my soul speaks

my walk today traversed a hillside

through a field of wisteria embracing

a patch of yellow snapdragons and lily of

the valley white bells while busy yellow jackets

and bumble bees buzz, a pollinating dance 

conscious and slow with every step

cognizant of this moment listening to

the whispers of the day noticing its

breath as it swirls and sways a field

of wild-flowers like waves at sea

i listen to the voice of my soul speak

as i search to find my ‘within’

bringing my spirit to a brink

grasping my heart with a calming

asking to be witness to peace

the tales of my soul does tell of pain

hovering over sadness and disarray

while wishing the music of love to play

awaiting trials and tribulations to allay

knowing all this to be mundane that

the transcendent spirit will soon discard

severing the tethers and letting the vibrations

to play in sync and rhythm with the

Universe where together they, too,

shall dance

joy of life and sleep

that waft of lavender or soft musk,

the sparkle of the dew on grass in

the morning and the lust my heart

and soul doth feel the joy of waking

to life’s ebullient smile

warm golden yellow rises and white cottons

soar along the azure powdered face

shimmering off the mirror ocean blue,

a spectacle bringing life to the jumping

dolphin and spattering of fish while seagulls

call and the osprey talons fill

doth my day begins of Summer’s Spring

while cool wet sand invades the space

between my toes, the southwest winds

blow capturing underneath my eagle wings

so that i may fly amidst the day where

i shall play

from dawn to dusk my soul shall dance

give way to the spirit of the universe

of how things should be where chaos

intermingles with harmony as opposites

and the yin yang intertwines as one

a glitter of stars shall prick the black of night

and tease the moon to smile while the roaring

vocals from white nail rolling fingers of the sea

shall sooth my dreary eyes to close and i will

dream the dreams where my soul shall soon

reap their joy along with souls in universal sleep

pondering

this evening i sit alone and quiet

atop an old oak tree's rooted feet

listen to the wind brush the leaves

watch the cloud figurines soar above

as the sky turns orange and crimson

and the sun lies down to rest and sleep

at the feet of mother earth

i ponder the many steps i’ve taken

throughout the days of yore

of faces passing with frowns and smiles

hearts forsaken of love lost and the tears

shed, unremitting, in the lonely nights

missing those now absent in this life

here and now, gathering thoughts

along with memories, how rich my heart

has felt from those who have touched it

both at a distance from human empathy

to the fortunes of a warm embrace, maybe

a kiss here and there or just holding ever so

gently of my hand

i wonder if and when my breath shall cease

in partaking of this earthen bound, my soul

shall be gifted with pockets filled with love

where i can take to share with the souls of others

that maybe weren’t so lucky, filling theirs

with a love that was meant for all

a gentle heart shall rise again

“and the sunlight grasps the earth”…and a new day rises

with rays of hope, where “the moonbeams kiss the sea”…

and the calm and peaceful voices are heard loudly,

for the vitriol and hate has been silenced

the gentleness of an open hand shall touch us

once again and the softness in our hearts and souls

shall once again evince as the whisper of the wind says,

…‘you shall walk again amidst the gift of my

flora and fauna and with it, you shall feed the

hungry, clothe the cold, lend a shoulder to the

crippled and soothe the heart of a sad soul’

death has not been kind

death, has not been kind to me lately

its darkness has invaded my space,

all the chambers of my heart

and the once silken nebulae of my soul

death, its solemn has stolen my smile

taken the Sun away in those moments

when i needed light and warmth and

my breath without labor

death takes the song that once inspired verve

now struggles to find the tune

harmony has given way to dissonance

treble has found a home in the base clef

when once the Sun’s golden hand touched my eyes

and an aviary of life would lift my spirit

in the morning’s awakening loft, now a

dredge prevents my soul to rise

death is, incessant tears leaving folded paths

about my cheeks on unwanted wrinkles

of my face from unmitigated sadness, within,

filling the caverns and crevices in all of me

the eagle within now perched to rest

awaits the sunlight to replace 

the gray of death and it will once again
soar while the call of the wolf’s howl shall

praise the day and at night watch the moon
beams kiss the sea 

when my soul to take

when the pains and pangs of aging

are no longer appreciated because

of so much greater pain and strife

in the world

when the morning’s wake is distilled

by the wailing of sirens going in pursuit

to mitigate anguish or approaching

the hot irons of violence

when the water’s edge is filled with

man-made debris and the fish floats

atop ocean waves strangulated by a plastic

tab discarded, uncaringly, into its abode

when the winds of heaven once of joy

now being transformed into climate storms

from smoke stacks and refuse of those

whose almighty dollar feed but a few

when my swollen aching feet

no longer ambulate a few steps

to check if the turtle dove and the

hummingbird have sustenance

this is when my heart, torn,

my spirit tattered, i thus

can only wish for the goodness

of the universe, my soul to take

they ask why

not many tears are left within

the cries , the wailings of those

left behind, their stars of night

have disappeared and their days

are dark covered in ominous gray

from the sun and day’s array

i lay me down to sleep and my

eyes close but dreams are absent

only reflections of the day fill me

of blood and anguished hearts

envelop my every breath

seeing the faces of those taken

souls have no faces, no color,

and gender, there is none

we’ve been gifted with life where

music and love reside while other

surrounding ‘being’ observe humans

with disdain for our dissonance

the tree and flower reach up

to try and touch the sun and sky,

the fish that swim the seas and tiger,

elephant and wolf that roam on land

as the eagle soars above, all stare at us

with curiosity and asking… why ?

a moment alone

walked, today, among and amidst

many a patchwork field of pansies,

wisteria, asters and clusters

of vermilion wildflowers

i stop and let my spirit intermingle 

as they sway in the wind dancing 

with the sun’s gentle shadows cast

i spin and twirl then lay upon them

to feel the dirt, to touch the land,

to hear their glee and feel the

chest of Earth, inhale and exhale

tiny critters run away at first until

they sense that i lie here to be with them

to taste the breath of the innocence of life

escape the human toils and strife

i too am but a tiny critter laying here

to bare my soul to the sanguine terrain

of my abode, that rides upon the energy

and the spirit of the universe where soon

we shall all abide

and to this end, insanity shall meet sanity

violence shall meet the peace

dissonance shall greet harmony

chaos will accept the synergy of ‘one’

destroyers shall meet creators

and hate will be squelched by love

i woke,

i woke, not from a recumbent state

but from the gray in light, a closed

door, a down shade on the window

that obscure the stars of night

for so long i’ve lived in reverie

where peddles on a white lily

are pristine, the azure sky hides

and dispels a daring hue and thus

darkness is hidden from the blue

i hear the cries of hunger some unheard,

the screams of anguish from death’s hand,

a child is not a wolf left alone in the woods,

the aged all alone on streets of cobblestone

no one sees them, no one cares except the lonely

i woke, not from a recumbent sleep

but from voices of the dark trying to scare

the light. it is i who must not be burdened

by fear, shall lift the shade and open the door

so that light pierces the dark letting ingress 

and egress to be free 

the breezes blowing

the breezes blowing now with a breath of cause,

too long lately, storms have twisted and broken all

as the devil’s thick water seeps through the ground

turning black the ocean blue where our neighbors

of the sea no longer can swim, no longer can breathe

fear has turned white clouds to an ominous gray

where once were kind and gentle souls are now forced

to defend their nature from the angry and the vile

when once they walked amidst the arc of the rainbow

not to look for gold but to wear the colors as attire

sadness now reigns with winds blowing pain like sand

in a swirling storm finding crevices unseen unknown,

whilst left unspoken, hides starvation and the toils of

human suffering beguiled in the dark, not from the

absence of the sun but from an apathy of the heart

where to, shall we human form now take ~

a path of calm gentle peace and harmony,

so Earth can breathe once again, the hungry

to eat, fauna to run and play, flora to paint the sky,

letting the soul, the spirit of Earth to live on ? 

futility of life

moments come and pass,

i stop to think about them,

they’re moments of fondness,

nostalgia creates a memory

i dwell, 'not', upon the memory 

for then i cease creating present 

moments and my heart beats 'not' 

of life but in the cessation of it

i look down and feel the grass

between my toes, i smell the lavender

nearby, my eyes are given pleasure

from the lily, the jonquil, the iris,

cardinals whistle for each other,

blue-jays and black birds caw,

the robins have taken nesting

for the warm has come north

as i breathe this moment, though,

as my heart flutters at this piece of life

the beating heart is fragile, feeling

anguish by the loss of souls too young

taken by angry voices, ugly hands

our shadows touch

seeing my shadow cast by the sun

walking outside today, i thought
…does it cast in the same
by the light of the moon ?

not unlike when i breathe,

never the same air
or my hand dipped in a river,
where and when water sifting
through my fingers, never the same

every mornings’ waft of lilac, rose

and lily, so too their shadows
dance in the breeze, always different
from day to day, whilst their 
movement, the sun's rays conduct

like the osprey flying o’er the black

sea at night, it knows no matter
of its flight only that the wind
underneath lets it soar until its
wings greet the golden eye resting
on the ocean's shore

silhouetted shadow cast upon a crimson sky,

moments before in daylight it could see
its reflection cast in the liquid of earth
below and so it asks itself…
which is truly me, the shadow in the sky or 
the reflection in the sea ?

by nature, in that the osprey asked the same

question as i…are our souls connected
not just in spirit or from the sea and so if they are
when my shadow casts and i breathe,
are we, too, the same, you and me ?

light pierces the grey

the darkness of black

defuses into grey and a ray

of light evinces from it which

then gives a nascence to 

moments of joy and in their

gathering, happiness derives

this sometimes short lived when

then we realize our emotions are but 

passions of the heart ascribed distant 
from cerebral snotions warning

of these moments do come at a price

if i could, i would make choices

where my thoughts to accommodate

a smile and my breath becoming 

the oxygen of this happiness as

the warmth of the sun splays 

fulfilling verve to my day

and so when i close my eyes

the darkness will be filled with

dreams of tenderness, a hand in

my hand walking along through

life's sojourn whilst underneath

my naked feet lay jagged stones

heart’s disquiet

one day, the tears i've shared,

the blood of my heart
having spilled upon pages,
my soul having left its scent,
will the eyes of whom
these words intended
lament over having waited
too long to read the words
i so wished to share ? 

maybe posthumously my words

will be gathered, by chance she
will read about my heart and
my soul's disquiet.    

until then i shall go on, continue

marry my heart and my tears with the
words of my soul on pages upon 
pages till ink runs dry and then
i shall scratch with finger nails
on walls, my words, a telling of
my love exceeds the bounds of pages
where it is writ and the lines
of love reside

all will be alright

i lay my body down on the dirt of Earth

to touch wild-flowers born of morning tears
comes a beetle and a tiny toad to greet me
and tell me… all will be alright

roll over on my back to see the tallness of the trees

witness white cotton figurines playing in the sky
an eye of gold makes light the trims on everything
and an avian spirit flies across the horizon blue
looks down at me, its wings write on the clouds
…all will be alright

i call my soul within to gather the good

wash away the tears of sadness that are calling
for me to ride the darkness of an abyss
my heart feels a pain of ugly that my eyes have seen
a soulful embrace envelops me, whispers…all will be alright

i rise and stand before the day

and tell the wind, the sun, come on
let us play,  I wish to dry my tears away
sing the verses of the beetle tiny toad and bird,
let my soul purge the sadness in my heart
…all will be alright

aging gracefully

in the Spring

a flower sprouts and blooms
to the colors of Nature’s dress
then sleeps in the Autumn’s nest

the fish jump and spawn,

hummingbirds hum to the tune of
warming days then in the Fall
the fish swim away and the humming
rests for another warm day

but a tree, seemingly, forever keeps

it’s green of leaves, some with
the waft of pine, the crimson
of cherry blossoms or the tears of
weeping willow limbs who splay
upon the azure summer sky

while in autumn its leaves display

their russet dress with golden trim,
in the cold of a snowy Winter’s day
it dresses in a veil of white, giving
a glint of light to a starry night’s array

all seem short-lived but a tree stands

tall and sturdy withstanding angry stormy
rains while in the winter it holds its own
as the blizzard winds blow, stands
strong and steady in its graceful ascent

soulfully standing in observation and care

for the terrestrials who lean on him and his
avian friends who nest on his limbs and he
nurtures the owl, the cicada, the eagle,
the wolf, imparts the wisdom of longevity

like a tree, this once tall towering man no longer

able to walk, we came to see and to hug
his body and wisdom soon to pass onto his other
journey to walk once again hand in hand with his
partner whose new journey arrived a few weeks
earlier, telling him... i will see you soon

a ministry he's preached from a pulpit,

that speaks to a message written in a book he 
cherishes, imparting the wisdom of its words
to the people of his gatherings

like a tree, he stood tall and strong

sometimes swaying to the winds ever changing
directions but standing steadfast on his platform

he preached the wisdom of these words

for many suns and moons of Sundays
in the calm of day and night or thunderous storms
of Spring, in the colors of the Fall, the white of deep
Winter’s snow and its angered blizzard winds

and like a tree, he's observed a flower bloom and

later to lay down to sleep, witness the eagle feed
her eaglets in their nest, a tired wolf now lays down  
to rest upon its rooted feet and listens to whispers
of the wind...a wisdom writ in pages of the universe

upon his shoulder, i lay my hand to let him know,

now the time has come for parting. he looks up
at me from his wheel chair, his hallowed eyes stare
up at me, he says, “you’re telling me goodbye?”
“no, i’m coming back to see you soon” i choke to say
“of course. we’ll see each other soon”, he feigned in
a soft voice while lowering his eyes

she, my wife, his daughter kisses him on his cheek

i take her hand in mine as we slowly walk away
with our tears

the 'now'

pondering from whence i came
yes, mother’s uterine canal
but what about the seed
the egg from life’s very beginnings ?

did I begin from a thought

conceived of a feeling, a notion,
from a star in all its
chaos and commotion ?

did my spirit, my soul travel

through a multitude of universes,
of eleven dimensions, traversing
on the string theories of aberrations ?

when my body crumbles to the ground
and the breezes swirl me all around
ride the eddy of the wind onto the sky 
then up, up hitching a ride into space

there the dark energy shall carry me

to a place where once my incarnate
being was but star dust to be assembled
into me but with the universe at my feet

then i open my eyelids from this reverie

back to embrace this reality, seeing flowers,
the grass, the trees, the sky and breathe in
this day’s warming breeze, i cease pondering
for love surrounds me and so i cherish the ‘now’

you in my eyes

come closer

look into my eyes you'll see
the jonquils of Spring
a grand old oak tree and
a robin and cardinal flying free

deep inside me you will see

your soul, the beauty of your face
the salient nature of your skin
on your cheeks and gentle kisses
of your lips

take a little more time, look deeper

and you’ll see the tears
when you had pain, when you
felt a loneliness in the gray
of a stormy rain

keep looking inside me you'll notice

love for those scared, those hurting
with the pain of loss for love ones
and a flood of tears, the angst
of aging too soon, the waning of years

my wish is that you will see

when you peer into my eyes,
my love for you never growing old
together your soul and mine residing
with eternity in the oracle of time


* dedicated to my lovely wife on this day of our ninth wedding anniversary
    and our thirtieth year in each other's embrace