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

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

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

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

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

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

The Life Force

Like the strong force and the weak force it is elemental to our universe

There are undiscovered constants which govern all its actions

Its bacterial spores amazingly adapted to interstellar travel

Able to remain quite dormant for entire epochs if conditions warrant

Possessed of the entire miracle of genetic reproduction in one tiny package

Ready to seed the process we call evolution in yet another time and place

Executing a miraculous algorithm in the ecosystem of the universe

Playing a fundamental role in the development of the cosmos

Able to remain quite well-adapted when its environment is stable

Capable of staccato bursts of punctuated equilibrium as conditions change

Favoring neither complex nor simple forms, only survival is rewarded

All its species are extinguished as surely as all its individuals must perish

Created anew if required from the rich inorganic stew on friendly planets

Once it is established it becomes virtually impossible to eradicate

Patient in the timeframe of the age of the universe

Spreading like a vast and gentle rainstorm on a grand cosmic scale

Boiled by supernovas, frozen by dying suns, yet only its pseudopods wither

Clinging to survival in some quiet spatial eddy, it blooms once again

Seeking out every niche with the effortless strength of water flowing

Taking the myriad forms which increase the chances of its survival

A basic force capable of emergently generating a will to self-understanding

The reason for its existence is the province of philosophers and theologians

There are undiscovered laws and formulas governing its circulation

Its distribution can be mapped and its extents visualized as snapshots

Easier to find than dark matter here on earth but not so out in the wide universe

Though all life forms must disappear, just like gravity, the life force will remain

Drifting Away

Watching myself from a safe vantage point as my life slips away...

Gave all my papers to some lost Mexican way down in Arizona

           Currently I use the toll-free number of a virtual sex queen as my SSN

I no longer drink the water and cheap tequila is now too much for me

           I post my philosophy online in our great city libraries

My hands look worn and I have no need of mirrors anymore

          I go and swap the stuff I find for clean clothes at the thrift store

There’s food to be had out behind most every other Safeway out in California

          Young guys beat me until I passed out, curled up like a sleeping baby

I appear mentally challenged but I’m just exploring alternative lifestyles

          But I worked so long I‘m thinking I might be permanently impaired

Still, the longer that I travel, the more roads I pass that I know I will never take

          Like to take another bad job now and again, for a day or two, just to remember

Quite often spend time talking to real nice people from the other side

          Feels good when I realize I’m not sure what day it is

Somehow find time to swim for hours in warm freshwater lakes

          Love to play those parts that arouse the passion of the evangelicals

I have no appliances, no mortgages or leased automobiles

          Don’t even have any credit score at all, anymore

Watch myself get cheated and ignored behind my toothless smile

          Never miss the berry harvests as I go from East to West

Spent good times with some endangered species in places on my way

          Shit my pants while in jail but it kept my rear end safe

Try to go to disaster sites to help out and to eat all that good free food

          Spent one Winter in a cave somewhere in the Colorado mountains

Hiked Escalante in early Spring before it got too hot and crowded

          Got so lost I just started over in the next place that I stumbled through

Some of the young folks stare and ask me questions for a while

          Take care of old, lost dogs for as long as they can make it

Washed in sea water for six weeks until the rains began to fall

          Surfed with the seals and dove with the otters in the kelp

Panned for gold on the Rogue and smoked the salmon that I caught

          Went fishing with a guy whose trailer had just burnt to the ground

Had some women travel with me but I cannot really care like I did, so long ago

          Try to keep a low profile lest I be mistaken for a tourist or a terrorist

I frighten tight-faced little mommies in their shining mini-vans

          Their kids wave to me from the back windows as they haul ass on by

It’s so much easier writing on yellow Sticky notes than trying to explain

          Never have lost that old flute I play at night when no one is around

Spend a lot of time in the past when it gets real hot outside

          Walk many miles a day without an adequate destination

Often stumble into free clinics with some kind of infection or another

          Got arrested with some hippies for simply joining hands around a tree

Late at night like to ponder the quantum physics I read about in the library

          Sometimes mumble to myself in Spanish just because it comes back to me

Figure that I am at least trying to make sense of what I see

          Don’t have that funny hankering for a noisy ATV

I take shelter under large spruce trees when it snows heavily in April

          Roll up with that mongrel dog sniffing around over there

Like to cook and bake for people when I get the chance

          Watching myself from a safe vantage point as my life slips away

See that the boys were sent off to die for no good reason, once again

          Don’t think the paranoia was quite so overt when I was younger

I have not spoken, except to stray dogs, for well onto five, six years

          Sometimes I howl with all my heart on those cold, blue-light Winter days

I piss blood and see bright spots but I can still run with all my belongings

          Like to drift up north with the sun until the longest day in June

Spend time floating rivers when they are swollen with the snowmelt

          Watched the bears catch the last salmon and the whole country turn to shit

Listened to the birds that sang in between the roars of savage traffic

          Will take a nap where it’s cool and quiet on those long hot afternoons

Cannot be found in market surveys and am not a target customer

          Never forgot that girl I knew, once upon a magic summer time

Lost my mom and dad real long ago and have no children to survive me

          Sometimes, in my mind, I get even with those who have wronged me

Can’t drink too much anymore and gave up smoking many years ago

          Have a fear of noisy, crowded places that I have never overcome

Don’t have a sense of style but was taught to read and write quite well

          Often like to go off into the woods by myself with the dogs

Enjoy the snowfall immensely when arriving from some hot, dry land

          Worked 20 years with all my might, then they just turned me out for good

Once found me a perfect spot and stayed there all summer long

          Don’t want to imagine my life when there’s a lot of people just like me

Lost my IRA and ripped through all my savings many years ago

          The Social Security people don’t know me, but it’s quite alright

Try to avoid the cities as they seem to bring me only trouble

          Stay away from my rural brothers in their silly, sickly Meth labs

Write about it when I can, and try to think about my way back to the void

          Did all the math back there in college but sure don’t need that now

Like to be up and about in that magic hour that comes just before the sunrise

          Late afternoons and early evenings also suit my wandering tastes

Learned not to look at women wearing sunglasses with the windows up in their shiny cars

          Have trouble affording shoes that do not fall apart within just a couple miles

Marvel at the expensive autos and the new clothes of everybody flashing by

          Not sure what they are leaving behind, except for their trash

Thank my lucky stars when I see how most people overseas have to suffer

          Sleeping in an empty woods and washing in a clean stream seems quite a blessing

Like working odd jobs for the well-to-do and learning from them observing me

          Don’t get spam or junk mail or loan offers on the phone during dinnertime

Left my Social Security contributions behind for those less fortunate than me

          Take a curious and academic interest in the slow decay of my faculties

Sometimes meet young engineers and they tell me what projects excite them now

          Spend time cleaning up the trash that people leave in our parks and forests

Lost all interest in politics just as I did in all the other forms of mass entertainment

          Found that you can trust those possessed of most any type of quiet faith

Try to be holed up somewhere safe on weekends and, especially, during holidays

          Come out and travel during the work week when the kiddies are in school

Cut my own hair and try to trim what’s sprouting from my nose and ears

          Gave up discussing social issues when I adjusted to this new lifestyle

Don’t sit there begging with dumb placards on smoggy street corners for a living

          Eat the berries with the bears where it’s still clean and quiet

Notice that my eyes are growing cloudy and my hands are gnarled and wrinkled

          Do not have enough time to forget all the hurtful things before I have to leave

Wonder who now would use those lessons that I was taught so carefully, so long ago

          Hope that very few can afford or will accept my chosen lifestyle

Like to engage in conversation with strangers and think about what they have to say

          Take time to ponder where I came from and the void I stand so close to

Cannot understand why everything has to always be so goddamned noisy

          Enjoy going out on the Great Plains of Eastern Montana towards the end of Fall

Glad when I don’t know about a movie star or some asinine TV show

          Ingest the news with a European flavor on the BBC or Deutsche Welle

Laugh as the conservative creationists scoff at the fuzzy thinking tree-huggers

          Eat healthy and try to think straight but can’t seem to get right with God

Set there watching the big salmon fining in the shadows underneath the bridge

          Watch the bulldozers as they rip up yet another peaceful meadow

Took too many rays for too long but can’t afford to have all them lesions fixed

          Know where the sun rises at different latitudes at vital times of the year

Don’t have to worry about trying to find my way back home anymore

          Always help clean up afterwards when I get invited to eat with other people

Have not watched a movie for years, don’t have a TV or a house to put one in

          The times have passed me by but I still get a good laugh at what’s happening today

It’s hard to be influenced by slick and expensive propaganda that I never see

          Living in the past, I compare it with the sights and sounds of today

Always happy to help out when trees need to be planted

          Try to give blood every once in a while but nobody will take it

Like to ride up front in big SUVs just to feel that sense of power and real control

          Keep my opinions to myself since they don’t even make sense to me

Lost a couple of steps and added pounds to go with the bruises and the injuries

          Haven’t got any smarter but I think I’ve learned from all that I have seen

Don’t have any keys and I swapped for my IDs somewhere at a flea market

          Will stop to hear the aspen quaking next to a gently flowing stream

Not a real fan of eating on the go in some kind of moving vehicle

          Take showers more often than I get to wash my clothes

Leave all my free camp spots cleaner than I found them

          Won’t pee near the creeks or leave toilet tissue in the underbrush

Need to overcome this anger with those who just drop their fast food wrappers

          Worked with a young psycho who turned out to be the son I was so glad I never had

Never feel real peace as the traffic roars on by like I do somewhere in the woods

          Must have real issues since I cannot accept smog and dirty pavements

Watched as others fumbled in a vacuum as I took the fall to further their careers

          Stayed up late and got up early far too long for forgotten, useless projects

Don’t want to poison, fertilize, water and mow any neat rectangular factory bluegrass

          Have a need to work at some fruit orchard at least once every harvest

Picked the grapes in the south of France one long autumn with the other Gypsies

          Followed the Monarch butterflies down to Mexico early one Winter

Add nothing to society and do not promote my selfish lifestyle to any others

          Burned out and turned out, it was either adapt or perish, so now I’m gone

Tired of seeing and hearing you and your loud, spoiled kids ruining things and having fun

          Lost my place in whatever book I was reading and had to start all over

Won’t believe in ghosts, God, New Age crystals or the latest in technology

          No use for war, deceit, politics, leaders on TV or the global economy

Spend no time dressing for success but I do not have any debts

          Will take a little red wine now and again in the evening

Like to think about how old is the universe and how short is my life

          Got a pretty good idea that this all won’t really matter in about 5 million years or so

Bake bread for the people who understand what crust is all about

          Really is a relief not to be attracted by so many women all the time, anymore

Never had a yacht or a Ferrari, no trophy wife or giant third home in Aspen

          But I wear designer clothes finally marked way down, even at the thrift stores

Try to avoid places where they turn dogs upon me and their children throw stones

          See the blind pseudopods of blessed progress in all directions, everywhere I go

Tasted diesel fumes in the air for so long it makes me cough even now

          Enjoy telling new bosses that I’m moving on as soon as I read them through

Don’t have anything to barter for my dental work so I brush with utmost care

          Listen to theological scholars on AM radio sometimes, just for entertainment

Tossed a cast-off burning cigarette butt back into some guy’s pickup truck

          Went to the hospital for a month but could not remember just what for

My only lasting address is good old free Internet email

          I’m off to spend more of that time I saved throughout all those crazy years