HOW SWEET IT IS

  HOW SWEET IT IS

La dolce far niente,

no need to look at the clock.

La dolce far niente,

don’t have to write it down.

Tomorrow doesn’t matter;

let go of yesterday.

Revisiting the history of the world,

you discover they took a wrong turn

early on and the rest is comic invention

that cannot be reversed, but you,

melting in the moment, can start anew now.

      August 19, 2003

NEW LIFE

     NEW LIFE

He died

but much to his surprise

came back in a borrowed body

that someone had  left behind:

two eyes to scan the skies

in their beauty ever new,

two ears to hear Beethoven

and his brothers

and all the birds of happiness,

free now from all the inessentials

and misdirections of his first life;

so light he is invisible

to all but the pure of heart

who teach him empathy and compassion,

his mind so clean and clear

all lies and liars are off his radar.

 

Grateful for this second chance,

which to him

is really a first chance,

he does not ask for more

since what he has at last

is more than enough

of everything.

     November 21, 2012

MYSTICAL

MYSTICAL

There are

no mystics,

but there are

mystical moments

when we sense

our oneness

with the earth,

whether on it

or in it,

springtime of youth,

autumn of age,

sea and sun,

life, light,

and the brotherhood

of being;

then chant

a hymn

of gratitude,

sing

a song

of thanksgiving.

November 17, 2012

YOU ARE YOU

YOU ARE YOU

You are you;

seems silly to say,

but it’s true.

You are you,

and you need

to remind yourself

to become

who you are

lest you get

dissolved

into the herd.

November 15, 2012

OF BIRDS AND AUTOS

 OF BIRDS AND AUTOS

The birds arrive at half past five

unless a fallen leaf or two

until they move or fly away

becoming birds again.

 

My backyard birds

of every hue and species

live in peace,

a lesson for us,

except that we’re

too smart to learn.

And as for driverless cars,

will they know

where they’re going

and what will they do

when they get there?

   November 15, 2012

DREAM ON

     DREAM ON

Dreams, dreams, dreams, 

what do they mean? 

Many men have achieved fame and fortune

with their interpretations

(Freud, Adler, Jung, Hall, and Pearls,

to name a few),

all going in different directions,

but no one has solved the mystery

of what happens

in the theater of unconsciousness

when the conscious brain’s on holiday

and the limbic system

(hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala)

takes over.

How can you be both

the star of the performance

and the sole audience,

(not to mention the one who

selects the scenery,

writes the dialogue,

directs the action

and chooses the cast).

On stage and off stage:

one becomes two

or possibly the limbic trio in cahoots

substitutes a stand-in to play the lead.

    November 12, 2012

HALLOWEEN

   HALLOWEEN

(ALL SAINTS EVE)

         I

Be like me,

which is to say.

be completely yourself,

which is anything but me.

Apparent contradiction

will be solved

when we find

the quarks that connect—

oh what fun

to be as one.

         II

Occidental sky at dawn,

panorama of cumuli;

hiding among them

no cloud at all,

but  pale moon

setting in the west,

surrounded by

a crowd of cousins.

        III

As I listen  to

Tchaikovsky’s

 “Swan Lake Suite,”

these images and icons

beg to be put in print,

and who am I to deny them?

  October 31, 2012

WAR

       WAR

Next war,

will we  be

on the winning side

or losing side? 

No need to ask:

there will be

no winning side.

As Einstein,

unsure of the weapons

with which

the next world war

will be fought,

proclaimed:

“World War IV

will be fought

with sticks and stones.”

Grim, grim, grim, indeed. 

This beautiful planet, 

these marvelous  minds

and the magnificent world

that they created.

  November 2, 2012

APPLICATION

 APPLICATION

Next life

jobs will be scarce,

considering the large work force,

so I’m applying early

to be an assistant mixer

of the blues used each day

to color the sky,

hoping to work my way

through the centuries

to becoming one of the artists

who paint the daily masterpiece

for earthlings to behold.

You think

I’m a dreamer,

don’t you?

How right you are!

November 3, 2012

ZERO

      ZERO

Zero times zero is zero,

times two, too,

or any other number.

Time to climb

out of that hole

of nothingness;

start by adding

one and one;

small step,

but still

a new beginning.

November 1, 2012