New Morning

It is not the lark that awakens me
But an plane jetting to the airport
Then old thoughts invade the new day
And I tread familiar paths
Looking for love and acceptance
Searching for redemption and meaning

Necklace of Words

I am stringing
A necklace of words
Poetic gems
Of memory and insight

I am gloriously happy
And fulfilled this morning
To pass hours
Writing and writing

Reading and reading
Before I know it
Its seven
Or even eleven

Abandoned Bookshelf

Like a road
Driven every day
I am used
But no longer seen
Or appreciated

Each day
I more resemble
An abandoned bookshelf
Full of unread experiences
Turning to dust

Carefully, But Not Fearfully

The ordinary life
Is a miraculous gift
Though in a prison
With bars of mortality
Yet we can sing

How difficult to be simple
To know what to cut
And then the courage to do it
At the right time

Live carefully, but not fearfully

Rewards Not Guaranteed

Whoever forces - spoils
Whoever grasps - loses

Right actions are required
Right results are not guaranteed

Push less
Let things emerge

Speak honestly, work diligently
Still, you may not be rewarded

Life Does Not Belong To Me

Life does not belong to me
I surrender my presumed immortality
I am just another element
In the replacement cycle

Everything comes and goes
There is not enough time
To arrange everything
The way I want it to be

Sinking Boat

Birth is the act of launching a boat
You know will sink
Every breeze and wave is a reminder
I am closer to death

Awareness of death
Frees me from the illusion
That more time or money
Will make me happy

To deny death is foolish
That is like chasing the wind
So I will stop chasing the wind
And will live in peace and kindness

Wisdom of Foolishness

Life is a short lived butterfly
Folding and unfolding its wings
In the sun and wind and rain
Crying and laughing
We progress from the wisdom of knowledge
To the wisdom of foolishness

Greater Than All

Greater than all
Is loving kindness
The fragance of compassion
Remains on the hand
Of the one who extends it
Slip deeds of love
Into the archive of your life
Where all your actions
Lie side by side

Home In The Earth

Love does not die
But people do
So when I am gone
My love will be left behind
And if you need me
Put your arms around somebody
And give them what you wanted from me
Then I will see you later
At our home in the earth

Uncertainty

I could tolerate this uncertainty
If I knew for certain
We'd be together
When this uncertainty is over

I DON'T

I don't miss you
I don't even know you're gone
I don't think of you each day
I don't long for you each night
I don't remember our long conversations
I don't recall our delight about the moon
I don't long for your kisses
I don't want your warm hugs
I don't, really I don't

Wasting God's Efforts

If you cannot cry at the death of a soldier
Or the abuse of a child
Nor the loss of a friend
Or about the world's injustice and cruelty
Then god just wasted his time
Creating your goddam tear ducts

The Blue Zone

First trip as retiree
Off season, mid week, half cocked
Never seen so many people with walkers
Half the crowd needs help to even board a bus
Then a solitary blind man on a scenic tour
I ask him "Why?"
I have entered the Blue Zone

God Of Old Age

Bless my breaking body
Give me the gift of one more green year
Of morning sounds
And let the mourning sounds go for now

Primer Coats

What you know of me
Is only the top coat
I've laid on thick primer coats
Of love and loss
Of tears and laughter

The Sky Remembers

I thought they'd remember me
And our friendships would continue
We'd comfort and amuse each other
With tales of foolishness and victory
Nothing would come between us
As we accumulated the years and tears

Only the sky listens and remembers

37th Anniversary

I have no fresh words
For my old love
You are the best thing that ever happened to me
I love you

Near To You

My autistic son was so happy
To move back to our town
"Why?" I asked
"Near to you"

My heart squeezed
Causing my eyes to rain

Old Flame

Once she was a flame in my life
Later a hot coal
Then only an ember
Years later
Only ashes to be swept away
With other concerns

Family Tree

I am happy to be
A product of evolutionary
Hairy beasts and leaping monkeys
Singing birds and insect larvae
And not of that whining couple
Adam and Eve and all their troubles

High Flying Bird

They think me a high flying bird
Too far away to identify
I don't socialize
In local trees
I just keep flying

Tick Tock

The clock ticks louder
I'm increasingly aware
Of fewer tocks remaining
I wish a silent digital clock
Would grant me more time

AWESOME PRICE

For less than $20 of chicken nuggets
And an hour of frog catching
And swinging in the park
With friends under a full moon
My grandkids declare me "awesome"
My heart glows, too - awesome !