The Lights Of Home

Sometimes I almost see them again like I did, from across our lake, driving back home at night

The kids all yelling while the dogs are jumping and her smile so warmly surrounding me

Keep stumbling back on those thousand little details I never really had time for, so long ago

Did not realize then how much a part of what I was, they really were

The lights of home that made things seem alright - not too bright but still so warm

It was so good to have somewhere to be, a place where they were always glad to see me

Funny how I could not see it so well back then, maybe it was all just too close for me to focus

Yeah, the many little things that made life worth living, each so small when viewed alone

Shutting down my old car once more, my hands all full, back safe in that little front yard

Tired but home again, where they knew me well and I could help out and not be in the way

The TV news on in the background, with all that crazy stuff we could always pretty much ignore

Sitting down once again at that old table, all together over supper, and what is going on?

I guess back then it didn’t take a lot to fill us up with a real sense of comfort and security

How good it was to have those lights that led me back to that warm, safe place every day

The details of our daily life grounding and protecting us from those clouds of dark confusion

The lights of home and knowing they were there, just down that old road to the quieter shore…

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

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

Riffs

As I stirred the fireplace embers I shivered once more in that bitter cold

The empty, hopeless sounds of frozen gray dawns again overwhelmed me

You placed a hand gently on my shoulder, asking when I would be to bed

After the explosion I lay deafened, curled up and unwilling to move again

After what seemed like minutes the wail of the sirens drew near

Your blood felt warm upon my skin in the bright winter sun of the desert

I nodded under the shade trees in the park during the balmy summer twilight

Snatches of long-forgotten conversations filled my head in brief, popping bubbles

At last I heard mothers calling all us kids home for supper

I would always dream I had skipped a very difficult class right up until finals week

Nonetheless I would not give up my plans for graduation

Sometimes I would let that rowdy boy laugh at the old fool he found himself within

As the rusty red sun rose again over gray streets, July lacked a purpose

Pulling on our dirty work clothes once more, we found it difficult to hurry

A tinny radio greeted us in the beat up old truck as the dog watched us go

She saw too much for many years working intake at the emergency room

She took care of others and watched herself as she let go

Just the same, she still remembered that young Nurse Nancy in her new white cap

As the hot, dry wind came up again I remembered rainy summer days

We were on call for heart attacks, drunks and motorcycle wrecks

As the tones vibrated me to my feet, briefly I recalled a dream that I had left

Laying in sweat and dirt under the car I thanked Jesus for his help, once again

It occurred to me that I would not reflect back upon this time with pleasure

I was fumbling blindly for a missing tool when I heard the children laugh at play

Long after my injury I tried to recall moving without first considering the pain

The neighbors often greeted me kindly as I slowly shuffled by

I wondered if my mind was as worn out as my body, but simply could not let me know

Though I was not affected by the layoffs I still found it difficult to sleep

I needed to reconsider family debt in this new and uncertain light

The sleepy boredom of my children helped calm me in the morning

Decades later they briefly visited us while comparing notes with each other

I felt uncomfortable and small in the presence of those brave foreign pilots

They had brought the war to this village that they could barely see from so far above

I felt I stood among them as they gazed down upon my broken body

I helped them to position me for treatment and turned on the oxygen

It was not until much later that they awoke me with the grinding pain

They kept fairly low profiles as they pulled strings and bought and sold

They paid off officials to rezone, built cheaply and congratulated each other

They did not begin to worry until their expensive tires were slashed again

He spent time cleaning up the riverside campsites that others left behind

The meadow was immaculate and pure but his clothes were torn and dirty

He often went for days on end without a decent media immersion

After the baby was born she tucked him in a discarded milk container

She was surprised and astonished upon delivering the afterbirth

Later that same day liberals heard the child’s weak cries from a green recycling bin

The intrepid, overweight hunter removed his glasses to use the rifle scope

The great bear skinned the giant salmon with his awful teeth

The fatal stroke had already claimed him but he reflexively pulled the trigger

He missed the camaraderie, the danger and the excitement of prison life

It was almost a relief when he was again convicted of assault and possession -

For no one but his jail posse could ever understand his life experience

I bookmarked my musings upon imagined slights and got up for the next big meeting

It was another make or break decision for which we must all get on board

Though my plate was full, I promised to stay on message with the take away

They surprised me as I ripped through their shit, looking for things to sell

The guy looked pretty scared but the woman screamed for my blood

I pulled up and twisted hard as my knife went to its hilt inside his stomach

Safely buzzed, I wasn’t tormented by the soft voices of our Ancient Ones

The merciless sun beat down on our government modular and our trash blew downwind

Dust clouds smudged the desert sky again as I returned with more cold beer

They worked me so hard I even dreamed about the problems they set before me

Though I achieved the certificate, I remembered clearly my many weaknesses

It was like that many years later when I would often dream of dying

I bade them fix the books with a wink and a nod which made me rich

Later I convinced myself that I honestly said I had no knowledge of their fabrications

Council advised me to say only how eagerly I looked forward to clearing my name

I was overturned and swimming before I had the slightest inkling

As I fought for the surface the current washed me into a quiet eddy

In that brief transcendent moment, I needed consider nothing else

Subliminal Logic

I went searching for algebra and found shiny wrestlers in makeup on steroids

You needed to form complete sentences but you wound up simply texting

On the trail of Latin etymologies there were several signs for real estate

Hoping for the Sports Section, protease inhibitors brought me disappointment

With the Physics Lust upon me, I wound up running fantasy computer Hos

Looking for a fast-food drive-through you stumbled on a partial integration

Imagining the count of stars in a galaxy, I saw infinite litter on the ground

After taking the shrooms, nanoscale quantum effects brought on tears of joy

Understanding the earth’s precession earned rewards of caffeine and sugar

Groping the remote yielded only a cross-section of a stupid shield volcano

Elliptical symmetry brought me in contact with the Tibetan Buddhist monks

Suddenly big screen Dolby StarWars became a black and white chemistry text

IPod shuffling along I reckoned which way the earth rotated under my feet

Bored with the Federalist Papers, you summoned PuffDaddy for a real lesson

Trying to win your heart, I brought you a copy of Newton’s Principia

She found the remains of a failed numerical integration in her makeup kit

The herd chewed their cuds patiently awaiting some singularity or another

The immigrant gave up on English and began speaking only computer codes

Struggling to find the exit they were surrounded by closely packed isobars

Seeing a Big Bang simulation he tried to remember what movie it was from

Following ignorant intuition I managed to re-invent cold fusion in a jar

Asphyxiating the zebra, the lion was unaware of the passing equinox

Gazing in the microscope she was appalled at what crawled in her mouth

Frightened by the frank uncertainty of the scientists they clung uneasily to their Bibles

Stumbling with tensors I found great relief in merely sweeping floors

Hungry for meat, salt and fat they found photosynthesis less than a miracle

Peering inside the simulation, I saw that it squirmed with differential equations

Magnetic Resonance Imagery clearly showed the unborn Crack baby’s grasping hand

I stumbled over the dog in the dark despite his obvious infrared signature

Hurrying to Wal*Mart, the family struck and killed a wandering singular matrix

Tired of my long confusion, I sought a chaos theory based solution

Reaching for a beer the trucker was struck by the fractal beauty of the highway

jogging through the park I caught just a glimpse of a tiny prancing Eocene horse

Looking for a parking spot he ran straight over evidence of plate tectonics

I saw blazing porch lights obscure photons billions of years old streaking from the sky

Amidst broken bottles and discarded needles, you found an irregular German infinitive

Stalled in traffic, I became a placid notochord in a vast and warm inland sea

Rising too quickly she hyperventilated images of complexity and uncertainty

Struggling up the Waterfall Model, I felt my colors fade like some tired salmon

The thick layer of ash, several million years old, did not effect her sales pitch, one iota

I used a laser to burn microscopic pits into a plastic DVD to backup my confessions

Distracted by her cellphone, she continued in motion relative to her car and the tree

I had had nothing to eat that day outside of an arbitrary constant of integration

He flipped channels idly searching for curvaceous Jungian archetypes

In the eyes of a boy with Down’s Syndrome I saw a single gene expressed

Facing the geological history in the Grand Canyon, he invoked a Biblical flood

Entering the abandoned cave I realized how much man needed dogs and fire

The fortune teller was nonplussed by her client’s vision of that Schrodinger’s cat

I contrasted the infinite with the uncountable pushing my cart down aisle 5

After the party, he dreamed of sensing a neutrino in an underground aquifer

Walking on the beach, I pondered those fossil human footprints from Africa

They found the Aurora Borealis far less spectacular than Disney’s wondrous fireworks

As we held each other tightly, the purpose of galactic clusters eluded me

The candidate dared not flipflop though the earth’s magnetic pole had reversed many times

Stumbling over quantum uncertainty, I whacked into one of Plato’s Ideals

He did not question where in Maslow’s Hierarchy his loud new pickup muffler fit

The sound of her medieval surname recalled in me Tolkein’s love of ancient Norse

Recoiling from the so-called fossils, she thanked Jesus for bilateral symmetry

Hearing their rancorous debate, I puzzled over the study of Creation Myths

They sought relief inhaling petroleum distillates from sealed plastic bags

Crawling on my hands and knees while scrubbing, I thought of approaching c

Bathing naked in ultraviolet rays, I mused upon their birth in far-off nuclear fission

Thinking of my trillion living cells, I felt my sense of self begin slowly to dissolve

Chronic inhalation of the particulates around her crib curbed her growth

I just made it better than it had to be and ensured that it was easy to repair

I hoped with our passing that this wonderful awareness did not simply disappear

I was struck by the unnecessary beauty of leaves without their chlorophyll

I observed orderly crystallization of atmospheric moisture into myriad snowflakes

Casually responding, a million reactions occurred simultaneously in my brain

I pondered whether the Golden Mean was truth revealed or facts discovered

At the turnstile, I had a vision of a supercomputer jet wing vortex simulation

She accepted perspective drawing without thinking, based upon so many examples

My attempts to decipher whale songs lead not to English but tended more towards Bach

His team raced to catalogue new life forms barely ahead of their extinction

I had trouble convincing myself that this hummingbird was not actually a miracle

Unconsciously I continued integrating discrete instants into a continuous past

Quiet Coming

In the quiet of the early morning, before the sun comes up

          when the birds are still hidden sleeping

and the dew is on the grass

In the time before those things start over

          that make it like it is today

when the world seems as it was before we ever came this way

In the building light of the coming dawn, colors grow ever clearer

          as if my eyes were born again

in the details of the mountains, just beginning to emerge

In the quiet that I find within myself in the early morning

          I glimpse once more the things that I am missing still

but soon they disappear again in the brightness of the sun

In that rare stillness that comprises the very early morning

          when issues have been slept away

the potential of all the world brims over with possible new beginnings

In the cool sweet stillness left behind by the evening rain

          there is a sense of preservation

and an unearned cleansing mercy daubs my sleepy eyes

In the light that rims the horizon before the sun appears

          come colors to the landscape emerging from the gray

perspectives created quickly that must fade during the heat of day

In those early moments when the world can still make sense

          I awaken slowly with the birds and a draught of predawn cool

and through such a lens our previous despair seems very much out of place

In the hour where respectful whispers do not disturb the peaceful shadows

          the images of a nighttime's dreaming briefly coat this world

then they must evaporate with the dew at the end of the dawn

In the time when night lights fade away

          and hope once more can raise our hearts

then we trust there can be no end to these renewable beginnings

In those moments when the world is changing as quickly as the light

          there we sense so strongly the passage of our time

then I see most clearly a path that I should follow

In the precious little time before the awful noise begins again

          I regain any strength that I still retain

For there is no cover I might seek and there is no place that I could hide

In the gracious hour between the dark and the light

          Just before the hoarse cries begin again

there is still time to consider what's to come from what is passed

In the fresh air of a new day when the world is born again

          There can be time to take accounts and sense the larger flow

Instead of rushing randomly once more towards some fuzzy goals

Tracers

Arriving in a rush, but disappearing with the slightest breeze

Overwhelming in an unguarded moment, but only until scrutinized

Dissolving like a dream in the light of conscious thought

Like dreams, always returning, because they exist everywhere

Yielding a glimpse of strange meaning beyond our everyday concerns

Bringing on fear, hope and emptiness as well as great content

Dripping from a wet, fallen and decaying tree

Incising its mystic patterns upon red desert sandstone

Overheard in the springtime soliloquies of the streams

Leaving with all that has gone away since we first arrived

Surrounding an echo thrown across a canyon

Part of the glint off an ice spring far up on that distant peak

Radiating about the edges of the many-colored thunder clouds

Hovering in a rainbow tune with the buzzing hummingbirds

Embedded in the past as it overtakes us on occasion

Hinted at by beautiful mathematical revelations

Valued companion when it is our time to slip away

Harmonically attuned to our finest vibrations

Integral component of the growing pre-dawn magic

Evaporating like the dew with our noise and confusion

Yet likely not diminished despite our destructive efforts

But certainly obscured by the rending of our progress

Density unaffected by the expansion of the universe

Tracing an outline that changes simply with our perception

Frozen forever in the melting winter ice

Captured complete in one flowing river instant

Disturbing to those groping their own infinitesimal portion

Indescribable as the ocean from a bit of foam blown off a wave

Scorned and rejected by the materialistic and powerful

Sought just the same when they lay down at last

Whispering in the breeze that passes through the pines

Rustling in the background through the leaves of the fall

Making up the silence that is the natural order of things

Only rarely dwelling in the constructs of man

Potentially giving rise to those dark-haired sisters, mercy and grace

Subtle enough to be accidentally crushed underfoot

Dissolving in an instant at the slightest disturbance

Neither created nor destroyed or even effected by time

Sensed everywhere but welling up from within

Blindly trampled by the hordes in their mindless peregrinations

Pure and clear in the smell of a large fish brought alive to shore

Frightening in its absence from our ongoing business

Locked in a slanting ray of sunshine on a day in early June

Escaping us in its flight from our mindless entertainment

Valued very little by powerful entrepreneurs

Part of that god in whom we trust with our dollar bills

Disregarded by the clergy, fossilized amidst odd ceremonies

Sought by those young people of good but restless hearts

Flying overhead in the foggy echo of a wild goose

Revealed in the wonder at a child’s quiet wisdom

Refracted by the colors given off in an ocean sunset

Quickly evaporating during bickering or fighting

Lost in the endless chase for the newest shiny toy

Not really glimpsed during the hypnosis of the purchase

Part of the aura surrounding those captured by madness

Dried up and blown away by our hoarse and empty voices

Caught with a fly in a drop of golden amber 300 million years ago

Inscribed by a glacier into a message on a boulder

Twinkling like a far-off galaxy in the vast starry night

Quiet behind this blue sky under which we children play

In My World

In my world religion cannot possibly ever be the cause of any wars

Human population stayed at a level that could tolerate our messy ways

Having more features and comfort means being more efficient as well

In my world the old are not treated as irrelevant fools to be cast aside and ignored

Children long to be outdoors before they strap on music or play electronic games

Science is a wondrous tool and religion continually sheds its calcifying dogma

In my world failures and mistakes increase knowledge just as does success

The country and the people preserve things simply because the future is unknown

Greed is not the main factor in success or viewed as a great virtue by society

In my world more is spent on finding peace than preparing for yet another war

Preserving the environment that supports us is not seen as wasting money

Fast food might be occasionally eaten when one is far away from home

In my world we travel through space inside the womb of this blue world

We proudly maintain, repair and renovate most everything we own

Nobody endlessly mows a fertilized, watered, fumigated bluegrass “lawn”

In my world we know where meat comes from and the sacrifice its production entails

People would not even consider making their vehicles produce extra noise

Teenage granddaughters of unwed mothers do not singlemom babies on their own

In my world time is not measured by looking forward to the weekends

Evolution is merely one of many ongoing, undogmatic scientific debates

Shopping is not mentioned in any list of patriotic activities

In my world much time is spent preserving and marveling at the earth’s web of life

Societies do not produce climate changes that future generations must adapt to

A large part of a people’s legacy is based upon their environmental footprint

In my world sustainability is a very important issue to the entire society

Plastic-wrapped white bread produced in automated factories does not exist

Domestic animals do not run free, kill wildlife and breed unwanted offspring

In my world no warnings need be issued about toxins in fish and game

People don’t celebrate by shouting drunkenly and producing loud explosions

Children quickly learn their subordinate places in the larger pack

In my world people understand and appreciate what it means to be a farmer

The first sprawling unplanned migrant squatter slum never even appeared

Religion is taxed and regulated like other franchised vices such as gambling and liquor

In my world our numbers stopped increasing before we reached 3 billion

Our unavoidable mistakes and messes do not threaten entire planetary ecosystems

Pretty much all of our pollution could be solved by simple dilution

In my world there are no starving children whom people must strive to ignore

levees are not built to protect flood-prone homes that should never have been built

No one misses the foolish, giant, wasteful vehicles that we did not produce

In my world the old do not lay drugged in their own feces pondering meaningless lives

Leadership is more than ass-kissing, back-biting and shoulder-climbing

Newborns are not found in dumpsters stuffed into milk cartons with drugs in their bloodstream

In my world we welcome pilgrims from across the world who come to teach us of their cultures

Large reserves of petroleum are left untapped for unknown future needs

Cigarette butts, fast food discards and bottles are not part of the scenery

In my world health care is neither a privilege nor a huge economic problem

People journey for weeks on foot talking to others in every little town

We do not ignore the effects of our actions because some believe we cannot control them

In my world things are built to be better than they have to be

For profit exploitation of regional labor inequities is not viewed as progress

Savers do not waste all their money on useless but expensive healthcare and then simply die

In my world small planes are required to have mufflers just like cars

Mining companies do not walk away and leave a toxic mess for future generations

Fat Texans do not sit idling diesels, smoking with just one window cracked

In my world tourism is not an industry and there are no corporate resorts

Politicians do not parrot speeches that their corpro donors pay other people to write

We do not destroy the things that we love just to cash in on their emotional appeal