Poetry By Travis

Fun Limericks

2011-02-09T06:10:00.000-08:00

While checking out the other Monday Poetry Train participants this week, I came across Mad Kane's Humor Blog. I'll be exploring more at this place. On Monday she had Limericks, and she invited her readers to write one in comments using the first line of hers.

You can check out Mad Kane's Limerick here, and see what her readers wrote. I'm not really much of a Limerick guy, but here's my offering.

A man who reported the news

His producer's direction refused.

"Suit and tie must I wear,

But for comfort down there,

Feets can only take ratty old shoes!"

Not great, but not too bad. I know Limericks are generally risque, but sometimes it's enough to get the rhythm and cadence.

Monday Poetry Train

2011-02-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

Kitties, puppies, bunnies is my mantra

When the big bad scaries infuse my dreams

With lavender and orange dahlias,

Twisting sweetness to malign travesty.

Morose is the hand that guides freakish tour,

Pointing the way toward spectral vastness,

And beings heard but unseen behind doors...

The ghoulish threat of mayhem and madness.

Engulf'd now in this panick'd mind's prison,

To become this corner'd lonely buffoon.

How came I to bend thought to these visions?

Just that one glance did I take at gray moon.

How came I to this persistent prowling?

Can no one cure me of this mad howling?

Dona Nobis Pacem

2010-11-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

A Peace Sonnet

An evolution builds within my soul,

Seeking a spirit of oneness and peace,

Cultivating a clearly defin'd role

For myself in this world; not to appease,

No, nor to bind only to my ideal.
Days fill'd with moments we live then consign
To memory, to share or to conceal,
Lost to recall or polish'd to a shine
So bright it cannot fade; these all become
The light of who we are, one but still part
Of all, more alike in essence than some
Accept, though true in body, mind, and heart.

Diversity need not be divisive,

Nor need it be fear'd, if in peace we live.

Poetry Train not quite Monday

2010-08-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

I didn't have this poem on Monday. It came to me on Tuesday and I'm posting it on Wednesday. I hope that's not too much of a stretch and that it will still get me a ticket on the Poetry Train.

Will You

Will you laugh with me in the early mist,

When the glow of dawn is only a hint?

Will you freshen my lips with your sweet kiss

That tastes of green tea and peppermint?

Will you wander a winding path with me,

When the sun is high and days are long?

Will you hold my hand, but not too tightly,

Fingers entwined, meshed palm to palm?

Will you mingle your life with mine

In the afterglow of the setting sun?

Will you speak idly with me in the moonshine,

As my soul and yours knit into one?

Will you dance with me in peace

Through the twilight of our lives?

Will you feel heart's tender release

In the symphony of all our nights?

Poetry Train Monday

2010-07-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

I've decided to ride the Poetry Train finally.

It's been a month since I had something worth posting here. I'd prefer to post more poetry more often, but I'm not forcing anything.

I came across the Rispetto poetry form at Short Poems by Marinela Reka. This form is Italian in origin, consisting of two quatrains of four lines each. The first stanza rhymes as a-b-a-b, with the second as c-c-d-d.

Here's my first attempt at Rispetto, and my first trip on the Poetry Train.

Anger makes my heart ache

With a fierce desire to redress

The petty choices that some make

To steal joy and stifle progress

Less intent am I to bait and rile

I do not wish to fight or defile

Rather I build positive foundations

Preferring life full of warmth and sun

Sonnet Six

2010-06-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Often I rush headlong through open gates

Without pausing to see where a path leads.

Impulse may motivate this wand'ring state;

Some innate need to run and not concede;

To jealously guard autonomous will;

Never to surrender to inaction.

I cannot...simply must not remain still,

For in quieter times do demons come

To invade my dreams with freakish malice.

Four walls in a dark room pressing inward;

A false tapestry woven and callous.

And yet, to move is what I can afford,

Refusing counterfeit tranquility

To plumb chartless depths of audacity.

Sonnet Five

2010-06-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

Playing the music when it's night or day,

Whether cold and gloomy or in the sunshine.

Stepping close, embracing each other to sway,

Moving forward and backward, keeping time
In a crowded hall fill'd with revellers,
Ignoring pulse pounding beats that shake walls.
Effortless, they glide to soulful singers;
Romantic couples twirling through a waltz.
Some nights are truly for mad gyrations;
Cares of the day releas'd and forgotten,
Shed, cast away to unbridled motion.
Out of breath, spent, with music turn'd low, then,
Eyes only for each other, never straying,
Dancing in dreams like no one is watching.

Haiku

2010-05-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite seasonal transitions in the pacific northwest is the one from spring to summer. When I lived in southern California, spring was so short. We started talking about summer well before the solstice.

But here in the northwest, a spring day might start with gray and drizzly skies before giving way to high puffy clouds in the afternoon. It's a time to enjoy and live in the moment.

Here are a few quick Hiaku to describe what I see.

BOOM ranted thunder

Light'ning sizzled in reply

Spring conversations

Wind lashes the limbs

Tree leans precipitously

Resisting time's ebb

Green...a simple word

Yet does it encompass all

My window reveals

Frolicsome squirrel

Bushy tail'd cheeky rascal

Sunning on a stump

Fluffy, big, and bold

Rhododendron bush blossoms

I love large flowers

Senryu

2010-05-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

Retail goes bonkers

Holiday shoppers descend

Black Friday harvests

Despite known danger

Sought he forbidden power

His soul harvested

Two hearts beat as one

A harvest of love and joy

Eternity theirs

Though time must now end

We're together, you and I

No more could I want

Haiku

2010-05-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Low in the fall sky

Hangs harvest moon glowing bright

From earth springs bounty

Cornucopia

Collecting the fresh tastes of

Bountiful harvest

American Sentence

2010-05-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

American Sentence is a 17 syllable linear haiku-like poem in the form of a sentence, first introduced by Allen Ginsberg.

One
High on a mountaintop, we shall meet the end of the world together.

Two
Though I squint into the sun's harsh glare, I welcome warmth and renewal.

ABC form

2010-05-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

The lines of an ABC poem create a mood, picture, or feeling in words or phrases. Each succeeding line is alphabetized down from the first letter of the first word in the first line.

A day is neither good nor bad

Being time, day merely is

Create then for yourself

Days as you want them to be

Every moment then becomes opportunity

Sonnet Four

2010-05-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Wind whip'd white caps on the steely gray bay,

Tempestuously rolling toward shore.

Cold bites hard, more winter ice than spring rain.

Vortexes of angry clouds promise more.

Within such uncheck'd volatility

Did the course of a fast friendship reside.

Only alive when running wild and free;

Never quiescent, rarely satisfied.

Yet often comes that day when paths diverge,

When the lives of men find distinct purpose,

Youth foregoing witless pursuits to merge

In honor with the few and the proud, and thus

For duty, one met his untimely end.

So shall I always remember my friend.

Six Word Stories

2010-05-14T04:00:00.001-07:00

A six word story is exactly what it says...a complete story told in six words. It should have a beginning, a middle, and an end just as any other story form. It was first made famous by Ernest Hemmingway, who famously wrote "For sale: baby shoes, never used".

It is difficult not to turn them into poetry, which is why I include them here on this blog.

Heart's desire hastily spent. Bitter feelings.

April passions. November rain. Never again.

A life considered carefully was discarded.

End the world. I'm with her.

Sonnet Three

2010-05-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

I think often of the path toward peace,

And in that thinking my mind cannot grasp

The length and breadth to which it is deceiv'd.

Simple seems my goal and not much to ask.

To put aside enmity; to be one

In this world with those like and not like me.

Yet why do I feel my hope is undone?

Why do I feel adrift in a gray sea?

Can love fo all trump fear of difference?

Or is man's future lock'd behind borders?

A sad state indeed, this world lacking sense.

the sameness of man hides beneath cultures.

And so I look inward for my lost way,

Serene in mind if only for today.

Copypright 2010

Sonnet Two

2010-05-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

Heading east toward the returning sun,

Chill darkness retreating before the day,

I thought of hard round marbles lost and won.

A boy's game of skill and daring to play.

Bravado of youth risking precious stones.

Dead eye aim, shoulders tense, then a thumb flick;

Perfect orbs rolling, seeking fast to own

The target, easing alongside and click,

That one too becomes mine in my pocket.

My treasure, smooth like glass, won fair and square,

Stash'd away safe with my victory set

With those special ones never play'd and rare.

Eastward at dawn, when dreams are possible,

I drive and smile, remembering marbles.

Sonnet One

2010-05-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

How many times have I looked to the skies,

To marvel at the majestic expanse

Of color and motion before my eyes?

Mighty birds of prey soar in deadly dance,

While intended victims escape by chance.

The spectacle of the sky is boundless

And beautiful, delighting ev'ry sense.

Still, danger often lurks from deep recess

Of space, old rocks that never coalesced,

Hurtling toward the earth at top speed.

If such threat were imminent, I confess,

If this earth's destruction were guaranteed,

Each man alone must find his own solace,

For my last hours belong in your embrace.

Footsteps

2010-05-13T16:00:00.001-07:00

In the restless quiet of twilight
When cold silence eerily lingers
Keeping day entwined with night
Her footsteps echo, dire and familiar

A determined border of feral mist
Invests the precious moments before dawn
No yield in the dismal barrier that exists
Between time borrowed and love withdrawn

Uneasy and full of dread, I pause to wait
An ebon stillness envelopes my soul
This luckless sorrow, ill-used by fate
Smothering the words I must always control

Clicking like the angry pincers of a fat spider
The disjointed cadence, unforgiving, reproachful
A syncopated rhythm, stepping always closer
Its demands reverberate in the hollows of my will

Harsh now, and near, this unsparing moment
Loud now, the steps, a border crossed
Dread now, the sound of that approaching torment
Turn now, to face love's promise forever lost

There is no magic left to save me from myself
To erase the bitter panic of this inevitability
Only footsteps in my mind, mocking my life
Gone again now, yet ever after haunting me

Copyright 2010

What Waits There

2010-05-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

What waits there
Along the byway
Wayward souls
Or kindred lights

Don't focus
Or they may follow

Vision blinded
Always seeking
Beyond the veil
Hold passions close

Don't reveal
Or they may claim

Once they spoke
In the deep quiet
Silenced now
During the long sleep

Don't move
Or they will wake

Don't fear
For what waits there
In the fresh dark
Is imperfect

Copyright 2010

Senryu

2010-05-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

Senryu is a Japanese poetry form similar to Haiku with three lines of five, seven, and five syllables reflecting some aspect of human nature. I've written several of these poems in the mistaken belief that I was writing Haiku. Now I realize that they are more aptly Senryu forms.

Breath catches, soft lips

Tease and torture, drawing gasps

Sweet pain, sweet release

Scent on the pillow

He tensed, aching for her touch

Memory lingered

Passionate kisses

Excite and entice, tongues join

And the dance begins

I follow my heart

Over the threshold and home

Straight into her arms

I feel it within

I know where it is, with you

Anywhere is home

A Thousand Times

2010-05-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

A thousand times he walked with her

A thousand times she smiled

A thousand times he talked with her

A thousand times, deep in the night

A thousand times they did embrace

A thousand times they danced

A thousand times he watched her face

A thousand times, entranced

A thousand times they stole the hours

A thousand times, more precious still

A thousand times, and time devoured

A thousand times, together until

A thousand times he held her

A thousand times she cried

A thousand times he loved her

A thousand times, and then he died

I Watched A Flower Grow

2010-05-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

I watched a flower grow
A blur of color through my window
Simple and elegant
Beckoning spring to dance

I watched a cloud form
A soft shadow on the horizon
Placid in the moment
Yet holding ominous intent

I see the starkness in a life
Challenged daily by strife
Wishing only for peace
And a quiet place to dream

I have a song in my mind
A melody strong and alive
yearning to be heard
To be sung and shared

A thing of joy, the flower
Roiling could chooses the hour
The music of many souls
Mag guide the weary ones home

Copyright 2007

At This Moment

2010-05-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

At this moment I am alive

Her smile brings respite

From the long lonely night

At this moment I am warm

Her touch deepening the love

Reflected in my eyes

At this moment I am free

As our passions quicken

Entwined in a charmed embrace

At this moment I am joy

As the sum of our love ignites

Like fire on arid grass

At this moment I am tranquil

Bathed in the afterglow

Of life, warmth, freedom, and joy

At this moment I am serene

Safe in the sweet tender mercy

Of a timeless love

Sometimes

2010-05-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

I don't know myself sometimes.
I breathe in and out as I must,
Seeming alive, moving as a man does.
Yet where am I going?

I can't find myself sometimes.
I think and speak to others as I must,
Seeming noteworthy, answering as a man should.
Yet what do I know?

I've seen myself sometimes,
Taking charge and doing what I must,
Seeming brave, standing up as a man will.
Yet why do I fear?

I am not myself sometimes.
I behave outrageously as I must,
Seeming strong, acting my part as a man may.
Yet am I a fool?

I feel the sun on my face sometimes.
I let it cleanse my soul as I must,
Seeming content, becoming free as a man is,
Sometimes.

Copyright 2006

A Day Passes Unremarked

2010-05-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

A day passes unremarked, and yet a flower blooms.
Night beckons, and a solitary man will search his soul.
As sun yields to moon, so his heart yearns toward her.
Unexpected moment, wielding the most profound power.

He is animated again, awake and alive as a crystal aria,
Frail and barely audible, a melody of infinite peace
Piercing a life filled with doubt and anger, casting fear
Aside as a lingering presence fades with unshed tears.

Desire humbles, laying bare the prison of his mind.
A quiescent warning whispered in his ear, old wound
From another age when a soft bright smile stole his passion,
Leaving him an uncertain shell of bitter loneliness and pain.

Married to this malicious memory is his mind, closed to hope,
Prey to false remembrance; casting himself as victim.
Yet now to wonder, and to let time assuage melancholy spirt
With a golden spring, unlooked for and treasured as a gift.

Slowly discarded the recollection of that instant
When reckoned love became fractured and corrupt.
The pieces of his heart, once scattered and dead to light,
Respond now to a sun rising in the depths of her eyes.

Night passes, and a solitary man emerges from the cold
To truly love for the first time; to feel possibilities in her kiss,
And to catch the sweet sound of her laughter in his ears,
Precious and savored, like the welcome release of unabashed tears.

Copyright 2006

Trapped

2010-05-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

I can't make you stay
Would hardly blame you if you went
I'm safe and I'm here
And I will always be for you
No matter how far you run
Or how long you spend away
I can be set aside
I hate it but I will endure

I can't make you come back
Would hardly expect you at my door
Shocked as hell when I got your message
Even shed a tear
I'm your life line as you flounder
I will come when you call
No questions for the time unmeasured
You chose to be away

I can't ask you to go
Can hardly stand it now you're here
I've loved you and still do
Even as I realize we are finished
I am now more than I was
I can exist on my own merits
No longer requiring your need of me
And tired of it
I want to go on
Though I'm trapped by you as before

Fear and Folly

2010-05-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Alone I with myself and doors locked tight
So that none can invade this passionate self
Words only for me to color this page
Warning of great harm captured by stroke of pen
This calamity a gift of the paranoia in my soul

Foolish to don this mask and turn my face
From all the world's prying indiscreet eye
Holding my secrets from those who seek
Revealing fractions only to those unwilling to know
This special drape sewn with costumed intensity

Daunting the grand door to the feebleness of pride
Not to accept passage from this mere being
Limited to the most base future of a single fate
The bottom step of a great stair leading nowhere I can see
Climbing with eyes closed and blinded mind

Folly recognized and scorned by even the youngest child
To know so little of truth not to acknowledge the lie
Naked before all light yet refusing its warmth
Frightened to small vision and cast from the whole
Accepting ever the cruel love of four blank walls

Terrified I am...

2010-05-12T04:00:00.000-07:00

Terrified I am of life without meaning
Horrified I am that I do not exist
Madness is a night made of feat

Alone I feel when lightening strikes
Bereft I feel in a room full of friends
Loneliness is a heart full of tears

Shades I draw down upon myself
Blinds I draw to close the window of mine eye
None will see the sadness in the mirror

Away I run to a place only for me
Far do I run where grief cannot follow
Away it goes as the dawn appears

Copyright 1995

The Beyond and the Before

2010-05-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Far into the future is a moment we cannot see
Beyond is a vastness we cannot know
Before is the life we must live

Intertwined are the beyond and before
Like a sunset blends with horizon's wave
Different as night fron day
Yet without the one is the other pointless

All that begins shall soon end
And in ending begin afresh

Copyright 1994

If I

2010-05-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

If I float awhile

I see where I might go

If I focus

I am there

If I promise to try

I fail

If I persevere

I make progress

So many ifs can waste a dream

So many worries bore it

Fleeting is Love

2010-05-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

Body and soul bereft of hope

Bitter feelings badly loaned

Hearts desire from heaven sent

Hardly measured ere hastily spent

April passions awakened fires

Another touch arise desire

Deeper still denied too long

Dangerous games and days of song

Cold wind, clear night

Cruel love cannot fight

November rain near the end

Not twice to love, no never again

Beyond

2010-05-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

Think beyond tomorrow

But remember to live in today

The space between the first cautious

Motions of our lives

And the unhindered run

Is a chasm

Once the bridge is crossed

Time is no longer a constraint

This then is the bridge

And I have crossed it

Though I refuse to rush headlong

Down the path before me

I am no longer still

The past is but a memory

The now is my adventure

My future is in sight

Despair to Evolve

2010-05-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Disparaging
Where hides sense and logic on a crystal blue morn
Fluttered away in the autumn mist forever and utterly shorn

Ranting
How measure courtesy blocked and passed from sight
Harried soul bereft of kindness bound forever to a sea of midnight

Raging
Who calls another simple does himself most harm and hurt
Ego lies while friendships die and blow away like fallow dirt

Screaming
What does a road save guide and direct a pointless trail
Marred and broken signs steal progress; we march on to no avail

Despairing
When can a thing end that is not yet begun
Dreams measured against reality barter life from songs unsung

Evolving
Why ponder useless questions if true knowledge is sparingly doled
To feed the lust of ages before all breath grows forever cold

Copyright 1993

The Person

2010-05-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

There is a person inside there

whom I would very much like to meet.

But he won't come out.

He is not afraid;

merely unaware of this other place.

Where he is, he stays warm and safe.

His life is his own

and cannot be ruled by any other.

He can cause things to be

within the walls of his mind.

One day,

perhaps he will share them with me.

Until that day,

I remain faithful and patient,

Knowing that the person inside there

is a person whom I would like to meet.

For Love of Words

2010-05-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

As I think, so shall I become, evolved
in perception as much as in deed,
Wandering far afield on rational plains, yielding
effortlessly to the subtlety of vision.

Unhampered by solidity does the mind itself proclaim
a knowledge unseen. . .vistas upon horizons,
Distorted normality in a world gone missing
from itself; consciousness devoid of reason or sense.

Stimulated as by intellect, makers of a new rhetoric;
to strive in the unattainable glory of articulate rhyme;
Lofty eloquence grandly spoken to replace substance,
clarity foregone in vehement poesy.

Passionate speakers they, grandiose and bombastic,
blanketing nonsense in ornately turned phrase.
Pompous and foolish, but succeeding to best the fools,
almighty speech broker, bargaining his dose of Roget's.

The poet no less the offender, archly wrings meaning
from none via assorted rhythmic fancy.
Intonation his rule, pure diction on the page;
metaphoric euphoria in an overture of language.

Such as these do equate life's purpose to a word,
beautifully set in print with its fellows in
Happy pursuit of indelible verse; ticketed as prized
work by souls lost in pursuit of less.

For want of a simple fashioning of words to encase
a meaning clear and untainted by fanciful muse
Do some seek a widening of the gates, marrying mind to
vision, blending a thought with its true word.

Deeded in time to each thing comes real meaning,
uncluttered by pieces of man's rude intellect.
Brilliant insight stands apace, waiting for a simple thing;
thought, once accepted, keys knowledge.

Unfettered light then unleashed upon us all, and with
its luminescence the need to embellish is lost.
Speak what is meant and what is conveyed will be known
to all, understood for its own, for love of words.

Phoenix

2010-05-10T20:00:00.001-07:00

He sat

And gazed with tired eye

Upon a sight born of

Nature's first breath

Rolling playful ocean

Sun bathed sky of infinite motion

Forested garden, hawk's dominion

He breathed

Only to choke on mists

Set astir by raven's

Feathered wing

Fighting boundless beauty

Turning from ageless bounty

Dead to wondrous divinity

He burned

Did the phoenix

And from the dusted ash arose

In timeless splendor to eternity

My Favorite Time

2010-05-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

Did you ever pause along the walk

to gaze above your head,

To turn your eyes toward white fluffy clouds

in a crisp blue sky?

Did you ever close your eyes

and partake of the cool clean breeze,

Imagining you could taste the smoky aromas

from summer's last cook outs?

That to me is September, my favorite time of year.

Did you ever open the front door

and dash back inside for a jacket,

Then stand shivering in the park

to see the subtle changing of a season?

Did you ever watch the children run and laugh,

tramping through piles of leaves and mud puddles,

Squealing like mad little piglets,

dropping to lie breathless on the damp ground?

That to me is October, my favorite time of year.

Did you ever think you'd lose your innocence,

that unchecked joy at simple existence,

Or that wonder could become cynical

in a world turned away from the child?

Did you ever expect to come full circle,

as season follows season, and winter returns,

To find a new humbleness, and a conviction that life,

with all its inanities, is indeed worth blessing?

That to me is November, my favorite time of year.

Perhaps to you, clouds simply block the sun,

and the wind blows smoke in your eyes.

Perhaps the leaves clutter your yard.

Perhaps children track mud through your house.

Perhaps you never had questions;

never wondered why a bee buzzed.

But on Christmas Eve, you built a bicycle,

and tried to make tab A fit slot B.

That to me is December, my favorite time of all.

A Volunteer Speaks

2010-05-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

When in doubt, ask.

When the mood strikes, scream.

What meaning has bravery

To a frightened child's dream.

A star breathes cold fire.

Moon beams pale and dim.

Walk alone to a black beach

Where icons may swim.

Mustard is yellow,

But mayo is white.

An ambiguous yet useful

Observation of life.

Catch as catch can.

Against scattered thoughts defend.

Mock only fruitless bounty

While false angels tear and rend.

Be quick or be gone

To a hollow secret isle

On a boat cresting peaks

At the turn of nautical miles.

Truer than ten thousand lies

Untold yet forgotten.

Tangled skeins of straw-colored love,

Softly broken.

No pain, no illusion,

No greed or wanton lusts.

No joy, no dreams,

No acceptance of simple trust.

Winter comes and winter stays,

Building frosty towers.

It chokes and it binds,

Seeks to whither eternal flowers.

Children cry, children beg,

Children do not understand.

They laugh, they accept,

And reach toward your hands.

Necessity is as the tide,

Swept away yet sure to return.

Nothing is and nothing can be

Through glass darkly burned.

Yet come with me

To a place of wonder,

Where all things are bathed

In magical splendor.

Where I will teach

Of happiness and of joy,

Where all heats sing

Like children with shiny toys.

Do so, and I will fill it

With tales of great moment,

Basking in freedom to defeat

Most determined malcontent.

Bond with a fragrance so soft,

So true.

In every heart lies the way,

Even in you.

Breathe it, live it,

And make of your life a noble thing.

Roll down a grass covered hill

And rejoice in the spring.

Age is timeless,

Granted the young through trial and tears.

Yet the eld ones respect time,

As they age only in years.

Blessed and Perfect

2010-05-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

I have seen the rocks

I have heard the wind

I have tasted morning's dew

I have touched a star

I have known darkness and light

I have felt the most tender of loves

But I have never witnessed a sun so bright

Nor seen horizons so far

As the one upon which you tread

As blessed and perfect as you are

No I Do Not Hear No

2010-05-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

Do you say no to me?

By what right and who's authority?

Neither father nor mother are you to me.

How dare you say no to me?

I am free to go and to choose;

Free of shackles and ready to cut loose

The bonds that seek to bind and confuse.

No is a concept without meaning or use.

Are you by chance afraid of me?

Do you envy my pride and my sanity?

I have no time for such vanity

As I strive toward my destiny.

Away with such pettiness and trouble me no more.

Make way for me now as I push to the fore.

From a shy sparrow to eagle's height I soar;

Knowing the truth fills me with strength to my core.

Yes I can accept and yes I will dare

To move forward, fully capable and aware

Of the freshness and brightness that flows in the air.

I am consumed by the fire of wonder, unquenched by despair.

Now do you see why I do not hear no?

Take your fears and your doubts and go

Back to your halls and your dark places of woe.

I will not listen to you when you say no.

Darkness of Self

2010-05-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

On the far side of nothing is a darkness

chased there by a dream,

and held fast by a vision of new love,

buoyed by a breath of nature and cast

upon the winds of nurturing fire,

faced by a bravery ne'er to be cowed.

Is dark denied dominion o'er self?

When shadows creep upon sunlit walk,

fear not the narrowing of light but

embrace the cool shade and know it.

Blackest night can ne'er penetrate lighted soul

with false dimness; only be self will

may unfettered darkness intrude.

But is dark denied dominion o'er self?

Pin pricks of star light blink and glisten

'gainst velvety smooth night shades,

measuring the either/or of decision.

To be in a field of shadow no lover;

is this to gain a say in love,

or to choose against joy in faithless pain?

Will dark be denied dominion o'er self?

Trueness to a dream exists more or less

in bodiless trails of thoughts in kind,

e'er in motion 'gainst deft deed.

Matched side by side in duty perpetual,

controlled in deed and decision by

necessities of the most noble of causes.

When is dark denied dominion o'er self?

On a cold day in hottest hell, fighting all

manner of foul demons of mind,

self-created, self-empowered, self-released;

only when love is accepted in respect for

it's own, as e'er was extended,

and a door forever slammed comes burst asunder.

Then is dark denied dominion o'er self.

As I Walked

2010-05-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

As I walked, I saw a bird and grew very still;
A splendid white dove, come to share this quaint hill.

I smiled, to be touched by so gentle a taste of spring.
Then, quick as a sigh, the dove spooked and took wing.

My heart beat faster, bewitched by sudden flight,
Overwhelmed and slightly daunted, but punctured by insight.

How fleeting and precious can be the joys of love and faith,
Marred and cast aside by an admirer's softly exhaled breath.

I walked further, found a stone and rolled it.
I paced its circular journey until it bounced against a mate.

Seeing the first aside the new, my thoughts again grew bright.
One stone, added to another, row upon row, can bridge the night.

I continued my stroll, attentive but casually so,
Aware of the boundless beauty captivating my very soul.

Serene and content amidst fresh life in musical silence;
A young heart beat loudly, inviting all to rejoice in dance.

Soon flowers did I see, drinking life from a crystal pool,
And I stretched down among them, engulfed by brilliant hues;

Sweet wild flowers, poppies and jasmine, tossed by fickle breeze.
So pleasant; I forgot in my joy that spring blossoms make me sneeze.

Simple rain as I walked, to ease frantic senses;
Brief showers and welcome, soft and full of fragrances.

I paused to rest beneath a stately oak, contemplating the sky.
Raindrops spattered on leaf and limb, trickling softly in my eye.

Benign intelligence did I find as I walked,
Not tempted toward chronic need for ponderous talk.

Simple solitude the law, enforced by nature's perfect reason,
Balanced in daily wonder of Mother's ever nurturing seasons.

Copyright 1992

Why Black

2010-05-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

Because his essence is oft misunderstood

He encompasses all color

To him all color flows

Nothing can hide upon his face

For his is darker than all

Stars may shine within his depths

To call weary pilgrims home

Feared and falsely brightened has been his shade

Though he minds not

For he alone believes what is

Without darkness

There can be no light

My Abstract Muse

2010-05-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

At the end of the journey lies the past,

marking time in a gentle rain.

Cause and effect hold the last layers of truth,

barring some from greater gain.

Lift up life's carpet

and spy more than discarded dust.

Reach beyond the cobwebs

and discover the bald edge of trust.

Seek the loose board in a white picket fence

and pry it forth with strong hands.

Climb through hell to a newer place;

accept its banner and try to stand.

Your ultimate goal may encompass much that is false,

yet more that is true.

Find your abstract muse;

choose the way that speaks and accept what is due.

In the cold peace of dawn

a gray fog rolls in,

And I can see a pale light

where before none has been.

Out of a measured silence comes a vision

of substance, unclear and malformed.

My untried muse speaks

and wishes her gates adorned.

So I search my deepest depths,

past knots of confusion and black fear;

beyond reason and knowledge to the eccentric,

past the rational to the queer.

Mu muse sends me to a far shore,

demanding the treasure there buried.

But I cannot seek it, for I am afraid.

There is more truth than I can carry.

My muse is relentless;

she knows no fear of ghosts nor of shadows.

She pushes me stronger, drives me;

leaves me no choice but to go.

She knows the shortness of life,

the futility of twisted, discarded ways.

A path left unexplored

is a regret to the end of days.

And then, within a pocket of dark memory,

do I find the silent barrier.

It reaches out to me, and I to it,

through infinite swirling color.

Can I face these most intimate demons?

Will they let me be free at last?

I hearken to the abstract muse;

hear her sing and seek a peace with the past.

It is a long struggle,

filled with much pain and self-loathing.

But it is necessary to be rid of disgust,

as one discards useless clothing.

Finally my muse brings joy

and offers release from old haunts.

At last my mind can drift,

no longer prisoner to lonely thoughts.

To break such a chain

is not as simple as unlacing your shoe.

You must step free of your soul;

ignore all warnings and plunge through.

Seek your abstract muse to guide you.

Ask and she will show you a path.

But be certain that you wish it,

for she demands success or feeds you her wrath.

A thought is precious;

it requires searching before it fits upon the page.

The forming of true ideas is the province

of any mind allowed freely to graze.

Remember the abstract muse,

and leave a light burning if you care to return.

It helps to look backward,

if only to find strength to live and to learn.

Thought with Question

2010-05-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Open a book to see words upon pages;

The merest fraction of knowledge to be achieved.

Oh the wisdom of the ages contained therein;

A grandness passed from eye to mind,

Delivering the future one breath at a time.

In the mind, thoughts form to be used,

Not limited to what can only be proven.

What is truth but thought imprisoned

Within the body of fact?

A New Day

2010-05-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I think, the sky turns bright.

Confusion fades, and an end is put to a long night.

Other times when I think I can only scream,

I say the hell with it and just have ice cream.

Ice cream is cold and chills the jumble inside,

Until emotions are flushed with the outgoing tide.

No longer drowning and able to float free,

I bask in the glory of an unexplored sea.

The sea of my mind is a fertile place,

Full of whispers and songs to keep me ahead of the pace.

When I let it, it serves me well.

Oft I miss a connection and tilt toward hell.

But hell is only for those who refuse to try.

I am not such as these, though at times I cry.

I go forward with patience, letting my mind lead the way,

Listening to what's inside, and creating my own new day.

Watch Me

2010-05-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

Watch me

For I can fly

I move with grace

Like condors in the sky

Watch me

For I can run

Like a cheetah

Chases a meal in the scorching sun

Can't stop me

Don't even try

For me life is a painting

Its canvas never dried

Know me

And keep my love

In your smile

Until the final hour has begun

Think of me

For I am life

In all its forms

Raised to staggering height

Do this not for me

For I do it well enough

But keep yourself foremost in mind

Your future glory to be sung

Far Side of the Door

2010-05-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

Many times I stare at the ground

and wish it would swallow me whole.

Not an hour passes that I don't question

the use of setting new goals.

Yet as each day dawns, I awake

to don fresh clothes.

I live for the brief moments,

and the precious smiles I forever hold.

Above the trees stretches more than a sky;

it is there that I reach for my hope.

On the wings of jays wafts a gentle breeze;

such fragrant air to help me cope.

This life have I led, sometimes in love,

most often with hands tangled in tight rope.

Still, I work and I watch and I time the hours,

keeping my pace at a steady lope.

To long for the things we lack

is a symbol of ambition and not greed.

To remain lax in the effort to achieve greatness

denies most specific need.

The errant forays of youth often belie

lofty potential and prevent the deed.

Press on and listen openly to loud desire;

be ready to demand and refuse to plead.

Offer no excuses,

especially to yourself.

Question every aspect;

let no dream rest upon its shelf.

When your chance comes,

grasp it firmly and mark it well.

Seek the far side of the door,

burst it and with mighty voice yell.

Sun So Grand

2010-05-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

More is made of less than any sane man can count.
Nothing is done by fretting so what's the worry about?
A dog will agonize over the best site to bury a bone.
Yet take heed of the cat with sense to leave well enough alone.

I have been unaware for the best parts of my life.
Turning over bits and scraps has caused naught but strife.
I thought waiting and not forcing was often the better course.
It can often be easiest to stay thrown than to remount the horse.

I'd like to meet the one who is hoarding all the answers,
Although it may be wisest to discover my questions first.
I could jump right in and get my whole self wet.
Adherence to logical progression has oft been my detriment.

In the beginning there may have been a word, long since forgotten
In the interest of advancing to the peak of the richest mountain.
Eternal youth the new vanity though wasted on us all.
Young or old we catch only the most significant balls.

It is said that a truer thing was never spoken.
I wonder where that ring of truth was first broken.
Difference is the key and point of all this trial,
Though most turn tail at the end of the longest mile.

What has to be done is to sort through the murk
And not pause for the things that are never going to work.
Embrace the active thought and pay heed to what may emerge.
The pieces are more coherent when what won't fit gets purged.

And so I go on my way to a more evenly designed me,
One who is less awkward and better able to see
What's out in front and leave the past where it belongs.
To carry excess baggage interferes with my songs.

If there were no night, would things still go bump?
If there were no fear, would you still feel that lump?
In a day filled with choices, how to know where to stand?
Face toward the warmth and see the sun so grand.

Copyright 1991

Indiscriminate Winds

2010-05-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

When I move I lose focus
And the vision of who I am
Shimmers and blows away
Like a hot breeze whips desert sands

If I don't move at all
My life is a dune
Shapeless and insubstantial
Subject to the indiscriminate
Winds of change

Views

2010-05-07T21:52:00.000-07:00

What makes a person contrary?

Why do some decry the strange or different view?

Why must I hide and be wary?

What makes me less valid than you?