what speaks through us

to create balance within
the mind and soul
to create balance within
the body and heart
this pursuit is never ending
how could it be so
age has taught me of the
shortcomings of my past
i am a student of this life
and still seek enlightenment
in each passing day
i listen to the wind
i listen to the waves
i listen to the rustling branches
of the trees all around me
i listen to the stillness
within mine own heart
this life moves the blood
through my body
gives rise to the thoughts
and words in my mind
let me grow in greater compassion
let me grow in greater understanding
let me grow in greater forgiveness
i wish to be more human and humane

Conversation

Son of an ancient soil
Why do you long so deeply
for a land in which you
were not reared?

I long to know what was
my birthright. To know the
stars and earth from which
my blood first sprang.

Soil is soil and the same
heavens are shared by
us all. Is there more my son
that you seek to know?

To know the self, to know
my self. That is the larger
understanding I seek to have.
Together a story is written.

Gaze upon the dawn or
the setting sun to know the
truth your ancestors and
those of all have known.

In that way I know we share
deep truths that are eternal.
Truths that will persist long
after my body is dust.

How peacefully do you rest
beneathe the sky of your
fathers and mothers? Does it
soothe you to be there?

I rest as though I am truly
at peace. The silence of night
and peace of morning, listening
to the birds sing from tree tops.

But are you soothed?

Yes, my heart and mind are.

I will tell you a truth you
have known, even if you
have never thought these
words to yourself:

You carry the sky and blood
of your land with you always.
From it arose your life. This
truth will be yours forever.

You Are Worth Saving

There is something worth saving 

within all of us. It is not up to us 

to judge what that is, merely to 

know it yet resides and must be 

given the chance to thrive. 

Foolish solutions to existential problems. 

I'm just a shadow of myself.
I'm not the me I could have been.
I'm not the me I could still be. 

If I were the new you.

three scenes from a notebook

the heart can always break   further
frag menting into
shards of glass
glittering in the night


the startling difference between who I've always been
and who I was


Time is the unknown quantity
and we are
always trying to solve for x

My face

a mask

I cannot 

remove

Proclaim

that which you 

know yourself 

to be.

When Things Go Missing

I woke up one morning and I couldn't find my face.

There was nothing on my bed or tangled in the sheets.

I got down on hands and knees and did not see anything

on the ground. Finally, I went over to my car in case

I left it there on accident, though, if I had, I hope I would

have remembered that. After searching for an hour I decided

to wear one of my masks for the time being. It wasn't a perfect

fit but it was better than no face at all. The problem with my

masks is how hard it is to speak and attempt to be understood

through lips that cannot move. It is frustrating but what more

can I expect from an easy fix? I called my doctor and told him

my situation. He said to come by at one o'clock for a fitting.

As I sat in the waiting room I noticed a few other people

that were wearing masks as well, at least I wasn't the only

one. My turn came up and I stepped into the back rooms.

Doctor Austere came by after a couple of minutes and

promptly took off my mask. He looked at my raw head

and said that he would use the same measurements from

before for my replacement face. He said if I could wait

another twenty minutes or so they would have it ready

and they could attach it right away. I agreed. It's an odd

sensation to be with out your face and wait around for its

replacement. At least I hadn't been out drinking when

I lost it. When he came back he had one of his assistants

with him. She must have been new because I could not

recall having seen her before. She was quite lovely and

I could tell she had received a new face recently. She

stepped out and returned with my new face resting on

a blank head. It looked warm and alive. Doctor Austere

said it would be just like last time. I sat there quietly as

they began their work of connecting nerves to quivering

new flesh, those pathways which give expression to such

an organ. There is pain like a burning light but it is bearable.

After some time they both stepped back with a satisfied look.

"Can you smile for us?" the Doctor said. I felt the skin raise

up into two opposite corners as my new lips curved.

"Looks perfect," he said. He had me do a few more facial

expressions just to be sure. He said to call him if I had any

problems with this new face. I told him I would. As I walked

outside to the car the skin on my new face felt the wind, it's

fine hairs were at cold attention. I remembered that I had left

a bag of groceries in the trunk of my car yesterday. I popped

the trunk and saw my groceries there, fortunately they weren't

of the easily perishable variety. I also happened to see a familiar

some one looking back. Oh well. At least I have a spare.

I Dentity

Who We Are


&


What We Appear 


To Be.