mens sana in corpore sano
classist
racist
sexist
ageist
selfist
self-fist
fascist
conservationist
industrialist
communist
capitalist
abolitionist
absolutist
absolutionist
socialist
nihilist
obliterationist
optimist
pessimist
deist
theist
artist
individualist
pacifist
creationist
secularist
evangelist
sensationalist
naturist
naturalist
it's hard to be human
selfishness
princeliness
queenliness
stateliness
worldliness
hatefulness
carelessness
foolishness
it's about being compassionate
activism
criticism
terrorism
anti-socialism
obstructionism
politicism
elitism
idealism
embolism
hellenism
nobilism
realism
archivism
escapism
obliterationism
all those difficult human things
carrying us to a remarkable edge
where we must inevitably decide
either turn ourselves around
go back to where we came from
sometimes just find a place to run and hide
maybe find a better way
take an unclear leap of faith
hoping yet uncertainly
we learn how to listen
we know how to fly
a sound mind
in a sound body

            * * *

 

there's a deep cave
down at the bottom of the ocean
I can't help but wonder
I have this strange notion
that God dwells there
and God is pondering
how did this cave come about
God has questions about us wandering
perhaps we should stop and hold a rave
a complete nuisance of commotion
we could build a communion fire
but fire won't burn under the sea
what about all we have desired
does God understand desire in you and me
or can God only see light
what about the disappearing birds and bees
does God see wrong and right
if there were no light
would God exist at all
if God didn't catch our eye
if we didn't have this lifelong urge
could the world simply be a lie
would life just be a scourge
deep in that cave where God is
is it in the sea or outer space
I can't help but wonder if and why
how important is the human race
we aren't really necessary
but for some reason we still have a face
still we strive to be escalating and incendiary
no matter what or when or place
so at the bottom of the deep ocean
in God's mysterious hidden cave
I wonder if God is constantly mixing potions
spiritual prescriptions for each maid and every knave
what about credence and devotion
if we lose faith is there another way
can we ever find anything to do or say to atone
or is life nothing more than a three act play
but as God does there is seldom a big promotion
God just commits to that big bang cave in his deep ocean
waiting to see how we all react and eventually behave

                                     * * *

 

if only I could fly
look down on the world
all those wonders I would spy
my soul wants to be like water
flowing free and pure across the land
if only I could be an otter
swimming free with my otter band
catching pollution free fish
we devour fresh
relishing life beneath the stars
being all together
unshakeably enmeshed
always closely tied
relinquishing this alien world
as if we were from Mars
once I heard you say I love you
I knew you were being true
when I looked into your eyes
there lived a precious love
that once we both knew
over time everything seems to die
but precious love lasts forever
even though it changes colour
from passionate red
to melancholy blue
we must have been daft
thinking we could stay together
now I'm far out at sea
floating on a lonesome raft
I don't know
where you are lying
perhaps you are lost
maybe you are crying
just like me
if I could fly
I'd search for you
I'd fly across every sea
perhaps I'd one day find you
perching like a beautiful bird
resting in the glorious shade
of some magnificent ancient tree
if you still want me
if your love hasn't died
we could sing together
just you and me
the world might finally find us
soaring high and being together
navigating through every weather
even though we both have changed
even though both of us have cried
over those long ago times that we shared
all those long kisses staring into each other's eyes
joining our bodies and hearts together
finding true love where we both cared
discovering love wasn't just some horrid farce
or a three ring circus of ardent lies

                        * * *

 

this strange life
where love wants to catch us
then rip us apart
tear us into pieces
just to see if we can heal
just to see if we survive
this crazy world
that sees us born
drenched and crying
for the rest of our intense lives
leaving us out in the pouring rain
rendering dreams out of our lucid minds
those trees that we plant
helping us to be compassionate and kind
if the universe is real
perhaps our soul will find
what we should truly be and feel
let love take you
by your hand
live your years being kind
when those tears come
when sadness breaks your heart
as old age overcomes you
how can you feel okay
what verbs do you really want to speak and say
all those clever things
that you never want to hear
all those harsh words that never disappear
leaving you lonely and dismayed
where there is no music
where there is no rhyme
when bullets fly
when bombs explode
when life drags you to the lowest mode
right down to your knees
where you just cry and cry
when sombre deeds and thoughts
keep on tearing you down
all the tragic way
to dreadful suicide mode
if tornadoes have torn your life apart
when the sun just will not shine
stop and pull the knife
out of your bleeding heart
plug those bullet holes
fierce wickedness left in your head
fling your broken body
upon that ticking bomb
let God pick up those fleshy pieces
while demons bathe
in your coagulating blood
retrieve your unscathed soul
speak a meditative prayer
midst all that insipid rain and fear
which isn't vicarious or rare
causing that latest intrepid flood
cleansing this odd iconoclastic world
until we're no longer here
this cosmogonic universe
will surrender thanking God
cosmology and love becoming
absolute and clear
 

                   * * *

 

forsooth
blue sky
blue ocean
long in the tooth
by and by
more motion
I'm standing
amongst a group of men
entertaining those grinning boys
quite handily
they're laughing at me
I'm telling tales
they're not sure what they see
my words are removing so many veils
one minute I'm speaking
the next I'm thinking
telling myself
to shut my f-ing mouth
then the next route
I'm sooth saying
like I am hexed and vexed
inflection with some direction
imagine this conviction
black skin
white skin
yellow skin
green skin
brown skin
purple skin
blue skin
wrinkled skin
mottled skin
chameleon skin
no skin
that din I am in
skinless
pure translucence
induced through apparitions
rank partitions
spewing sulphuric acid
such harsh conditions
injecting adder venom
not much is placid
sometimes I'm hemmed in
due addendum
turning circles
in a ripening crop
searching for miracles
drip by drop
I just can't stop myself
mixing potions
speaking in tongues
I just don't see myself
I know I'm far flung
applying soothing lotions
swimming in an apt and loathsome sea
reeling with hungry sharks and jelly fish
somehow I am still feeling me
wearing all my weird notions
wond'ring if there is any glee
or recompense
slathered with buttery ghee
perhaps this recipe is so dense
I'm neither I nor me
when I sleep and dream
laughing at what I do and say
when I find I'm floating
down a refreshing stream
in a renewing dream
on a calm and brilliant day
this world seems almost normal
a less horrible world seemingly fair and free
then the tide turns
things can seem so harsh and formal
I just want to sleep more and flee
when my soul yearns
for sooth
those moments  I'm seeking utter truth
I stop and think about my long gone youth
back years ago when I was young and learning
about how the world keeps spinning and turning
discovering how things can be so aloof
now at this age
I listen to the rocks and stones
plants teach me medicine
birds sing to me so I atone
I don't feel so reticent
about people laughing at me
I'm wandering around
pondering this out of control world
things just keep spinning
still in those gleeful dreams
when I find I'm a chameleon
fixed on a leaning post
changing colour
first inhaling oxygen then helium
I'm suddenly high pitched
swaying to and fro
not stitched-up about losing or winning
equality will always show
truth and honesty
such a playful host
I see myself
just being and grinning
those are the dreams
I like the most
where the sky is blue
the ocean too
and I am done with sinning

                   * * *

 

when night comes
if we never see the light
should there be no place to run
if we never know what's right
maybe a bird will call our name
perhaps a tree will sprout and grow
glow brightly
illuminated in the rain
if we wake and never know
our lives have been in vain
why would God speak to us
find our graves
where we have been eternally lain
that place we died confused by all this earthly fuss
raise us with unfolding grace
from that sacrosanct space
where we have finally fallen
the earth doesn't care about the human race
why would we think divinity is calling
a grueling end is near
nothing living
lives forever
this cruel life with all its fear
proves that we are not that clever
when you're wounded and your soul is bleeding
when the stars have fallen
when they just won't shine
won't you lie there
wondering what you're needing
won't the sea just be a fickle brine
life has cut me to the bone
life has turned me on a cross
I don't know how I might atone
this earthly existence seems a total loss
we've all been prisoners here
living life deluged by all our fear
what in heaven's name is the mortal cost
if when we die we're simply dead and lost
what was the point of this challenging existence
this bitter pill we all must swallow
we live our lives with so much resistance
what were we thinking
what path have we followed
if the world ends tonight
if all life is snuffed outright
what would God say that could be right
would God appear on earth
stand here and shout
or would the earth explode
would the universe and creation simply implode
so when night comes
when we can't see the light
search for that place where you are one
surrender your soul into that sacred space
where love has resigned to end all plight
why can't love come to rescue us all
why must we fight
have so many fail and fall
perhaps dawn would come
and morning would call
if love could simply light the way
maybe night would surrender
and not forever want to stay
 

                       * * *

 

I'm mired again
in this difficult place
where sadness
wants to drag me down
into those perilous depths
where I always drown
I can't help myself
I wake
distressed I find myself
crying
wishing this world
was a different place
somehow we are lost
the sun refuses to be kind
the moon in line
can't find me
no matter how often
I try
to rise and stand
I fall down again
feeling like I might die
my heart hurts
these eyes
are blind and tired
if only I could wake up
and fly away
to some better place
but the stars won't let me
so here I lay
I wish
if only
I could touch your face
but you are far away
my tears
just won't stop
day after broken day
these insistent tears
streaming
so many imperative fears
blemishing my sad face
when I try to stand
I can only slump and scream
tumbling into that parsec space
stripped upon this marred land
I see myself bleeding
when I'm down and out
in my lucid dreams
I am always needing
still I wonder
how I am
if I'm nothing
but a crumpled disgrace
love obstinately deserted me
but I'm still here
these tears
won't let me
see anything clear
so I stumble
day after day
fumbling through life
I'm just a trivial part
of this
unhinged human race
my heart
is wounded
my soul
ragged and torn
sometimes I wish
I were never born
still I am so forlorn
if I
could simply
touch your hand
if I
could find the strength to stand
to kiss your face
perhaps we'd find
some perfect place
if my weeping eyes
could clearly look
into your deep soul
what might I see
would you
reach out
and hold me close
would you
beseech me
to not be
so morose
but true love
won't find us
love can't heal
these wretched wounds
ultimately we share
love won't dare
to gently soothe
these crushing hurts
that we both feel 

            * * *

 

resolve hardness
be like water
let adamant gravity
draw you down
when the sun shines
warming summer dew
let ego evaporate
over luminous time
when radiant night comes
turn your adjacent self
inside out
become crystalline
take a frosty view
become hoary if you must
be like collective water
then vaporize into atmosphere
if corrective life
boils you away
once you are broiled
foiled and buried
you'll want to rise
a yeasty leavening
amongst those feisty spring places
refreshed and healing
spell binding earth
minding soul and spirit
issued from within
deep remarkable darkness
out of mirthful caves
admittance into serpentine fissures
you have remitted
fractured the world
absolved by your inner strength
eroding every past life
when you were glacial
engulfed over years and years
carving magnificent murals
gouging channels through sacred land
then you erupted
consummated by flowing lava
becoming fumaroles emitting billowing steam
streaming from inner earth
hard core issuance
concurrent outward spewing
belched from a karmic centre
those myriads of noxious clouds
garnered with your sulfur breath
smothering your creative self
vexed by those vapour dreams
your image fogs the bloody mirror
so you never see yourself
upon instant change
spontaneous creation
swirling and ranging into view
you are gathering there
but who truly cares
where there are sparks of life
sparkling water pools everywhere
drop by remarkable drop
you live your phenomenal life
drop by creative drop
you invent a trickling stream
building a riverbed
your ingenious mystery
washing over historic earth
finally realizing expansion
into a life giving sea
there you envision
more visceral creation
your galactic gauge
which is eminently limitless
like an elephant's true love
unlimited trumpeting
luxuriating in endless galaxies and waterholes
like Gods and Goddesses
relishing time and everything
something we all should do and have
but don't always have
no matter what we do or say
we're searching for everything
something good in every way

 

                  * * *

 

remove the veil
from your eyes
in your dreams
do you hear
all those children's cries
can you see
the harm we've done
so much hurt and pain
for everyone
when you wake
quaff a quenching drink
from that moral sacred spring
that good God did make
if you secretly think
the stars won't shine
without those visions
things we hold dearly
in our shrouded minds
would we ever see
what is real truth
what is clarity and honesty
clearly here grows the tree
tattooed with all our history
beneath thick bark
continuance of this connective story
under the failing stars
an atmosphere of both disgrace and glory
beneath the wondrous sky
where we all falter and still wander
see how we have tried
even the sea once parted
because so many cried
as we kneel and ponder
even kings bend and kneel down
ruling over a vast and broken ground
remove the token veil
covering your blinded eyes
reminding you in your dreams
perhaps you'll finally see and hear
sweet innocence and children's cries
turn to laughter and to joy
if an angel finds you
be sure to closely listen
when the morbid devil calls you
kneel and pray under every condition
when there is no fruit left
on the sacred tree
once the roots have all rotted away
when our dreams leave us bereft
when we can't see neither you nor me
let your angel chop down the tree
carry it in pieces far away
when we have all gone blind
and just won't see
that the veil covering our eyes
something God wants us
to strip away
in the end
everyone wants
to be saved
but there are
standing at the entrance
to ancient blessed caves
no restive saviours
even if we aren't depraved
we can't save ourselves
all those misguided ways
people have behaved
earthly riches and money can't save you
your soul is still God's alone
only kindness and love
will allow us to atone
if you think your goal is pure
how can one ever be sure
like birds in the sacred sky
if only we could learn to fly
then perhaps as life goes on
we'd find that this life
would be easier to endure
still even more
perhaps one day
we'd learn to truly soar
when you lay down and die
perhaps your angel
will be there to care
when you leave this body
perhaps you shall see
spirit still lingers there
perhaps you'll find
God does truly care
so when life here is finished
creation won't be diminished
once every veil has been removed
once we see the way is clear
of misguided pain and hurt and strife
perhaps our dreams will come true
perhaps people will finally see a better life
having gained a stronger loving view
 

                         * * *

 

we choose
every path we take
each step and brush stroke
we eventually make
paramount time counts down
each vivid sunset and shining moonrise
marking each moment we own
all our joy and desperate cries
constant thoughts in our mind
our remorse and laughs
every little thing we find
some are miracles others gaffes
once we find it
stop to peel back the rind
reveal the flesh expose the pit
discover things to be harsh or kind
stupidity or wisdom
making waves in our minds
is it sphere or kingdom
those words we speak and hear
all that fear we hold in our being
that precious love we hold so dear
is it choice or fate that we are seeing
 

                       * * *

 

as I leapt
into nothingness
all that nothingness
contorted itself
discomforted and swirling
circumnavigating my being
strapping me
to an unseen world
stripping me
of who I'd once been
still I soared
took overt flight
rising like an eagle
towering and gazing
what an extraordinary view
down on a silent world
something unfamiliar
in my quiet mind
waking in a hazy room
new dreams
unfurled and booming
furlongs of past gloom
seemingly never ending
each crushing tsunami
pushing exalted waves
into torrents of extreme thought
I might be sometimes
swamped and drowned
yet elements of dance
those tempest fears
which movement wrought
force me out
into viral space
a critical void
where spiraling space debris
whizzes past me
then lastly
disintegration comes
was it neglect's integrated will
on a blue moon
once still
beneath a red sky
where the corrupted tide
still churned
turning sometimes
back out to sea
those relative things
come much too soon
often reactive life
reacts once more
twisting its essential core
all may be detrimental
but elemental physics
that gentle nothing
can't stop it
one can't cop out
after every boosted blast
reeling past oblivion
believing in one upstanding pavilion
a final dream
screech avast
impeach this damaged symposium
reflected by sun block
this impartial vision
employed much too soon
but we may
not perfectly see
as soulful goes
every portent truth
such blinding
universal light
so dazzlingly bright
but amazingly often
we can't see past our own lies
into the crass beyond
past that sacred face
beyond every holy place
plastered and distended
stuck in our surroundings
yet divinely extended
beyond our tongue nose ears and eyes

                   * * *

 

stranded in the weeds
teetering along the edge
wishing somehow I could atone
rendering some fleeting penance  
meeting that sordid long road
for all my unworthy deeds
all those things I've mistakenly not known
sitting silent by a tall fence
consciously separating us both
I'm feeling almost at home
there I'm seeking some sense
for those hard things I've said
all those critical words that I wrote
if I cut down every upright tree
what would the impartial earth think
if I suck dry every freshwater sea
what then would my love find to drink
I've lain naked in the parting forest
exposed and ravaged by the primeval sun
I've gained insight being a tourist
I've traveled the world just for fun
but my journeys not over
so I'll still walk by the river
I'll still stand under the night sky
wonder about all those prophetic stars
I'll stand there quietly and shiver
dreaming someday I might learn to fly
I'll travel down every lonely lane
foraging and seeking forever
even if my journey is vain
I'll still search for love in your eyes
though I'm trapped by this insane mode
but I'll continuously endeavour
secretly writing love poetry in code
I'll sing love songs by the beckoning sea
reckoning then by and by
I'll continue looking for you
even though I am most often shy
I'll cross every ocean
keep on searching for love within me
I'll cry out to the reticent stars
but if I can't find you or me
I'll intentionally travel to Mars
when contentious Mars tells me stories
about retentive Venus and the curious moon
I'll make my way back to that distant place
where insistent love left us too soon
I've abandoned my heart
closed every door
I've broken to pieces
wishing I'd done my part
when I find I can't dream anymore
I'll lay back down in the weeds
dig a deep hole in the dry earth
hoping to find what I need
I'll climb down to hell
striving to find something real
hoping I've something forthright to tell
wanting something worthy to feel
but if the loveless earth stops spinning
when the heartless stars fall from the sky
I'll know there is no winning
no matter how hard I try
 

                      * * *

 

can a misplaced apostrophe
begin unpardonable war
can a forgotten comma
start some dialogue or more
could a question mark
mark the beginning of the end
perhaps a misused exclamation point
portends a nightmare with horrid trends
what if a phrase should tell a partial lie
could a sentence remind us
of those things language contends
if a paragraph stopped us dead in our tracks
our human story should indicate
what this life lacks
 

               * * *

 

that last time you died
did you feel your soul
leave your body
far out on this journey
did you find paradise
some of us
choose Thai
others choose
Greek pizza or Cantonese
everything tastefully
in transiting moderation
become the Thai
regale in the Cantonese
rise into Thor's crusty pizza
let ripe tomatoes and sweet basil
garnish your leavened soul
discover Hell's branding oven
searing and burning hot
don't wait
hourglass time
is running out
those last elemental gains
grains of universal sand
all sliding away
beckoned to some distant shoal
as we slip and die
squeeze through a narrow hole
we find ourselves
and wonder why
if contracted life
could ever be
so broadly grand
every wandering yearning soul
might bravely jump off
leap towards heaven
or courageously select
some other
cogent cosmic land

            * * *

 

those things we choose
transformative nature
just the finger
or the hand
of God
in outer space
would we hear
ourselves think
could we imagine
oceans and forests
do our hearts beat
as some metaphor
between each thought
moments of simile
separated by each blink
did you see
that latest rocket launch
will there ever be
a cosmic time
when all of us
lift off and fly
these modern lift-offs
each future thrust
assuming life
down here on earth
every furtive sacred space
all these unearthed time capsules
returned safely
landing softly
divine this living station
touching this lofty creation 

               * * *

 

man's indelible fears
fear of isolation
fear of loneliness
fear of dislocation
fear of craziness
fear of neighbours
fear of race and colour
fear of long and painful labours
fear of loss
fear of poverty
fear of rising costs
fear of the unknown
fear of wild nature
fear of rising water
fear of the boiling sea
fear of extreme hunger
fear of marauding sharks
fear of lightning and thunder
fear of bombs and guns
fear of poisonous snakes
fear of the bloody runs
fear of each and every virus
fear of funnel web spiders
fear of things that tire and expire us
fear of rampant epidemics
fear of drastic heights
fear of pandemics
fear of pitch black nights
fear of lies and misconception
fear of change
fear of deception
fear of raging fire
fear of showing true emotion
fear of truth and honesty
fear of wicked evil
fear of hate
fear of the conniving devil
fear of love
fear of misleading devotion
fear of borders
fear of contaminated rags
fear of enforced orders
fear of armies waving foreign flags
fear of consternation
fear of total war
fear of annihilation
fear of blood and gore
fear of human stature
fear of mythic monsters
fear of human nature
fear of so much more

               * * *

 

we are celebrating
having drowned at sea
no longer shackled
after being tossed overboard
so the tide has turned
now there is revelating
survivors have reached
a fumarolic yearning beach
reckoning some good road ahead
even though the searing way
completely blocked at times
by steaming vents and landslides
and the occasional seething ice storm
there could still be raging fire
even more torrential rain
but if we can handle the opium
there lies the heroin road
riding the fire breathing dragon
across rough and broken black top
accompanied by stark visions
some translucent
only semi-clear
now all we have to do
steer clear of fear
heroes and heroines tack right
as fire breathing danger moans
past what is left
those incinerating lava zones
raging through
my endangered mind
there's a cold stagnant pool
stationed there I find
I'm wrapped by an algae sea
isn't life hilarious
all those squelching demons
riding belching sea monsters
all those biblical sermons
all those prophetic pranksters
but here we all are
no longer shackled
yet floundering in a putrid sea
now having reached a welcome beach
a glorified youthful spring
hidden like a sacred fountain
in time we all should realize
we must rise up like a mountain
life must be courageously tackled
if living can be divinely humanized
perhaps one day we'll all be free
 

                     * * *

 

when we are lost
if we can't find ourselves
does the sun refuse to shine
when life has nothing but barren shelves
what is the long term cost
will we ever find our true selves
history which is yours and mine
where did your people come from
were they cursed and persecuted
what were they running from
how can reconciliation be executed
can friends be both yours and thine
what good can we build and be instituted
how many tears has your family cried
can lost love and joy ever be reconstituted
how many of your clan children tragically died
can real faith and trust ever be reinstated
when the roses have wilted and died
when all this hurt and pain has been restated
when that sweet scent of life has been denied
we should surely ask ourselves
has everyone done all we can
has every one of us truly tried

                     * * *

 

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I don't know
if you've been
in love
or not
for me
falling in love
gave me
this intense feeling
that love drug
I think
I was vibrating
at some
other rate
when I
was
in love
but love
doesn't
stay
for one reason
or another
maybe it's
the gravity
of the thing
love
lifting us up
love
dragging us down
is it a smile
or is it a frown
when I fell
I fell hard
love
defined
the passion
I could share
the sound
of your voice
kept me there
staring
into your colourful eyes
visualizing
all the love
in your adoring heart
feeling
your hand
in mine
I remember
how fine
all that love
we once had
sharing and caring
falling
into love
into passion's bed
together
reciting love poems
kisses
in your sensuous garden
caressing
listening to love songs
but precious love
has gone away
that in-love feeling
just couldn't stay
if only
the lasting sun
could burn
love
into our hearts
love wounds
that never heal
so forever more
true love
is what we want to feel

                 * * *

 

these days of crisis
crying nights of despair
all this divisiveness
does anybody really care
these ideas of license
do what you dare
closed club exclusiveness
armies and gangs on a rampant tear
what does it take to change the world
will tomorrow be worse
or by some miracle be better
truth and wisdom can't be coerced
there is physical truth of course
something creation follows to the letter
crossing the line isn't allowed
curse contemptuous kings and crowns
sometimes our heads are in the clouds
other times we're plastered with frowns
this caustic drastic place we're in
it seems a lot has wrongly changed
perhaps we are the sole cause of this tragic sin
so many things we do are greedy and deranged
if tears could wash away the hurt and guilt
redemption should be one of our worthy tools
if love and joy were the only things we felt
these crying nights wouldn't be what we built
maybe then the world wouldn't be completely cruel
perhaps in time we'll all wake to find
living on this planet isn't entirely strange
come to know our dreams during this earthly crisis
imagining this tragedy isn't just about panicked fools

                                * * *