the faint memory of rain,and the dark damp earth.reaching to the sky,petals yearning, at peace…then, without regret,wilting back into nothingness…and no one saw!

stamped, and put out…you silence the human criesof freedom, ban books,ideas… ban all thinking.take anything originalback to the assembly line;to be remade, reformed….in the image of mindlessobedience… trained to kill,trained to follow… trained to hate.while the lovers of trees, rivers,and mountains… becomethe new faceless minority….in the land of coal dust excess,the land of black and…

never wanted holy monumentsto be built in His honor.was not interested in donationsthat ease the load of sin…never wanted to be fought over,or for wars to be foughtin His name…He was a complete human being,His every breath spiritual.He tossed the moneychangersout of the temple,and stood up to the religiouspride of the Pharisees.the people He walked…

the tomb of god,and brought forth magic!shadows dance,seeds are planted.life bursts throughthe frozen casket…light begins anew,poets too long slumbered,cast the webbing from their eyes,birthing words into being.thunderstorms, and magic.the sun carries the hands of time.summer dares come, wave upon wave,poets dance naked in the moonlight.lovers come together,fission, and creation.worlds are formed,history testifies!wine lusts for the…

Nor planes, nor bombs…But free thought, and conscience!

and built a fireout of things denied.if i took off my mask,revealing all i tried to hide.if i took the chance,and let you look inside.would you love me?would you know me for a man?would you see me for morethan kingdoms built on sand?would you if i would?i know that i can…i’ll stand where i am,with…

line between joy and despair….but tonight, let’s lay it all down, and walk in the moment.they tell you prayer is a lot of things,but i think prayer is the gratitude that feels,that absorbs the good and the bad,that drinks sorrow, and dances.i have never been more alive than i am right now.i am fire, i…

then laid in a ditchfor over an hour….waiting on her husbandto leave…..Farina, Hesse, andtalking naked… vodka,and enough passionto almost save the world…..2he came home from work,dog-tired, took off hisboots at the door….he could hear the sound of music….he walked into the great room…she sat naked at the baby grand,playing Tchaikovsky….she smiled: ‘i thought you’d like…’3it…

you can either lookin the mirror and see me,or you dont know me!God

are we drifting off to sleep?out to sea?or further from the core?we die in circles,circles within circles.with small short breaths hurledon the hairy plate of eternity.a thousand tiny fires,built by unseen handson darkened roads…a thousand tiny deaths!or a thousand stop the world kisses,when names and identities are forgotten,if but for an eternal moment.how many times…

ended abruptly withoutresolutionthe father or motheryou thought you’d never losethat you didnt spend enough time withthe son lost to a foreign conflict,draped in a flagthe abortion you opted forcause you couldnt seeany other way and now,years later, you have doubtsthe teenager who committed suicide,that you couldnt reach,somehow couldnt tell them orshow them they were not…

cool clear spring water.smoke rising slow,the coffee starts to boil.black crows circle,eyes down in the brush.clouds chasing forever,nowhere else to be!night fall coming,you can feel the trees whisper.mountains in the distance,nod without a word.curl up togetherto the crackle of the fire.while the old dog watchesfor the end of the world!

clothes dirty and worn…lies alone in the bed,except for the cat…shadows whisper, she moans,as if closing a book.even the hungry walls are silent…the pages of the booktattered and yellowed.her teeth broken or gone,her fist clenched tight,the comfort of no one,the prayer to no god.the clock on the wall ticks amen…her spirit taken, her fist opened,a…

would crucify Jesus again,and take Buddha’s outer kingdomover his inner one!we limit our conceptsod God and infinityto our own understanding,when that which createdthe cosmos lives withineach of us, withinthe tiniest insect,the branch soon to bud!enlightenment, the pile of dungyou just stepped in,knowing that you stepped in it!there need be no more!

If for this plaintive howl.If for the space betweenSound and echo,Between long nightAnd the break of dawn.If for this purpose,Be it great or small.If for this nameNone else can bear.If for this turn, this tilt,This fall.If for the time of shedding.If for this call, this haunt,This storm…If for the taste of blood,On lips a’ quiver.If…

help the poor…dont judge others,treat people the wayyou’d want to be treated…turn the other cheek,lay down your swordsand take up the plow…forgive to be forgiven…the kingdom of heavenis within you! ‘if that’s your religion,i’m in!you can leave the rest of itat the door!

grieving lost children.the latent sound of artillery,mother and son huddled.i am women oppressed,sold into slavery.i am the crack in the window,through which freedom stares.i am black skin white skindrenched in blood,i am sweat and toil,fields swept by heat.i am the american poet,who learned his craft in sawmills…built houses by hand,and grew his own food.i am…

the Congress, the White House, the Pentagon.the court system, the prisons…empty factory buildings, small businesses,the coal mines, the oil fields,the docks….vacant foreclosed houses,homeless shelters, soup lines…the lines of the unemployed.the fields ready to be picked.the illegal immigrants bent backs…the big trucks shut down…minimum wage slave jobs…cheap imports made by child labor,the oil industry, the automobile…

rags stuffed in cracks,’round the windowsillsroaches run up the walls,Christmas music on the radiocut off notice on the table;young woman stares, half dreaming,of stockings with nuts and oranges(& the remembered scent of hot chocolate!)crack pipe falls to the flooras snow begins to fallsmall children with dirty facesplaying on a cold floor

that swallowed Atlantis….those same children,starving ‘neath Africa’s sun….dead from the bombingsin Iraq, Afghanistan, and soon Iran….their bodies thrown into dumpstershere in the United States….dead on the borders,dead in the oil filled waters,dead on the cocaine streets,dead in the prisons…dead in the colleges,dead in the unemployment lines….dead on the picket lines,dead, handcuffed, and beaten….dying, and dead,…

he flew with the swallows,from chimney to god!and laid down with wolves,just to feel, to know…the nearness of flesh,and the feel of teeth!

no way to bathe…vomit crusted hunger,piss, and garbage rolled…..the perfume of God.angry, bruised, scared,face hollow, lips tremble….love’s fists, used, abused,she walks the corner, alone….the daughter of God.crack pipe, stolen gun,fear rush, dead despair,concrete jungle, wrong color,wrong place, wrong time,prison bound, unmarked grave,mother cries, justice lies….the son of God.stolen tent, hard rain,under the bridge, under scope,no…

i realized we are strangers,drawn by an intimate flame.your soul smells like my socks,and yet my voice falls empty…unnamed raindrops,clinging to unspoken grass!

the body i long for,is both fire and darkness.the land i go to,has neither walls nor shores.it flows with the oceans,and gives and takes!

down empty streets…streets marked by angry blood.from mouth to fist,feet never stop moving…going nowhere,determined and furious.the crush of bonesbeneath pipe on pavement…the taste of flesh,charred and stale.cities become graveyards,marker by marker.no time for names,only the strong!and hunger becomes angerof the darkest kind.do it for a couple dollars,and a gallon of gas.faces contorted,demons or worse!survival by…

till i’ve become a part of it!will it withstand the storms?the battles? the trials and tribulations?the weight of feet coming from,and going to? will it stand?i can only pray and my prayeris a lifetime of work!

the act of opening,like a rosebud,like a mother,opening the door…like a childopening a present,like a womanopening to a man….opening…all the hidden chambers,every door to everysecret kingdom of the soul…..opening the box that holdsyour secret thoughts, desires….opening…the door of the cage,letting the winged breath fly….opening….your heart to itself,and to all hearts beating….opening….the vault of conceptions,the entrance…

men without hope,even more so.men without dignityfight without fear.men without freedomhave nothing to lose.men without lovecant find their way!

old washers, dryers,old beat up cars,rusted down high octaneroads going nowhere…..metallic flowers,dying and dead,never to bloom again…hauling junk…trading metal for milk,bread, and potatoes…in the land where no one works!

are just mere shellsof the battle within…what we lash out atis what we dont understandin our own hearts.what we have to understand isthat burning the housedoesnt cleanse the home!what we must liberateis merely our own self…then, and only then,freedom will reign!

most misunderstood mysterywe’re faced with….what we seek for in the starsis already there within us.what we long for we already have!what we long to hold in our handsis that which we must give.the human heart is more than emotions.emotions are the feet of the ego.beneath our egos the real ‘us’ resides.we are more rivers than…

his innocenceto the endto pay for anotherman’s life takenjustice?or murder?yet that whichwe grieve forcannot restorea lifedid not the Godthat we professspeak forgiveness?and who will payfor the life takentoday?

with no sympathy for sliversof illusions that fall.our greatest fear lurksin smoke-filled mirrors…we spend all our livesrunning from ourselves!but death takes no prisoners,no half-truths or pretensions.we are but what we have givenwhen this house of cards falls in!

raw and honest, you get whatyou see… i’m not hidingin a shell.you’ll know me by the partsof you that you see reflectedin me… by the understandingbridge between us….for we are family.i dont pretend to knowall the answers… but i amsearching, moving forward.i make mistakes everyday,and i know i own them!i’m just a man… but thatin…

a thousand hollow goodbyesand hellos dissolve.it’s been said:death makes all men equal,so what of life?and why the tearso’er an unmarked grave?

led blindfolded to the slaughterwithout a thought or a prayer.whipped into a frenzy by lies,wrapped with golden ribbons,sold by street vendors in suitswith hollow faces and marble eyes.fed the ‘word of God’ with shotguns,wearing crucifix painted robes;selling their daughters for gasoline,and their sons to political wars.marching to hatred and violence,leaving the weak to suffer and…

for a moment and gone…the flower that blooms for a day.the rain dropp dissolving into the earth,the small stone washed away,when the river surges.the memory of dawnforgotten in the night…the lonesome farewell of the snailcrossing just before light…leaving only a small wet trailas evidence of passing! , , ,and the shout of joy,that sounds like…

a healing takes place!when you take the crippled heart,and put it with other wounded hearts,compassion begins!when you take the crippled spirit,and teach it the words of freedom,wings are loosed!when you take the crippled man,and restore his dignity…he changes the world!

silent too long, boils with rage.and with one final surge,of unrestrained passion,breaks free from the pedestal,with the fury of need!long wings covered with dust,unfurling with beauty.take to the air,almost gulping with flight.eyes too long dim,blaze with raw hunger.the falcon loosed,driven for the taste of flesh!

of passion, and unbridled emotion.my old worn hands tremblea little as i pass the cup.and your eyes have a farawayglint; not conscious, not here anymore.lips that once knew the languageof mine, are terse, and set.where did the living go?the laughter, the touching,that lay awake at night andwatched me sleep, as if drunken.and all the words…

i could not believein myself, in God, in lifeitself without believingin you!on the road to perfection,one hand needs another,one heart is joinedto another…we make it together,or not at all!

and made it a chair.she broke my legs,and threw them into the fire,started by sparks from my own eyes.she took my soul and named it a wind,that frightens the timid,and fills the roar of the lion.she took my feet,and made them chapters…she formed my hands into valleys,and flooded them with my heart’s desires…she took my…

and nobody cares!

the taste, we long for the substance.we run afraid of the dark towards theneon lights… but we long for chocolate,for broth, for fruit, for just bakedbread. we hear the rumor of ecstasy,but we settle for the numbness of notbeing alone… for we fear ourselves,and what is behind the door! we jumpinto bed and pant against…

or open and reach out…either way, you’ll know!he aint selling nothing!too tired for anything less,or anything more than…the truth!

mother dead…jobless, homeless….bathing in service stations,trying to keep the kidsin school….asked the little girlwhat she wanted most of all….‘to help underprivileged kids! ‘dammit… wake up!

at your doorpulled my hat down low,turned, and walked awaywithout a wordsomewhere wolves run in packs,and whales swim togetherand birds fly south, wingsbeating in unisonbabies are born to young coupleswho hold each other in aweand the homeless man underthe bridge watches the sun rise.and an old man plays his guitaron the porch his grandchildrenplay in…

i give, therefore i am.i get knocked down,and get back up,therefore i am.i love, therefore i am.i respect, therefore i am.i stand up, therefore i am.i speak my mind, therefore i am.i believe in mankind, therefore i am.i believe in peace, therefore i am.not a corporation,not one of the elite.not a political power.not property to…

moral implications,immoral men.ignorance and pride,hearts restrained by fear.the hammer of judgement,hands buried in pockets!do we fly?or watch pictures of flight?do we care?or live by token gestures?do we pray?or recite mechanical cures?do we live?or exist behind walls?choices, or destiny?truth, or salvation?gods carved in stone,cannot weep for the poor.and the stranger we meet,smells like something we’ve lost.choices,…

….. apply’that’s like saying:hungry, need not eat.homeless, need not a home.people, need not betreated as people!or…Americans, need not freedom!

the stones on the path will nothurt your bare feet….the fire will not burn your hands.eyes fly like crows across distance,be it across the room,or across the world…and pages are writtenwith the pens of angels,to be thrown into the wind.my heart cries for deliverance…your tongue rests against my arm….seize the moment, for there is no…

the boy that broke inand tried to rob her…she sat staring into spacewhile the policemendid their job…suddenly she began to weep…they tried to comfort her,but she just wept harder.they told her it was over,that she was all right.she finally spoke in a broken voice:‘i was thinking about my son…’‘where is he? we’ll get himfor you,…

but some part of eachleft undiscovered, afterthis journey of a thousand miles.a world hidden by shadow,that turns on its own axis,and cries out for deliverencein an empty room.the stranger between us,a wall made of wingsthat never found flight,that never breathed air.the stranger between usis the pathway to tomorrowin a world that ended today!

buckets of water carriedup the hill…cutting wood to feed the stove.an old mattress on the floor,a coffee pot well stained.spiders on the outhouse wall,the garden, and the hoe.the cooking pot and the rocking chair,handmade quilts, green beans snapped.simple beginnings that wrote history,and history became a child!

pointing fingers, lookingfor who to blame forwars, poverty, injustices,disease, overpopulation,racism, enslavements,hunger, homelessness.who to blame?men, women, white people,Muslims, conservative Christians,right-wingers, gay people, straight people,the elite, illegal immigrants.wake the hell up!all of us bear equalresponsibility in this blame.we are all a part of the cause.we are all a part of the cure.if we spent half as much…

homeless owls and spiders,marching heads down.napalm rivers,tainted with oils,spilling from the lipsof a beaten lover!empty chants,smokestack curls…the body of the wolf,in the ditch by the road.fucking terror, endless noise,souls lost in shards of tires,silent goodbyes….

who gives a damn?educated hobos, West Point Nero’s,girl cant keep on her clothes,kingdoms in the sand…sexual confusion, holy transfusions,nuclear fusion…time is running out!on the edge of class wars,subjugated workforce,pimp kings and crack whores,consumed by fear and doubt.thoughts seered by fire, drunk on desire,fake prophets, well paid liars,nothing’s what it seems…puppeteers well hid, never know what…

and infuse our schools with open minded passion,and the unrestrained hunger to learn…when each child is given equal opportunity,is presented all sides of issues,and given the freedom to choose….when we stand behind our teacherswith both respect and awe….only then, will education be both real and just!

sweaty, cumstained,bloody, grimy, bruised…human bodieshugging each other,digging together,as one, as many…diverse, unique, tiedto the one…with their godsholding lanterns,and carrying water!

That swallows the web,And burns on empty.That turns the page,And rolls in the dirt.That sounds like rain,And falls like thunder.That strips the soul,And plunders the mind.That buries the candle,To rise as flame.Tis that scent…When you enter my solitude!

long Russian revolution…gunfire, exploding…neighbor fighting neighbor,the poor battling the elite…for cause, for ideal…people disappearing,work camps, Siberia…unmarked graves…long harsh winters,snow like death wrappedaround windows and doors.wolves howl, primordial call….in the name of freedom,betrayed, and forgotten…poems stolen from the heart,by the candle’s last flicker….the cry of humanitylost in the gunfire and the snow…

buried their desecrated womenin open graves.shouted, ‘long live Bush,and weapons of mass destruction’.grovelling in brick houses,with chevrolet drives.sent your sons to executions,sold your daughters on the block.and prayed at night for white redemption,beneath the flag that bore your name.long live America,close the borders, patrol the skies.eating day old bread in empty rooms,shuddering at the sound…

spending between 3.2and 4 trillion dollarsin our wars in Iraq,Afghanistan, and Pakistan.not to mention the 100 milliona day we were spending in Libya.the elite ghouls of the War machinepad their pockets … while our soldiersfight and die.we’ve maxed out the debt ceiling,they’re gonna cut social security,medicare, and other programsfor the poor, the sick, and theelderly.we…

down hard edged streets,past the abandoned and forsaken…through dirt and filth,grime, grease, and soot.down past the edge of town…i made camp by the tracks.haunted by the soundsof living now just echoes,echoes and shadows,shadows almost forgotten.haunted by the faces,the dreams, the fires now ash…the smell of need andthe harsh stench of hunger.i made a leanto from…

to see yourself in others!when we cross this bridge,and dare to look, and tounderstand, the symptomsfall away!prejudice, hatred, greed, pride..all fall away! what we discoveris the sacred human, the kingdomof heaven, nirvana…as simpleas changing a baby’s diaper!we learn to love, first byloving ourselves, and then lovingothers. we learn to forgive, byforgiving ourselves, and thus, others!what…

with hammers ablaze,the wall that stood betweentoday and tomorrow….crumbling down to dust,hatreds and prejudices,greed and apathy,pride and ego…..the wall that dividedhumanity from the human,the hungry from a meal,the slave from his freedom….the homeless from shelter,the sick from the cure…the child from his family,and hope from despair….tearing down the wall,with hammers ablaze….eyes set on the goal!

nakedness demands knowing who you are!the act of creation merelygod communicating with herself!

in the woodsdown by the river…no tv, no computer,no cell phone,no microwave.eating fish caughtin the murky water,and whatever she couldscavenge from dumpsters…a forgotten queen of aforgotten kingdom….her baby’s sick,her man sits in theold car that wont start…playing with a revolver…praying that God, if thereis one… will strike them dead…Prom Queen in America!

to the promised land.familiar?a neighbor, a forgotten uncle,the stranger you saw on the corner;the faces…bombing victims in the Middle East,hungry children on foreign soils,the kid picked up for looking suspicious.the bullied kid that hung himself,the family living in the backseatof a car in Florida.the tired eyed man standingin the unemployment line.the protesters, and the copswith…

your body storms,breaking windows and doors.your hands sweat,your eyes close, and open.the embers deep,sputter, and flame…beyond your control,your winds laps it’s tongue,just for a taste,for one stolen moment.the earth stops turning,poles begin to shift…and mountains, cities, andrivers swallowed in an instant…as if never!

aggitate, demonstrate,against the potent liars!poverty, humility,anger buys a gun.empty prayers, nobody cares,desperate on the run!freedom dont turn your guns on me!beat down, pushed around, still free.take my house, not my dignity!freedom dont turn your guns on me!

tires squeal, a body falls.the shades are drawn, betterturn out the lights…9-1-1, nobody callsold woman lyingin a pool of blood,her check is gone, check long gone…crackin, crankin,swept away by the floodyou’re all alone, all alone…there are bars on the windowsthere are locks on the doorsyoung kids dying in the alleysdont know what they’re dying forno…

dried blood on the concrete wallsof an abandoned building.you call this America!lives wrapped in color,in calloused hands.standing in linefor a loaf of bread.a bullet, a token,a fresh covered grave,you call this America!you wear your god in sunday best,throw words and prayersinto a bottomless well.afraid of your shadows,you arm yourselves,you call this America!the hands of take…

Jesus’ baby,you know…the one they foundin the dumpster,down in the church cemetaryneath an unmarked stone…the only oneswho came to mourn,were three crows,and two mongrel dogs…the last prayer,the falling rain! ‘

and cigarettes….heavy fog on a crooked road,Christmas lights blinking,and a dead stillness….the moan of empty houses,empty factories, empty streets,and the whisper of children,food stamps hung in their stockings!an old stray cat waiting to be fed,and the heaviness of the mongrels,left to work the streets.somewhere bells are ringing,right here not the scent;a cross painted on a…

and beneath the crust.Buddha ears,hearing what is not saidwrapped in the spoken.Buddha thoughts,connecting with all thoughts,creating and forming.Buddha heart,feeling every beat of every heartinside each beat of my own.Buddha freedom,letting go of…becoming a part of!

the rest in varying stagesof undress…and a smile i havent seenfor some time…

strange wind….i long to watch the leaves turn,and fall, tiny love storiesthat no one else can see.and the sound the bare-limbedtree makes… reaching for the sky,reaching through winter forthe spring….the smell of woodsmoke,coffee and brandy by the fire…a thousand memories turnedto brown, lost to eternal moments,i am that bare-limbed tree!reaching for the sky, reachingfor another…

respect, to protect our environment, to stop these damnwars, and to learn to see people and accept them as theyare…. we dont deserve to be here!we are not the holy grail… we are human beings… we,whether we admit it or not, are connected to and responsiblefor all living beings….our concepts are not who we are……

pay something on the light bill, something on the car… damn,the rent’s due again, … what do you do?work 50 hours a week for the same money you made in 1980…but it wont foot the bill in 2011.everybody’s tense, angry, lashing out… desperate people dostupid things… families disintegrate, or are lost altogether tothe storm… people…

spend enough moneyevery eight days,to feed the hungryof the world for a year!what the hell are we thinking?if we fed the hungry,housed the homeless,took care of the sick,and gave everyone the chanceto work for a fair wage…what would be left to fight for?if we taxed the rich,and brought down the conceptof different classes…if we learned…

understood in all languages;that would open the heartsof all mankind, one humanbeing to another…and make us all knowand realize that we are family?you dont even haveto put my name on it.just let it be…i’d pack my bags and go home,happy as hell!

or maybe autumn leaves,and the promise of snow.an avalanche in slow motion,a door that creaks when closed.a latch on the bedroom window,ashes that smolder with hope.a tree fallen across the path,the old car that turns over,but wont start.the plow crusted with dried earth,the hammer on the shelf.you and i…nothing forgotten!

….they wouldnt be!3. God wants us to be successful.4. wars have always been, and always will.5. they’re all going to hell!6. them boys are paying the price of freedom.7. we’re only responsible for the people here!

gnashing, gnawing, tearing,and howling…baying at the moon.my four legged soulcan taste the feel,can feel the raw….inside the blood,inside the flesh.soul devours darkness,darkness devours light…..running wild, and free,drenched in the moment!my four-legged soul….

humanity, cursed by apathy,acts of murder in God’s name.national pride, guess what they lied,putting money in the bank.bombs falling, terror crawling,putting gas in the tanks.and the world comes crashing down.in too deep, the fearful drown.stand up and be, or just sit down.what goes around comes around.

my broke down hand-me-down hat,doing hand-me-down things.my hand-me-down fire,and my hand-me-down pot.take a hand-me-down chair,i’ll share what i’ve got.got some hand-me-down thoughts,a couple of hand-me-down songs.i’ve got a hand-me-down heartthat wont leave you alone.we’ll talk about hand-me-down freedom,and hand-me-down truth….in this hand-me-down world,it’s just me and you!in this hand-me-down world….paying hand-me-down dues!

the faintest hint of light?whose soul is bruised,whose lips are scarred?whose tears fall,like thunder in a cementary?whose silence burns,in the bitter cold?whose breath hanging,like clouds in the sunset?whose hunger sharpens,the web and the cave?whose longing, whose storms,whose desire that howls?whose life hanging,and who carried the cross?who are we if not lovers,if not dreamers who dream.if…

tanks, soldiers on foot….the assault continues,wave upon wave,the assault on free speech,free thought, free interaction….the draining of bloodfrom the face of humanity….the theft of name and identity….the bartering of souls….for change, against change….yet the fire remains lit,……..in spite of!

with your streets of gold,and angelic harps…i am not interested!in the presence of God,(i didnt name her that, you did!) ,all your spiritual writingsbecome mere pornography,your church bells tiny bellson the legs of ants!i walk with her through povertyand despair, touching, reaching out,and touching.holding close the child that’s dying…sitting in the cell with the prisoner…

the yowl of the cat in hunger,the slap of wings against gone.tis the height of passion;i have turned my deepest colors,yet my dreams have begun to fall…i cant stop them.and the sound of voices like hammers on tin,be the bottle broken before it hits.when memory becomes history,and tired clouds wink and disappear.the setting sun tastes…

think about it!our standing government, and economiccapitalistic system are a greater threatto the American people and their families,than England was to them!we are so far away from what they intended,that they would not recognize us!

everybody talkin’ about change.change your look,change your luck,change your politics,change your religion…change the country,change the world….change the day!change your underwear!loose change, pocket change,winds of change, march for change….but all real change begins within…let’s work on that,and then everything elsewill change in turn!

the very fibre of our beings,the flesh of our actions.falling, broken, and vulnerable,human mistakes and failings,colored by love’s passion;the needing, wanting, strivingto touch and be touched,to hold and be held,to dance free of our bonds….brothers and sisters to the wind.woven together by suffering,crying out for the light,alive, and naked….the song, and the pulse!

each other….they draw on each other,feed on each other,are formed by each other….two parts of the same being,wholeness, and expression….light and darkness….we look at life through prisms….change the prism you’re looking through….from one of hatred to compassion….all the colors of your world will change!embrace the darkness, andsearch for the light…..creation, and the Creator,are within you!light…

went stomping with elephantsthrough you darkest jungles.stood between you and the gun!walked barefoot in your snows,sat imprisoned in your cell.made the leap, and dared to fly,wiped the tears from your face.built a home for your heart,with human hands and sweat….bandaged your wounds,took your curse…how is it then…that love conquered me?

rise up and shoutto meet the day….how can we do anything less?the trees join handsin bare limbed prayer,the clouds wink,and shed a tear!the grasses swell in harmonious praise,and the wind comes whispering home.the earth embraces the fire and the ash….how can we do anything less?

the old road warriors,need to pack up and go…go where we have to go,do what we have to do,give what we have to give…to bring the change!we have both seen,and felt the wind.have touched the fire,have reached to the sky.we have loved with a passion,they dont even know…the scars we wear,are our own!maybe if we…

the old hose with a hole,thrown to the side.the old man in front of the tv,from morning to night.a dog collar by the ashtray,a coffee pot grown cold.a flashlight that doesnt work,a pair of shoes that never fit.books packed in a box,at a three dollar yard sale.the suit bought at goodwill,waiting on the funeral.the last…

playing a flute;listening, listening,for the sound ofthe Lover’s voice….waiting, for the familiartouch, for the smellof the last rose openingas the wings of autumnapproach…. listening,for the sound of my own heart,or the sound of planets evolving;waiting for the gift of emptiness,and the dance of flesh on flesh….walking barefootedon broken glass….whispering to the stillness!

stirs your soul…but the darknessthat defines the light!

protecting the firefrom wind and rain,and anything that wouldextinguish!stumbling, bumbling,falling down, and gettingback up….often times our ownworst enemy….beliving we’re alonein the heat of the fray…the sound of footstepsbehind us, tiny footsteps….turning, we findsmall children, all differentages and colors;male and female….carrying small torcheswaiting to be lit….with the hope ofthe future!

of self assurancewho speak with the voiceof the god that your money bought,your god of wars.with swords of glass,and the vengeance ofprejudicial moralitysave your breath!the lie exposes itself.eternity doesnt stand trialin small minded courts.‘no difference between thesacred and the profane’a holy man once spoke.i proclaim every moment,every slice of life, to be holy!whether scriptures, a…

dirty withthe heart’s trueconvictions….and doesnt keeprunning… to washthem!

set firm by death’s stillness?will you layyour naked willing body,against the body cold as stone?will you closeeyes frozen staring inward,lost to all green and bursting?will you whisperyour innermost secretsinto ears lost in oceans?will you cry,your tears fallinglike ashes on ground now bare?will you scream,shaking your fist at god?knowing…you cant rollaway the stone,with a pigeon’s remorse!

i realized we are strangers,drawn by an intimate flame.your soul smells like my socks,and yet my voice falls empty…unnamed raindrops,clinging to unspoken grass!

itsownchildrenlikeamothdrawntotheflameswallowsitsownlightwithoutremorse!

….you……sacrifice?sent off to your unholy wars…in your prisons, on your streets….to addiction, no hope, to bondage…..their futures traded as your stocks rise,their jobs sold away, their future borrowed.they believed that you loved them most of all…is…this…..what…….love…… …looks………..like?

hair thrown across your face,lips swollen with longing.to pluck stars from the night sky,and drink the dew like wild beasts.to howl and moo, to hoot and caw,to be the ant that led the others astray!to build small fires by forbidden roads,to sleep inside the cave.to drink moonlight, and spit revolution,to walk naked in the cool…

for the society to survive,and to thrive,the working class must be allowedto work…and must be willing to do so!we are builders, makers, shapers…but we are not slaves, pawns,or profit margin…we must work!

what if this is it?what if our trialsand tribulationsare the destination,not the journey?what if tomorrow is a dream?and today is all we have?and how many times have youseen God today, in stranger’s faces,in outstretched hands?what if every thought,every word, and every actionwere tiny parts of eternity?what would we do different?and why dont we now?

but by the open hand extended!

patches of shadow.the threat of thunder,storms drip from the cup.bare branches budding,sap on the rise.this old body risesfrom its wintry grave!the fire that smolderedlaps out in flame.the need to touch,to create, and to die.early spring?a tornado, or just echoes.the ghost of winter still lurks,and tugs at the door!

put on your best clothes,picked up your Bible,got in your car anddrove to church…looking for Jesus…went to Sunday School,said a coupla prayers,listened to the preacher,sang a coupla hymns,made an offering…looking for Jesus…shook hands, patted backs,jumped in your carto hurry home…passed an old blind manin dirty clothesstanding on the corner…pulled in the drive…looking for Jesus…you just…

with no reason…you are a fool!your scripturesare the ashesof a fire long dead!the bodies of thoseyou have killedby your choices…a sacrifice to your god!you cannot denythe blood on your hands,the soot on your faces…cannot muffle the cryof babies unwanted!holiness, pus,semen, and sweat…the hands on the shovelthat digs the shallow graves!the wind prophesies,with the memory of…

laden sky…. knows!the leaves on the tree,getting ready to turn,and fall… know!that old chair rockingin the soft summer breeze,a mind of its own… knows!that marker in the cemetary,half covered by brush,forgotten… knows!the baby bornwithout asking, leftin a dumpster… knows!the young man dyingin a land foreign and wasted,alone, alone… knows!do you?

and takes his brother with him.only the ignorant take without giving…their poverty, well disguised by possessions,never goes away!faith has nothing to dowith ignorance, with blind following.faith is built on knowledge,and honed through experience.the person that stands upin the middle of the storm,and asks why…has already spokenthe hidden name of god!

the ‘wanna be’, …the jewelled hand,the insulated mask,the prideful, the apathetic….the ‘walk away joes’…only the living, the bruised,the wounded, the naked….fighting, struggling, knocking….standing up even whenthey’re too weak to go on….my family!

with were caused by my owndecisions, my own mistakes.i have been blessed to seeand to feel and to touch deeply…i have immersed myself in bothlife and love… and i am thankfulfor that.what i’ve learned is that life isprecious… every moment, everyword, every action. i, like manyof you i’m sure, have wastedtoo much time, have overlookedor…

i cannot heal the brokenhearted,tho my heart has been broken.i cannot put an end to prejudice,tho there are many colors in my soul.i cannot disarm the violent ones,for i’ve been violent too.i cannot put an end to greed,tho i am a victim of its hand.i cannot heal the environment,that i’ve been a part of killing.i…

thrown into the spotlight…i dont know which is worse:sticking your head in the sandand pretending it’s not there…or using it as the excusefor whatever agenda…folks, bottom line…there is only one race,the human race!you would thinkwe’d be intelligent enoughto know this by now,and to act like it!

a failure to communicatedriven by fear,and is always on sale!

and feelingsi also feel a responsibility to writethe truth, not only my truth, but thetruth of all those around meand so i paint these pictures of life,some quite beautiful, some harsh anddistressingwe, as a people, and as individualsare the human race. and what makesit work is the word wewe are a part of each other,…

led blindfolded to the slaughterwithout a thought or a prayer.whipped into a frenzy by lies,wrapped with golden ribbons,sold by street vendors in suitswith hollow faces and marble eyes.fed the ‘word of God’ with shotguns,wearing crucifix painted robes;selling their daughters for gasoline,and their sons to political wars.marching to hatred and violence,leaving the weak to suffer and…

struck dumb with aweby the smallest of things!i have stood on the shore,and felt the pull of the waves,feeling both tiny and large beyond definition.all my time my eyes upon the lighthouse,strong whether there be storm or calm…am i here or am i there?i do not think it matters!i have spent my time hereas a…

in variant forms expounding,in a thousand blades of grass.in the block long laid in the factory building,vacant but for ghosts of unnamed families fed.in the boat too long stuck in sand,in the dirge darkness of the mine.in the rabbit turd, the chattering squirrel,in cattle feeding awaiting death.in the sterile stink of the hospital,in the bedpan,…

through the vast blacknessof inner space…a bump, a bruise,a scratch, a scar…and almost the smellof a closeness.we bring the cup to our lips,too hot to taste…it is only in the silence after,that memory reaches out to touch!

Christian church?would He choose to be American?or would He walk the starving roads of Africa?would He flee with the women and childrenin the countries bombed?would He be a political force,or a political dissident?would He be a capitalist, a socialist, or an anarchist?would He self immoliate with the Tibetan monksin the name of freedom?would He carry…

The mark of his people,In bondage.His life, his freedomStolen by a system,Intent on the destructionOf the past.His only crime,Being unwilling to surrender,Unwilling to betray his people.While the bones of the Elders,Rattle in the winds….Of change!And the ghosts of the buffalo,Wait.

If I crossed the distance,And unlocked your door?If I drank your moon,And swallowed your fire?If I fell from the ground,To your farthest star?If I knitted your soul,And carved your heart?If I fed your desire,And swept your doubt?If I spoke your name,In a forgotten speak?If I wiped your tears,And wrote your thoughts?If I kissed you there!

rich or poor, different doors,they play us like we’re fools!Wall Street, dressed in sheets,burning crosses in the fire.homeless eyes, the future dies,to feed the well paid liars!the wheels of justice keep on turning.you keep spending more than you’re earning.people keep dying, bodies are burning….feed the beast, the world keeps turning!

the body i long for,is both fire and darkness.the land i go to,has neither walls nor shores.it flows with the oceans,and gives and takes!

and drink strong moonlight.i sing with the rocks,and crow with the dawn….i beat the drum primeval!i rush with the wavesto strip the shores,of all vestiges of passing.i howl with the wind,i dance with shadows and sounds,and lay naked on the cool earth.i am the ache inside the shell,the hand that sprinkles dust…come walk with me,let…

in a thousand tiny pieces,each reflecting universesin the naked moonlight.when i loved unconditionally,and yet lost the world.when i drew god’s face,on the child and the dog.when i burned endless lifetimes,to warm the lost in the night.when i listened to mountains and trees,and tried to translate.when i fought for peace,and ended up fighting myself.when i gave…

well thought out actions,grounded in belief!belief in equality,compassionate unity,brings about change…real change, real thinking,real solutions, real problems,facing real issues,without making excuses….breaking down barriersconstructed by fears,finding sameness in difference,and holiness in the mundane.stronger than bullets,armed guards and riot squads.the truth of human kindnessbreaks the grip of the lie!

and the super highway.i am the dammed up river,and the valley plush.i am the blacksmith’s anvil,and the super computer…i am the stockyard full,the closed business meeting!i am the doctor, the lawyer,i am the weaver, the mechanic…the degree that hangs on the wall,and the one written on calloused hands.i am the lover killed in a jealous…

whether you strike a match,and light a candle,light a fire in the stove,or light a lantern…you are creating light….light by any other name is light.we are all born seeking the same thing,in that way we are the same.the paths we take, the choices we make,the battles we fight, the society we live in…make us different.the…

more drops of water in the oceanthan we can count…the wind comes and goesas it will beyond our control.and so few understandthe language of clouds…so why do we thinkthat we can define,and confine God!the fire warms, but you cannot hold!so i kneel in the Mosques,in reverent stillness praying.i sing the old hymnsin the old Baptist…

tires squeal, a body falls.the shades are drawn, betterturn out the lights…9-1-1, nobody callsold woman lyingin a pool of blood,her check is gone, check long gone…crackin, crankin,swept away by the floodyou’re all alone, all alone…there are bars on the windowsthere are locks on the doorsyoung kids dying in the alleysdont know what they’re dying forno…

the ‘need’ to possess.we strip our senseswith fake morality.we quench our fireswith our limited concepts.we wound our very lovewith the image we present.we defile our truthwith the lies we settle for…we choose fear over freedom,and so break our own wings!

play when you want,play all night.the older the better,the sweeter the sound…even the windpauses to listen!lifetimes and loves,heartaches and passion.the very breath of God.then with loving care,back in the case.sleeping together in silence!

as i learned to breathe…i’m not sure there’smuch difference.sometimes i thinkif you get beaten downso much in life….it allows you to let goof everything you thoughtyou had to have, of everythingthat you thought you had to be….and you learn to feel,and to see with new eyes,with prayer eyes….eyes that know the connected,eyes that feel whether…

whose boyfriend left her two weeks ago…whose mother told her she was going to hell,whose father drank himself to death.whose used to skip ropeand go to Sunday School…who freckle faced picking flowers,who stuck her bare feet in the creek.whose trailer has no heat,whose cell phone has no minutes.whose old Gremlin smokes but still runs,whose heart…

choked by the cord.conceived in darkness,becoming light!we are hearts made of feet,feet that walk the path.feet that slip and fall,feet that take the wrong turn.feet that keep on walking,sore, tired, hurting.feet of desire, and purpose,feet of soulful intent!all the great philosophiescome to this…feet that only stop walkingto bandage other feet;then walk together,leaving one set of…

words carry swords and plant tears,words form tiny lamps in darkness.words express the unexpressable,ride bicycles on children’s journeys.words taunt silence with definition….and some of the best are never spoken.words heal wounds, and fill bowls,weave webs while we sleep.words often turn and betray us,and often die for our sins.words create universes,and shed their clothes on well…

tossed by the waves,water and salt in my face…no sign of moon or stars.following, following,the song of the sirens…i’ve let go of the rudder!i reach over totouch your face…this ship sailingon uncharted seas.

may the door to my heartopen both ways.may my handsalways be open,may my mouthsupport my earsby silence.may my eyesremain naked,may my soul be connected.may my thoughts,words, and actions,be the breath of compassion.

driven by the wind,to where, i dont care…believing,with no reason to believe,against the turning odds…getting back up,slower each time,in spite of time and the achesof a long weary road….going….just keep on going,with eyes that see,and ears that hear….giving…..at the risk of losing,more than i can bear to lose,all that i can do….longing….for rebirth and bloom,and…

people…. and i’ve noticed over the lastseveral years that they come in one by one,wanting to talk about personal problems…why?because no one listens anymore!people are dying for the need of a listener,for ears that dont judge,that accept them for being human,that wont tell them what to do,that wont make them feel guilty…just for someone to…

nurses, factory workers,standing strong and united,demanding human decency,fair wages and benefits.i am not communism.i am the common man and woman,saying prayers with their handsas they work;driven by the faith in family,teaching respect, gentleness,and firm convictionsto their children.i am not the elite.i am the bruised, scarred human being.i have fallen time and again.i have built great…

out of our fears andinsecurities…God has many faces,many voices, many forms.the only limits we impose.holiness is diversity,human beings clutch at shadows.light becomes lighteven on the darkest night.and the darkness itselfholds secrets.lay down your bodies,and walk with the wind.every moment a death,and a beginning.out of formlessthe form becomes.each wave is different,all a part of the sea!

hungry, and cant finda way to eat.homeless,and nowhere to go.sick,and cant afford medical care.jobless,and cant find work.broke,and what money you havewont buy anything.(if you have any)hopeless,and nowhere to turn.godless,the god you believed inturned his back,or wont answer prayers.faithless,with no reason to believe.hardened,and wont allow your self to feel.lost,with your back against the wall!

aggitate, demonstrate,against the potent liars!poverty, humility,anger buys a gun.empty prayers, nobody cares,desperate on the run!freedom dont turn your guns on me!beat down, pushed around, still free.take my house, not my dignity!freedom dont turn your guns on me!

raw and honest, you get whatyou see… i’m not hidingin a shell.you’ll know me by the partsof you that you see reflectedin me… by the understandingbridge between us….for we are family.i dont pretend to knowall the answers… but i amsearching, moving forward.i make mistakes everyday,and i know i own them!i’m just a man… but thatin…

becoming formless….permeated by rust and fire.yes, flesh rusts!hangs like a doorknob,waiting for the key!identity becomes sameness,diverse, and yet joined….you and i are mouth and heart,searching for the plate!footprints, and returning,we tug at the latch,or merely the wind!

i walk aimless through fields,down wooded pathsto where the water singsagainst the rocks!i have forgotten you,forgotten your name,forgotten your face!all that i have left arethe faint memoriesof smells and tastesand hungerand timeless indentionsleft by touch and feeland needlover, come!lover, come!through storms and battles,years of hardship and loss…through chains and bars and tearsnever cried, words never…

beaten, terrorized,loaded like cattleand taken away.while on the stage,the puppets turn,voices piped in from afar….the homeless familybreaks in a vacant house….the children hushed andhuddling for warmth….lights from a passing car,on the sign, foreclosed!food scraps taken from the trash,a dog barking down the street.pepper spray, batons, a blanket….and a gas station closed….even the pumps have names!

the taste of the lie,gone bitter.unholy wars,corporate greed….slavery rears its ugly head,taking different forms.greed takes the future,and barters for oil.the hands of the masses,empty and hungry!those who stood silentand took it all without a whimper,now have had enough!while the barkers yell,it’s un-American, it’s wrong!counting back changeinto the beggars cups.the threat of the new waveof Mccarthyism…

making its way slowlyup the old logging road,centipede crawl, the scentof the pines…to a small clearing,where we set up camp.pitched the tent,gathered wood for the fire.enough daylight left,we began the climb,up the steep gradeto the top…the cry of the bobcat,startles…then laughter, and wemoved on up.an old rattlesnake sunning,careful, go ’round.we stood on the face of…

no one lives here…anymore!if there’s anything left,sell it… use the moneyto help feed the poor.use my letters to startthe fire with…..give my books topassing strangers.have a drink to the memories…light up, and move along.what’s done is done.this shell worn out,this spirit free…to search the starsfor you!

and built a fireout of things denied.if i took off my mask,revealing all i tried to hide.if i took the chance,and let you look inside.would you love me?would you know me for a man?would you see me for morethan kingdoms built on sand?would you if i would?i know that i can…i’ll stand where i am,with…

the american dream distorted,dissolving into nightmarish need!milk and honey are nowblack market items only.shut down the schools,lay off the teachers.close libraries, ban books…firemen stand and watcha house, a life burn down…because the fee was not paid.emergency rooms full of peoplewho have no insurance, …others wait in long linesat the clinics…people who used to owntheir own…

you lay down your guns,and start feeding the hungry!i will accept the validityof your political view when…by your actions you show your primaryconcerns to be poverty and homelessness.i will accept the validityof your freedom when…it applies equally to all,regardless of skin color.i will accept the validityof your humanitarian view when…you take all men as brothers,and…

in the silent moment between sin and glory,when there really is no difference….in the pause between thunder and lightning,when mountains are oceans,and oceans are acorns.in the infinity between breaths,and the illusion between death and life.in the cardboard box that holds lifetimes,in the universe beneath tiny wings.in snowflakes, and tiny crumbs of starlight,on the wet lips…

…like tiny birds…swallow every morsel…without thought;only to roll out..of the nest and fallprey to their own….insatiable greed!

i am the embrace,and the parting stillness.i am death falling from the trees,i am eternity in the promise of snow.i am the word spoken and heard,slowly undressed with awe and hunger.i am the tongue drawing history’s face,in every secret place, in every hidden treasure.i am the fluid of love spillt with passion,i am the touch,…

JFK, the Dalai Lama, or even Jesus,to make a difference…all you have to be is you!no one else can answer your call!

baby, cant you hearthe sound of distant thunder?the candle cold,naked, and left alone,baby, light the match!turn the page, break downthe walls of this prison cell…hungry, panting,four feet running….baby, cant you feelthe need for flesh?

dogs pray silent prayersthat passing cars bow to.and the hum of being vibratesfrom somewhere undefined within…counting canned food by threatened days,cigarettes burn on slow crosses.while still the grass turns brownas if to hide in the shadow of dirt.too early for a drink…and black coffee demands you follow.what made sense is now gibberish,shadowy friends pull unseen…

the undressing of raindrops,and original sin!a thousand tiny deathsin your kiss and your touch,when more is less,too little’s too much!

each other….they draw on each other,feed on each other,are formed by each other….two parts of the same being,wholeness, and expression….light and darkness….we look at life through prisms….change the prism you’re looking through….from one of hatred to compassion….all the colors of your world will change!embrace the darkness, andsearch for the light…..creation, and the Creator,are within you!light…

grieving lost children.the latent sound of artillery,mother and son huddled.i am women oppressed,sold into slavery.i am the crack in the window,through which freedom stares.i am black skin white skindrenched in blood,i am sweat and toil,fields swept by heat.i am the american poet,who learned his craft in sawmills…built houses by hand,and grew his own food.i am…

common people…….common purpose………common goals…restoring dignityto the human condition…hearts stacked on hearts,honest desire,…………..and………………determ ination!

the angry rant of the homeless on the streets,while the elite still sleep on satin sheets.sell your mothers and daughters on the corner.sell your sons to the wars in foreign lands.learn to hate, to use, and to destroy…bow down to your gods made in the image of man.there’s no reason to believe when you’re hungry.when…

a thousand Romes burnt and fell,in each leaf exploding with ecstasy.the Holy One came in the formof a stray cat,waiting to be fed.while somewhere small children,walk with angels in search of rice.and carpenters hammer nailsas pumpkins wait to be carved.tired old women wash dishes,while childrens pictures shout.and stars themselves are only acorns….need i say more?

and you keep turning and looking behind you,as if afraid something is catching up.those who would sell salvation by barker or vendor,yet hurry inside when darkness falls.who bear the cross of condemnation,proudly for the world to see….i wish you well may peace find you.i look not to yonder shore,nor speak with words that ply.i will…

does freedom ever have a flag?do the starving really care?be love an orgasm and a ring?or the broom that sweeps the floor?whose footprints on the windows?whose fingers walk across the floor?why does truth smell like dumpsters?is it a crime to forget?is it easier to believe in God?or to wipe the blood from the small child’s…

like fallen leaves beneath weeping trees.like the sound of the tirethat strikes the stray cat.like the trembling dark skinned handsyou ban from your voting booths.like the flag draped casketsof your sacrificed young.like the books you burnwith religious fervor….like the shuffle of bootsin your unemployment lines.like the faceless onesin your clinics shutting down.like the ones who…

in the corner by the bed.fingerprints on the paneof the window unopened.soot on the handsthat tended the last fire.the lone bullet in the chamber,the tongue swollen, and parched.scriptures written onthe bandages of the woundedand dying….will the preacher say a few wordsas the people bow their heads?the skies promise rain,and the last wind is still!

hard hands gone soft,thoughts falling like drizzle.gentle, almost tugging,pulled close to the fire.till singed, still smoking,left in the darkness to die.a thousand deaths though it be,with each a universe conceived.the walls of Rome crumble,to the shouts and the horns.a crucifix, and a blade,sharp on both edges.the taste of blood and beginning,raw, simple, and strong…into the…

commitment to a human journey.you can’t be aloof andfind ‘God’, enlightenment,or the inner self.the fire is foundin the deepest night;but the hands of Godare human.they are yours!

but gives…money…buys possessions,owns you…love…heart broken,living pieces.war…impotent menwaving swords!death,body given,spirit taken.passion,rain falling,drops whisper!anger,fear frustrated,turning inwards.hunger,empty bowl,empty soul!lover,hears, feels,respects, touches.God,human faces,dawn’s body!

cametooclose….a nd scorched…the ground of…..my being…scarring my heart….leaving a name…written into…..the darkness….thaticannotspeak!that drives meto evolve…and burstinto the wombthat named time,and touched me…naked!

the body restless, turns and groans.the shade o’er the windowyellowed by mold,the frail hands of the clockdo not move or whisper.the scent of love,lingers and stutters.the fireplace empty,the books weep on the shelf.the old tree fallenjust outside your window,the barking of dogs,the prayers of rust.children without facescarry the box into the night…the hoot of the…

a flower garden after the rain,and the front seat of an old caron a moonlit night!making love in the dirt,between rows of green beans,hot July sun,bodies glistening with sweat.slow dancing in a laundromat,carrying buckets of water for a bath.crawling out your bedroom window,just before dawn!long greying hair glisteningin a sun shadowed room,the silence, and the…

perhaps you were the one who dancedin the cave when i discovered fire!were we born just outside the garden,in a land long forgotten?were we primitive wolves,mating in the moonlight?perhaps you were the dry landthat split from my ocean.perhaps your cry of passion,exploded stars into dust!perhaps i was gravity lost,and you were the moon….perhaps you were…

do we understand the concept?justice has nothing to do withclass, religious beliefs, skincolor, or economic station…it has nothing to do with revenge!it cannot be used for politicalpurposes…justice looks, smells, tastes, andfeels the same for all people!justice is marked by a true senseof equality.doesnt sound like what we have now?therein lies the reason for revolution…it we…

turning, and groaning,the voices of men.lone fire beneath the bridge,stir the pot slowly.shadows whisper with hunger,stars answer with silence.life laps out with flame,hearts scorched seek each other.the warmth of the bodythat clings to the soul.dreams of glass shatter,tiny shreds of light.tongues, and bare feet,the moan of night coming!

buried their desecrated womenin open graves.shouted, ‘long live Bush,and weapons of mass destruction’.grovelling in brick houses,with chevrolet drives.sent your sons to executions,sold your daughters on the block.and prayed at night for white redemption,beneath the flag that bore your name.long live America,close the borders, patrol the skies.eating day old bread in empty rooms,shuddering at the sound…

If I crossed the distance,And unlocked your door?If I drank your moon,And swallowed your fire?If I fell from the ground,To your farthest star?If I knitted your soul,And carved your heart?If I fed your desire,And swept your doubt?If I spoke your name,In a forgotten speak?If I wiped your tears,And wrote your thoughts?If I kissed you there!

i cannot bearthe suspense any more.the knob cold in my hand,the door sticks,then jerks open…nobody there, only shadow and wind.crossroads and forks,and hurricane damage.the scar on my heartbears your image,and your name.loves beats againstthe window of longingthat your body fitslike clothes well worn.we die again and again,both in triumphs and loss.would that i could diein…

deafens the empty room.bare feet leave no tracks in gravel,yet the birds’ wings scar the skyas they begin their journey.the plow sits motionless weeping,the skillet whistles to the fire.a squirrel sits atop the woodpile,the mountains’ breathing become labored.and the wind packs its few belongings,tips a hat to my shadowed soul.as we begin the long journey,the…

never before seen, …i know, i’ve been there!in each soulthere’s a photograph of Godthat’s unlike any other, …i know, i’ve been there!in every minda dream different but the same,a thought that finishes, needs finishing, …i know, i’ve been there!in every destinyan individual path,yet a part of the whole, …i know, i’ve been there!in every hidden…

and lead us into thePromised Land…God, not even a white God,did not tell us to…slaughter the Native Americans,and take their lands by force!we are not the ‘chosen people’!we’re just people, peoplelike all other peoplearound the world!first, and foremost,we are citizens of the world.any blessing we have receivedcomes with the responsibilityto share it with the world…not…

leaving only the faint scent of eggs,the echoed imprint of wings.no more, and no less,than the branch, than the tree,than the memory of sunlight,and the haunt of rain.freedom sheds its bark,god is buried beneath leaves…perhaps only snow can transform.only voices linger,nay it be not names!while squirrels devour the nutsof a thousand passions!nests be not wings,…

with every stepon the path to liberation!our bodies shells,holding undiscovered universes….our spirits roam,orphaned travellers,in search of….and light is only touchput to darkness with passion,the voices of Godpulse through our veins!hunger, and magic,a simple dropp of rain,holding the secrets of infinity,and the key to time!

and feet of clay,forming worlds frominsignificant thoughts….taking moments peeledfrom a glance by chance…forming stars from dustthat come raining down,echoing in the empty….for what is not oft is,each and all have purpose…when what cant be seen,cant be held or defined…given by the spirit that waitsand calls us to our selves;and that which is finishedbegins anew and…

what we want, what we need,what we believe, who we are!standing on the stage,waiting on the curtain to rise.i put my hands in my pockets,and stare down at my feet.the lights turned down,waiting on the roar…i realize without thinking,‘i just dont care! ‘take destiny’s stone statues,and close forever’s book.there are no faces in the darknessimposed…

against getting hurt…insulates itselfagainst loving,and being loved.only by wading deepinto the pool of sufferingand pain…are we set freeto dance the danceof communion…there is a healingin giving without thoughtof getting back…and the freedomto live…. redemptionin a touch!

for every hungry mouth a bowl of rice,clean water, and an embrace.for every country invaded by thirstfor oil…. a country invaded withshovels, picks, axes, and books.to rebuild, restore, reaffirm hope…..for every shallow grave,for every unmarked death….we adopt and take in,we heal with respect…..for every inhuman act,the acts of compassion….and in the search for forgiveness,we may…

By struggle carved.By seasons bent.Who love as breath,Beyond all choice.Who follow no one,Yet walk beside all.Who born of grief,By joy purged.Take of the cup,And swallow deeply.Who formed from dirt,To dirt return.Then turn the wheel,By silent song!

..from the corner……….of your mouth,and watch you sleeping…‘neath a blanket….of……crumbling……… leaves…and…..fresh fallen…….snow;the scent of your rich dark earth,…and the pulsing warmth…..of you evolving..at my fingertips…nothing more than..the owl that has your name,and the hidden space..between your fingerscurled in unabashed want….the dream that kisses your eyelids,…the first and last small fire…..in an unnamed cave!

how many bodies, how many graves,before we forgive and are forgiven?who makes the choice?and who has the voice?whose hand can stop the killing?who defines liberty?brings back community?brings back the touch and the feeling?and when will we knowthey’ll never be tomorrowunless we live today?will we find God in each other,in our sisters and brothers,in what we…

buckets of water carriedup the hill…cutting wood to feed the stove.an old mattress on the floor,a coffee pot well stained.spiders on the outhouse wall,the garden, and the hoe.the cooking pot and the rocking chair,handmade quilts, green beans snapped.simple beginnings that wrote history,and history became a child!

explodes from within,your trembling lips.batlles fought and lost,bodies by the roadside.we’ve come too far,we have nothing to hide.flame on the waterthat never goes out.every mile, every minute,there can be no doubt.falling stars wrapped,lives in a thimble.no deeper beauty,than the pure and the simple.given, no regrets,and nothing left behind.the ears of the deaf,the eyes of the…

shell shocked, and wounded,unable to sleepfor apparitions in the night…limping, and bandaged,we come to each other…the last survivors,in the wars of the heart!

hearts spill from fugitive ashtrays,while thumbs stand in line to pray.damned souls with railroad faces,shuffle by the barrel.small babies paint their faces with ashes,dogs crow, and fences stutter.bodies cling to scattered dirt,messages written on dirty windows.if it is for this that god expressed,then let the funeral begin!how far we walk in search of near!at each…

a comma in the book of life,the point where roads meet,and diverge…a tiny shard of broken glass,a dropp of sweat on the back of a worker,ejaculation, and echo…each vein of the leaf turning,a stray dog’s turd.the creak of the wheel that needs geased,the sound between the gunshotand the thud of the body.the moment just after…

one ‘i’ in give.one ‘i’ in live.one ‘i’ in desire,one ‘i’ in fire…two ‘i’s’ in spirit,and both are on you!time and eternity,both have one ‘i’.so does bridge!union, communicateand ecstatic the same.one ‘i’ in friend,and one ‘i’ in twin…there is one ‘i’ in choice,and two in decision…both are on you!

cant-feed-my-family,cant-pay-the-rent….anger!pounding my fistsagainst a stone wall,anger!working, scuffing, tryingto just get by…anger!just like so many others,all of us, strugglingjust to keep going…anger!standing up, marching,sitting down, making a statement,anger!turning this angerinto positive action…the key!

of hands,grasping mine, holding onfor a time and then letting go…being grasped by mine,being pulled up, pulling up,held onto in spite of…black, brown, white, and red…male and female, old and young,soft, gnarled, and scarred…hands joining together,backs against the wall,hands that pray without letting go,hands that let gowhen the time demands…hands that build and take down,that…

drunk with breath,alive, and electric!open the door,let down your hair…the Guest is coming,with the gifts of love!why worship from afar?make love to the divine.to the hand that wipesaway grief and sorrow.

the name of freedom…we assure him that God ison his side.and he goes and kills andcommits atrocious acts ofviolence…and the defense contractsgrow, we secure more oil…the war machine feeds itself!this young man comes home to no job,no real future, limited benefits,and pretty much no help.and he has to try to sleep atnight, hearing the cries…

without a prayer, the eagle fallsin blackened cinders to the earth.the food stamp mom, her head down,children stare with blank milky eyes.there’s another man down in the project,news at five, news at five.deserted smokestacks stare at an angry sky,buildings filled with rats and ghosts.abandoned cars, abandoned lives,old gas pumps rusting in the wind….and the wind…

respect yourself!respect the earth!respect your neighbor!(everyone is your neighbor)respect the search for truth.respect justice!respect the rights of human beingsto be human beings!respect the need of each and all!living thus…will not allow you to respect,acts of injustice,acts of ignorance,acts of prejudice,acts of greed!be respect!

i was once a river,once a mountain,once a cloud.i have been wolf,turtle, hawk, and snail…i have been a storm, i have been the wind.do you dare love me?i have waited for hundreds of years!the fire inside of me,consumes and feeds!i dont know your name,but i know the part too deep,and too wild and untamedto be…

that the world will right itself,and that the day will be won.i wish i could mend every bridge that’s broken,and turn back the clock to a better time.i wish i could heal those that are suffering,i wish i could stop the seasons….i wish i could answer every question,and touch every broken heart.ah, but the wind…

ghouls without faces,in mechanical rhyme.paid for, paid off,eyes open and blind.hearts severed from the soul,soul severed from the mind.gunfire, racism,treat women like a toy.grown men without mothers,fathers, just boys.gang bangers, pimp daddies,kings of purgatory.bad drugs, bad days,and nights without joy.cant pay the rent, get a job,and prison becomes their school.no hope for nothing more than…

i feelwith the conceptof God as Motherand the less i fear death!i’ve said it before,i’ll say it againfrom the wind and raini cameto the wind and raini will returnnothing else needed!

staying down by the tracks.do what you have to do,forget what you thought you knew…and you better watch your back.raised up right, followed the light,stood for what you believed.off to war and back again,medals made of lies and tin,gave much more than you received.the horns blow, patriots rise.somewhere another innocent dies.stars and stripes in the…

or perhaps just a memory,black coffee and cigarette smoke.bare limbed trees walk beside me,down the path to the road….mailbox hanging open,only cobwebs in the damp.the porch light still on,like a ghostly lighthouse,calling back things you’ve forgotten,that i go through every day!

everything that says:‘I dont care,I dont want to get involved,I am not responsible….’and burn it?then, starting over,hand in hand, side by side,from the ditch to the mountaintop,as if we were human!

i cant say that i’ve been blindbuilding castles in the sandseems kinda funny for me to saywords i’ve said beforefeeling’s too heavy for me to prayon the banks of the shoreon the banks of the shoreat the foot of the crossmy heart’s aching and soreand my soul’s feeling lost…could You spare an angel or twoput…

call it justice, the American way,call it the great lie! …’we have made an incrediblemess of this world…wars, greed, pollution,poverty, enslavement,human rights abuses,hunger, sickness, homelessness…that’s on us!you want me to believe…that God, in his infinite wisdom,is going to come and bail us out…what if God, in his infinite wisdom,showed up with a shovel,and a wheelbarrow…and…

sunlight in the rain,turning colors o’erthe prism mountains…hungry for life,to fill the emptythat you cannot name…naked, unashamed,you wipe the wrinkleswith childlike hands!

you’re just an old man…old hat, old beard,even your socks are old! ‘‘yes, and my socksare full of holes…when i walk acrossthe bare floor i can feel…’and therein liesthe poetry!

the way we ignore and turn our backson each other…the way we let children starve,we dropp bombs on families,we throw people out of their houseswho have nowhere to go…in the names of profit, patriotism,greed, and lust for power…the way we let our old people die alone,we put our young in prisons,we sell our daughters on…

dogs pray silent prayersthat passing cars bow to.and the hum of being vibratesfrom somewhere undefined within…counting canned food by threatened days,cigarettes burn on slow crosses.while still the grass turns brownas if to hide in the shadow of dirt.too early for a drink…and black coffee demands you follow.what made sense is now gibberish,shadowy friends pull unseen…

will go to bed hungry tonite?how many eyesstaring in the darkness…never making a sound?how much money wastedon extravagance and greed…how much more importanceplaced on oil than food?how many bombs dropped?how many shares traded?how many childrenthat no one sees?and how many heartsthat feel nothing?

one aspirin, two ibuprofen,and up to face the day!what doesnt hurtoften fumbles or stumbles.set your chin,and tear down a wall!truth barks,and often growls.what stinks just stinks,no need to cover!the work we dowith mechanical souls,merely feeds the body,what about the mind?years sharpen doubt…cold water is cold.and poverty and loss…you know the rest!black coffee…dont try to sell…

can remember the way the sunlightdanced through the stained glasswindows, the smell of the oldhymnals, the way the hard benchhurt my back….can remember singing the old hymns…(sometimes they come to mein my sleep….)but i cant remember any particular sermon!it’s funny what we equate with God,and holiness… and what we dont!just as easy i can remember…

i breathe poetry, i make love to poetry,i fight poetry, i eat poetry,i bleed poetry, i crap poetry…too often i betray poetry,sometimes i dropp poetry.once i tripped over poetry,got angry and kicked poetry.i rocked poetry on a sleepless night,i buried poetry on the hill…i lived poetry, for i am poetry…no, i dont write poetry,but poetry…

your doorstep,but you didnt notice…so i wrote you a poem,that bled on your kitchen floor,yet the mop stood untouchedin the corner!i wrote you a poem,that set itself on firein your bedroom,and you opened the window.so i wrote you a poem,from the land of death…your tears only an echo,that couldnt touch…couldnt taste, couldnt feel…will you write…

on my back…if i am a walking stick,keep me with youon your journey.if i am a blanket,cover yourself againstthe cold night…if i am a bowl, a spoon,the soup, and the taste…fill your empty stomach!if i am dead branches,gather me for the fire.if i am a match,strike me, and be done.

i’m still alive!and that’s a good thing!

when time and years and chapters,testify in tired feet?the wars have ended,the guns are now still.even the storm left,a candle lit by the bed.do i know you?do you know me?or are we the sound…of doors opening and closing?i cant say your namewithout something in me dying…i cant see the sky,without seeing your face.are we so…

one big nuclear garden…is it worth it?is this the best choicefor our children,and their children?is life worth so little?and progress so much?to whom?24,000 years is along time to payfor bad decisions….

‘neath skies of poverty’s making…the simple, the common,the calloused hands,the baby’s cry in cold night’s grasp….the light so few could see…no temple, no righteous robes,only a carpenter and wife…no kings, no prophets,no blaze of fury….a child born in stillness,that stillness formed….abused, misunderstood,his memory used and twistedinto something else and less….never knowing, never seeing,the simple truth….the…

move about the house,and their day… doingand performing simple tasks;occasional glimpses ofgentleness and random kindness…i see you… and know, whatever else,we did this thing right!

call it justice, the American way,call it the great lie! …’we have made an incrediblemess of this world…wars, greed, pollution,poverty, enslavement,human rights abuses,hunger, sickness, homelessness…that’s on us!you want me to believe…that God, in his infinite wisdom,is going to come and bail us out…what if God, in his infinite wisdom,showed up with a shovel,and a wheelbarrow…and…

a kiss blown by wind but never lost,a friend who tends the grave.a hymn, a prayer, kind words spoken,a drink at a corner table.a book placed back on the shelf,a child’s drawing done in crayon.a door closed, left unlocked,cattle left in the pasture all night.an empty bowel, a candle burned down,a sparrow sitting outside the…

it is most difficult to judge thereflection of ourselves!hate is merely love poisoned by fear…and fear, the bloody sword of ignorance!if we spent less time preaching aboutsuperficial morality, and more timeacting out of compassion, being awareboth of our own humanity, and thehumanity of all others….we would come much closer to being godly!

you cannot takewhat’s already been tooknow baby you’ve got the feeland you’ve got the lookyou’re a pound of fleshyou’re an overdue bookyou’re a prayer for judgementyou’re a shooting starblind man in the alleyplaying slide guitaryou’re way too closeto be going this faryou’re a prayer for judgementyou’re a shooting starincurable sicknessyou’re a runaway trainyou’re an addictionstronger…

come alive with crops abundant.empty factory buildings filledwith the ghosts of hard working lives.empty houses lit up,and the sounds of families.empty hands given cups and bowls,empty hearts held close!empty words given meaning,empty promises fulfilled.walking with the Lover…touching the plenty of empty!

i can almost see your face,can feel the warmth of your tears.i felt your hunger,twisting at my gut,sharpening my stony glance,and the set of my jaw.i was driven by your lostness,walking forever going nowhere.with no beginning and no end,no country, and no home.i was angered by your scars,could name each and every bruise.i walked inside…

‘human impaired’!they…just…..dont…….se e………color!

that no one sees…a moment of lostnessyou cant regain…is an avalanche,a hurricane, anunnamed tear…a moment of softness…the rage of anger.love is a swagger,a limp, a dance, a curse.the taste of lips washedaway by the rain…love is a reason,is madness, a hungerthat cant be fed…love is a scar…with your name…written on it forthe world to see!

individual rights,standing up for collectiverights, and for equality…are not, are notbelligerent acts!we’re not buying the lie!

and the bombs exploding,dont sound like liberation.while the flesh torn facesrunning in fear,haunt my sleepless nights.victory doesnt rhyme with oil,freedom doesnt stink like dead bodies…my brothers that fell beside me,are not heroes, they’re just dead!as democracy nails down coffin lids,while the traders wear new suits.and the real terror is exposedin the money on the table!sure…

is there any difference?

sizzle in the pan!

the storm…to bring peace to a war torn earth,to bring healing and understanding.i have bowed in prayer with all faiths,in temples, in mosques, in huts.i have come in many forms,red, brown, black, and white,male and female both.i have listened without judgement,i have felt what you have felt.i have known your poverty,and your anguish,and the insides…

the sound of crying,that drives the pain.the footfall of a thousand angels weeping.tis the sound of faces,without form or name.the sound of feet,with nothing to gain.the star above a thousand children sleeping.tis the heart unbound,the shattered soul.tis the hand extended,that cannot hold.the waiting at the edge of endless night.tis the broken vase,the candle spent.the holy…

friction inside the match.there are cloudsinside each raindrop,winter snows inside each bud.there is a joyhidden deep in sorrow,there is touchinside of the lonely.there is a needinside each prayer,there is a hungerinside those who take.there is forgivenessinside of anger.there is a freedominside each cell.there is a samenessinside of difference.there is a motherinside each man.there is a…

…your…..permission,without…the…..need……. for……..your……….affirmation,in spite of…hollow…..threats,in defiance of…..censorship………and prejudicial…………restraints!never fear the truth!fear what happens…when…..the…….truth………is no………..longer………….allowed!

sitting on hell’s stoop,drinking budweisers and smoking pall mall’s.dirt faced kids playing with broken glass…god dreams of napalm,while rats sing of glory!and old men with erectionswrite journels of philosophy;while old women knit graveclothes,grounded in scriptures and wills.still young men go to war,without rhyme or reason….lost in the musk of wonder,in a cave with no lantern.did…

free to be hungry!free to be homeless!free to be underpaid!or worse, free to be unemployed.free to be sick without care!free to be the object of racial prejudice.free to be oppressed by the ‘haves’!free to be subjugated to unholy wars!free to be lied to!free to be used!free to be American!free!‘freedom’s just another wordfor nothing left to…

or tolerance for ignorance.however, when i come in contact with another humanbeing i always try to see them through their own eyes…my abiding thought and intent is respect, grounded indignity…i will go out of my way to listen, and to help.but both of us have to pull the oars!

i am the gas pump,guarded by guns.i am the foreclosed house,weeping and vacant.i am the oil rig,convicted of murder.i am the big truck,parked in disgust.i am the nursing home,with grave like beds.i am the field,unplowed and untended.i am the bowl,filled with empty.i am the boots,left by the door.i am the ache,the want and the need.i…

our words were nails…would we be more carefulof the world we build?and what if every actionwere the action thatour entire lives werejudged on…would we be more careful?and what if we finally understoodthat everything we think, do, or say,feeds either our mouth or our heart…what would we change?and what if we really knewthat the person needing…

digging in the dirt?while poetry screams fromweeping willows and dead spiders…light finds it way through crack and crevice,dancing in the little boy’s palm!there is a song that dwellsin things that seem most still.graveyards come alive in the dead of night.and streetlights write historyon streets deserted and quiet.while lamps shine in closed windowsas a testament to…

the God that you believe in,dont show me your temples,sing me your songs,or read me your scriptures.dont try to save me….show me by the way you livethat what you believe is real…and i will respect you,and walk beside you!

barefoot, and drunk with grace,their hands tremble, but their eyes are sure.almost as if unexpected snow,gigantic flakes clinging to the porch rail.swallowing all trace of living,in a vast sea of stillness that hints of hope.the candle by the window flickers,shadows stop to give an ear.the strong scent of the heart lingers,in things unspoken and undefined.we…

do not run through the night,do not babble with tongues.for we are fire!and we are the darkness!and the language we speak,is not bound by words!

your blouse inthe semi-darkness.the faint smell ofyour wanting filledthe room…i was stunnedto find your chest split open.i could see your heartbeating with hunger.i softly caressed it,and could feel the turning,of time and season,want and desire.then suddenly you were gone,leaving dust on my fingertips,and an aching in my soul!

deafens the empty room.bare feet leave no tracks in gravel,yet the birds’ wings scar the skyas they begin their journey.the plow sits motionless weeping,the skillet whistles to the fire.a squirrel sits atop the woodpile,the mountains’ breathing become labored.and the wind packs its few belongings,tips a hat to my shadowed soul.as we begin the long journey,the…

dirty curtains sweating,bodies without heat!you buried me,a 100 miles back…poured milk on my grave,and answered the phone.but even the scar throbs,the moon calls…and the fire in the fugitive field,burns down.old men tell stories,old poets burn and rage…run with wolves, mad and hungry,for touch, skin, and need!when the soul becomes a tongue,and fingers break windows.the water…

of the houseforgotten by time;a book on the table,unopened.footprints on the floorcovered with dust.a cup in the sinkhalf-empty.the wind blowscurtains grey with time….whispering, whispering….names that cannotbe heard.voices, echoes,creaking the floor.a book of photographson the closet floor.walking through the mist,the fog and the shadows,touching small particlesof being left like gifts….lives unwrapped into mine!

tumbleweed blown across the land.day work, no work,cigarettes, roll your own,keep a fire under the pot!old cars rusting,just left by the road…women and babies bathingin service station sinks.desperate hunger,knock down the clerk,grab the cash and run…while ghostlike cities moanand groan in the sun….smokestacks still write epitaphs,black caskets in a line!

hands trembling, and bruised.amid the sirens of warand the stupor of greed;fish come to the surfacegasping for air…vacant buildings breathe,exhaling smoke, andsomething else more sinister…faceless strangers hurry by,bundled up in their fears.stone deaf, or just stone!the door padlocked, and guarded…flesh becomes shadow…and stinks… a flock of birdsheaded south… blood redrain beginning to fall…the call of…

that which is of real value.we seek eternity, but it is inthose moments we are most humanthat we experience it.we would seek god,but god is not lost…god appears to us in chance encounters,in moments that we have the chance to be human,when we have the chance to listen,and so help bring change.even our failures are…