MIND DANCE
~ poemic provocations ~
- 1 -
here we sit
straddling our
celestial ball
hurtling through
infinity
flying dauntlessly
away from nothing
through nothing
into nothing
our lifetimes
sound like single silent
finger snaps
and yet
here we sit
taking it all
so very
seriously
- 2
behold
a leaf
floating
fluttering
to the ground
and without a sound
settling satisfied
I speak of myself
as a galaxy
insignificant
and very slight
a random electron
with perfect trajectory
for it has been
a year of
timeless time
moving weightless
through the vacuum
of my mind
- 3 -
seeking immortality
I called to me
those under five
they told me excitedly
of bursting
wondrous things
of color and of touch
of sweet-tasting music
dripping through the
caverns of their minds
and then they told me
secretively
of finding the giant
stalactite
and of worshipping it
suddenly
and only once
when they fell silent
I asked them to
tell me more
but they only laughed
on impatient feet
and ran away
- 4 -
time cannot return
all those years
of gathering butterflies
and dreaming cobweb dreams
spring
Lila laughing
rivers running
to the sea
to rise again
no doubt
after the beginning
and before the end
a strange place to be
hearts open and souls free
love will bring us
eternity
equal beings
you and me
- 5 -
mumbling professors
come to me for therapy
and sit uncomfortably
talking randomly
of confused computers
and dislocated amygdalas
soon I have them sensing
the air flowing into
academic nostrils
which instantly compute
wind velocity
and turbulence ratios
as they tell me
how their love life
sucks
following zen admonitions
they focus intently
on left feet and inner thighs
until synapses smoke
computations falter
and for one brief moment
reality appears
- 6 -
sometimes I sit
alone in the evening
I think of your loving
I think of your smile
I remember when we met
way up in the city
I asked you to stay
and you said
awhile
I think I remember
your eyes they were blue
your hair it was long
and you never did wear shoes
I think I remember
I really did love you
having you gone
makes me feel blue
if you could have waited
I would have been true
- 7 -
why then
knowing grace
do you bring stones
blind hostility
only shatters
and leaves in ruins
the gates of peace
which would have opened
inward
effortlessly
but we all know
civilizations come
and civilizations go
breathing words like
Nixon Claudius Geronimo
and all the while
the patient yet unceasing tide
digs deeper holes
under unsuspecting
slowly sinking heels
- 8 -
she slept softly
I could feel her air
coming and going
and there was a
sweetness to her breath
which distinctly
reminded me
of paradise
inhaling exhaling without pause
sustaining the rhythm
of planetary existence
I put my ear to her
naked breast
and there was her
heart pounding
and I thought
how marvelous
she is
you are
I am
breathing
- 9 -
with rough-hewn ablutions
I shall tell you
how many times
I have worshipped this
whitewashed adobe
the horse’s neigh
shifting sands
and she there
naked
her breath gentle
on my skin
and the sudden coolness
of the desert night
evaporating the
sweet sweat
of anticipation
I continue to worship this
father even after
the billowing consummation
of our genital desires
and it is for this
unexpected continuity
of awestruck adoration
that I hold all reverence
- 10 -
you’re so young
and filled with dreams of love
know that I love you
even though I give you this shove
these volcanoes they’ve got a power
you have to face head on
if you don’t they’ll lay you low
it’s best if you were gone
time keeps marching on
you never know what’s next
but just to know that
you’re my friend
I feel that I’ve been blessed
this song is as simple
as the sunrise on the water
this song is as simple as
the love in your eyes
and as I see you leaving me
I feel a sense of loss
but sometimes it’s essential
to escape at any cost
- 11 -
it was here
that we found it
paws digging cleanly
to the heart to expose
that forbidden substance
found deep beneath
the pilgrim rock
there were those who stood gaping
and there were those who saw
(one whispered Ishmael
another trembled
spitting blood)
how to dip into
that sacred spittoon
and with velvet fingertips
capture that
which is so desired
and partake of it
gnashing
one whispered Ishmael
another trembled
- 12 -
ah praises
we have finally
garnered glimpses
of falling leaves
in autumn
life is not
what we expected
and death is not
what we feared
and now
at our request
they have raked
the autumn leaves
into a giant mound
and with a fatal match
the gardener is lighting
our sweet-smelling
funeral pyre
praises
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~