Beyond the world of discovery that music has been for me, there was always the bigger world, the universe of questions about what we’re a part of, how it works, and how to best fit into the larger whole.
My love of words, a fascination with scientific, philosophical, and spiritual inquiry, and a quiet determination to learn how to be a better human (and a happier man) have led me on a path of shaping my experience, breath by breath, into poems.
Here are some of them.
November 21, 2021
In this moment,
I don’t need a reason
to do whatever I do.
A reason
is only an excuse,
an attempt to explain
what can’t be explained.
In this moment,
I give myself over
as a willing vessel
for whatever Life,
moving through me,
may choose
for me to be or do.
November 7, 2021
If I did not have a Facebook page,
would I still be “me”?
Or could my sense of self dissolve,
and set my spirit free
to roam the world without the thought
that there’s someone I must be,
to see my world with empty eyes,
and be one with all I see?
October 29, 2021
There will always be
a little boy or girl
within each of us.
When we learn to connect with them,
there will be a lot of joyful play
and exploration,
and also an end
to a lot of suffering.
September 10, 2021
In the flow of energy
that we call life,
everything is impermanent,
and the things we love
pass in and out of existence,
along with everything else.
There is joy to be had
in what is present,
and grief in what is lost,
but what remains, always,
is Love itself.
If you open up your heart to grief,
it will open up to love as well -
love for what once was,
love for all that is,
and love for all
that ever will be.
August 29, 2021
A stream of water,
as it pours out of a pitcher,
has a particular shape and form,
as it it were a solid thing,
but, as our common sense will tell us,
it is a thing of that moment only,
and will lose its form
as soon as its flow ceases.
And how is the flow of life
any different?
Are we each not eddies
in the ebb and flow
of the flood of life?
In each of our fleeting forms
is a reflection of a great design,
an evanescent facet
of the gem of creation.
That is the gift we are given,
our each-ness in the all-ness,
and is that not enough?
August 26, 2021
Emotions
don’t need reasons.
Let them be,
and give them room
to breathe.
Let go of the need
to fix or understand them.
Breathe with them,
breathe into them.
Let them come and go
as they will,
and you will learn
to live with them
in peace.
August 21, 2021
Every one of us has an ego, and I think it’s fair to say
that that’s what creates most of the mischief in this world.
What would it be like, I wonder,
if we managed to reduce the hold
they have over us?
How much energy do we squander,
stroking the egos of everyone around us,
and defending our own?
Is it kindness,
to play the fan of all the stories
we have made ourselves the stars of,
or is it mere avoidance,
the sidestepping of our fears
of being disapproved of?
How different would our world be
if we were always ready
to give the truth,
and to hear it?
If we could trust ourselves,
and each other,
that much,
it would be a different world,
indeed.
August 2, 2021
When something “good” happens,
it doesn’t mean anything.
When something “bad” happens,
it doesn’t mean anything.
Nothing that happens
means anything
except to the extent
that you give it meaning.
Be more mindful
of what you give meaning to,
and much of your suffering
will give way to joy.
July 22, 2021
Don’t be afraid
of your own energy.
You may label it
“good” or “bad”,
but it is just
the life force
of the universe,
expressing itself
through you.
You may have hidden from it,
for all these years,
because it felt bigger than you
and might swallow you up,
but it IS you,
and you are safe
in its embrace.
And you will know this
in your heart and soul,
when you stop struggling
against it.
July 21, 2021
Almost twenty years ago, I looked south from this same spot,
at a sky filled with the scar of a senseless tragedy,
a horrific reminder of our failings as a species. Now,
the signs of a different type of tragedy call out to us,
if we’re only willing to hear.
A crimson moon pokes through a murky but cloudless sky,
the lights of the city muted, further landmarks erased from view,
the air tinged with the faint scent of distant conflagrations.
3000 miles from here, the world is on fire,
and we cannot ignore the message
that this smoke has traveled so far to tell us:
once again, we have brought catastrophe upon ourselves,
on our brothers and our sisters,
and we can no longer afford the luxury
of pretending we don’t see.