know this?
Admit it?
And who
holds the master key
that opens the door
of this prison of pain?
There is no moving
(here or there)
looking for a better place,
or the making of such a place,
for everyone holds the key
if they would use it.
It consists of gently illuminating
the 'space'
enclosed in the shadow.
The door mechanism
is on a “light” sensor.
Soldiers Or Murderers
A question haunts my mind:
Why is it OK for a soldier
to kill people
but not OK for a civilian
to do the same thing?
Civilian killers are called murderers
but why?
Because they kill the wrong people?
Soldiers are called heroes,
Is that because they kill the right people?
An interesting distinction –
completely lost on me.
Who determines who is the wrong victim
of murder;
who is the right one?
It wouldn’t be (perish the thought)
our wonderful, moral, trustworthy
politicians now, would it?
Well, yes, that is who!
The very same liars and robbers
we elect time after time,
knowing that each time
the taxes will go up
and benefits come down;
the poor will become poorer
and the rich become the super rich.
Murder is murder however you slice it!
South Side Innocence
South side
of an alley parched
under a smoke-hazed sun
at zenith hanging,
watching two naked children
playing beside a burning ribbon
of freshly paved street.
A mound of chalky dust,
a few stones and bits of wood
and assorted broken sticks
comprise stage and props -
childhood imagination easily
provides the dialogue
for this impromptu drama.
"Observe a thing, change a thing."
I observe this scene
and would be more
that just another spectator
but what
will I change here?
The scene? The script?
Nothing.
But I will stand watch,
a guardian beyond Time
and woe to the Evil
that would lurk in this place
thinking to destroy
this fleeting innocence.
Stranded
I feel totally stranded
at the edge of some flat world;
a world I am less and less inclined
or able to understand.
Some say the world is just fine,
it has been that way -
it will continue to be that way -
but I look out my window
and see a different story.
I heard someone say,
"the majority of humanity
is compassionate
and loves their fellow man,"
Yes? If that is so
why all the endless violence?
And why do most
torture and destroy nature?
I think the people of Earth
are hopelessly delusional
about the state of their world.
I think the aerodynamics
of their social system
are totally wrong.
I believe the social Titanic
is about to be breached and sink
upon the ever-returning icebergs
of global social apathy.
Stress
Stress:
the tearing apart
of soul and body;
killer of joy;
destroyer of beauty;
maker of enemies;
spoiler of the good.
Stress:
that lack of perspective
in unbalanced minds;
that heartbeat
of man's social systems:
ego's creative centre
Stress:
that built-in energy thief
who's flow of energy
gives feelings of power
to self-pity, despair
and dreams of violent
emissions.
Stress:
the high cost of living
in death of a body
and destruction of a planet!
The path of doom
of a collective unconscious
devoid of enlightenment:
Stress:
that irresistible pull;
that momentous desire
to choke the living shit
out of some asshole
who desperately needs it!
“When the stress of life
consumes me
I just burn up.”
Stupidity
What is “stupidity”?
indulging outrageous activities,
extreme sports, playing chicken,
acting the fool to be noticed?
That's just sheer ignorance.
Stupidity is the everyday stuff
people do, without reason
beyond feelings and programming.
Stupidity is spending one's money
gambling:
bingo, cards, lottery tickets,
not realizing with each loss
it takes millions of losers
to create one winner - but the real winners
are the owners and controllers
who set up the game.
Stupidity is spending one's time
being insulted by commercials
on a TV or a radio
watching and listening just the same,
sensing the con
but accepting it - as necessary.
Stupidity is supporting idiots
posturing as professionals
in whatever passes for sport;
watching, paying, wasting time
and being dummied-up
with each game won or lost.
Einstein, it is claimed, once said:
“Two things are infinite:
the universe...
and stupidity -
And I'm not sure about the former.”
Let's hear it for stupidity
for without it, I'm sure
the human race could never function...
normally!
Summer Skies
wavelets lapping
sand shifting
shadows creeping
leaves blowing
swallows gliding
singing/sighing
blue sky dotted white
clouds and gulls
suspended animation
in summer breeze
simply joyfully happy
happy
body lying nude
in soft warm sand
soul rising
on currents of love
past sapphire skies
to unseen starry depths
where fall prepares
her return flight
taking my canoe
I add another time
along the river's moody bank
look for blackberries
and beaver trails
catch a deer staring
back -eye to eye
understanding
there is no harm
in this gentle world
creating
warding off evil
A great blue standing
head and leg
tucked in
dreaming
> by the pond
in the center of the island
pulling up eagerly
jumping out
running
into the water
with a splash
priceless free delights
of nature loved
understood
needed -we are lovers
under the skies
of summer.
Surprised By Joy
What if I saw the woman I love
walking down the street
hand in hand with another man,
on a misty magical morning,
when the wind of Spring lingers?
What if I held no jealousy, no anger
but only happiness
to see her filled with love?
Is such a feeling even possible?
I should experience pain and anger,
I should feel abused by her, shouldn't I?
Yes, if I do not love her, I certainly will.
If all she is to me is an object of pleasure;
if all she is, is a feel-good thing.
But my dilemma is: I truly love her.
If you love someone, what can you do
but accept and allow what pleases them?
What other way is there
for love to know itself?
What if we tore down the walls
we place around the ones we love
keeping them from wandering away;
from loving whomever they choose?
What if in our vision, in our minds,
we truly granted them their freedom?
Accepted however they lived their life, their love?
Would we not see our world differently?
Would we not perhaps
be surprised by joy?
The After Life
Seems to me a good idea to think of the future;
not what I'll do come retirement,
but that great and inevitable future:
the afterlife, as it is often called.
If life has taught me anything at all
it would be “as below, so above”.
A perfect world cannot exist anywhere
until such time I create it myself!
How does one think about an after life?
There are guidelines on how to enter heaven,
but what if heaven is not the chosen destination?
What if one thinks beyond that closed concept?
If I want a world where peace reigns,
should I not be creating such a place already?
Would not the same hold true
for all the rest of the good things
I envision having sway in my afterlife?
If I want an afterlife of love and bliss,
let me be love and let me live in bliss today.
If I want an afterlife of justice and compassion,
let me practice justice and be compassionate...
everyday I have left to live.
The Big Bang Theory
I had a dream
about the big bang theory:
"Before there were suns, planets, life;
a bubble of energy, a mind,
that which we called God;
reached stasis - exploded - shattered
into myriad particles:
the cosmos was born -
a world of echoes and reflections."
When I awoke from this dream
EarthStar explained:
"You are now but particles
of that once great Mind,
that 'God' whose image
you carry in dreams of home
and wistful thoughts
encompassing all your worship.
But all your forms:
universes, planets, humans, worms,
re-create God in their own image:
and over time a whole new God,
more evolved than the last one
emerges from your new creations."
That explains why the 'God' that was
does not respond to your queries:
It explains why, ultimately, it is you
who must