The Wedding Toast
I wish for you the passion
That will bring you knowledge;
The knowledge that will teach you love;
The love that will bring you to understanding;
The understanding that will make you wise;
And the wisdom to know that nothing in this life endures
Except love.
1969
Winter Comes Again
The season of death
is done
Spring comes, sees, weeps
then forgetting, moves on
to summer sun
One thinks chills will never return
But soon
Autumn lies in heaps
Winter comes again
october 1963
There Is A Moment
There is a moment in each life
that has everything in it
It is the defining moment
It is just for you. Full.
It is not stained with desire or disappointment.
Of all the moments in your life
will you know it when it comes to you?
Do you know how to recognize it?
Do you know how to pick it out of all the others?
Do you know how to catch hold and keep it with you?
to string it on the string of memories and smiles?
Here is a hint:
It is this moment.
Find the one who can show you how
To breathe it in.
To fill yourself with it.
To keep it forever.
july 27, 2009
Sleeping Beauty
show me where perfection lies
that i may come upon her sleeping
and
have her for my own
april 1976
Comment
This expression reflects the part of me that clouds my vision with fear and doubt. It transforms beauty and heart-felt longing for recognition and love. The fear of not receiving that for which the heart longs, stops me from asking for what I seek, and the longing is distorted into desire. The simple, honest part of me recognizes the beauty and appreciates the gift of the recognition. That there is such a thing as beauty is a gift. And, having the consciousness to see and appreciate the beauty is another gift. These different parts of me are often in tension that is resolved by understanding.
How Big Is Your World?
How big is your world?
Not the world outside
As seen from space
Or on television
Or on your computer
Or that somebody tells you about
Or you read about in
Books
Newspapers
Text messages
Tweets
Newsfeeds
Or you think about
Or you wish for
Or you dream about
The world that is you
All you have
Seen
Heard
Smelled
Touched
Felt touching you
Experienced for yourself
The world that is your world
Inside
Explore this world
Find
Beauty
Appreciation
Gratitude
Love
Joy
Contentment
Peace
Inside of you
Find someone who can guide you
Into
Your Self
Your World
Your Heart
And enjoy
Your Life
august 2014
The autumn sun hangs rusting in the liquid sky
Its light dust falling on the trees below,
Melting the green of summer into shades of russet, red and gold
The crimson clouds drip fire on the Pin Oaks and Sugar Maples
Burning up the beauty of another summer gone skipping into memory.
The old woman sits mumbling in her bed,
White stubble where the white-gold locks of childhood once floated on the running wind.
Her teeth are gone. Her gums are pink.
Her tongue is thick with praise and glory.
It goes so fast.
So fast the passing of each breath
So fast each spring and fall,
The once long winters and the summers so thick with heat and lethargy
Each breath so short
Each breath so precious
Who knew?
Now, she sits in wonder at a lifetime passed
Full of wonder
Full of memory
Looking back one last time
Seeing glory
Seeing beauty burning in her eyes one last time
Oh, the breath
One more, just one
One to say, “Nice life, nice life, nice life”
One for what is gone
One for what is now
Just this one
To carry me away…
april, 2002
