Strugglers

despite all the unhealed cuts and purple bruises

ignoring old wounds and the aches and the pains

staying in the game

creating new plans after dismal failures

willing to struggle for years without success

hopeful no matter appearance or situation

no matter the failures, in spite of the wrong turns

oblivious to the posted odds

remaining focused on the race itself

suiting up despite all the previous losses

beaten often, yes, but not beaten down

bloody but not yet broken

coping with mental and physical handicaps

catching the pack though left far behind at the start

making full use of anything at hand

fighting through the bitter tears

unable to cast aside powerful dreams

never accepting the relief of simple hopelessness

walking bad roads that always seem uphill

sacrificing youth and even life itself

always holding fast to the passion of living

ignored and unwanted

cast off and left without training

nonetheless finding a clear and unique voice

laughed at by the cliques

shoved aside by the powerful

succeeding with the help of a simple but marvelous persistence

malformed, skinny, fat, scarred and/or quite ugly

unable to quite reach the rungs of the ladder

fated often to lose but never able to quit

tripped up on obstacles purposely erected by others

held further back by the rules of the rigged game

forced to seek wisdom in the lot they were handed

downtrodden and forgotten, ignored or abused

cast out without being given a sense of direction

trying so hard, without any lessons

born to those who neither achieved nor were expected

assumed to be dull and lacking ambition

yet roaring up from behind, unaware of the difficulties

left outside too often to their own immature devices

not cared for or nurtured, but ignored and injured

adapting and overcoming, finding a way on their own

rarely even looked at, then laughed at and quickly beaten

not good enough for TV or the groups back at school

tortuously discovering what others deliberately did not show them

often failing, but never quitting

too far removed from the herd to know they could not succeed

carving out their own positions of self-respect and honest dignity

scorned by the fair and the offspring of the privileged

not taken for granted - just not even considered at all

but driven on by a strong but quiet voice from the inside

finding new hope when things have all gone wrong

stepped on without malice and kicked aside with indifference

achieving success and still knowing mercy

living off tiny dreams in an atmosphere of failure

able to persevere despite years of disappointment

achieving, in the end, what the wellborn might scorn as mundane

The Tao That

the Tao that is spoken cannot be heard

the Tao that is grasped still feels like the air

the Tao that is shared cannot be communicated

the Tao once observed is thereby forever altered

the Tao that is finally written

does not contain a single word

the Tao that is measured is thus resized again

the Tao once forgotten returns to its course

the Tao that is captured acts as does water

it reveals only the shape of its container

the Tao glimpsed as mere shadow

yields hints of its true nature

the Tao given off by events unrelated

forms the overtones stored within an echo

the Tao once grasped

evaporates quickly into nonsense

the Tao that is denied

accepts each and every argument

the Tao once visualized

dissolves like a dream upon reflection

the Tao exists not within us

but can fill our minds just the same

the Tao truly described

has no real outline

the Tao pursued

joins the moving shadows

the Tao defined

has no meaning

the Tao that is realized

lights our path without a source

the Tao imagined

is a dream of dreaming

the Tao ignored

is perfectly reflected

the Tao defiled

soils only the observer

the Tao once forsaken

creeps back from every side

the Tao clung to

does not remain on the fingers

the Tao not completed

gains eternal life

the Tao not considered

is freed to be revealed

the Tao not isolated

keeps to itself

the Tao not evaluated

retains its full potential

the Tao is not dilated

yet expands with the universe

the Tao not distanced

remains far away

the Tao not visible

is much easier to see

the Tao not called upon

gives forth a flood of answers

the Tao not present

outlines the entire truth within

the Tao not reconsidered

is considered once too often

the Tao not focused directly upon

reveals its minutest details

the Tao seen as shattered

is identical in each smaller piece

the Tao that is analyzed

is an unsorted and incomplete fossil

the Tao that is broken

is perfect in all respects

the Tao that bubbles from within

has a source outside the spring

the Tao that is filtered

gains impurities but loses nothing

the Tao that is polarized

is the same on either side of the filter

the Tao that fills the night sky

travels outside the speed of light

the Tao that covers everything

drifts down in spaces between the snowflakes

the Tao that lasts forever

never existed as it struck you

the Tao of uncountable infinities

exists outside of The Life Force

the Tao effects that we see

occur without actions that we could measure

the Tao that we will never know

we ignore at our utmost peril

the Tao that stretches back beyond forever

recurs completely in each smallest instant

Prismatics

I looked down into the depths of that clear and moving water

I saw memories shimmering in and out of the past

I listened as gentle breezes carried the sounds of the woods

I heard echoes of other times returning from far down the canyon

I stroked the gnarly bark of an ancient evergreen

I felt the calm which flowed from far beneath its surface

I breathed deeply of the earth, moistened by the gentle rains

I smelled the smoky fires that once had kept us safe

I walked alone in wasted landscapes dressed in filthy rags

I paused in the meadow as you bent to pick some flowers

I worked with hateful strangers and counted each and every minute

I tried to hold onto every moment in which we sat in peace

I steeped in all the influences that droned on about me from all sides

I drew only upon the faint but clear light that I found within

I groped my way in the mists of the profoundest of confusion

I lost my sight while searching but began to gain a vision

I read of far off galaxies and creatures that lived long ago

I began to understand the anxiety which marked my whole life thru

I gazed upon the yellow aspen leaves as they trembled in the fall

I felt my spirit rise into the deep blue sky which framed them

I sensed the gentle return of Spring upon my cheeks and forehead

I no longer had a need to stare straight into the sun simply to be sure

I stumbled on the broadest trail in the clearest light of day

I fell alone but then arose to find you there and awaiting me

I could pay no attention to the slow marching of all the passing years

I found myself in ever greater debt to many I would never know

I watched the sun go slowly down and then quickly disappear

I noted with interest, but not sorrow, the lines upon my hands

I found quiet joy in the large snowflakes that fell slowly from all directions

I dreamed a robot said on TV that factory food was his home cooking

I grew stronger playing happily in the shade of those old trees

I grew old standing quietly, protecting others from the sun

I sold out to the unfaithful for little more than a song

I finally went quite bankrupt and gladly mortgaged just my soul

I watched the tiny wavelets produced by a pebble

I saw a young boy skipping stones on a glacial lake long ago

I noticed that it had grown quite late and the streets were very empty

I hurried ever onward but slowly realized that I was not sure of the way

I leaped wide from basic instincts to unsupported conclusions

I fell so far I had no more need of either reason or excuses

I listened as the crows gathered and each tried to talk at once

I heard but a single voice that was both calm and reassuring

I walked far up an unknown trail hoping just to find a quiet overlook

I turned that last corner just as the first raindrops began to fall

I spoke but little as the days grew short and their shadows lengthened

I told these simple stories that I did not understand and no one else could hear

I looked upon peaks buried deep in snow, glistening in the winter sun

I wished that I had seen them before all these tourists had arrived

I listened for the faint tinkling of the gentle rain upon the windows

I heard that old wooden clock still ticking somewhere in the past

I studied many subjects during long years spent at all those schools

I learned so slowly that I could know but little in my very short lifetime

I spoke out often and with vigor when things did not seem right

I kept to myself when I finally realized that it had the same effect

I traveled on for what seemed like ages as the years came and went

I had arrived at some point but, until much later, could not really notice

I dozed off many times to the sounds of a stream

I awoke from dreams of my own dreaming and I was vaguely uncertain

I created a rich inner life more enjoyable than the shared illusion of reality

I was molded day and night by the wills and choices of those I did not see

I sat quietly in the pre-dawn watching colors return to the countryside

I arose to plod through another day sharing this land of make believe

I went so far back through my life that there were no longer any memories

I concluded there must come another time like that, and it would begin very soon

I grew up with the security of the imagined wonders yet to come

I grew old in the comfort of my own refashioned memories

I imagined the world as it still might have become

I believed in a world as I wished it might have been

I listened attentively for sounds I thought I may have missed

I heard snatches of blissful silence punctured by their raucous outbursts

I set out on my way with trepidation, doubt and uncertainty many years ago

I traveled far with strangers and, happily, had no home to return to

I walked softly into the meadow with the sunrise at my back

I helped trample many of the finer things into the mud with my boots

I dismissed as unimportant their dogma that could have gained me success

I weaved odd snatches of facts into a threadbare cloak of illusion

I wished only to live peacefully, searching for a bit of quiet joy

I joined the hoarsely shouting throngs and raged uselessly, on a daily basis

I was filled with national pride and patriotism as a little boy

I grew ever more embarrassed and ashamed of what we had become

I saved as much as possible of my miserable take for those ‘golden years’

I saw my comrades gamble and waste but then demand bailouts and subsidies

I strolled through the shopping malls looking deeply into people’s faces

I noted the anger, fear, hurry, ignorance and greed in their gazes

I tried with all my being to understand and to make my peace

I only saw that it could make not any difference in 500 million years

I moved quickly and decisively through issues of consumerism

I observed a hairy caterpillar inch its way across a picnic table

I scanned the sky on clear nights for clues as to the mysteries

I found good evidence that we had wisely chosen to retain our blissful ignorance

In The Spring

In the strong Spring runoff, mercy bubbles quite near the surface

In the leaves that open, hands reveal a secret

With the cleansing showers comes a joyful tear

With the longer days the sun performs an ageless miracle

By the swollen stream we sense the turning of the wheel

By the better light we see how long the road has been

From their many winter shadows now emerge the quiet plants

From their secret places come the creatures of the woods

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In the early morning there is sweet coolness still remaining

In your glance I see how much that you can feel it, too

With the help of Spring we rebind our dreams to the future

With the thaw, old leaves renew the soil that once sustained them

By the twilight we discern the changes from another winter’s passing

By the raindrops we can count every flower opening

From the smallest bud to the forest newborns, life recasts its magic spell

From a sublime cascading reaction the aspen sap begins to flow

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In the breezy shade of spruce trees, our steps are gently slowed

In the quiet of the forest we watch them at their prayers

With the energy of May's fresh sunlight the world restores itself

With the coming of each morning the earth is more reborn

By the time we start to grasp it once again, it slips away

By the raging creek we watch as the trout are awakened

From even small beginnings come wonders to behold

From quiet meditation reappear the things that every child knows

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In the last days of healthy frosts our aches retreat as our own juices flow again

In the prism of the morning dew there beckons all, a world that’s new

With the help of quiet showers something returns to fill its promise

With our happy smiles we walk and turn the hills beneath our feet

By the sunset through the clouds, both our thoughts are reflected

By the things that we hold dear, our vows remain unbroken

From us, the Spring brings forth the things that make this life worth living

From the time our eyes first opened, lent a grace both kind and gentle

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In the quiet of the meadow you can hear as good earth makes its music

In the heavy runoff you can see the richness of life’s passing

With the coming of the sweet grass, the elk seek a quiet place to calve

With great content we simply walk once more in gentle sunlight

By the spirit that animates these good woodlands we find our way once more

By the greatest fortune we can see the flowers bloom again

From out of the gray stillness comes a riot of colors like joyful singing

From this great upwelling do we sense a kindly deeper meaning

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My Interview Questions

Tell us about the best thing you have ever done

What is the average depth of the ocean

Name the most important thing you would change if you could

Given the chance, what would you do differently with your life

Share a question that you have pondered time and time again

What magazines do you make sure to always read

Where and what were you before your earliest memories

What mechanical tool do you find you use the most

Explain an intricacy of your favorite plot

Describe in some detail the one person you knew and most despised

Explain one concept you accept as an article of faith

Why do humans always find it necessary to go to war

In how many languages do you have some fluency

How many languages should be official in one country

Should police use personal judgment or treat every case the same

Between electricity and running water which would you do without

Why or why not is human life more sacred than that of the animals

Explain the principle behind the internal combustion engine

Talk a little about the book that you are currently reading

Give the scientific names of the four days when the seasons change

How do you tell if you are doing something nearly at your potential

What sports do you participate in and how do you train

What ways have you found that you can express yourself

How would a greenhouse gas bring about global warming

If you have a car, what kind and how old is it

What is different about the nut securing a chop saw blade

Who do you think was the greatest American

Why are Asian immigrants more successful than Hispanics

Name your favorite mathematician, alive or not

If a man lived right but had no Savior, could he go to heaven

According to science, what is the age of the earth and the universe

If you watch television, name three shows that you like

Where do you go to find out about current news and events

What species is the largest vertebrate ever to live

What clubs or societies are you a member of

Approximately what percent of humans now live in poverty

How important is the abortion issue in relation to other problems we face

How wide and how thick is a wooden 2x4

What is the relationship of Intelligent Design to the Theory of Evolution

What’s on the menu for your favorite breakfast

What are the three planets closest to our sun

Everyone wants to hear of your most embarrassing moment

What is the approximate current human population of the earth

What do you fear more than anything else

Name the second highest peak in the Himalayas

Talk frankly about the biggest lie you have ever told

What Internet site do you spend the most time at

What was the most important event of the 20^th Century

Ask a question that most people will not know and give the answer

Which continent is the largest of all

What determines the size of waves hitting a beach

What distinguishes man from other animals

Name one work of the very late J.S. Bach

How might your goals change if you knew you would live forever

If you had five minutes to live, right her and now, what would you do

How many prime numbers are there

Name three Canadian provinces and one Mexican state

What is di-hydrogen oxide good for

Would you call the conquest of the New World a great genocide

What is the longest time you ever went without speaking

What is the chief cause of animal extinction

What is a musical chord

How long will it be until your influence becomes background noise

What is the purpose of the ATP molecule

What civilization do you admire the most

Why should people be required a license to drive but not to have kids

Tell us something your father used to say

Why would humans be basically without hair

Who taught you the best and how were they so effective

When did the last ice age end

Who is your favorite painter and name your favorite work

How long ago was writing invented

What is your favorite tree

How are the animals used to make hamburgers killed

Do you have any pets, why or why not

What is escape velocity

What year was your mother born

What is the distinguishing characteristic of the earth from space

Who do you admire the most, either living or dead

Describe a problem in your field that you would like to solve

Would you take responsibility for control software on a manned spacecraft

Is mathematics an art, a craft, a science or something else

What is your own normal heartbeat

Tell us about your ancestry

What is the main difference between the sharks and the fishes

Talk about any project you are currently working on outside of work

What do you usually do on Saturday nights

How did the English language originate

How much money does the US spend on defense per year

Why or why not do you practice recycling

Where does your community obtain its water supply

What supplements or medications do you take

How far away is the moon

Why does the sound of a jet seem to come from behind it

What language has the most speakers today

What would you like to do on your ideal 3 week vacation

How old do you expect to be when you die

What would you do tomorrow if you could stop working today

Presque Vu

There surely has to be a different sort of life but we simply cannot quite see

For there were brief periods when we felt that we were almost a part of it

A different sort of time, now ignored by us all, in our frantic rushes

Perhaps it still flows somewhere, unnoticed in the background

There can be no guides prepared by any industry to help us catch a glimpse

Just as well as most of us run blindly, nearly all the time

Though sensed peripherally for instants, it is quickly shrugged away

And we are carried on again by this vapid stream of daily lives

Outside of the phony cacophony raised over shiny baubles that are held for sale

During the brief and quiet moments in which we find the time to think

Possibly there was a vision of lives based on a different set of values

Where the sounds of diesel motors do not awaken our small children

I might have heard of a place where one listens as birds call out the coming dawn

A place where a quiet people dwell who make a slow but steady progress

Perhaps waking troubled in the night, there had been a clue

Clearly, we had seen most issues but never known quite how to face them

Maybe sleepers such as we, out walking, stumbled seeing merely our own dreams

Sometimes almost wakened, disturbed as we lurched and cast about

It seems there might have been, at times, a message left in a shaft of light

Or some trace of meaning disappearing beyond a distant ridge

Was that it there in memories of quiet farms seen from the road?

Or did I see something glimmering in the sunset waters off that lake?

I wondered why I thought that I remembered things I knew I had never seen

I did know why the way I really lived had often lead to tears

There seemed to be a message in the snowflakes that fell from all directions

Deciphering such things might have helped me to grasp what I had felt

What was that which dissolved around the corner, up ahead in the dusk?

From whence came that comforting illusion of another people in other towns?

Perhaps it was not just some advertising music and the scenery of marketing

That message almost read which came on the warm winds of early May

Driven in a hurry with the other rodents, nonetheless, were there not some moments?

Just the same, sometimes a sense of calm - amid that great confusion?

Was there not the sound of quiet music almost played and just about enjoyed?

I think I may once have started to believe, but I cannot quite remember

Many times I snapped my head back but what it might have been, was gone

But, nonetheless, I even have the memories of what I thought I saw

It seemed always to be present in the ruins of where they dwelled so long ago

Something synthesized only in our minds, many came to believe

In the blue light of the winter it came so strong that we commenced to howl

Then, straining in our excitement, we absorbed the vaster silence

Beneath the green lake waters diving, something scattered with small fish

But left my head to pop like a bubble through the surface once again

Perhaps in the quiet of a pre-dawn coolness, I saw something linger

Totally forgotten or cruelly ridiculed in the harsh light of modern life

Sometimes it suffused the very air and my coat would bristle

Too often only half-baked memories lent me precious little comfort

Maybe when birds were singing and light first began to form new shadows

Still, roaring once again, that real and terrible certainty returned in full

Watching as the trout rose taking the peaceful twilight long ago in Spring

Brute repetition finally teaches us that there is but only one true way

In the first few minutes from a summit with a view not easily obtained

Too easily our minds simply return to their deeply-rutted track

In the velvet night, what was this spectral image that may have paid a call?

But wait, no doubt can exist regarding the time spent beneath the wheel

When the snow fell yet again upon older snow, was that some somber power?

The endless stream of empty chatter quickly brings us back online

Something that kept returning despite all of what I thought I knew

Somewhere I cannot take you, whereof we both know different scattered details

From a dignified spruce, boughs outstretched, in a quiet meadow

It’s very grace, for just a moment, the most palpable of things

What was that state of mind about? Brought on by gentle music

But quickly lost in the sweat and dust and the hoarse shouting of many days

Was there not a hidden message in the patterns of the clouds at sunset?

Maybe without all the other foolish distractions, I just might have discerned

We can only hope that it is not just a pathetic illusion or by-product of the hype

That a certain set of circumstances might at last bring it clearly to the light

When Everything

when everything is quiet one can hear the trickling of clear thoughts

and those real events finally emerge from this fuzzy blur

when everything is making sense and it's dark and it is cool

there is little left that we should fear

when everything can be seen and heard in its own good time

and there are no shrieking sounds or flashing lights

when everything stops its pushing, its shoving and its screaming

we find that peaceful silence is not empty, after all

when everything stops spinning and the shouting fades away

the quiet hidden things begin to croak and peep once more

when everything comes into focus and your feet are on the ground

enjoy this fleeting moment before you are swept away again

when everything turns over and the world can make no sense

there can come a healing silence if there is but a little darkness

when everything is rushed and naked confusion is the rule

then emerges a strength born in the quiet dark alone

when everything is resting and you are left to think

pray you find these springs from which to draw your healing

when everything is silent as the snow falls upon the ground

inside grows a joy that sits beside a warming fire

when everything goes as it should upon a moonless night

the misty milky way reveals more than a simple cold starlight

when everything that has no meaning becomes extremely clear

it is time to let the deeper things percolate up into your mind

when everything is finally still after all the noisy penetrating trivia

perhaps a moments reflection is worth a year’s entertainment

when everything that incessantly clamors is left without an audience

once again, mysteries that cry out can be carried in upon the wind

when everything seems simpler though you do not understand it

we have peeled back yet another layer from the onion of our mandala

when everything unneeded falls away as if behind us up in outer space

then perhaps comes another time when wonder finds its place

when everything that beckoned lies silent at one's resting feet

then maybe this miraculous spring can truly bubble freely

when everything collapses inward as you are left alone

I hope you find there is, indeed, a core remaining at the center

when everything is wrapped in black, and fall ignites the stars

may you, just one time, glimpse the beckoning void for yourself

when everything is not just swirling by from out of every corner

perhaps it's then that it's the time to see what may still be important

when everything seems way too close up and far too personal for your taste

may you glimpse the wisdom in those images from out in deep space

when everything has just been wrong for way too goddamn long

would that you find that elusive peace within, my tortured brother

when everything we hold in honor is simply used to clean the floors

sit with me then and ponder, the moonlight from our rowboat

when everything closes in one day from all sides and all at once

hopefully no longer can you only simply turn away

When everything and everyone has finally chosen between only black and white

Hopefully, god can still be found in the colors of the rainbow

When everything you wanted to complete is no longer within your grasp

Then you will find the questions you never had the time to ask

When everything fades away to the ticking of a clock some winter afternoon

Watch the sun as it chases growing shadows across your tiny room

When everything loses its color as the twilight fades away

May you close your eyes and rest in peace until another day

When everything falls into its place and it’s not as late as you had thought

I wish you luck with grasping the real meaning of your success

When everything seems full of promise and the days grow ever brighter

Take care to notice when the leaves reach the very height of their fullness

When everything reduces to the sound of silence behind closed eyes

Does your heart race quite strangely and do random thoughts assail you?

When everything cries out, but you find that you can rest in peace

Can it matter if you have understood or only learned to ignore?

When everything moves away from you at the speed of light

How can it change the universe to observe the polarity of a photon?

When everything can be explained in terms of unrelated contradictions

It should come as no surprise to achieve great wealth and then to die of cancer

When everything is turning green and gentle rains promise peaceful times

I hope that you can find your way amid the chorus of the marshes

When everything is quiet and darkness fills a starry sky

Note the occasional meteor that streaks brightly in less than a heartbeat

When everything has come down to a decision made many years ago

Sometimes it’s hard to think about what might happen long from now

When everything depends upon choices made without time for deliberation

Instincts trained in long years of practice must somehow see one through

When everything we held in the highest place of honor stops making any real sense

What nearly unnoticeable strength will emerge to light our lonely path?

When everything that is needed is no longer available in the stores

Perhaps it will be time again to simply listen as rain falls upon the roof

When everything goes out of focus and voices seem so far away

Pain, too, is dulled and great suffering is eased, with just a little mercy

When everything continues but without any reasons that we can perceive

Perhaps the sounds of nature may help re-sort the order from confusion

When everything is still but the day, nonetheless, continues to begin

Let there be a moment left before the noise and dust and turbulence start again

When the present reduces to the last 3 minutes of passing distractions

Let this so-called illusion be penetrated by some observer from within

A Fresh Water Home

there is a cottage on that lakeside where I swam so long ago

there came the smell of life from deep down within that lake

I had a glimpse of paradise where the bluegills lived among the pickerel weeds

I saw the sun from beneath the cool green water, with my cousins

I heard as wavelets lapped for a while when the breeze had stopped

I listened to the frogs all croaking where they were safe and wet

they said the lake was very deep and the water very good

they said fossil sand dunes still filtered the long rains of autumn

there is a dirt road down by the lake that is soft upon bare feet

there are large beech trees at the lakefront where the old folks sit

I felt the wind change late in August as the leaves began to show their bottoms

I felt at ease while swimming in that lake all those fish called home

I saw the starlight shimmer on the surface of the darkened water

I saw the joy upon the faces of the little kids as they splashed and played

I heard the fish as they were jumping and I saw the rings that spread

I heard the oar locks squeaking and the water dripping from their blades

I heard the water passing by as I swam beneath the surface

I heard the gentle tinkle when my head broke through the water

I knew that things made a wonderful and complex but, common sense

I knew the summer was nearly over when our lips began turning blue

I felt the lake touch me from the dock when there was no breeze

I felt the bluegill tugging when the hook caught in his mouth

there was a time on summer evenings when the lightning bugs emerged

there was a breeze that brought the sound of wavelets to a bunkbed

I was a boy who dreamed of fishing and swimming every day

I was a boy who played ditch'em in the hardwood hills behind the cottage

I felt the cool stone floor of the cottage on those rainy summer days

I felt the warmth of the fireplace my uncle had built in the swirling mist

I heard the tinkle of the raindrops from underwater when it was quite still

I heard the explosion of air in the water when I leapt from the dock

there is a road that is still not paved, and it stretches back to those days

there is a wondrous happiness in simply knowing that we were there

I saw the babies in their cribs and the calm old ones sitting quietly together

I saw light rays wiggle greenishly and geometrically down into that good water

I knew the lake would, of course, be preserved just as the trees would be left to grow

I knew the world was made to last for at least a million years

I touched the spongy moss and knew that it was good

I touched the surface of the lake and it clung to my finger

there is a twilight full of peace and the presence of the lake

there is that group of quiet children before the modern age

I helped put in the dock and float the raft in good time for memorial day

I helped dig the worms, bail the boat then caught and cleaned the fish

I saw the painted turtles with orange stripes on their faces

I heard the stories of all the people who were a part of that family

I was a man who once, thank god, came back to swim in that lake again

I was a man who was finally able to realize how lucky he had always been

Neither Cause

Neither a cause nor a working

simply a rendering of meaning

not seen but reflected

like an image in the water,

once observed dissolving into wavelets

neither a loss nor a gain

outlining without any detail

working with the sunset

and just as quickly, fades away

neither in my hand nor of my mind

was that a shadow of some reflection?

neither a joining nor a parting

yet providing subtle background harmony

that might amplify some reality

neither quite alone nor a part of things we see

flowing well outside our event horizon

neither with one nor against another

vast indifference of the void

emptiness that our minds can never fill

neither part of life nor facet of death

far more than we will ever know

and infinitely less than we always feel

neither with the rain nor in the clouds

builds like lightning

and strikes as rainbows

neither close at hand nor ever far away

even when within our minds,

always remaining to be seen

neither hope for the religions nor friend of any science

might laugh had it our reason

less a guiding light than a sourceless shadow

more a riff than an algorithm

like the emergent tones from good harmony

or windsong through distant trees

Good Weaving

Swim in the oceans, the lakes and the rivers

Hike the far places and enjoy different cities

Cook your own meals together in the kitchen you remodeled yourself

Write down whatever true lines might come from inside

Take time to be alone, considering the quiet darkness

Be comfortable outside and get a little dirty

Decorate your own place with a slow and loving care

Patch that leaky roof all by yourself

Create a fine soup from that good chicken carcass

Rehabilitate that broken but comfortable lawn chair

Notice as the moon waxes and wanes

And be aware as your life seasons come and go

Bake your own bread and break it with your family

Change your oil and top off all those fluids yourself

Sell your house without a grasping, useless, so-called professional

Read for yourself and cast aside all the sound bites

Buy good things used and proudly donate items in their time

Don’t let the angry young man become the bitter old fool

Make someone smile using your own imagination

Plan a trip all by yourself to a place you’ve never been

Pick up your own instrument and play from your heart

Mix up some concrete and put it to good use

Tile the halls and refinish the wood floors

Buy the tools that you need to make these things work

Hook it up and wire it in

Mend the clothes should they get torn

Cut your own hair to suit your own taste

Sing the songs that make you feel right

Leave enough room for a few more wild dreams

Give the local birds a happy home beside you

Grow tomatoes or a whole garden

Don’t replace it if it ain’t really busted

Take some time to just stand in great wonder

Tend to the house plants and you will bloom together

Paddle the river, board the mountain, hike the trail, bike the pass

Distrust all noisy, gasoline-powered recreational forms

Start your own trends and ignore the media concoctions

Keep the faith though the struggle is both endless and futile

Build it to be stronger than it will ever have to be

Make it to last longer than it could ever be good for

Put it together so it can be taken apart and repaired

Have enough parts around to get all these things done

Realize that to love is your highest aspiration

Listen to the voices that brought you from the past

Leave all your campsites cleaner than you found them

Strive for a society where women blossom like flowers

Try not to shout without thinking or slam things to the ground

Take good note of scientific, mathematical and philosophical infinity

Study enough to be able to start seeing all the questions that appear

Take pride in your work or find something else to do

Try to weave your scattered experiences into your own rational tapestry

Laugh with the masters as they clap with one hand

Marvel at the blossoms that appear in the spring

Just keep on working, quite absorbed, until death overtakes you

Live happily with the dogs, our own true partners and friends

Simply teach your children to do for themselves

Analyze but do not swallow those mass-market opinions

Be skeptical of slick but empty corporate entertainment

Verify wisdom with your own eyes, ears and mind

Try and save something, each and every day

Know your computers inside and out

Tap into the Web to give and to get

Understand yourself better than you do those fools on TV

Take time to be overwhelmed by life’s baffling mysteries

Tend to the things which have always supported you

Fall in love as deeply as you possibly can

Make sure your read widely and above third grade level

Be able to do the math and understand the physics and statistics

Know about planets, stars and distant galaxies

Learn the past of humans, of the earth and the cosmos

Be able to heed wisdom when you should stumble across it

But do not allow others to do your thinking for you

Live within your means and plan for the future

Search out those things that you do very well

Maintain your body as well as your mind

Learn to differentiate between empty fads and true values

Train for good work and continue sharpening your skills

Do not grow bored for the sake of a paycheck

Speak at least one other language and know your own very well

Travel widely and quietly, learning from others far away

Build up a small framework of reason and understanding

Have faith, but avoid dogma and organized religion

Understand the world around you better than the plots of soap operas

Always follow the money to understand politics and business

Listen to the rain as it falls gently on the roof late in the evening

Pause and strain to understand the quiet bursting of the Springtime

Laugh loudly and often, especially at yourself

Cry when you have to and somehow grow from the sorrow

Hold someone tightly and listen to their heartbeat

Look deeply into the mystery that comes before and after

Keep your study well-organized to prepare for twisted and isolated facts

Maintain a thumb on the bullshit buzzer but fill your heart with ideals

Simply share the earth with all of its beings

Build a sustainable bridge that links to a real past

Try to find new ways to make things better while using up a little less

Enjoy cutting waste to help supply your friends in the future

Do some of the things that I could only imagine

Don’t make all of these same mistakes that I have already made

Realize that your life is vanishingly short

Try to love all these good things at once, with everything you have

North Light

soft enough for naked eyes

gently suffusing without penetrating

never bright enough to burn

creating shadows, but indistinctly

indirect, yet with great influence

nurturing but not through outer strength

safe and good for pregnant mothers

stroking fondly all their children

fair with any given color

obscuring lines and blending shades

neither hopeless nor full of warmth

filling spaces without shining

where calm silence finds its home

harboring simple quiet patience

shadowed refuge from the heat

teasing images from vaguest forms

washed to blue by December

providing hints of untold stories

pallid background for depression

casting shadows on dying faces

though always there for a canvas

supporting fully only faintest hope

created without morning rays

leaving soonest with the twilight

Undefined Is Not

the undefined is not the autumn breeze

that sets the blazing leaves to sighing

the undefined is not the things we say

or even in our way of thinking

the undefined is not a friend to all

yet it can bear us no ill will

the undefined is not outside of us

but does not spring from within

the undefined is not attenuated

by the expansion of the universe

the undefined is not in the words we read

for it cannot be written

the undefined is not a willful force

but flows as surely as does water down a hill

the undefined is not a thing that can be bought or sold

rather is a boundless resource for anyone to use

the undefined is not an action

still it is the cause of many things

the undefined is not the people's friend

but they prosper in its alignment

the undefined is not a particle with mass

yet it acts with a force all of its own

the undefined is not the sky's reflection caught

in the smallest brook

the undefined is not in motion

but simply always fills this expanding universe

the undefined is not religious

for the religious do not seek it

the undefined is not a salmon’s gleaming blur

in its spawning creek

the undefined is not a structure

however, it is complete, without a form

the undefined is not a creature

yet we may not know the difference

the undefined is not simply the unknown

for we may have glimpsed it often as we passed

the undefined is not the tinkling of a stream

but somehow it is wrapped about that sound

the undefined is not this loneliness that we cannot escape

and though it causes nothing its effects are everywhere

the undefined is not the ignorance that surrounds us

but it is quite at home with both good and bad alike

the undefined is not in all the grains of sand

still each grain can carry its entire message

the undefined is not an ally or an enemy

but remains very close to us each and every day

the undefined is not a part of our family values

though it can be found in all our homes

the undefined is not in the flames of the campfire

yet it may be echoed in the fire’s quiet snapping

the undefined is not a mystery

even though we never comprehend it

the undefined plays no part in our daily lives

but there can be no evasion of its certain path

the undefined is not the million snowflakes

which fall in groups in all directions

the undefined is not empty

for it must surround the void

Maybe Not Too Late

when I awoke and gasped for breath I struggled to remember

a thing that I had meant to do so long ago somewhere in the past,

some promise I had made, and I was drenched in icy sweat

now, how could I have forgotten, how could I have delayed

maybe, I thought, it's still not too late…

if I really try my best

maybe it's not too late for all those things I never did

for all the apologies I did not mean

all the places I have never been

perhaps not yet too late to search for

that which was so easily avoided for so long

still there may be time enough to craft myself that Happy Ever After

when I looked round with loudly beating heart

and breaths drawn quick and shallow with a buzzing in my ears

oh sweet jesus let it be...not yet too late for me

as I strive to remember all those things I absolutely cannot leave undone

the time for their completions, once so long and far away

it seems, may have somehow simply slipped away

should I fail to complete them, if their time has past

the meaning of the rest of me is certainly diminished

and the empty blackness will be my just and final state

when I awoke and cast about in fear and nervous tension

I sensed a trap I had not even seen

until it had grown well beyond very late

I looked about quite anxiously for help

but there were no grownups standing by

I felt so alone and frightened, how might this mistake have happened

quite late it seems, quite dark and still

but my sudden, yet far beyond tardy, urgency surges

maybe, oh please just maybe, let it be not already way too late, way too long ago for me