Listen

I listened to your voice
It was not by choice
I had to, to find peace
I sat there week after week
Listening and comparing
Never really accepting
But every once in a while
I would identify enough
To let the thought pass through to my brain
And let it slip into my heart
To accept what was said to me
I was becoming aware of me
I was realizing, grabbing, and growing
Despite my own insanity
It was as if I was waking up
From a deep, deep, sleep
It creeps in on me
A submarine coming out of the ocean
Nose pointed up to the sky
Feeling for the first time that freshness
Amid the wet water all over me
It was all about me
My thinking, my attitude
Wake up and feast your eyes
To the clear blue sky
And the clouds
And the water
Sniff that moisture in the air
Lung it
Let it come in
And go listen again
and again
and again
So that you can wake up some more
Share what you know about yourself
So that others can wake up
But remember, listen to learn
Get to know who you are
To discover yourself is our first priority in life
Listen to the trees, to the animals
To the birds, and to the people who have

gone before you
Listen
It always comes if you listen
It's the inner voice within
Beneath the skin
Listen to the voice of others who share
That's how you discover who you are and win
At the battle of life and suffering

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Holiness


We all seek holiness
We are fooled when we believe
That holiness is poverty
Every thing is holy
The mountain stained by its
rivers picketed by the
fresh green pines
Tortured by its swooping
valleys filled with
a million varieties of
insects in motion all over
its creation
Creatures of all kinds living
off the prosperity of the land
Birds entrusted with the slanted
sky pushed by the sprightly
wind that comes and goes
over the meadows.
There is a musical blending with
all sounds coming form
the nature of things
We need to be there to listen to
its synchronized message
all over the earth
We will blend into nature ourselves
If we sit quietly
Letting our feelings rest
to atone for our emotional upsets
Like lakes lingering in place
High above picturesque
mountain ranges
In such a way as to make us
wonder how that could be

Life is the way, it was meant to be
Healing herbs grow in the meadows
and forests
Always helping lives
to heal themselves
The balance of holiness
taunts us with its
charisma when we roost
in our nest creating life
as it was meant to be
Holiness sleeps around us
As we pursue diets
That never work long enough
Only to bring havoc as we
try to balance ourselves
I touch a sparkling leaf
moist from the mystical pleasures
of the morning dew
And my being is uplifted
over its own helplessness
by the holiness of its beauty
once we plucked it from a tree
We are overcome with gratitude
and pleasures being aware
of holiness in motion

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Fall

I feel the fall coming on
Fluctuating fearlessly
Day in and day out
Like the ocean tide rising
Emulating itself slightly
As the colors change
With each daily push
Till the yellow trees
Signify the last breath
On the gallows of time
Before the leaves fall

I feel the fall coming on
My eye is caught on the rich, red tree
Next to the golden one
Daily the wind blows
Amid the leaves when they fall
Everywhere on the lawns
In pools on the street

I feel the cold coming on
As I listen to the geese
Singing their song going south
The ducks quacking along
Until finally the tide is full
And the air is clear
With the trees looking dead and barren
Almost all the birds are gone
As we retreat towards winter
We will be covered with snow soon
Where nothing seems to grow

I feel the Fall coming on
With the sun hanging low in the sky
And the darkness covering all of our likenesses
In the meantime I sit on my front steps in the evening
sun and I know out there in this wonderful world
Murders are being committed
And wars are being fought
Yet, they are so far away from me
And they are dying, too

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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