Rebirth

Standing on the rubble

At the Center of World Trade

Was called for by forces that

Breached Freedom's fortress.

Crying, Hail Victory!

From the top of Lincoln's deck

Was all too early drunk

From Liberty's bitter chalice.

The fount of Freedom's

Quenching drink

When easily won

Is likewise cast away.

Now the Bush is gone

And Obama stands

Upon the scene

Of bloodied Iraqi streets.

Elections come and go.

Will the truth behind the scene

Prove the worst of Muslim nightmares

Or yield the fruit of Freedom's promise?

Get out the sooner now

Rather than complete the lie of later never.

Freedom begats responsibilites.

Let the world see Iraqi pride

And feel the glow of Iraqi independence.

Iraq is no puppet of any malevolence.

End the conflict. End the occupation.

Iraq has begun the peaceful struggles

That will adorn the mantle of its rebirth.

Tenamaste

[ Note: Pronounce Title as Duh-NaMa-Stay:Te = Duh; NaMa = A in America; and Ste = Stay ]

Love others like
You love your Children.

Honor the Place in your heart

Where we are one.

Strive always for our total freedom.

Nourish, nurture, and seek

To strengthen others

In all Possible ways.

Foster, care, protect,

And comfort all

Without claim or selfish guile.

Rejoice in all creative expressions

Of truth, of light, of love,

Of life for now

And through all eternity.

Eddy

Strange day of nothing
Right or wrong.

Not in. Gone home.
Just missed. They're closed.

I was caught
In a swirling eddy all day.
I smiled and laughed
Because I knew
No reasoned motion
Could be maintained,
Overpowered by
This backwash day.

A poem of growth
And inner peace
Attained its conscious form.
I walked a circle
Exploring its sights and sounds.

I found a place
With food for thought.
There form and sustenance
Were pleasantly combined.

A touch of love
For a fallen child.
Music was sung
To smooth our way.

All in all
A pleasant eddy
Of a day.

January, 1981

Involvement

Cry out dear soul,
The pain of growth is great.
Harken to the deeply stirring
Changes within you.
Grasp a strange new reality
That is becoming a part of you.

Others may accept
Some change of life,
But for you change is life.
Eternal process within and without.
Aching. Stretching. Gnawing. Pushing.

More and more
You involve yourself
In this growing process.

More and more
You find you have to do.
No end in sight,
Regardless of the realm,
No end in sight.

Where is the crux of this matter?
If change is an eternal process,
Can one change
Be more important
Than another or another?

Each change begets anew.
Each step prepares for the next.

Release yourself
From its pitiful involvement.
The pangs of growth,
Of changing life
Will resolve to an inner peace.

With your tumult gone
Finer things will soon attain.
This step prepares for the next.
Go on now,
But now, go on in peace.

January, 1981

Jeff and Nancy

Sharing your space
Is no easy thing.
It's easier to just smile
And say how are you?

You've invited someone
To partake of your hospitality.
Trusting an acquaintance
Leads to trusting in return.

Sharing, trust and mutuality
Are the bondings
Of a lasting friendship.

My path is easier
Because you cared
To make it so.

When your way is roughed
By the vissicitutes of life,
Remember today.
This act will return to you.

In the greater course of things,
The seemingly small
And insignificant acts of love
Performed in this harried world of ours
Take on their rightful proportions
And are never forgotten.

December, 1980

Barry and Alice

There are few I choose
To write about.
The words just flow
Through me.

Eloquence, as usual,
Escapes me.
Simplicity will have to do.

You honor me
With your homeplace.
Your friendship
Warms my soul.

Your family's comfortable acceptance
And free expression of their selves
Reflect your good and steady light.

Hail to you, true friend.
Praise be to you and yours.
This voice will always sing for you
In darkness and in light.

Reach out
If ever you should need me.
Forever my best for you.

December, 1980

Alone at Lunch

Alone. I sit quietly alone.
A whir of conversations.
The clink and clank
Of clamouring sounds.

A furtive glance.
A quick acknowledgement.
I'm so depressed,
She invitingly sighs
To me or to herself.

More boldness is required.
Demonstrate some
Creative control of life.
I am alone,
But lonely I am not.

I'm expressing myself
In verse and rhyme.
You are not excluded by me,
But by your own volition.

You organize to leave.
I look to smile
And thank you
For your inspiration.

I find you closed
And turned away.

I pray you find
Your inner peace
To overcome your fears
And apprehensions.

Good bye
And thank you,
Anyway.

December, 1980

Pause

Whispered words draw you
Closer to me.
Your lovely eyes
Bespeak your vulnerability.

What hurt you must have felt.
What love you're longing for.

A rush, a chill
Like an autumn breeze
Skipping leaves
Across the ground.

My mind and body respond
To some unspoken message.
The space between us lessens.
Your radiant warmth
Removes all chilled sensations.

I anticipate a delicate embrace,
A gentle searching
For some special sensitivity.
A touch, a kiss and more.
Magnetic forces draw us closer.

A friend, you say.
I hear and think I understand.
Lovingly I pause and wait,
Not wanting to intrude.

Still, a vision
Of two candled flames remain.
Approaching one another
They embrace and intermingle.

So finely do they mesh,
More than doubling their light.
I pause and wait, a friend.

November, 1980

Our Significance

Open carefully my heart and soul.
Bring close your candled flame.
Soft light and gentle truth
Expose some valued things.

I value me.
I value you.
There is some significance
For us to see.

No one can truly lead the way.
Together our efforts
Will reveal some meaning
For us both.

I trust our responsible regard
Of our separate vulnerabilities.
But too in honesty I must advise
A friend so close may soon become
A dear and cherished love.

Pull back when and if you must.
Retreat through the open door.
If you should choose to stay
And draw nearer to the distant light,
Reach out and lightly take my hand.

You need not cling.
I need not pull away.
The past is there,
But we are here and now.

Tomorrow will come
And in due course
We will find
Our true significance.

October, 1980

Dare to Be

I'm not searching for identity,

Really this is me.

I'm not looking to achieve,

But to serve as best I can.

If you want me to fail I will,

But I would rather see

Us all succeed.

You tend to reach too low.

I tend to reach too high.

You are right and

I am wrong,

Doesn't make much sense to me.

If you prefer to reach too high,

I'll gladly take the other side.

Do I seem old?

I feel that way.

At times that is

Even difficult to say.

Perhaps it's just

Another foolish thought,

But I perceive this

Threatens you somewhat.

Older equals wiser.

Wiser implies you're right.

Forget this awful nonsense.

It's just clutter,

Don't you see?

Just walk with me

Along this way.

Be open, loving,

Accepting and free.

Dare to be you

While I dare to be me.

October, 1980

Sticks

Yeah, I've got problems.

Damn right I've got problems.

You keep harping on me

About missing the point.

I'm the first to admit

I could be wrong.

Show me man,

I'll take my lumps.

But you are over there

And I am over here.

From where I stand

It's hard to see.

You talk so good

And say its me.

Come on strong.

Defend your turf.

I give ground

Until it hurts.

Win it all!

Professional pride.

Until death do us part!

If you hit me again,

You're going to eat those sticks!

My head hurts so bad.

I'm still licking my wounds.

You say those sticks were pointed?

Thank God,

I'm still alive.

October, 1980

Reality?

Accept reality.

Be responsible.

Realize your limitations.

Satisfising -

Is this the salt of life?

Important basic substance

Unpleasant taste alone.

Enhancing taste

In appropriate measure.

Let me salt to my taste

And you can salt to yours.

When share we must,

New tastes we may acquire

Or perhaps some new arrangement

Can provide the best for both.

Accept reality.

Be responsible.

Maintain your charted course.

There is truth in this

I must agree,

But can the wild external winds

Of this chaotic world

Better set my course than me?

An ally, yes!

An adjunct to my strength.

A force to be reckoned with for sure.

I set the course and

Fight or ride the wind.

Stop and start.

Explore the shore.

Fish and swim.

Work hard when

Off we go.

There still is much to do.

Lost. Misguided.

Strong words for me and you.

I accept a reality.

It may not be yours.

I am responsible.

The risk is mine.

The reward is ours for sure.

October, 1980

Pledge

Pale horseman, ha

You frighten with

A piercing stare!

But wait, pale horseman

Much more than fright

I see in there.

A longing to be free,

Tenderness,

Love and sympathy.

What wondrous things

You have for me.

But wait, pale horseman

Is that treachery?

What guile and cunning trick

Doth thou play?

Am I a fool

To be tricked?

Are you truly a friend

Sent to help me

From this confining place?

Wait, pale horseman,

Familiar face,

Old friend

This is not the time for you.

It is early yet.

I can't go home so soon.

The pledge.

What pledge?

Some promise did I make to you?

You remind me of myself

That's true,

But what consequence

Does that have for me today?

I've gone so far.

I've felt so much.

There is more for me to do?

I'm blind you dolt,

I cannot see.

I hear but cannot understand.

Laugh, you oaf.

How insensitive can you be?

When last we met

Respect for each we had.

I chose this life

For what it had to teach.

I'll serve and fight,

Sing and write,

Persevere both day and night.

I know you friend,

An advocate.

A messenger ill received.

I'm glad you came.

I'll see you soon enough again.

The pledge, oh yes,

I shall not here return.

October, 1980

Essence

Subtle feelings softly touch me.

Quiet moments without words.

A gentle touch.

A warm embrace.

Not new, but delicate

More refined.

Coarseness. Rough.

Bleating verbiage

Nervous chatter.

Intellectual clutter.

Are you real?

Are you really there?

Jumbled messages

Quickly course through me.

Will quiet intimacy

With one so rare

Attune our sensibilities?

Or will the glass be marred

Or broken by the coarseness

Of a sandy blast?

Sensual fragrance.

Soft touch upon the lips.

A taste like gentle wine remains.

Look deep into a gentle heart

And feel it warmth.

Listen, attentive to some new horizon

Or wondrous insight.

Is this you?

Or is this the essence

Of some romantic dream?

Beyond our senses

Resides the truth.

Enter with me

Into quiet meditation.

Intercourse with me

Beyond just our basic sexuality.

And, when the time is right

We can return

More aware with

Heightened sensitivity.

October, 1980

Snow

When I look at the world

I see people in love.

I see people at work

All the time.

Their struggles are great.

Their pains are so real.

Joy and happiness

Are there a lot too.

Poignant tears are shed

Late at night.

I rejoice in our differences,

Each one is unique.

I trust in our likenesses,

Our connecting links.

The blanket of snow

Is important to all.

It highlights differences

In its own special way.

More than just background

To our Christmas show,

It symbolizes God's blessing

On us here below.

If you see man's differences

When you look at the world,

Look too for his humanity,

Our blanket of snow.

October, 1980

Winners

Do you know the pain

Of an also ran?

Then you know the pain

Of a man.

I've won a few,

But only a few.

I am an also ran.

Have you ever been faced

With second or third?

Number one can look

Oh so good.

Well I've been there

And I'm here to tell,

You look pretty tough too.

If you're lower than third

Or even last

Be proud of yourself

When you've given your best.

"Praise and glory to one,"

We all can shout.

An also ran has won!

October, 1980

Boat

Here is where I wanted to go.

Here is where I am!

The roads are crossed,

The light is gone,

And I'm afraid of the dark!

I've missed the boat!

Missed the boat!

Echoes my mournful cry.

The boat is gone,

Alas tis true.

One may be along

When my time to go is come.

Don't go on, misguided friend.

Your way the risk is great!

At least stand still

Till we catch up.

We'll help you

When we can.

Don't leave us now!

You won't be back!

We love you as you are.

Please wait! Please wait,

Dearest friend,

Don't leave us in the dark.

Afraid, afraid we're all afraid.

But here is where

We wanted to go.

Here is where we are.

The road is obscure.

Our doubts are strong.

Misguided I may be.

Behind there is no light.

Ahead there still may be.

I leave you there

With heavy heart

My help was yours

When close we stood.

My love for you

Is not undone.

It grows for you

Along these darkened paths.

Be sad for me.

Be glad for me,

But don't embittered be!

Should light I find,

Quick back I'll come for thee.

Should boat I find,

Quick fast I'll tie a line

So all will find a place

On board with me.

October, 1980

A Ray of Light

I am a ray of light

Emanating from God.

A source of light

Dimly shining, brightly aspiring.

I absorb, reflect, transform

The light around me.

Even in the deepest darkness

Of my physical existence,

I experience the ebb and flow of light.

Blinded not by the light,

My eyes are filled

With the objects of our physical reality.

I accept my blindness

And strive ahead.

A ray of light

Returning to God.

August, 1980

Still a Man

A man I am

One within and without.

At peace with myself

Ever reaching, ever changing.

Love me as I am.

Love me as I change.

Pull me close,

But always let me go.

Circles, cycles, spiral pathway.

A walk alone.

Some friends along the way.

We find things on our own.

Expand yourself and find me there

Ever reaching, ever changing.

Still, a man I am

One within and without.

March, 1980

We Are Becoming

I am, you are, we are

Responsible.

Through seeking and striving

We structure our reality.

I am, you are, we are

Creative.

Through choice and action

We design life's experiences.

I am, you are, we are

What we believe.

Through love and faith

We become One with God.

March, 1980