Thursday, June 19, 2008

HOW DOES IT HAPPEN?

In the park

they came out from some trees,

two kids holding hands.

How did this happen?

And the bird

that brought itself down

to the grass close by,

by what mysterious means

did it find itself there,

feeling the grass against its legs,

listening to the world wandering by?

And the trees nearby,

turning their arms to relax,

can anyone say

if something special

said they should do this?

And my legs just crossed themselves.

Does anyone know how or why?

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

TIME OUT

One day he decided

to stop getting new feeds,

favorites, and services.

Instead, he sent himself

down to the roses in the park.

He promised the sunshine

he would stay silent.

He listened to the wind’s words.

The roses were resting,

as was the planet itself,

as was the whole soothing universe.

So he sat on the grass

that gave its services

as softly as the roses.

Friday, June 13, 2008

HEALING

He knows that to heal

he has to be able to hold things

in an effortless way.

The sky holds its stars

with ease, the sands of all shores

hold sunbathers benevolently,

and please

holds a thank you in its hands.

He has to learn

to let himself relax

when he holds a word in his mind,

or a proud pencil in his hands.

He knows

what’s wrong will be right

when he holds

by loosening his grasp,

like the land does

when it lets him skip

and spring in happiness.

.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

HER BROKEN HEART

Yesterday her heart was broken

into shards of silver and gold.

It shattered

and the pieces

spread across the sidewalk.

She shook with the misery of it,

but soon she noticed

that people loved those fragments

of her heart. A sorrowful man

found a piece

and placed it in his pocket.

A woman made a nest in her hands

for some small flakes,

and her students took some home

to help them live.

Even she herself leaned down

and let a speck of her heart

amaze her.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008


A THOUGHT FLOATS THROUGH HIS MIND

A thought floats

through his mind,

then dives and disappears.

Then a thought throws itself

into the sea of his mind

where other thoughts

are splashing and swimming.

Then a thousand thoughts

start sailing along,

their own captains,

capable of following

the farthest star.

Then he sees

that the sea of his mind

has no shores,

that it isn’t his,

and that he

is one of the thoughts.

Then it’s all rest

and recreation.


Monday, June 2, 2008

FREEDOM

It was a sudden feeling,

almost like the rush

of a shooting star across the sky,

or the setting free of sunshine

after days of storms.

He was sitting in the park

beneath a boundless tree,

when suddenly, there it was,

this feeling flooding over him like a river.

He sat still and felt himself

washing away on the feeling.

He let himself be carried.

He had come into this world

with cries of freedom,

and now he found himself free

on this feeling from nowhere,

with nothing important to do

but feel free.

...........................................................



WHAT HE DOES

He doesn’t surf or skateboard,

but he does hear wisdom

when it cries out.

He doesn’t run

with the best and the bravest,

but he does see simplicity

shining in a spoon,

or in someone’s shirt passing by.

He doesn’t go forth

with fire in his eyes,

but he does leave loneliness and sorrow

standing at the starting line.

He doesn’t always

attack his work with industry,

but he does have a shining appearance

when snow is falling.

.....................................................



MORNING SOUNDS

The sound of his breathing

is a mystery to him,

as is the sound of the drawer in his dresser

sliding open so he can find some socks.

It’s strange to listen

to the sound of mouthwash

swirling inside his cheeks,

or to the sounds of happiness

and sorrow balancing

and sighing inside him.

The marmalade on his toast

makes a sweet sound against his teeth

as cars speak in soft voices past his apartment.

He’s sure

there are countless amazing sounds outside

that he can’t hear –

trees expressing joy,

beautiful thoughts blowing across the country.

..........................................................



MOZART, STONES, AND TREES

He wanted to play

a Mozart violin sonata with someone,

but since he couldn’t play the violin

and didn’t know a pianist,

he went outside

and walked among stones and trees.

He saw the stones sitting precisely

where they should be,

and the trees taking each other’s hands

as breezes blew by.

He held his two hands out

and they folded together like friends,

and the trees and stones

stayed where they were,

and the time of day

was just what it must be.

................................................



THE BIKE RIDER

He knows all things are his --

the stones beside the roads,

the scraps of paper

scattered in the weeds,

the everlasting sunlight.

The gracious streetlights are his,

as are the unsurpassed coffee shops

and grocery stores he passes.

The swift-winged cars

that carry their precious passengers

to places destined for them,

the school buses with students

like lights in all the windows –

all these,

and the sweetness of his bicycle,

are his.

.....................................................



A MORNING BIKE RIDE

It didn’t exactly get his heart beating

when it started,

just a hesitant summer morning

singing its inconsequential song.

There wasn’t much to praise,

wasn’t much to raise

a smile to a face --

just a silver morning

with its gift of easygoing light,

just a quiet day coming his way,

just geraniums

shyly gesturing

in gardens beside the roads.

.........................................................



LOOKING FOR LIMITS

He sometimes tries to find

the limits of things like love.

Can you love only so much

and then it finishes at a fence

or peters out like a small stream?

Is love like a savings account

that could quietly come to an end,

and then no more money

or love? He thinks the answer

is no, for each day

he rides on a sea

that has no shore,

is borne along by breezes

that never began.

LAUGHTER


When’s he sad or stressed,

he settles himself down

and listens for laughter.

He knows it’s all around him,

in houses across the street,

in towns in his state,

in tall forests where friends

at this very moment

are making merry.

He sees in his mind

a world where one-third

of the people are probably laughing

with light hearts

right at this moment,

this serious moment in his life

when he’s so worried

about one thing

or another.