25 percent
A sum I can’t afford
While the rich pay 1 percent
And run for office on the balance
Why do those crooks still have their jobs
While the honest scramble for dollars
The rebound a facade, I’m not buying it
The greed peddlers sold fake products
They should be in jail
They almost brought the country I love
To ruin
They bribed and they lied and we bought
Obama’s not perfect and neither are we
But you gave Bush 43 eight long years
You can’t purge a Senate in eleven months
Of the criminals who drank the wine
If the rich choose to sit on their piles of money
Winners in a game where the refs are paid off
Then God help them
When we take back our country

TOUCH (213/365)

The spark of a human touch
Sets off purring ecstasy
Connections heal
Don’t stop the flow
When I need it the most
Our skin not a barrier
But a bridge, a conductor
Bodies meet or repel into space

LIVING FEARLESSLY (212/365)

No room for yoga on a plane
But they were right about people!
Who thought fear was immortal?

BUBBLE FEVER (211/365)

A microcosm of the creator
We receive, expand, and send
Then there are those
Who receive many big bubbles
Catch them in their hands
Then compress and compress
And add to their floating pile
While fireworks go off around the world
The explosion of the century is gathering fuel

THE PROCESS (210/365)

Show me my demons
I can wrestle them now
Show me your demons
And I shrink in disgust
Slow to compassion
But give me some time
We’ll work it through
In solitary we purge
Together we learn

LET IT BE (209/365)

Misaligned, mistaken
Hurt by a phantom of the opera
Send joy to me
Let me be the glorious animal I am capable of
Let me be unmoved
By my imaginary fears
And driven by freedom, justice, and fun
Fill my heart daily with love
For myself, for others, for life
Let each day be a celebration
And constant worship of the great unknown

PROSE (208/365)

Turning the dials
Where will I land?
I’ve got a long way to go but only I can walk this path all the way
A new read on an old verse
It’s not a battle anymore
Think of it as perspective

RIGHT NOW (207/365)

We’re all enablers
Householders
Surely God won’t punish the successful
Who can get inside the mind of that
Infinitely patient comedian?
What does he care who finds him?
It’s not an Easter egg hunt
Can’t I enjoy the inbetween?
What’s the point of wearing this skin
If I can’t have some fun in it?

SO FAR FROM MAGIC (206/365)

What’s more important than living?
I show up late and basically do about 15 minutes of actual work
In any given week
My life is my new office
I’m in the same damned cubicle
I thought I blew up that pop stand
But here I am
A step forward on my broken ladder stilts
But still playing the game
I shoulda joined the military
Or maybe a convert
But I had my own ideas

NOT A GAME (205/365)

People keep mistaking me for being rich
I should have dressed nicely today
The mayor lives on main street
And kisses his wife by the windows
Like I’m a chipmunk but there’s no winter here
So what’s all the stockpiling for?
I finance myself
I take my own risks
I don’t run businesses like you do
Reputation, reward, risk, revenue
It’s not a game; it’s a civilization

TECHNOLOGY (204/365)

No more fluoride
Aluminum chlorohydrate
Aspartame
No more hydrogenated oils
SPAM
Non-organic fruits
No more mercury sushi
High fructose corn syrup
Enriched white flour
No more sugar
Genetically modified
Irradiated meats
No more steroid
Antibiotic
Chlorofluorocarbons
No more carbon monoxide
Nitrites
Burned hot dogs
Trash-burning dioxins
No more x-rays
Water bottles
Microwaved foods
And we’re just getting started

FIND ME (203/365)

Below the calmness on the surface
A red-hot fire rages
Some days not even a ripple
Some days I boil over
A day without a giant leap forward
And my compass spins and spins
I’m a weapon of mass creation
Find me, aim me, use me

OUT (202/365)

Rattling this cage
There must be a way out
I’m tired of the fear
The isolation
The mind is an itchy trigger finger
She makes me nervous
And I’m so close to taming that beast
Charming that snake
Yes, I’m the peaceful warrior
Tall, proud, dressed in white
Riding my mare through the clouds
I protect my kingdom and rule with majesty
We, the people, with our faces to the sun.

TWO LOVERS (201/365)

What if I only wrote love songs?
Who would I be if I left this body?
Why do you want me so badly?
Where would I go if you led me?
What would I see with your eyes?
I want ten more years to play the game
Of efficiency, currents, and flow
Then what will you make of my living anchor
Who parked me so close to you?
Please show us mercy and resurrect us
As I was lost without him
Or if he is, in fact,
My tether to your world
If so, reel us both in together

GREATER (200/365)

Mirror lakes, cliffs
Rainbow slicks
Gentle waves and blue skies
Puffy clouds
Clean air
Wildflowers
Clear light
Sunkissed
Just right

BLEND (199/365)

You won’t become an outlier
Buying the shine off a star
Be satisfied on your path
Recognize what fits
Sometimes our simple lives
Look empty from the inside
But you are not the one stirring your pot
The master chef decides when you are seasoned
You can scream like the lobster
Wither like greens
Escape and burn like steam
Or you can give of yourself and blend in beautifully
Satisfying all who partake
And bringing pride to your name

DARK DAY (198/365)

Many malicious smiles
Light up the basement
Make it all go away
Give me some of that good lovin’
Makin’ a pizza with the blacklight on
Fried the onions.
Let’s eat! This cancer’s killin’ me.
A lick on the cheek
A wet nose
Silly sweetness on a dark day

SHAKIN’ (197/365)

It was the party of the decade
Laughin’
Dancin’
Feelin’ good, movin’ smooth
Then the earthquake
Split the room in two
Half bracing the floor
Half dazed and confused
It killed the mood
But they understood

SONS & DAUGHTERS (196/365)

Brothers and sisters of another kind
I recognize the artist in you
The leader, the achiever
The sensual, life-thirsty
Soul reader
The moon watched as we were born
Together, years apart
The sun rose twice and kissed our crowns
Kings and queens of a new world

SPARKLE (195/365)

We must be the lucky ones
Loving this life
Despite its twists and turns
And forever closed boxes
We shine in the good times
Hold hands in the bad
Meet each day with awe
Over deep-seeded joy
When we draw closed the curtains
They cheer for an encore
We oblige in gratitude
And give them a show

CREATURES RISING (194/365)

Pole to pole
Flying low
See how scared they all are?
Moving fast
The slow thought dumb
And ignored in the awards
Mate or judge
Rear or work
Fix yourself
The ego loves not
The more you hurt
The more to fix
The squeeky wheel
Should take the grease

MOSTLY STATIC (193/365)

Love, peace, light pouring down
Like hot wax over my body
Melting every wrinkle and frown
Changing my wattage and frequency
I’m tuning in to a new station
It’s still mostly static
But the broadcast
Is pure sound

TRUTH SEEKERS (192/365)

The giddy nature of risks:
At once dreadful and enticing
Fear of the unknown can cripple and stifle.
The courage to be open to a wider truth,
To step out the front door of your cozy little box
Into a world beyond control where anything might manifest,
Offers great rewards to the full-blooded optimist,
Who sees rainbows through raindrops;
Reflections in puddles.
The risk is certain to yield dividends
Yet unnamed
And blessings to all who host her Highness in humility

BUBBLY (191/365)

I am champagne
Misery avoids me
This lightness and bouyancy
Lifts others up
A skip in my step
A heart full of love
God must be celebrating
Shaken then showered

untitled (190/365)

Famous but no one cares
My keyboard a filter that keeps you from reading my mind
No one wants to talk about
Controlling your own thoughts
As if every thought was a gift from God
And not just a calculated guess

HUMBLE YOURSELF (189/365)

If you had the courage to go naked for one day
Admit you didn’t know it all
And wander humbly toward the East
Staying alert for mind-bending soul-snatchers
You might be pleasantly surprised
And find yourself sufficiently nourished by the delightful taste of truth
At every vendor
A sensation you recognized from a long time ago
But since veiled in thick metal armour
And armed with a sword of fear
Stabbing perilously at any perceived threat
To its own confidence and superiority
Building castles and recruiting soldiers in the name of God
Is it any wonder why the rest of the world distrusts us?

Rushed (188/365)

I don’t mean to be ungrateful
I was saved by grace
A hundred times
And that was just last year
Forgive me when
I tear out the weeds
When I should have, discreetly
Planted the seed
To choke the weeds out
But their sight is apalling
And I have little patience
To wait for results
I’m finding myself
In a cocoon of grace
But safety breeds carelessness
And time is a-wastin.

Cost of Love (187/365)

What is the cost of love
Compared to the cost of hate?
An economist would tell you
Love is the wiser choice

Gone (186/365)

The wind blew you so far away
I couldn’t hear you call if you did
Or maybe you ran when I turned around
And jumped off the face of my earth
I know that I miss you and I feel it’s my fault
I more often let go than hold on
But the way you left without saying goodbye
Or at least “see ya later”
Felt wrong
I can’t be a sun or a moon in your sky
I’m not your daily bread
Maybe I’m gravity
On a planet you were passing
That accelerated too quickly
Disturbing your path
And slung you to space
If that’s the case
I am sorry.

Drone (185/365)

We’ve gotten so used to this world
We made our marks everywhere
Living in the city
It’s harder to fathom that it’s all Mother Nature
That concrete evolved
And traffic is energy
I love my colony but it feels so contrived
But I imagine the worker bee
Feels just the same
When he first meets the queen
In her intricate combs
Just give me a break now and then
To fly off the property
To a place we all own
And remember the feeling
Of only me and my God.

Young Minds (184/365)

Guard the young minds
Their impressions and ideas
So that they will grow firmly rooted
Come what may

Burn and Burn (183/365)

I looked out all four windows
All I could see was white
Like a blank page to be filled
But I didn’t want to write
I wanted to kill my own sweet time
With dreams bigger than life
Without annoying interference
Like the man who built a skyscraper
Except no one wanted to look at it
They were never even involved
And plus it blocked the natural views
Such are my foolish, lonely projections
Which lack the curse of tortured passion
And its undying commitment
To a cause a few can share
I guess I’m not ready to stay at home
And gaze contentedly out the windows
A spark is frustrated without tinder
I need to burn and burn

Content (182/365)

Nothing is boring
To a focused mind
Would that I could eat air
And stare for hours
Completely content
Totally here
I want to be like the sponge
And soak up the world
No longer thirsty
Never leave home

O, Brother Where Art Thou (181/365)

Send me my brother for Christmas
That precious boy I used to know
The cutest kid with the blond hair and sad eyes
Who became a man too soon
Send me my big teddy bear
Thoughtful, questioning, seeking
A heart of pure soft gold
Walking away from pain and looking for love
Send him home sweet home.

Christmas Prep (180/365)

Christmas carols
And rock star fantasies
Scan it, bag it, swipe it
Like water in your fist
Keep it moving
Make them come around
Make it all better
Paint a smile on a stone
Two hard seeds planted in rocky soil
The harvest will be a miracle
I’m in if you’re in
Give me a sign

Creative Envy (179/365)

Maybe I got sick by drinking from the same glass
What can you see, where can you go
That they can’t?
I wanna pull from the space behind the neuron networks
Where white means all colors
And black is inviting

Fleeting Forever (178/365)

A ray of sunshine on a busy world
A warm smile on a cold day
A light heart to lift heavy shoulders
A pretty face in the crowd
Peacefully happy
Radically calm
The tallest candle
Flame eternal

Shanti (177/365)

Complicated
Giant walking worms with no tails
And bony skeletons
Clutching electronic devices
Working furiously
Sophisticated
Dinosaurs
With soft skin
Who gave them the keys to the car?

Wanna Work (176/365)

Easy unrest
Stressful peace
Chocolate & apples
Reverse mullet
Wanna create
Wanna give something
Wanna love sweeter
And see you again
Wanna be satisfied
With never being satisfied
Wanna give people jobs
And see them flourish
Ants with no leaders
We need a new economy
That builds communities
And never destroys
Put the product in our hands
We’ll be the stewards
They’ll lose a little control
And we’ll all benefit

To Know (175/365)

Can I find them in the mirror?
If I know each cell and nerve
The ecosystems and design
Should surely speak to my beginnings
Do I need to peel the layers
Of the body, breath, and mind
And dwell in the vaster silence
Of the inner worlds of black?
Can I find them in my animal
Her similarities and her differences
If I am sensitive to her energy
Will I gain knowledge of existence?
Or need I travel past the Milky Way
To worlds untouched by humans
See new life breathe new air
Make the puzzle even bigger
Deep within or deep without
Ever dispelling the doubt

Together (174/365)

My heart beats faster when you’re around
I say stupid things but it doesn’t matter
We know each other like we know ourselves
Two slumdogs racing through an urban jungleWe’ve known hard times and harder work
And we’re not afraid to take what is ours
We got so high now nothing can stop us
Fueling these dreams side by side

Just One (173/365)

Living on the edge of sanity
Jittery behind the wheel
Reacting to your friends a game
A habit of a fool
For emotions should be called upon
In times of dire need
Not tossed around untruthfully
Preventing you from truly feeling
Your interactions a charade
Not even close to two hearts meeting
But perhaps we wear these shields
For fear of blood brothers and sisters
144 ways to differ
Then a thousand more degrees
I’m attracted to the different
I’m a curious thirsty creature
So tired of living in just one body
Even with TV and teachers
But I dare not get too close
I could merge with you so easy
Then my lover would be angry
And my own body would miss me
But it’s hard to love others as yourself
Yet keep them on a higher shelf
As if they were tchotchkes
Small items of interest
And not supernovas or bright as sunsets

The Middle (172/365)

Engineering
Communicating
Hope sustaining
Health sustaining
What’s our value?
What’s this power
That our instruments can’t measure?
Power to imagine and manifest
Power to breathe and move our limbs
Power that leaves with dying breath
Power fickle and formless
We build things so we must be gods
Or does the octopus do the same?
Then is it all a silly game?
Or does that question hurt my name?For living is the only thing
We know we’re meant to do
And when the red sun rises cool
Another race will ponder who it was that set them spinning round in circles
Self aware past benefit
Guarding life in all its facets
While the universe collapses

Tell Her (171/365)

Tell her truth is almost always the best option
And that relationships need trust to grow
She needs to know she is safe in God’s hands
That holding tight isn’t as secure as letting go
Let her know the law of the universe
Is ordered chaos – nothing happens by chance
Just as every action causes reaction
We can never know all the variables, so relax
As a mind free of clutter finds the clearest path
Let her know that her tendencies
Are not a source of pride or shame – They just are
And to work every day at beingMore trustworthy
More open to the subtle forces
More aware of the potential within herself and others
More aligned with the mighty cosmos

Satisfied (170/365)

Are you satisfied right now
Are you getting what you want?
If you always see a gap
You will find holes to fall into
Fuck the secret, swines or queens
The pearls transform the wearer
Even if you were a failure
At a thousand things you tried
Know that right now, here, today
You are perfectly aligned
Trust the process, open eyes
Join the laughter in the skies

Finding Faith (169/365)

If the church has failed you
It stings like the pain
Of a mother’s rejection
Or a father’s abuse
You want to believe
But the priests misbehave
The hypocrites preach
And no questions are asked
For faith to rebloom
Careful tending is needed
This is not the time
For impersonal dogma
Don’t stifle the seeker
With a wall of “truth”
It’s time to proclaim
What we we already know
Without an ounce of damnation
Nor beaten into submission
Nor shamed for salvation
For hell is our past
It’s time to raise up
A new testament
Of how we were saved
By love’s mercy and grace
And following those who showed us the doors
While warning us gently of the trappings below

Christmas Trees (168/365)

I wanna go back to those hills
Where the air smells like pine
I would stand by myself
And watch the fog roll in
I would marvel about
How the birds fly without me
And how still it all seems
When we’re not around
I would observe in silence
As a breeze paints my lips
And plead to myself
To remember all this

Inspired (167/365)

Surfing on a colored wave
High above the ground
Cancellation headphones
Drowning me in sound
God is really here now
Hearts connect with lightwaves
Purity of expression
Now I really own me
Fade into the darkness
Babbling approval
No need for words now
Smoke and mirror sideshow

Love Quest (166/365)

Why would you throw anything back but love?
Why would you throw anything back but love?
Why would you throw anything back but love?
Why would you throw anything back but love?
Why would you throw anything back but love, love, love, love, love, love?
Why would you throw anything back but love, love, love, love, love, love?
Why would you throw anything back but love, love, love, love, love, love?
Why would you throw anything out but love, love, love, love?
Why would you throw anything back but love, love, love, love?

Moving On (165/365)

35 thousand chances
To do it right
You’ve never wandered too far away
To turn around
The thoughts you repeat
Seal your fate
You must learn to let go
And believe in a dream
You’ve never hurt
Too many people
To be kind to the next one that crosses your path
Billions of mirrors
You break one you buy one
But you don’t have to carry it around
Tape it up as well as you can
Hang it on a wall in your house
Where it can see sunlight and life
Then move on
You can’t perfect any day but tomorrow

The Challenge (164/365)

The higher the mountain
The better the view
But the way is harder
And only a few
Will dare to risk failure
Come death, wind and cold
Sacrifice their lives
For an unpromised goal
So many ways to feel good
Without trying hard
But why parade for approval
When you could climb among stars?

Succeed (163/365)

Don’t take no for an answer when it comes to your success
Where there is the will
There is always a way
But the will must never rest
Don’t let them tell you it’s too late
Prove your resolve
Show them effort
It’s hard to stop a train carrying freight
Yes, you are disadvantaged
You don’t have all the tools
But you can finish what you started
Answer to yourself

Nuts (162/365)

We’re fidgety little creatures
Always needing a fix
Funny to watch someone freak out
Terrifying if it’s you
We all need a little yoga
Some deep breathing
Right brain activation
Make the little chipmunk inside your head
Happier
Oh, what we could accomplish
The joy we could spread
If we only knew how to use
The damned things

Changes (161/365)

I can feel changes coming
Something’s gotta give
The routine, the look, the attitude
I’m fed up with it all
I’m sick of myself
My habits and drugs
My shortcomings and failures
Tomorrow’s a new day
I’m turning the page
Metamorphasis
Change paths in the morning

Superhero (160/365)

You can’t do this forever
But I feel immortal today
So high and so low
I stayed there for a long moment
But I’m not ready to ly down
There are voids to fill
And I’m an ocean

No More Credit Cards (159/365)

Walking past restaurants
Sitting at a bus stop
Hands in my pockets
Nothing there but lint
Stomach is empty
And so are my bank accounts
A stranger sits next to me
And bites into a sandwich
So far from home now
Miles from my pantry
My heart sinks and pities me
Life without plastic

Misunderstandings (158/365)

On the surface it stinks
And what a dizzying spiral
I dug down to the root
A glowing gold brick of truth
So far beneath the layers
Of the dirt we used to cover
Our misunderstandings
If only you would take my hand
And follow my steps
As I lead you down my path
I could show you this treasure
But I fear you will insist on meeting me there
And you’ll dig with your tools
Using your methods
According to your understanding
Will we ever see eye to eye?

Four (157/365)

There’s a four hour limit
To sit at a desk.
A four hour limit
For athletes in college
To practice and train
The rest is for study
Four hours for others and one for yourself
Keeps you sane and on top of your health

What? (156/365)

Does God laugh at us
Or cry?
Is he an active sadist
Or a just another observer with some skin in the game?
Does he wave his hand over our planet
As if to summon a crystal ball
And wonder what will be revealed?
Is he an absentee father,
Spreading his seed throughout the universe
And trusting Mother Nature to tend to the growth and discipline?
Or
Does he hide as infinite smallness
Pervading every corner of the creation, hoping to one day be put back together again?
Is God Humpty Dumpty, and we are inadequate?

Forked Tongue (155/365)

How many bridges
Have I burned with my tongue today?
I have revealed my tendencies
My instincts
That make me me
But separate
Me
From
You

I Still Need Exercise (154/365)

For every action
An equal and opposite re-action
So high on kiddie crack
I ran to the gym
And now I am depleted
I love lifting heavy weights
When my mind has outrun my body
Both need exercise to thrive
If only I could contrive
A more perfect system
Where I plan
My mind’s and body’s work
Then food and drugs
Won’t rule my life
And peace might come more naturally

Sputtering (153/365)

I guess I feel like a bottle rocket
That spiraled out of trajectory
And hit a wall
All this fire
All this energy
If properly directed
Would’ve shot to the moon
And burst out in glory
Where it could have been admired
For its speed and drive
And the heights it reached
While its dying embers bathed in moonlight
Satisfied
But instead it sputters and spins and wastes its power
In ten different directions
Panicking and causing fear
Before dying a dud
Thank God for a boyfriend and friends on the ground
So I know which way is up

The Process (152/365)

Find joy in the process
There are no mistakes
Though you don’t know the end of each path that you take
Give thanks even though your testing seems long
In darkness remember a song
Trust in the process
That brought you this far
Come sunny days, fog, rain, or cold
And when you are tried and purified
You will shine like a medal of gold

Work in Progress (151/365)

Delicious temptation
To run and not look back
Full speed until heart attack
Smoke lungs until black
Sweet escape
In a fast song
A swig of muscat
A fork on your tongue
To be one with the moment
One with the future
Slave to an idea
Trapped in your words
Men aren’t born perfect
We all need training
Don’t be lazy
But don’t go crazy

Growing Up (150/365)

Easily excitable
I still kill spiders
This too will pass
I assure him firmly
So sensitive as children
We avoid and defend
Far past our youth
When will I grow up
This music that feeds me
A bold melody
Layered over anger
Passion lofting soaring
Escaping the past
Confrontation and defeat
Wealth and pride
My destiny and birthright

Relax (149/365)

No longer sad, worried or anxious
Living a dream, my thoughts are my future
Now that I know that I cannot fail
All I need is the strength to relax

Done (148/365)

Burning alive
I gave all I could
But feeling so frail
I needed a nap
I should have took one
A little sooner
Sickness like clockwork
I needed something
But didn’t know what
Stress or relax
Eat or sleep
Now they have won
And I am done

Move (147/365)

I want my finger on the pulse
Of what drives us
How we move as a group
If I can understand an animal
I can deal with a human
Living creatures are sensitive
To our energy
Love makes us all grow
In fear we destroy
Can we steer this boat
Toward truth?

Blessed Again (146/365)

Relying on God or trusting your instinct for life?
I knew I would be taken care of at the last minute
So I was
Is the energy wasted when I throw it around?
All I know is I will live to see another day
My destiny is success
So I succeed without a fuss
Blessed again today
And open to the inner workings

Young Love (145/365)

Soft chemicals stirring together
Your hand in mine
Gentle love and possibilities

Evangelist (144/365)

Don’t preach to me
It smells like fear
I’m living in peace
And that’s a choice
I drank your wine
It tasted like pride
I shed that coat
Walked a thousand miles
I listened and learned
That I can’t swallow love
When it’s wrapped in fear
Words ring hollow
From an empty soul
Misery loves company
And I’m a loner

Expanding (143/365)

Heart open open open
Ribs are tearing apart
Chest filled with helium
Balloon growing filling
Saturn’s rings around me
Grow expand sending out
Encompass one and all with love
The one thing you can do

Stress (142/365)

False starts
Why didn’t I plan ahead?
I love eating breakfast
At home
At the table
I love paying bills
On time
Knowing my balance
So why do I fail?
What circumstances
Need me to suffer?
Will it all turn out better
If my mind stays relaxed?
Or will my punishment be incomplete
Without stress?

All for Love (141/365)

Missiles and homocides
Birds of a feather
Compromise and die
Truth or a lie?
Forgive and forget
Pay your debt
Run and get caught
Live or get shot
Hope falls to deeds
Too many would kill
For love’s warm embrace
Forgetting her charity

Seeds of Change (140/365)

I’m a thief
I’m a prison guard
She’s fat
I’m not like her
Love plants seeds of change
Not hate or separateness
Which yields decay and rot
Know that a perfect person
Lives inside
And will bloom in due time
With the right care

City Peace (140/365)

If you bump into enough people
It changes you
The colors blend
The connections grow
If you looked into a thousand mirrors a day
Imagine what you might notice
If you really looked
Peace is in your reflection
If peace is what you embody

Wind of Change (139/365)

And don’t we all play our parts so well?
Smile for the camera
Who is more easily influenced than a man?
Entirely predictable
So what makes you think your opinion
Will be an adequate impetus for change?
Given the summation of forces
In a man’s life
What compels the heart to act in futility
And what drives the heart to certain victory?
Let me catch that wave
Breathe that air
Move in that tide
Let me be a force for change

You & Me (138/365)

I entertain you
You give me freedom
I am a mystery to you
You reveal little to me
We’re both heading upward
Side by side
A kiss and a smile
But you burn steady
And I flitter
I light candles
And you watch them from your throne
We are comfortable together
And alone

In Dying We are Born (137/365)

The more I know about love
The farther my journey seems
I feel desperate, I feel angry, unloved and tired
God is making me rely on him
For my rent, my sustenance, my happiness
And it feels like I might die
I won’t go down without a fight
So misery haunts me
And joy mocks me
I’m tired of learning
It’s too painful
Ignorance must be bliss
I want so badly to be the person
Who writes my poems
Of faith, hope, and love
And not the pitiful failure
Who curses and sulks and grinds her teeth
When will she just die?

Lost in the Aspiration (136/365)

Instead of aspiring for greatness
Aspire to do great things
One day at a time
One task at a time
Come down from the clouds
To the work that builds a man

Drugs and Speed (135/365)

A meth-head rides the bus, skinny arms
In a shiny purple shirt
Her face splotchy and raw
Three hundred years of abuse
Caffeine and nicotine
Breakfast of losers
Bellies of acid, lungs of smoke
Leather skin
I inhale thick fumes
From the truck up ahead
Our foul addictions
To drugs and speed

Trust (134/365)

Love is stronger than pride
Truth outlasts a lie
But pride and lies are easy
Truth and love require trust
That the universe won’t fail you

Words (133/365)

A few well-spoken words
Have changed the world
The internet is our opportunity

Deep (132/365)

We all have our tendencies
That keep us from each other
Relationships that get deep
Reveal the armour we wear
Far under our clothes
We more than reproduce
We aren’t satisfied with bodies
We must bear our souls
And expose the hidden nature
Peeling layer by dirty layer
Opening the scabs
Until the light shines out pure and unveiled
A glimmer keeps hope alive
Through hard times and fear
Until that sweet day when love conquers all

Movements (131/365)

Seasonal changes
Howl at the moon
Help me help you
Reaching out
Pulling through
Overtime work
Not in the mood
Balance yourself
Time to reflect
Continue or change
Pulling strings overhead

Tired (130/365)

Drop dead tired
Finished
Word slurs
Keep a commitment
Consider it done

A Better World (129/365)

In this corner of the universe
We are all just trying to live
The greatest gift you can give is mercy
To let the bad vibes stop at you
If we all made each other’s lives easier
Fewer people might feel
Like fighting to hang on to what little they have
Imagine
If all we could do
Was love and not fear
What peace would reign in our heartsWhat sorrows would be forgotten
What blessings we could shareThe world we could bestow

House of Issues (128/365)

Dig your way out
From the rubble
Of the house you built
That couldn’t withstand an earthquake
Piece by heavy piece
You piled them carelessly
Without a consultant
Without mortar
And now the real work starts

A Stormy Period (127/365)

Weathermen are rockstars
In Oklahoma
When you’ve seen enough storms
You learn how to react
When evil swirls your way
Like a dark, loud tornado
The only safe cover
Is underground
No use reasoning with a tornado
No use stabbing it with a knife
If it threatens you
Go somewhere you know you can hide
Create some space
To wait it out

Wanting to Let Go

I don’t want to write a poem
About how it feels to be mistreated
Unloved
Taken advantage of
I don’t want to write
About hurt, disappointment
And unmet expectations
I want to be free
Liberated
Unburdened
Whose job is it to discipline?

(November 1, 2009)

Discovery

Technology in the wrong hands
Can go very badly
What if you are the technology?

(October 31, 2009)

Stuck Moving

Burning the oil I need for later
Racing to finish
Against myself
Not really knowing
What energy moves me
Why I come back again and again
Trying to keep myself from destruction
When chemicals fight the fire I flame

(October 30, 2009)

Confused

Closer then farther
Connect and dissolve
Inside but calling out
Done or beginning

(October 29, 2009)

Waiting

A day of delays
A pale foggy sunset
Glows peach behind an old twisted tree
On a desolate hill
In my troubled mind
Waiting for the music to wake me up

(October 28, 2009)

Slow Down

Understanding influences
Sugar, planets, hormones
Still they move me
Thought too close to action

(October 27, 2009)

Be the Change

We all want change
But no one wants to change
It hurts to smile
When you’re dressed in sadness
But it’s not about you
It never was
Your grief is a smokescreen
That hides you from love

(October 26, 2009)

Internet Age

Trillions of keystrokes
Information downpour
Packets of light
Pooling and clumping
Bouncing or hiding
Should we be mirrors
Or stew for a while?
Add our own color
Or pass the potato?

(October 25, 2009)

Abundance

What do you believe?
It takes less energy
to believe in abundance
I don’t have to hold on tightly
It’s not a new thought
It’s a path that’s been tread
Sincerely, joyfully, confidently
A choice to live in hope
Rather than fear
A fake-it-till-u-make-it
Reliance on the law
That giving turns you on
To opportunity
While holding back
Slows the progress

(October 24, 2009)

What are They Doing?

All this talent
And no one wants to run for office
The best and the brightest
Are chasing paper
Deceiving the masses
They once called neighbors
Our physical walls get taller and thicker
You can’t hear me in your car
You can’t talk to me with headphones
Who gives a shit what they do
You’re not like me
Greed spreads like a virus
And we all fall down

(October 23, 2009)

Trauma

Slumping at your schooldesk
A gunman appears
The universe rips right next to you
You play dead until he leaves
Classmates you could have known
Are frozen in your memory
You walk around
With a 5-person-sized hole by your side
A deep dark void
Alone right on the precipice
You wonder if you might fall in again
Our souls like magnets
Even with strangers

(October 22, 2009)

Way to Live

I don’t know any better way to live
Even if it’s all a dream
Even if it kills me
I can’t imagine living without love
Without an open heart
Keeping your defenses up
Is a waste of time and energy
Give until it hurts
Then give a little more
What is to regret
When you gave them all a chance to shine?

(October 21, 2009)

Foolish Pride

Fighting over the last blanket
Who wants peace the most?
The haves toss to the have-nots
Who in their pride refuse the gift
And everyone goes without

(October 20, 2009)

Scenes on a Bus

A yogi on a sugar high
Amaretto in my purse
Meditating on the bus
Babies, drunks
The volume-disabled
Where did it go wrong?
A heart almost closed
That one closing
Friends don’t let friends
Bring them down

(October 19, 2009)

Good Job

God’s got a fun job
I see the work and just smile
How you are provided for
How I was used
How trust opens doors
That suspicion closes
I’m glad it’s not my job
But it’s fun to watch

(October 18, 2009)

It Must be the End

I can see the edges
Of our little blue globe
Such a nice spot to wander
Around and around
An engineer of my own life
I tweak and make it flow
Work out the kinks
Redesign and take notes
Curious as a cat
Showing others the way
I’ve been there before
I was sober and patient
I want others to have
The peace that I’ve found
The health that I’ve tapped
The joy that abounds

(October 17, 2009)

The Guilt of Stillness

With a mind made for motion
And a body built for pride
I’m saddled with guilt
When I sit down for a while
I get so wound up
I have to unwind
A cup of green tea
My cat by my side
Standing on the back porch
Gazing across my slum
Breathing the cool damp air
The ancients weren’t dumb
You can’t live your life
On auto-pilot
Someone
Has to check the fuel levels
Polish her up
Do the maintenance
Make her purr again
That someone is you

(October 16, 2009)

The Great Paradox

The great paradox
Of human nature
We know that
Nature favors freedom
Yet freedom doesn’t come naturally

(October 15, 2009)

The Wake of Ignorance

How do we correct what has gone wrong?
Can we stop the ripples from expanding?
Or do we wait until they lose their power?
How do we endure together the foul smell
Of the carnage in the wake?
Or will we do it instinctively,
Knowing that where there is darkness
There will be blood shed.

(October 14, 2009)

Getting in Line

I want to tear the roof up off this house
I’m feeling claustrophobic
I haven’t seen a star in weeks
It helps me place myself
When I’m swimming with the current

Change in an instant
Avoidance of pain
What used to attract you revolts you
Measure your words
Don’t spill a drop
The vibrations rattle on for eternity

(October 13, 2009)

The Price of Doubt

The benefit of doubt
Is a huge amount
Even living 30 years
I’m still wrong
Most of the time
There is almost always
A good reason
But almost always
We can’t guess it
Open mouth, insert foot
It never hurts to ask
With an open mind

(October 12, 2009)

Welcome Rest

My legs are dead weights
I lay immobile
My cat on my chest
My partner and witness
A few easy breaths
From long black bliss

(October 11, 2009)

Assembly and Toil

Pulling from all directions
Gathering enough strings
To make a sturdy rope
As I climb the tree
The hard way
I weave them together
Let the scrawny pieces fall
When I get further up
I’ll hang my rope
So others can climb with ease
Meanwhile
I toil on with joy

(October 10, 2009)

Bump

Light puppets
Gliding over the planet’s streets
Columns of white-gold energy
Walking human corn dogs
A fistfight on the bus
Is rare news and a tragedy
What is there to gain
Being calm as the world
Struggles in ignorance?
Which one of us needs to learn to be quiet?

(October 9, 2009)

The Ride of Your Life

Continuing to ride the train
Here I wobble, there I wobble
The roller coaster ride of life
One wheel on the tracks
A seatbelt comes loose
I hang on through
Sickness
And exhilaration

(October 8, 2009)

True Desire

Desire and passion
Seeds of unhappiness
How can we desire
Without personal gain?
If passion so moves you
Create for humanity
Lift others up
With your time and talents
Let them realize
The power of many
Expressed in one
Dazzle them with humility
Astound them with grace
Let them feel only joy
Let your love light the way

(October 7, 2009)

Mortal Dream

Skating downhill on a fast board
Re-tucking my credit cards into my pocket
Hoping no one notices

Running over a child’s toes
Sorry’s not good enough
The old lady gets bumped on the way

Haunted by a 2-headed siamese demon
Looking forward to the next high
With his pants down

He moves into my loft
Violence ensues
I’m thrown over the balcony

I return in a fury
He bites, I scratch, I beat him down
Until there are 2 of them

I’ve forgotten to love
In the midst of my fear
And in doing so, revealed my mortality

I flipped the switch
In my dark heart
And the demons became sweet cherubs under my fists

I released my grip
And stroked their foreheads
I bathed them in love, ashamed but forgiven

(October 6, 2009)

Moving

Forces above, within, and outside
A kiss from the moon
In the blue morning sky
A peek over the building
To wish me goodnight

(October 5, 2009)

Exiting Oblivion

It took us a while to find oblivion
But now we know we have it
We carried it to the lenders
It sat with us and watched TV

It kept us working at our jobs
When profits soared and wages sank
Oblivion kept us trodding on to
Certain riches and to fame

But alas it was all a game

Our science does not speak
Of democracy, greed, or justice
We focus on the simple things
An atom bomb, Viagra
We’ve ignored five thousand years of wisdom
Time-tested values of history
Because our test tubes and calculations
Promised riches and security

We forgot that our most precious asset
Was not a lump of gold
But the child that carries our dreams to tomorrow
A child which thrives on things we can’t buy
Clean water-air-food, love, justice, and hope

(October 4, 2009)

Not Yet

If what will be will be
How will I know how large a part to play?
So many times I am moved
But not sure I am called
God has never shown me
The unilluminated trail

(October 3, 2009)

Another

The Earth turns to bring me a new day
My soul reaches out for God
I’ve already won the Earth game
Let me climb to higher planes

(October 2, 2009)

Youth

Like water dribbling its way down a hillside
We are all going somewhere
You can throw up a big dam
Do it your way
But in time you’ll realize
How small a part you play
In the lives of others

How the quality of interaction
Trumphs the quantity of efforts
And how your tone
Colors the memory
So become sensitive to the tides
And learn when to let go
And when to invite

A cat will tell you
Its fur your practice
Its claws your punishment

(October 1, 2009)

Eloquence Lost

Where is the eloquence
Of days gone by?
How have the sound waves shaped us?
We can sing a thousand songs
And hum a hundred tunes
But we talk twice as slow as we used to

No one writes letters
Anymore
Pen pals a long lost notion
We email and text
We call and voicemail
Communicate faster than neurons

Thoughtful words are a treat
Well written prose
Luxury
That we rarely take time to enjoy
I rewind a hundred years
To find text that speaks
To my heart, my mind, and my soul.

(September 30, 2009)

Meatbag

Gratuitous violence
Omnivore
Herbicides pesticides
Nervous system

Amygdala fear
The higher mind
Prefrontal cortex
Massive grey mass

A human has choices
And little information
Time to work
1300 books to read

We adapt to survive
Chaos dancers
Organize and thrive
Meatbag with legs

(September 29, 2009)

Respond

Too hot to handle
We fly off the handle
Count to ten
Simmer down
Maturity is practicing
To respond, not react
The only way to show
Real love and respect
Emotions are important
In a primal sense only
To evolve we must think
Of the greater good.

(September 28, 2009)

We Put the Love in Evolve

Loving for you
Loving for me
Loving saves the species

Our big brains
Our big hearts
All looking out for each other

Abide by the law
And peace is yours
Make your own rules at your peril

Billions of eyes
Ears, hearts, and hands
Follow the yellow brick road

(September 27, 2009)

Love’s Burden

I’m tired of your drama
My burden is enough to bear
How do people do it?
How do two separate souls
Who have grown up worlds apart
Agree to get through life
Together?

Are you selfish for sharing your pain
Or am I selfish for not wanting it?
Is it worth the added heartache
To leave your lonely days behind?
Are my words an insult to the ones
Who’ve lost the one they loved?

(September 26, 2009)

Immense

A shiny red plane
Flies under the half-moon
As I walk on the clouds
Brimming with potential
A galaxy slips
Through my fingers
And I stand agape

(September 25, 2009)

Worry

You have to believe
You have everything you need
To meet the challenges of today

I look at what others have gone through
And wonder if I could win
In that situation

But the universe has strange and wonder-full
New things in store for me
Events I could not imagine

My brain only logs my experience
Who knows what paths will cross
Tomorrow

(September 24, 2009)

Declaration Day

The moment you declare your intention
The testing period begins
If you decide to love
Prepare to be heartbroken
If you decide to live
Prepare to look death in the eye
If you decide to conquer
Prepare to fail and fail
If you decide to give
Prepare to have it all taken from you
The treasure of the champion
Is not the gold award
But the discipline, courage
And co-operation learned
Getting up each time one falls.

(September 23, 2009)

Newton

We do well with routines
Predictability
Things going well
One event rocks the boat
And we panic
As if faith in our welfare
Is a fragile egg in God’s mighty hands
When will we admit our nearsightedness
And daily wear our God-glasses
To see the drama
As Newton saw the law
When an apple hit his head

(September 22, 2009)

A Question

How much work is required
Of a human?
“Sometimes I try too fucking hard.”
How sensitive must I be
To take the most efficient path?
If I am patient my route will be revealed
Just before I take a step
Or after
In any case my doubt
Just casts the question to the universe
It echoes off the farthest star
And I step where I hear no sound.

(September 21, 2009)

Like the Ants

The sooner you realize
We’re just like the ants
The better you’ll feel about
Your life’s contribution

Each ant does a job
And no one’s the boss
They don’t worry, just work
And it all gets done

Each one to his talent
One note in a song
At the end a perfect village
A home for them all

What makes you think you’re so different?
We’re on the same Earth!
Take a lesson in success
From the modest workers

(September 20, 2009)

From Darkness

I don’t know what he sees in me
But I am so pleased that he sees it
I don’t know what creation sees in us
But I know I should be glad

What is our potential,
When we are in the world, not of it?
Can we be joyful always
Even in death, loss, sadness?

When we know how to stay alive
Educated enough to thrive
We control our evolution
Change your environment; change your line

The food you eat, the sounds you make
The amount of exposure to man’s folly
The world was spinning when you dropped in
All you control is you

What men have learned over the years
Is the Divine won’t let you down
Where men will fail and lose your trust
The higher powers still shine on

And though you play at human games
Designed for win and loss
Remember always how far you’ve come
From darkness, void, ashes and dust

(September 19, 2009)

Is It a Dream?

I don’t want to be an anal, striving yuppie
Living high above my means
My means are immense
But it makes no sense
Chasing comfort at the cost of living free

You should study something smart, they said
Be a doctor, engineer, use your head
You’d be a fool
To teach at school
Use your brains and make the green instead

The world is full of bad advice
Dick and Jane will speak their minds
So do what feels right
And don’t lose sight
Of the things you want most from this life

(September 18, 2009)

Love Song

From where I’ve stood
It’s one in ten thousand
Who embraces the world
With arms wide open

It takes one to know one
Trust inspires
Let the music move you
Sing pretty thing

Letting that which does not matter
Truly slide, truly fade
You’re never more beautiful
Than today.

(September 17, 2009)

Night Song

I don’t want to write a love song
Or a hate song
Or a song about anything we did last week
I want to write a thunderstorm
And a steady downpour
A lightning strike
And a flooded mainstreet
I want to find myself in a stranger
Then curl up in your arms
And beat my heart against your steel
Studded chest
I want to find a place to rest
From the forces that push me
Past the faces I’ll never know.

(September 16, 2009)

Beginning

Time to get inspired
Time to print the map
Time to make mistakes
Time to bounce right back
Time to keep your cool
Time to try again
Time to utterly fail
Time to meet the future

(September 15, 2009)

Drama

Life is interesting
Sometimes the drama isn’t even ours
Yet we bounce in its ripple
Sometimes playfully
Sometimes with fear of being tipped over
In our little canoes
We all need stabilizers on our craft

(September 14, 2009)

Enlightened

When everything affects everything
Of course your childhood matters
The wrongs you were dealt
Were not your fault
But the result of the wrongs of forefathers

As we grow older and shed our dead skin
We should purge the wrongs that have plauged us
Forgiveness is leaving
The past in the past
And instead claim the future as yours

Then you hold the dreams of the human race
Your lips and your feet can be golden
Let each step you make
Blaze a trail to the truth
And carry the world on your shoulders

(September 13, 2009)

The Ride

Water drips at the tug of gravity
A banana wears its bright yellow pants
My soul longs for beauty, simplicity

When my consciousness streams
Uninterrupted
For a song, a kiss, a project
I ride with the river
Not even a splash
As we roll over unseen landscapes

Let me be as the water
While I have this brain
And obey the sweet laws that formed me

Or let me be as the fruit
In a colorful suit
Admired, peeled back, and consumed.

(September 12, 2009)

Dream On

I want to paint you
A beautiful picture
A landscape of hills
Colors galore

I want to play you
A tune for the ages
A melody so sweet
You can’t help sing along

I want to thrill you
And challenge you
Lead you to a new world
I want to go there
And go there
Come hell or high waters
Diverted, Amused
Overcome and enjoyed.

(September 11, 2009)

A New Start

There is no greater power
For a brand new start
Than listening
Really give your heart
Forgive yourself
Forget the past
Acknowledge
Who you were
Declare
Who you are
Let the chains fall loudly
Leave them where they lay
Follow not your sorrow
But the hope in your heart

(September 10, 2009)

The Speed of Trust: A Review

Nothing is as fast
As the speed of trust
In a relationship,
organization,
The market, and society

Organizations are no longer built on force
Speed is the ultimate
Competitive weapon
Trust, the one thing
That changes everything

Keep your commitments
Trust should be guarded
Integrity and caring intent
To the end

Be capable, get results
At work and at home
Forgive, manage risk
Trust, analyze

Get better, more efficient
A Social Capitalist
Honest and loyal
Willing to relearn

Transparent, Respectful
Reputation and a handshake
Character; competence
Trust is a verb

Extend to create
Stop wasting time
Commuting and making change
Nothing is as fast
As the speed of trust

(September 9, 2009)

Deluded Again

The wise remain quiet
As fools rush in
I try to be understood
When I should understand

Familiarity breeds contempt
We all like a mystery
Every man craves the chase
She tends to assume the best

Let me be an echo
Nothing new between my ears
The delusion was that what I gave
Was ever mine at all

(September 8, 2009)

Conversations

If you would only read all my poems
I could tell you what’s in my heart
Perhaps I need to practice
Growing the distance
From the brain to my mouth

When your thoughts are like images spewing out of a fountain
It’s impossible to name each one as you speak
Much less to keep them in assembly
I move my lips at a narrow mumble
A sort of dam on the reservoir

Our conversations like a dance
With a waterfall
Powerful and it keeps spilling and spilling
Until it loses its magic and majesty
And you just leave

(September 7, 2009)

Friends

On a journey far from home
This was home some years ago
Friends appear and fade and grow
Heart to heart and soul to soul

(September 6, 2009)

The Day’s Thoughts

Hope and love or hot rod?
LSD and Woodstock
Laissez-faire or state-run
Please, can I have some?

When you die, why would you
Think you’re coming back here?
Speed of light, speed of soul
Other Earths to choose from

Decorate these plain old shells
Paint and plump and groom them
Get a tattoo, piercing, brand
Powder, shine, and tune them

Love and mercy, trust and faith
Things that don’t come easy
Remind yourself every day
Of who you want to be

(September 5, 2009)

On Key

It’s freaky when you tune your mind
To the frequency of the Milky Way
All the lyrics sound the same
No matter what the station
All the books read alike
No matter who the author

Every shared revelation
Makes perfect, boring sense

It gets so easy to tell
When someone is out of tune
All you hear is the dissonance
The words no longer matter
The challenge then is twofold:
To believe in their future
And to hear your own dischord

(September 4, 2009)

The Process

There’s no such thing as perfect love
In relationships down on earth
Our bodies, our minds, our experiences
Make loving the hardest pursuit
Fear is so easy
Distrust a snap
Anger & pettiness common
Who ever wanted the easiest life?
Fanned and fed grapes on a sofa
All of us bred to adapt and survive
Without a challenge we stir
Give us this day just our daily bread
Forgive those who trespass against us
For love conquers all and foes see the light
When we trust in the process that birthed us

(September 3, 2009)

The Way Home

We were given these amazing
Bodies to test drive
Living machines

We’ve altered, we’ve crashed
We’ve abused and indulged
We’ve jumped the fishbowl
And gone to the moon

But when you turn off the lights
And dive deep within
Life becomes dark

Society chases its tail
And we all fall down dizzy

In this industrial pot
Of colors and creeds
We listen and learn
But the quest for truth
Is a puzzle with no box

So we each hold our lights
No matter how bright
And shine without blinding
As we walk through life.

(September 2, 2009)

The Lovers’ Temple

You’ve come to my temple
With humility and faith
Your lips
A mantra against my skin
My sighs
A praise unto eternity
Baptized in my waters
We ly with the stars
Just as electric
Just as temporal

(September 1, 2009)

Calm after the Storm

We all have the potential
To do good or to do evil
Certain things make it hard

To do good

Maybe you weren’t raised right
Maybe you got a chemical flaw
Maybe you had some bad breaks

Would it kill you to try?

It feels like it could sometimes
When your rage blooms deep within
It’s gotta go somewhere

You know you should take ten

But the release feels so good
Like snot from your nose
But the virus spreads

(August 31, 2009)

Rhyme Time

Silver spoon
Spoon-fed
Missing you
Grateful dead
Live a little
Buy a lot
Build a house
High five
Good intentions
Big rush
Maze of smoke
Feel the buzz
Crush a chip
Handstand
Mistletoe
Grandstand
Filthy rat
Escape to peace
Live there
Get a lease
Make it work
Find a way
Big love
Paper plate

(August 30, 2009)

Outside Lands

We all need those good vibes
Thick beats, waving melodies
Fresh moist air
Crispy juicy melt in your mouth
Warm chocolate syrup in a sippy cup
Room to dance
Room to make
Sweet hot love

Someone you love to hate
Someone who takes your shit
Someone who calls you out
Someone who loves and loves

The music weaves us together
In one colorful tapestry
If only for a song
We forget what we hate
And remember what we love
We let our hearts out to fly
And lock them away with the last note

Our brains all work the same
Our hearts all feel the tug of real love truth
When will we rise above our past?
Rise above our chemistry?
Can we all hike the mountain to that beautiful plateau
Right now
Carry the feeble on our shoulders,
And rest where the sun sets on our insecurities
And the moon rises to greet each and all
Effortlessly reflecting the sun’s perfect majesty
Despite being small
Despite being lonely
Its craters and imperfections we call beautiful
Because it shines on with such ease
Shine on us and let us shine
Let’s go there always and forever

(August 29, 2009)

Regret and the Future

Smudge away the past
Start fresh, born again
Into the body you had yesterday
As the sage fills your nostrils
Your wrongs leave the body
Tomorrow you get another chance

Your friends won’t tickle your ears
So imagine the lion within
The dignified ruler of his pride
Provider protector discipliner
Love guides and love loves

(August 28, 2009)

Today

Tenacious in litigation
Frugal and wealthy
Proximity to power
Ideas need influence

Rushed and guilty
Running’s not how
I measure myself

Feeling the love
Gone is the fear
Gonna dream big
Gonna get strong

The sky is my art
Words are my drugs
I breathe in some peace
I breathe out a song

Relax for a second
Another close call
Change the rules
Walk away
Prepare for the worst

(August 26, 2009)

Compassion

Compassion
Is the burning through
Of bright sunshine
Piercing cloudy grey skies

The surprising warmth
You did not expect
And did not deserve
The smile in a sea of scowls

(August 25, 2009)

Simple or Not?

Why strive for more than average?
What’s wrong with the simple life?
Ignorance is bliss
Meager or eager?
What makes us reach for the stars?

Is it life’s greed for life
That we think we must strive?
Believe we can change, grow, rise above
With the strength of our will
Live one more day
In hope of a miracle

Why do the hearts of men
Relish beauty, fantasy,
And stories of the gods?
Do we miss being among them?
Or are they bedtime stories that keep us alive?

(August 24, 2009)

Easy Bliss

This peace I held today
So close to bliss
So far from fear
My bills paid
My stomach quiet
I could live and let live
When people felt
As random to me as the weather
Now on to unconquered territory:
Those I love.

(August 23, 2009)

Live Your Life

Forget the media
And the lies they promote
Forget the weeds they plant in our heads
Forget the ads for so much trash
The rich are selling us a world we don’t want
Don’t buy it
Or meditate for a moment
On their storylines, hook, line, and sinker
We’re all suckers
For eating the garbage at the bottom of the lake
And we end up fat and ugly
When we should be alive and victorious

(August 22, 2009)

The Ultimate Dance

Everything is coming together
Even the scientists are finding
The interconnectedness
Of ailments, of energy
That’s why I love astrology
It’s all related so beautifully
You couldn’t make it up
The way a beating of wings
In China affects us here
Babel, it’s all babble
Until you zoom out

(August 21, 2009)

More than Human

Plastic people
Glossy retouch
Andro sprinter
Bulging biceps
Crest whitestrip
Invisalign
Break your bones
And grow them longer
Ultra tan
Ultra thin
Maybe money
Maybe fame
Mostly just
A cryin’ shame

(August 20, 2009)

Pastel Vision

Balloons and cookies
Frosting in pastel
A big white cake
Cute little hat
Blue flower placemat
Pinwheel spinning
Blow leisurely
Head rests on folded arms

(August 19, 2009)

Here and Now

Connect and share
We find our freedom
When we forget ourselves
In the music of the day
And just jam with life

The love is in the trust
The American dream
Was Life, Liberty, and Happiness
Not lending a dime
And hoping for a dollar

Money won’t buy life
Liberty, or happiness
You can’t buy what
You already own
Shed that old fur coat

The treasure awaits, buried
Under the weight of your
Parent’s misguided dreams
Society’s heavy lusts
Fame’s cheap burden
Man’s ticking time bomb

If you throw off these weights
Even for a moment
You just might experience
The thrill of existence
The intoxicating joy of
Having all you need

Right now

Just a whiff
And you are hooked
Nothing looks the same
In the afterglow
The trip is easier
When the pack is light

(August 18, 2009)

Love Alive

Love sleeps
Love dances
Love reads
Love sings
Love walks
Love sits
Love looks
Love eats
Love gives
Love takes
Love talks
Love smiles
Love lives

(August 17, 2009)

Magical

Children are magical
Babies of all kinds
Kittens
Puppies
Piglets

They are so close
To the beginning

Like a single-celled organism
In the span of evolution
They were the first

What do they know?
What do they remember?

Good thing they are mute
The first year or two
Or we might not believe
Their stories from before

(August 16, 2009)

What is Love?

What is love?
The recognition
Of yourself in others
People, animals, things

We are the light
Shining through
6 billion vases
Different colors
Shapes
Some dark and dim
Others bright

We live to let
That little light of ours shine
Knowing we each
Got a different vessel
And loving through
The filth

Love is the hardest thing
In this world of puppets
And illusions
We can be tricked into
Thinking our skin will
Really matter

Not in a million years

(August 15, 2009)

Thoughts

Blessed
Dementia
Trip hop
Don’t stop

Needles
Guns
Smoke in your
Lungs

Bias
Bayous
Unplanned
Abortion

Fearing
The fearful
Faith in the
System

God will provide
Learn to survive

(August 14, 2009)

Pouring Forth

I’m so full
My heart is fat
My stomach is big
I laugh like Buddha
My little gray ants
Scurry away to build their own world
Some people want to shine a light
I want to grow an army
Off the wisdom of the ancients
What could we do?
Solve this world’s problems
Or voyage upward and onward
Jump this fishbowl
And breathe some new air
But they won’t care
What we did
Unless we guarded freedom
And opened the floodgates of love.

(August 13, 2009)

Take it Easy

Aliens among us
Children
Kittens
Puppies
Foreigners

They get the benefit
Of the doubt

So should everyone

We are all strangers

Let’s just take it easy

(August 12, 2009)

The Link

What has made us so
Fat

So
Sad

So
Anxious

So
ADD

So
Hungry for Money

So
Ignorant

What is the link?

(August 11, 2009)

Another Day

Another day
Another dollar
Another pill
I have to swallow

Another chance
To shed my skin
But more like
Waiting to begin

I spin my wheels
Here in the mud
Flinging dirt
And pumping blood

I’m learning more
With each new day
How to live
And love more ways

I note the beauty
That I see
Colorful trash
A bright new weed

But late at night
I lie alone
And dream of orbs
So far from home

And where I’ll live
After this life
Or how I’ll feel
When I’m a wife

And whether kids
Will calm my angst
Make me feel
Less out of place

Or whether
I will always be
A stranger
To this planet E

(August 10, 2009)

Our Little Flame

A lucky planet
Somewhere
Is a spinning Goldilocks
Not too hot
Not too cold
Juuuust Right

The planet is on fire
Like a flame
Devours oxygen
So does life
Devour energy
A green revolution

Are we a fungus
Which could infect every
Galaxy?
Or are we a flame
Burning bright
On this world’s
Fuel?

A speck of blue
Orbiting a grain of sand
Says there’s
A more important
Story to tell
Than what I was
Afraid of today

It’s hard to keep your sanity
When you look so far away
Or so far within
You leave and come back
But living is like riding a bike
Most of us are on autopilot
Anyway

(August 9, 2009)

Hormones

Don’t mess with me today
Don’t push my buttons
Don’t tickle me
Don’t say anything
You think is funny
My shield is down
And without food
I have no strength
To defend myself
These hormones
Close the gap
Between my brain
And my tongue
My wounded heart
And my hand
So don’t tease me
Don’t taunt me
Don’t make me
Think about anything
Unless you’re ready for
The flood

(August 8, 2009)

Images

Millenia passed
Birds sing
Flip a burger
Milkshake
Moose horns
Billboard sign
Make ends meet
Milk and honey
Murder mystery
Bananas for me

(August 7, 2009)

This Life

These bodies
Mortal & fragile
Our soul
Immortal & immense
We yearn for the peaceful
Space between the stars
Where our better half dwells
Meanwhile
We clumsily
Move these bodies
Against gravity
And wonder
If anyone is watching
And laughing.

(August 6, 2009)

Moon Worship

The soft side of the sun
A hypnotizing orb
Peering gently
Through clouds
Lined with gold
I moonbathe
In the cool light
A rooftop party
A shooting star
Nature’s way
Of letting us know we are
Not forgotten
Even when most of the world
Sleeps

(August 5, 2009)

Perfection

Perfect
Is an intention
Not a destination

Change
Is permanent

Results
Though desirable
Need not
Drive the journey

Throwing
For throwing’s sake
Cleaning
For cleaning’s sake
Ensures
You won’t give up
When there is
Nothing to hope for

(August 4, 2009)

Rare Quiet

In that rare quiet space
When I lose myself
And become aware
Of the bold white
Aura my peaceful
Nature exudes
I remember
We are one
Expressed in many
And you exist because
My grandparents lived
And your reaction
Was their oppression
And my love
Is your future

(August 3, 2009)

Globalization

If your brother could do the job
But it would cost you more
Than paying a stranger
Who gets the job?
How hard up does your brother
Need to be before
He is considered
Above a cheaper alternative?

(August 2, 2009)

Destiny

My stars have destined me

To be a leader
And a warrior
A communicator
And quick thinker
An appreciator
Of love and beauty
And pursuer of perfection

This is all I have ever known.

(August 1, 2009)

The Futility of War

You shouldn’t watch war movies
Pumped up on testosterone
I’m too pretty
To feel like a destroyer
I fought my wars
The war at home
Then the war against
Anything
To prove I could conquer
I disciplined myself
I trained like a warrior
And lived on adrenaline
Until I couldn’t breathe
Without pain
Then I died to my war
And rose again
But for what?

(July 31, 2009)

Sensible

You always know
When you’re trying too hard
Walk in a crowd
And you’ll learn what the fish know
Not how to blend in
Or be obedient
But how to efficiently
Use your power
How to leverage others
To get to where you want
Instead of always
Pushing others aside
And barging through
Like your pawn is the only piece
God is advancing today.

(July 30, 2009)

Hollywood Healthcare

Kill the crazy ones
Kill the stupid ones
Kill the deformed ones
The healthy have to eat
Kill the unborn
Kill the old
Kill the sick
Murder by the State
They won’t live long anyway

Play the card game
The one where you choose
Between saving a mother
Or her child
Kill an innocent
To save 500
How do you feel?

No wonder Hillary
Got nowhere with her plans
Health is an issue of life and death
And now the state is more involved
No one wants to play God
Unless they’re a despot.

We gave you a chance to
See if you could do it better
But you killed people too
And took away my father’s toes
And made me pay for my yoga
And carrots grown without poisons.

Maybe that’s not so bad, the last part anyway. At least I have my freedom, at a price.

I welcome your criticism
The issue deserves utmost scrutiny
But caring for each other
Isn’t a holocaust waiting to happen
And neither is murder to save a life
When motivations are kept in check.

Come to think of it
We know we suck at keeping motivations in check.
Look at Iraq.

But despite our attempts at
Hollywood endings
And swallowing soft creamy words like
Physically Impaired
Mentally Challenged

There still exist
Heartache
Handicaps,
Retards
Psychopaths
In our society

In a world abound with unlimited resources
We could all hold hands and let each one of our crazy lives unfold, unrestricted. That would be fair. No one wants to punish the innocent.

But sometimes hard choices have to be made
And not just by the state.
To have more children or not.
To keep dad on the ventilator or not.
Let’s not pretend this is going to be easy
When we all have skin in the game.

(July 30, 2009)

Rage

I could burn metal with my glare
I’m riding on a thundercloud
With pain and lightning
In my fists
And I’m ready to strike
Make one false move
And I will rip you apart
With my rage
And expose your foolishness.
You will bow to my fury
And beg for forgiveness
I have suffered in silence
Far too long and look
What that has got me
I have proved my worth
And you will never again
Feel the warmth of my smile
Or eat the fruits of my efforts
Until you acknowledge
My strength and will.

(July 29, 2009)

The Greater Good

“Do everything
As an instrument
In the hands of God”

When it’s all on me
I feel sick, doubtful, burdened
But when I do it for you
I feel confident, guided
Powerful and peaceful

“Be thankful for your limitations
They are about as limitless as they get in this life”

Your bones will crush
As you greedily chase your reward.
And your prize will be
A trophy buried in the closet.

Come out into the light
Let the universe
Whisper in your ear
And the stars will sing your praises

(July 28, 2009)

Push

The body is weak
But the fire
Inside
Burns brightly
I push on
Toward the goal
In spite of myself
Willing every last
Detail into place
I finish
At last
Exhausted
And proud

(July 27, 2009)

Somewhere Else

Somewhere
Giant raindrops fall slowly
From a lime-green sky

Carbon dioxide and water
Hint that we are not as unique
As some of us like to think

The stuff
That made us
Is floating around the universe

Just waiting for
Life to blossom
Wanting to be consumed

(July 26, 2009)

Profit

The government is not for profit
We pay them enough to protect us
And no more

When they don’t protect us
Who is held accountable?
The system is too large to blame

Somehow we all feel like
We’ve been taken by the banks
By our insurance companies

You mean these for-profit ventures
Dared to push the limit
Of how dry they could suck us?

You mean they didn’t err
On the side of caution
When gamblers breathed down their necks?

It is one thing to take a chance
And turn a profit
It is quite another to keep a gun to the head of a good corporation

And we said, Protect us! Protect us!
The gambler got paid
And we went back to making deals under the table.

(July 25, 2009)

Fear

Is fear relevant?
Once you have begun
The tedious process of
Removing it from your life
Situation by Situation
Groundhog Day style
Can it ever help you again?

Can you ever listen to
Another conversation
Without disgust for the
Presence of that
Foul-smelling creature,
Feeding off sharp words
And hasty opinions?

Can you ever again
Keep company with
That demon who causes
Men to become flighty,
Skittish, anxious,
Distrustful victims?
Should you?

(July 24, 2009)

Let it Go

Go where your heart leads you
Though you may not understand
It always feels right
Not like a weight lifted
Off the chest
But right like a fountain
Pouring its water forth
Not minding where it goes
And bubbling on with glee
As the water bounces
Off the universe’s walls
And returns to the pump
The heart of the fountain

(July 23, 2009)

Put it Out There

Writing is weird

It takes a certain confidence
To say what’s on your mind
Especially when it’s all been said before
And better

But you never know who
Might need to hear
Your version of events
From your point of view

Not all word sequences
Speak to your heart
In your language
Today

(July 22, 2009)

The Dance

The ultimate dance with life
You can spend your time
Pulling and tugging
Hating and Fearing
Or expanding
Moving in such
Perfect rhythm with life
That she recognizes you
And bestows her joy
Love and majesty
If only for one
Exhilarating
Moment.

(July 21, 2009)

The Melding

Every cell in my body lights up
As you recall your brushes with power
And profundity
Something deep within me
Recognizes your authenticity
And joins you in your memory

The story ends
Our hearts peel apart
And I long to connnect again
I resist sucking you in
With my feminine power
And wait for your heart
To speak my truth again

I have a sensual recognition
Of beauty and power
But poor oral reciprocation
So I nod and smile and sparkle my eyes
Living in your moment
Like it was mine
Because it was
And the boundaries blur.

(July 20, 2009)

Their Little World

An ant crawls curiously toward my hemline
He’s not the biting type
He lives near grass so drenched
With pesticides
My skin erupts on contact
And I thought Bakersfield
Was bad.

(July 19, 2009)

Guided

Even an atheist
Can admit to
Feeling guided
On a benevolent
Path

One does not
Need to speak
Of your God
To feel the
Wave they
Rode in on

Every so often
The stars do align
And we are
Those stars

(July 18, 2009)

Insanity

What keeps you sane?
With these minds
In these bodies
Knowing your
Destiny is to wake up
30 or 40 thousand times
And live with
What you were given
And be forced
To witness
The sometimes beautiful
But often gruesome nature
Of humanity
Over and over

Man’s search for meaning
The need to feel useful
Beyond gene
Propagation
So find a cause
Lose weight
Become more peaceful

But so many
Get caught up
In their own pitiful dramas
Painful side-shows
And choose to numb
Their experience
Thus denying themselves
The only true ache and insanity:
Knowing you exist

(July 17, 2009)

Lone

You can be
Lonely but
Never alone
For every
Misery
There is
Company
That’s what’s so great
About 6 billion
Of us.
Even if you
Choose to suffer
In silence
You are not alone
In your choice.
Friends create
Trouble too,
You know.

(July 16, 2009)

Another Day in the Subway

Here to amuse
Here to annoy
I look deep
Into your eyes
And you into mine
What will I find?
Something to love
Something to fear

A cute little dress
Shows off her genetics
The men can’t help
But stalk her with their eyes
Proves how little control
We have over
Life’s lust for itself
We are pretty packaging
For strands of DNA

And the smarter we are
The more sensitive to data
We compute
To survive and adapt
Tho’ to her chagrin
We don’t always choose
In favor of life

And the big have advantage
And so do the cute
The smart to a point
Or you can buy your way.
Charm is deceitful
And beauty is fleeting.

(July 15, 2009)

Invaded

My throat is on fire
My jaws locked up
I trace a dull pain
Over my forehead
In my scalp
My shoulders round forward
To protect my heart
And warn others
Not to come near

My drooping head
Strains my neck
Even breathing
Irritates my tonsils
My insides fry
I sweat at night
And chill in the open air
My dreams are
Twisted

The invaders
Are just trying to live

But I will kill them.

(July 14, 2009)

Sick

(July 13, 2009)

Experiment in Love

Today
When I felt my heart closing up
I opened it
I thought one word
When I saw a stranger
Love
Smiles took over my face
Without effort
I relaxed
And expected the best
In my fantasy land
Where I had
Nothing to fear
Nothing to be angry about
Nothing to worry for
Just love
And I was given
So much
Love
Free food
Compliments
Support
And peace.

(July 12, 2009)

How to React

My nature is to react
I’ve had to train myself not to
But you are who you are
Even Jesus said
Reacting is dangerous
If he hits you
Turn the other cheek
If he takes your iPod
Give him your headphones
And your laptop
Many times my reactions
Are right
But mostly
They would be better
Tempered by thought
Reason
Separated from Emotion
And passed through a filter
Of Love.

(July 11, 2009)

Inspiration

Inspiration is
Waiting for the right tide
Being observant enough
Silent enough
To know when
You are ready
To act
To know when
They are ready
To listen
No use
Swimming upstream
You don’t need to go home
To lay your eggs
Just birth them upon
The mother wave

(July 10, 2009)

Ambitions

Walk
Read
Play Piano
Teach the Younger Ones
Help Animals
Straight A’s
Score Points
Sing
Scholarship
Valedictorian
Build Resume
Get Into Good School
Have Fun
Get Stronger
Throw Farther
More Scholarships
National Recognition
Good Job
High Salary
Steady Boyfriend
See the World
Research
Manage
Lead
Corporate Recognition
Build a House
Landscape
Own a Cat
Plan Parties
Share the Wealth
Expand
Study
Explore
Start a Business
Run a Business
Help the Government
Observe a Mentor
Teach
Learn
Teach Some More
Learn Some More
Expand
National Recognition
Grow
Transition
Get Married
Start a Family
Reconnect
…

(July 9, 2009)

Away

Inability
To enjoy
The moment
State of mind
Hungry
FOOD
Sleepy
SOFT BED
Satisfied
I hear
Only compliments
Cats are Alive and Alert
When they’re Awake.
But the ends are not meeting
I’m not sleeping
And I’ve gone away
Away…

(July 8, 2009)

Art

Is poetry art?
Only if someone wants to read it.
Some say I paint landscapes
But I only always paint myself.
Art is not whatever you think it is
What you think does not matter
What you think did not create the art
It’s not about you
It never was
Don’t lie to us, Creator

(July 7, 2009)

Human

Bill Maher says
Sometimes the design
Is not intelligent

Women carry and abort
Half-formed
Deformed
Fetuses

We believe there is
A divine plan for our lives
And there is, in a way
What is meant to be
Will be

Is that plan good?
Of course it is
How could we believe
Otherwise?
If you wait long enough
You’ll get your happy ending
And hope keeps you alive

Our existence seems at once
Completely random
And yet
Perfectly Orchestrated
When you hear
The other players
In the symphony

Through our relationships
Our interactions
The best we can do
Is to mimic the ease
With which

The wind blows
The dinosaurs died
The earth spins
Our hearts beat
A baby smiles.

(July 6, 2009)

Ambition

We all want to change the world
The 50-year-olds look at Obama
The way I used to look at Britney Spears
What have I done lately?
Why isn’t a light being cast upon my efforts?
Am I trying hard enough?
Did I seize every opportunity?
If I have time to think about this,
Am I not busy enough?
Stop constructing your fantasy world
And take a few steps in this one
Never complain about what you control
Never complain about what you don’t control
Just never complain
Stop wishing you were making more money
Wielding more power
Feeling more comfortable
Stop inviting others into the gap
Between where you are and where you think you need to be
Especially if you don’t know how to get there
And don’t care enough to make it happen

(July 5, 2009)

Independence Day

Today I will be free
Unencumbered
Put aside childish things
And habits that do not suit me
Today the record
Will not skip
Life will go on
Without me getting in the way
I will be present
Mindful
Dignified
Aware
I will not be controlled
By ugliness
Today is a new day
I am free
I will fight
I will light my own path
And overcome my own demons
I brought them into this world
And I can take them out.

(July 4, 2009)

Justice

Blend in
Adapt
Your skin is your badge
Do you believe what they say about you?

Change or die
Robin Hood
Street justice
Bend the system

Could you love a foreigner?
I don’t know your language
You don’t know me

They’re smaller
They’re poorer
They’re not a threat

Give me your money
You laugh
They hit you with a bat
And take it from you

A smile condescends
An averted glance
Is self-righteous

Who will make amends?
I quickly walk away.

(July 3, 2009)

Living

How I wish these paved streets
Were still grassy meadows
Then I could feel your life
Under my feet

Persistent sprouts crack
The sidewalk
Like a man buried alive
Clawing its way to the surface

I can’t tell if I am nearer
Or farther from the
Energy source
Living in the city

There is so much more
Stimulous
And so many more
Barriers

Am I really living?
I mean really living?

Is God like a million strings
Attached to my body?
I can move but I must
Be ever conscious of the tension

The guiding forces
That choose my steps for me
Open my mouth
And guide my hands

So how do I live?

The greatest commandment
Is to love one another
Or at least
Do no harm

And don’t draw too much attention
To yourself
Or others will notice
Your broken strings
And scoff

(July 2, 2009)

Shine

The way you share your smile
With the world
Makes you beautiful

The way you step aside
To let the ignorant one pass by
Earns you respect

The way you keep silent
As fools defend and offend
Proves your wisdom

The way you look around
Really look
Makes them wonder

The way you show interest
In anyone but yourself
Makes you shine

(July 1, 2009)

You

Sattva
Bhakti

During the day
I take on such importance

Look what I’m doing
Look what I did
Look what I will do

Your praises are not yet
Ever on my lips

So I tattoo them on my body

Devotion means
Remembering you before
Each word I speak

Balance means keeping
A state of mind where
Thoughts of you can grow.

You
My source of wonder
You
My protector
You
My kindness & mercy
You
My wisdom

(June 30, 2009)

Rest in Peace

Success has a price
For every wish
A flame must die

Each one
Who lives to heal the world
Suffers proportionally

The more sensitive you become
The more often you dance with pain

The wider your heart
The bigger the target

But those brave souls
That bear our burden
Are honored in death

As ones who showed what we might become
If we could rise above need and fear.

(June 29, 2009)

Proud or Pervert

Proud or pervert
Gay or straight
Love or marriage

Male or female
Dyke or fag
Heaven or hell

In or out
Birth or adopt
Ask or tell

City hall or closet.

No on 8
Accept or Tolerate
Phobia, shame
A mother’s dreams

LGBT
Family rights
Wedding
Electro-shock

Will fuck on the first date

Drag queen
Crossdresser
Rainbow sweet
Equality pride

Castro
Harvey Milk
Gavin Newsom
San Francisco

(June 28, 2009)

Words

The sun sets on our conversation
More than a text message,
Thank God.

It’s hard to do the work
that makes a man better

A house is built one brick at a time

When your lives are full
An argument takes time

But words build a relationship

When you’re tired an
impure word might slip out
and put a crack in your foundation

Sometimes it feels like we’re
building the Tower of Babel

How will we ever become one
with God when our words
keep confusing the way?

(June 27, 2009)