But the Cowboys shared song
And the Wrestlers argued
But sat in Lotus pose
For Buddha’s great gong
And the Dope Smokers relaxed
In a cloudy haze
Frozen by mysteries
No Mortal Man could comprehend
And Ballerinas spun
Till the Moon sang to the Sun
Letting tears fall
From the closing blinds
And Jugglers threw balls
Higher than before
Not missing a beat
Not dropping the heat
And Snowmen melted
Because Snowwomen were hot
Like perrywinkle tea
And Bus Drivers slowed down
For the yellow crossing sign
Said Children
And the Taxi Drivers sped up
Because their Patrons
Demanded it
And the Stars sang goodnight
In their twinkling light
As the Moon crept along
With the sound of great gong.
Tag: stars
4 Whole Days (day 2813)
I lost my dog a few days ago
He was my world that you never knew.
It brings me sadness
How little time he spent here
And recognizing how my own life
Moves on from his presence.
I want to remember him
In the little ways he would
Make me feel special,
No mortal soul, I should dare,
Could compare in devotion
And thus it is to the stars
– His own shining star –
That his soul shall live on
Forever in tonight’s sky.
I remember each time
He got under my nerves
He’d run around in circles
Speeding away and then closer
My blood would boil,
My temper would raise,
But as I was trying to control him
I too had to control my own self.
Remembering this, I soon found strength
To take him under my wing
And lead him forward.
Yet no longer can I share this with him
No longer is he waiting at the top of the bank
For me to emerge, amidst day’s light
Wondering what it was
That I was to get up to again.
I miss him, my friend, every part of him
Even taking the ticks out
From his thick winter wool,
I miss his little bites
And my own barking of commands
I miss him involved
In my every day routine
Scooping out food
Making him sit and shake.
I notice my changing;
It’s been 4 whole days
Since I walked through the forest
We minded together;
I notice me changing
Into without my best friend;
I notice me lingering longer
Upon tasks full of focus,
No longer taking moments
To shower some love
Upon a small beast
Whom I every bit miss dearly.
Angry Thoughts Mantra (day 2477)
Let them pass over me and through me
Let them ooze away
Let the stars pick at them
And stardust figment them
Let my heart be calm
And thoughts pleasant
Laid upon a rock to dry
Happy and untroubled
Ode To Birds Singing At Night (day 2250)
When I bed my wary down
An anticipated rest at night
Whilst stars still not yet hung
A song plays in a key so high
So high I must quieten to enjoy
First the symphony comes
From the right of me
A solo of hesitation
Then echoing the chorus rings in:
“All of life, all of life, all of life!”
Off into the distant copse
A clear and bright bird stands up tall,
Two so close
One behind
Now chattering from all around!
Carrying me off on a journey
Into a night so deep
To surely dream
Of more sweetly
Singing birds.
This Old Map (day 2144)
I could sell you an old map
Of my own handwriting
With stars on every place
We should learn to call our home.
I’d carve into every signpost
Where we’d walk up and down Broadway
Our names forever
And our old hands together.
I’d sail away on every sea
With wind of your full soul
And plunge right in I’d dive again
To find the pearl of your heart.
Moon at Midnight – Part XXXXXXXI (day 2045)
Sara and Bill were happy to see me
They said they hadn’t had any visitors yet this summer
And had none to expect
They confessed they had been watching a while for me now
Thinking it was about that time
That I’d be showing up,
If I were to be showing up at all
They had news of a few U.S. Army parties
Heading through these parts
Looking for some rogue bandits of some sort
Miners, they said, that had caused quite a stir
In a town about five days ride South East
Early in the Spring
We said we hadn’t seen or heard either of them
It wasn’t the group that Tall Pine and I
Had tracked the year prior that ransacked our home,
It is always a bit unsettling
Knowing that people like that are out there
Maybe watching us as we go about our day
Who knows what they’d do if they stumbled upon our home
Most likely they’d stay right clear
If they know what was best for them
We have a good number of scouts
Always roaming the valley who wouldn’t be
Too friendly to them, also.
We showed Sara the gift of our deer
And she was very happy to accept it
She immediately went to work preparing it
And Moon Cow asked her if she’d like us to set up
A smoke house for them to smoke it with
She said that she had heard of such things
But never seen one set up
And she’d be much obliged if we could show her
That was, of course, if we could put one together
With the little pieces
Of leftover wood that we could find around
We told her that wouldn’t be an issue
That all we needed was a few axes
And we’d be able to make it from a few fresh logs.
We spent the night listening to Bill’s stories
Moon Cow fit in just fine
Being a man of words, too
I think Johnny-Boy enjoyed hearing the stories
Moon Cow shared,
A culture I don’t think he has yet had
Much exposure to,
His life mostly living off the land
As they were now
And in mining towns
Like the one he was born in.
Moon Cow and I slept outside
We made a small fire
To keep ourselves warm through the night
I liked sleeping under the stars most of the time
It’s something that you get used to
And if you have just a few small luxuries
It really can become quite liberating
Traveling so lightly and freely
Especially when you’re carrying
Everything on your back.
Moon at Midnight – Part XXII (day 1996)
(part XXI)
This was my new family
My life became so entwined with them
Every day for me was filled
With compassion I had never experienced before
Not even living at home with my Irish parents
Who set the fire at 4:15 every night
There were other people that involved themselves in our life
But they had their own things
And I had for the most part
Already been completely welcomed into the family.
I took Willow and Lily with me to see Amy, Frank, and Clarinet
Who were at first beside themselves with joy
That I had found myself a wife
And then flustered with how to celebrate
The special event with us,
Because of the communication we had developed
They were able to talk with us
And only some of the time Willow would lean on me
Asking what they had just meant
But she was never-the-less shy
About meeting White people
And didn’t quite know how to act
Or what to do in a social setting like this with them.
When we were on our way home
Winding through a path that was now familiar
I asked Willow how she had liked Amy & Frank
She said: “Amy very beautiful, Frank very clean.”
I laughed a good long time
After hearing this
In spite her questioning: “What? What?”
I couldn’t stop my laughter
And couldn’t get enough of this woman who loved me
I asked her how she liked their home
Wooden walls, and rocking chairs
And a steel fireplace to burn wood in
She looked at me and said straight:
“Joe, not us.”
At that moment
My passion for her blossomed
Into a thousand year old tree
Her honesty and immediate awareness of it
Made me understand one of her truest qualities
Willow looked at me
And I looked at her
And Lily, behind Willow, looked at me
And for nearly the whole ride home
I could hardly contain myself
From devouring with passion
The entire essence of Willow
Her full beauty as a strong Woman
Who had chosen to share space
With me, a dusty traveler,
And every time I looked at Lily
Bundled in tightly behind Willow with sleepy eyes
I burst into laughter I never knew I had.
When we arrived home
And put Lily to sleep
We walked down to the river’s edge
Where we had first kissed
And sat for a long time
Together, under blankets
Watching as the moon slowly made its arch
High up into the Autumn sky,
There were no words that needed to be said
Because we spoke so fluently in silence
And we leaned backwards
Falling into the web above
Twinkling back at us in dreams,
Sharing every secret we ever had.
You’re My Only One (day 1830)
Brushed it off
I’m coming home
You knew it was
My remaining heart
Sold my stars
For another dance
My gray fingers
First romance
Gasping I
Looked into the sun
Twenty eyes
You’re my only one
Just Maybe (day 1751)
I don’t want a perfect you.
I don’t want an imagination
Resting on commercialized ideals
And mis-spent laments.
No.
I want your messiness and chaos
And moments that urk me,
And crazy eyes and silent times
And hugs that will never end
Because forever is a time
I will be left thinking of you.
And just maybe,
If I count my lucky stars enough,
I will be right there
Next to you,
Smiling,
Winding my clock backwards
Elongating time to expand
These moments that make up you.
Moon Rain (day 1400)
Rain has been falling a thousand ways today,
From every angle and darkened cloud one could ever find up high.
As I lie here attempting sleep,
Rain continues to dance around.
It is here I think to myself:
“Sounds of music
In my ears
Can always carry me,
But this pitter patter
Could never replace
My moon that shines so bright.”