Hallway to Nowhere

Category: poetry

  • Wings (Poem)

    I want for you wings

    Seen only by you and those you choose.

    Let them be wondrously delicate

    With immense hidden power,

    Able to unfurl and carry you soaring

    On journeys filled with magic and delight.

    May they allow you

    To become a traveler of many realms,

    Unbound by convention and earthly concerns.

    As you glide through your days and nights,

    Listen for the trail of laughter and song

    That surely will follow.

    And no matter what might come,

    Ever remember that you can fly.

    (Written for R, also a poet.)

  • Heart Adventure (Poem)

    I swing my mala and throw it.

    It tears a hole in the fabric of this existence.

    The beads disappear one by one.

    I follow them,

    While reflecting on impermanence.

    I recite gate gate paragate

    As I evanesce.

  • Restless Mind (Poem)

    How to quiet my mind?

    It often seems like a flock of restless birds:

    The thoughts dart here and there, as they will.

    I breathe and bid them fly away,

    Yet they perch to preen and call,

    Gently mocking my efforts.

    Perhaps the greater wisdom

    Says simply to allow the birds

    To be as they are

    And expand my limited meditation.

  • Ethos Of An Incluse (Poem)

    This is why I prefer to avoid the hue and cry of crowds.

    The surface conviviality of group encounters

    Does not come easily to me.

    I would far rather engage with one person

    And have a brief but meaningful conversation.

    I am uninterested in simply oiling the mechanism of polite flow.

    Tell me something true and real that matters to you,

    Else simply smile (or not) and walk past.

    I like that better than chit-chat about the weather.

    Unless you are a farmer.

    Then the weather is of utmost importance.

    I’ve learned to listen, a most useful skill,

    And nod and make social-approval noises.

    Then I make my way home,

    Convinced more than ever

    That I am not really human

    And merely dwell among you,

    Always a stranger in a very strange land.

  • Deep Being (Poem)

    Layer upon layer upon layer

    Faceted as petals

    Endless as waves

    Infinite in time and space

    Breathe in, breathe out

    Rest in impermanence

    (Inspired By A Piece OF Nancy Garretson’s)

  • Late Summer (Poem)

    This is a time of abeyance,

    A lacuna before the coming of fall.

    The air shimmers with heat

    And the low buzz of insects.

    Rainfall offers little respite,

    Only plangent noise.

    How not to repine

    And search for a proem

    In cooler nights and darkening days?

  • Peripeteia (Poem)

    A slight anticipation, a catching of the breath,

    Heralds the moment of great change.

    The world tilts, and the possibilities

    Open myriad paths.

    What lies ahead on any of them?

    The only way to know is to proceed.

  • The State Of Not Being Present (Poem)

    The train sounds its mournful cry.

    They are gone now,

    No longer present to hear the whistle,

    To see the graffitied cars roll past,

    To feel the ground rumbling beneath their feet.

    I can say no more

    Let us have a cup of tea

    And offer the latest from China.

    But I can hold them fast

    In memory and by recounting the many stories

    Of how they lived while they were here.

    Love and all we shared does not disappear.

  • Life As It Is (Poem For An Aging Dog)

    We grow older together, you and I.

    Our gait has slowed,

    And hills are harder to climb.

    But we still dance in sometimes wild abandon;

    You can manage occasional astounding leaps.

    We spend our days quietly now,

    With me at my writing or with a book,

    You always at my side.

    I know that when I do go out,

    You worry and fret more,

    So that we are both relieved when I return.

    Always, always in my heart

    Is the knowledge that you are aging faster.

    I try to fill our time remaining

    With all the love and gratitude I can give.

    You have made life beautiful and wonderful and joyful

    In ways I never anticipated.

    Thank you, my beloved companion.

  • The Edge (Poem) (dedicated to Mike, who didn’t return)

    I didn’t jump, but I remember

    The long walk to the edge.

    Each step felt like a promise;

    Each breath felt like a scream.

    The relentless drum beat

    Counting down my life

    Had as its message:

    Today; today; today.

    I stood there and listened,

    As I looked at the rocks far below.

    Then I turned and began the journey back.

    ————————————————————————————————————-

    IF you or someone you know is considering suicide:

    National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:

    1-800-273-8255

    Reach out.