Tai Chi

Catching the next wave
I breathe in —
letting it inform me,
take my body elsewhere.

Slowly arms raise
never separate
all things connected.

Centered
steady, yet moving
alive.

Standing still is never still.
Adjustments, undoing
breathing out to the forest
in again to my core.

The air moves
making room
for my arms to take its place
flowing gently
with the nuance of form
which allows it all
to sing. 

Night Life

Darkness falls
like a womb encasing me
A blanket of care
from the nurturing sky
amid a symphony
of hidden creatures.

The ground calls me
to touch it, relax on it.

Fear slowly leaves
like earthworms
abandoning the hot sun
in search of
damp warm places.

The mystery above
shares its connections
with thousands of years
of recorded history
Sparkles forming shapes
stretching perception.

Images come alive
as the yin of the night
caresses me
challenging my inherent numbness
and something inside softens
as if for the first time.

Being Night

Sands of wind and time
rush through my face
as if I'm not there.
Only the shallow crawl
of a snail can
withstand the blow.

Others trek through
the desert finding corruption
that sinks down
into the unending grit.

The night air
doesn't sting anymore.
The moon — a nurturing orb —
holds out her hand
and guides me
through the day
into night
into day
as I advance toward
my highest good

no longer following
and, yet,
no longer lost.

Art

This is art.

It is not what you see
on the page in front of you
or on the street corner
advertising itself.
It is not tucked away
in museums
or made to be paid for.

It is here
in the way we live
in the thoughts that arise.
Every time we
get out of our way
and let our soul shine through
this is art.

Every breath that
leaps out of our body
to entangle with the world,
everything that surrounds us,
replenishes us, advances us,
every sunrise, sunset,
moon glow, starburst,
wild fruit, butterfly.
This is art.

We live in luxury
surrounded and are part of
the greatest creation —
this luminous world.
When we see it with clear eyes
and feel it with an unencumbered soul
this is a masterpiece
and we are all players.

Erosion

 
 

Surrendering to erosion

time takes its toll.

Mornings stiffer than

they used to be

hair thinner

lines more prominent.

A gentle merging

me and life.

I feel closer

to the flowers

the outside calls

inside stirrings.

Every gnaw in my stomach

a reminder

I am human

and fallible

and mundane.

In collaboration with death 

I see the passing of the years

rein in on me

opening me up

to the collaboration with life

which fills my every cell

and expands me

into the wildness

of existence.

I open the windows of my soul

to the whims of the day

as new adventures unfold

and I, a wisp in the wind,

trust to erosion

giving life to my very being

and joyfully enter

the day.

Translucence

Like rainwater
falling into a stream bed
I gather evidence
from the soul world
to uncover who I am.

Pockets of knowledge
open up to me
like voices inside
calling me to my true self.

Afloat, I wonder
what is real —
who is this conversation with?
Alas — details don't matter.
I ride the crest
and see through illusions
as best I can
knowing the inner world
can speak more truth
than my mind controlling
what's below.

I tread my path slowly
being open
     just open
           simply open.

I Am Here

And then it happens
suddenly, it seems,
I am here.

In the cocoon of my making
in the bed I have chosen
in the midst of plants, soil and tears
in the rising of the sun
I am here.

I am here
in the dreadings of the day
in the waning of the moon
in the snow tops
the landslides
the bugs.

Life opens the door and lets me in,
far from anything I have done
and, yet, I am here.

Where land meets water
I am here
where sky bends down for me to touch
I am here
where fluid becomes solid and solid melts
where ruins turn into shrines
where walls transform landscapes
where trees curl and snarl
I am here.

Where love falters
I am here.
In its daily doings I sit and listen
absorb, sometimes too much.
Going within softens my soul
gives me time to replenish
to face the world again.

For all its ups and downs
cowardice and heroic acts
love woos and invites me in.
My walls are only stumbling blocks
stopping me along the path
I cower and crawl into my cave
but I don’t reside there.

Journeying

In this vast world
of entrances and exits
we exist in limbo.

The journey carries us
over rugged mountains
swift rivers
choppy seas.

The life boat remains afloat
the blessings are there.

Visions get crushed
dreams get saturated,
coddled.
Some lead in false directions.

Yet, we carry on knowing
we cannot walk away
from our shadow.
Darkness does not dim it
nor can light fade it away

but hidden in the gray zone
wanting to be seen
waiting to be discovered
is the guide to help us find
our true way home.

Inside You

Conceived from love
I had nothing to do
but grow.

Inside your womb
you kept me warm
and comfortable
feeding me, filling me
with your essence.

You sat touching your belly
I felt your singing
his, too, as he
reached out to be with me.

And when I kicked
everyone wanted to
feel me move!
Such passion surrounding
my being there.

All this wonder
All this joy
How is it
that I could forget?

Two Worlds

Walking the mystical path
with practical feet
I delve in and record
swooping into depths
I cannot reach alone.

Led to the underworld
with pomegranate seeds
in my hand,
the promise of spring
pulls me back up
toward the sun.

Here I soak in the light
and deliver what my heart knows
No longer bound
to the fire and fury
of getting it right
I cradle what comes forth
and unleash it to the world.

Beckoned by the
call of the wild
this new territory
is fresh and free
radiant and humbling
soothing and sacred
as I tread lightly
to not disturb
new growth.

A Break from the Rain

Like the shedding of snake skin
my ego peels away
making room for my soul
to blossom.

This gentle unfolding
creates a base to live by.
Connected to the whole
I feel rooted, yet free —
realness expressing itself.

My soul searches
for other exposed souls
as naturally as my ego
can pinpoint other egos at work.

Ground water turns into mist
as the sun breaks through
the clouds this morning.

Trust

You birthed me into being
like you birthed everything else.
Oh, wild, miraculous thing.

You open your arms
to greet me
share me with all the rest.

You show me that
flowers bloom every spring
the sun rises every dawn
and darkness comes every night

as if building a trust
that takes lifetimes to see
or a second to know

yet dissolves in our minds
as soon as we can't prove you exist
or that you'll still be there
when we die.

Rooted

Beneath the horizon
a low-lying vision
stretches before me.
This is where I live.

Here I am connected
rooted in the lost arts
rooted in the mystery
that lies
just below view.

Wisdom soaks in
like a blanket
in the rain
releasing mist
when the sun
bares all.

Roots find their way down
as buds their the sky.
Every blossom
is my blossom.

Come dawn
I will rise again
and not feel
so alone.

The Wellspring

Are someone else's hands
craftier than mine?
Is someone else's line
my line?
Another's circle
my emblem of eternity?

Is it their color
I want to match,
their vigor and poise?

Dangling in front of me
is my own conversation
My own high wire
to jump.

Here is my own fate to follow
My own soul to guide me
to the edge of the wellspring
where newness
beckons me to enter
and indulge in the great offerings
of life mixed with
age, masters and musings

and trust that the path
is already there
and all I have to do
is meet it halfway.

Flowering

Infused, I am,
with the spirit of life
coming through me
to be me.

Together we vibrate
at the threshold.
Resisting no more
freedom comes from
living at this peak.

Like flowering trees
in their ecstasy
showing all
I learn from the
innocence of clarity
developing my awareness
to include me
as I am one with nature
and a pure act of beauty
too.

Yes

 

Embedded in the mystery
is the one thing
I cannot unravel
dissect or tear apart —
it is my soul
saying 'Yes'

Through the chaos
contortions
digressions
my soul speaks to me
and I have followed it
not always knowing why.

To this day, 'Yes'
has obliged me to stay
and devour the doubt
the scrooge
the unknowing one
the one not wanting
to look so deeply
the one not wanting
to open up and share.

My soul knows
to repeat this to me
time and again
till I fully embrace
and trust it —
to follow 'Yes'

and here I am.

Launched

Burning fire —
I step into you
boldly unknowing
where you will lead.

Though you try
to humble, confuse and
mock me
I walk your coals.

Who am I, you say,
to know my soul
to show my trivial self
to think others care?

Like those who have
forsaken you before,
I take a step
into the madness
into the dream
into the blunder.

Your rising flames
surround and scorch me
even torment me
but leave no exit
anymore.

Another Kind of Love

 

Is not a flower
opening its beauty
to win the bee
who takes her nectar
to make honey,
love?

Is not the worm
who takes refuse
into his body
and turns it into humus
for the soil,
love?

Is not the man in the moon
watching us
in his magical way
changing form daily
yet always reliable,
love?

Is not a people
trying to set themselves free
after generations of
struggle, poverty
and hardship,
love?

When I see life like this
the love in me
can't help but be
part of the cycle

And I fall
madly in love
with the world
every day.

On A Day

 

On a day like this
when the sun wakes me to newness
birds chirp and feed their young
the ground swells with dew
and earthworms find food

On a day much like this one
when flowers unfold to greet the sky
a baby cries
men gather trash
and machines whine

On a day like today
when kids go to school
or stay home and play
people find new jobs or lose them
stocks rise or fall
countries are at peace or at war

On a day not unlike today

On a day
I wake up and feel a fresh breeze
On a day
my heart pumps blood through my body
On a day
I love life just like I do today

I will die.