Dead Hand

Why do you wait for the days to pass

Why not seek out what you long for

These days are too brief

This time all too fleeting

Do not live only in memory

You can only learn so much

from the dead hand of the past

Let the present be your 

perpetual teacher

When The Path Is Gone

When I get lost I keep going

until at last the path is gone

I pause and breath

Is there light

Is darkness nearing

I take it in

I must trust myself

I must trust this life

I will find my way

I will find my way 

back to you

Hooves

You marvel 

at something 

as mundane

as time

Listening

to the rain

to the wind

to the leaves

Have you 

ever heard

the sound

of a deer

stepping

through

forest?

Who Will Take me Home

If I can still myself

will I find the peace

that's eluded me

Can I sleep and

wake up rested 

without a worry

This gift given without 

desire is the only one

that matters to me

I close my fists

and grasp the water

to come up empty again

Are these words enough

It shouldn't matter 

if it's all I have

Will the wind carry you

or will time take you home

This Life

The minutes

The hours

The days

The nights

The weeks

The months

The seasons

The years

Be patient

Be impatient

Know when

to be one

or the other

Collector

Collecting pieces of the present

for future use

Playing it safe for then

I cannot hoard these moments

Trying all the same 

I catch your smile

with my eyes

and let my heart 

hold it close

and closer 

still

The Morning After the News

When the world changes

fundamentally so

we must clear a path

for it within ourselves

Welcome the hardship

the burden that is placed

in our hands

We will not see it

as the gift it is

until at last

the lesson lives 

deeply within

That Which Persists

Light spreading thick and evenly 

over lush green canopy

Cautiously gauging every step

deer peer through trunks and branches

Grazing leisurely as though

death were a distant hunter

Red Robin looks this way

and that- finally flies away

A small fire cooks the food

for the breaking of the fast

Grandmother is always awake

before the dawn

Grandfather is already walking

home with a cord of wood

slung onto his back

Grandchildren dreaming

until the Sandman 

gives them their leave

For Kristen and Emily

I want you to know in all ways

just how loved and missed you are.

The distance that divides us 

is merely land.

There will be greater distances

one day, but not today.

I am thinking of what 

I should say.

Be good, be kind, 

to yourselves and others

in all ways.

It won't be easy but try.

There will be days and nights

that will cause you to think

you should give up.

The darkness will bathe you

at those times.

Bear it, endure it, 

and let it mold you

into someone 

stronger and wiser.

Your strength

will be revealed to you

in this way.

Strive for perfection

but know none of us

can ever fully attain it.

It's ok to not be perfect.

Learn to be yourselves.

Wear different guises

at different times.

Some will stick,

some won't but that's ok.

You're loved no matter what.

Don't allow yourselves to hate

without depth.

Your time and energy 

is too precious to waste

on such negativity.

In place of anger or hatred

create art, or involve yourselves

in helping others.

Push back the darkness

with kindness and creativity.

If it feels hopeless 

do it all the same.

You are the beacon of light

for yourselves and others.

Learn every day.

To learn and educate yourselves

is far more than merely

what we are taught in school.

Observe others. Learn from their mistakes.

Make your own mistakes and learn from them.

Let no moment be wasted.

Allow yourselves to fully inhabit the present.

What does that mean?

Listen. See. Hear. 

Every moment is a gift.

Every moment is the only moment.

If the past haunts you

know it has passed.

If the future troubles you

know it is not yet here.

If the present troubles you

know that it will pass.

Always prepare but know

that everything and everyone

is subject to change without notice.

Be able to adjust at a moment's notice.

Some of life's greatest adventures

will begin in this way.

Know that not everything 

will be known to you.

Allow for mystery and wonder

to be part of your life.

Go to the beach, close your eyes,

and listen to the waves.

Go to the forest, close your eyes,

and listen to the wind in the trees.

Go to the desert, close your eyes,

and listen.

Those who loved you most dearly

when you were born

will most likely not be the same

as those who love you

when we meet on the other shore.

Learn to let things go.

Learn that holding on 

can be the thing that hurts us most.

Laugh every day. Laugh the kind

of laughter that makes you gasp for air.

Remember that so much of life is play.

Be joyful.

Take only what you need.

Give the rest away.

Be kind.

Be kind.

Be kind.

I love you.

finite commodity

precious precious precious

what could it be

what matters most

what is always 

         in diminishing supply

what's ticking away

what's falling away

second 

            

            by second 

grain 

         

         by grain

The Knock

Cool morning warming by the minute

Sun gathering it's strength

Cars leaving driveways

and gathering on clogged freeways

A pot of coffee brewing in the kitchen

Don't leave here

Don't leave home

Stay here

Stay safe 

from an uncertain world

Can we do this indefinitely?

The world will come

knocking

Solving for X

Living in the known world
there is much left to discover
that no one talks about
because it is assumed
we have removed the
quantity of X that needs
to be solved for

Think of the world
from the perspective
of a child and you can see
that there is still much left
unknown

Watching the waves
from the sand
I can only imagine
what awaits mere feet
from where I stand

in repose
between days
words are muted
silence
is the order

End of February

between morning
and moonrises
we breathe
live and dream
i hear your
breathing

we're all doing our best
to hold on
to these days
to our memories
to our fleeting youth
to this life
moving faster
and faster
with each
passing moment

Pressed

Faded rose

Dried

and pressed

into the pages

of a book

Dead

yet living 

in remains

and memory

Years

Reading through a book
Page after page
being turned
A new chapter
More pages
Endless story

Journal Entry

I went to bed and slept well.
I slept longer than I normally would
but in the end I wound up well rested.
I woke up thinking about her
because of the distance
between us on her trip.
I remain on this coast
while she is on the other
visiting family.
I have reached a point
where the real work I must do
needs to occur. It is not enough
to think it, to talk of it, it is time
to be measured and deliberate.
It is the eve of a major holiday.
The sun shines through cloudy
grey skies but there is a strange
hope in me that this year
is turning towards a better one.

Still Angry

I'm still angry and broke
The present is never enough
I'm sick of starving
and living in the margins

A drink takes the edge
just long enough to forget
how fucked we are
but never pushes harder
to change it all

This life
forever
expanding
and
contracting
as our days
diminish
and we
seek out
the un-
definable

Eternal Life

Crossing between states
Memories formed and forgotten
Existence reduce to essential matter
You, I, We, Us,
sailing down the stream
that feeds the endless ocean
Plunging in
Resurfacing
Over and over
Eternal life