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.
July 5, 2021
There is no way to know what life will bring,
but there IS a way to be ready for it.
Why do we try so hard
to avoid the inevitable?
Embrace it,
and a door will open
to all things possible.
There will be pain
and discomfort,
sadness and regret.
And also,
the boundless joy
of feeling fully alive.
May 7, 2021
If there is no God
watching over us,
then it’s just us,
watching over ourselves.
We are the alpha
and omega,
sharing the burden
of our existence.
All that is promised
or threatened
is in our hands.
May 2, 2021
As I learn to be a better friend
to the child within me,
I might ask myself
(when I am at a loss
for words of comfort)
“What would Mr. Rogers say?”
And I would say
(as he might say):
“It’s OK to feel sad;
It’s OK to be afraid.
You are enough,
and you are lovable,
exactly as you are!”
April 15, 2021
Some things
can’t be fixed.
All there is to do,
is accept the pain,
and learn,
and heal.
April 15, 2021
There may come a time
when all your stories
don’t work anymore,
and you stand naked,
knowing that no one
will come to save you,
and then you discover
that you never needed
to be saved.
April 14, 2021
When it comes down
to what makes us human,
we are all the same.
What separates us
is all the bad ideas
we have told each other
and ourselves.
They whisper in our ears
that they will protect us,
but all they ever do
is feed us the lie
that we are different,
that we are alone.
March 29, 2021
I give myself permission
to feel everything
without thinking.
I give myself permission
to see
without thinking.
I give myself permission
to hear
without thinking.
I give myself permission
to know
without thinking.
I give myself permission
to BE
without thinking.
March 29, 2021
As we drum,
we are surfing
on a wave of sound,
riding the rhythm
we are all a part of,
singing the song
of our common heart.
March 17, 2021
Nature pauses
between breaths
as seasons shift,
and birds
and buds
sing a song
of becoming.
March 17, 2021
It’s a shame that the alt-right has appropriated the phrase “All lives matter”, because of course, every living being deserves a shot at happiness and an end to suffering.
I matter too,
just because I am here,
just because I am human,
just because I hurt,
just because I feel.
I am not alone;
I am not lost.
I don’t need to be silent.
I don’t need to be anything
that I am not.