With Delight!

Life is holy
everywhere holes
as we attempt
to cram dark matter in
for we are an unholy bunch
fearing the unknown
fearing the empty spaces
yet in it all
I seek my holiness
a path
filled with potholes
that I dance around
with delight!

Iron Stars

An iron skillet in one hand
a spatula in the other
two eggs cracked
sunny-side up
a breakfast with an answer
not the chicken
nor the eggs
but the star
that one day
became
an iron skillet.

Talk We Can

Did the universe evolve
from a singular moment
to now
and along the way
life came to life
and evolved
until brains became minds
and how many revolutions
around the sun
before minds began
to speak
and talk we can
for silent
was the universe
for much
too long.

Thinking Thoughts

I open my eyes
to see the ever present ants
trekking about the sand
and me
a solitaire creature
atop a boulder
inactive in body
yet mind moving
as frantically
as ants scrambling
alone
yet with as many memories
stories and meandering thoughts
as the number
of countless ants
I watch.

The Split Reed Trip

The jazz riffs
took him further out
than he'd ever been
until the reed split
the saxophone buzzed
and honked
until a golden vibration
turned the brass around
racing fingertips
to pearly keys
finally
brought him
safely
back home.

Eyes and I

The wind chilled his soul
and the injured finch
in his hand
seemed to look
directly into his eyes
and began to chirp
about a life
of flight
and once a furious chase
and an escape
yet the eyes of the hawk
were never
forgotten.

Bookends

Most will eventually find
the bookends to life
was and are
anticipation and memories
yet for some
the in-between books
are many
while others
have a single book
unfinished
a puzzle
never solved.

The Old Man

A breath
and an ah-ah-ah-choo!
cleared the mind
for all the rest
and after all
when breathless
filled the soul
for yet more
when life seemed
forever more
a cupped hand
enough to scoop
another drink
from
the river of life
now grateful
when other hands
offer
to calm
what once
I could do
myself.

Compassion

He so often felt
compassion for others
and wished
life would be kinder
yet he also felt
ashamed
when his will
was not enough
to transform his feelings
into action.

Happiness

In their work
they gathered beetles
from the floor
of the Amazon basin
just as when
as a kid
he collected crickets
in a Mason jar
along with twigs and leaves
a home for them
as he waited in a darken bedroom
at night for their first chirps
his flashlight caught them
in the act
and since that night
he sought to catch
one more thing
in an empty glass jar
that had eluded
his grasp
until she captured
his heart
and since then
he knew that some things
can't be studied
in glass jars.

Seriously

Seriously
he couldn't abide
by weighty thoughts
for more time than
it took him to gather
his next meal
for what was more serious
food or thought
depending upon
the time of day
or the season
when he approached
his final meals
and discovered
what was necessary
and what
was naught.

In the Details

God is in the details
when everything we build
is constructed
of the same stuff
matter and forces
binding our world
the universe
everything
one atom
one detail
at a time
in order
that you
and I
can see
that
God is
in the
details.

Hidden Inside

It was a mighty explosion
in the middle of nowhere
no one heard it
no one saw it
burst forth
with stars and other stuff
yet hidden inside
were waiting ears and eyes
to hear and see
so that one day
a mind
would wonder
as to how
while another
would wonder
why?

Good and Bad

The little boy
was taught
the difference
between good and bad
by all those
that thought they knew
and even those
that were confused
by themselves
yet acted out
the same drama
that was placed
inside their heads
oh so long ago
and sometime
much later
the young man read
countless books
and daily newspapers
and most of all
talked and walked
with many people
and before he knew it
he recognized
goodness and badness
and more so
all the in
between.

He Wore a Wizard's Cap

He wore a wizard's cap
and those who did not know
thought it a dunce cap
when he spoke
in tongues
that seemed silly to most
but to a few
seemed to understand
that words are like water
that can quench one's thirst
as quick as can drown
the one
who is
not ready.

Just So

Anything is possible
when
and only when
atoms guided by
invisible forces
fit together
just so
and will fit no other way
until bodies and minds
that think
yet can not think
in ways that atoms
and forces
do not allow
so that all that exists
can only exist in ways
that fit
just so
except for minds
that imagine
before atoms
before forces
began their work
and who it was
that created
all this monkey business
in
the
first
place.

The To Do LIst

Where did I put it
my to do list
was missing
and here I was
in the middle of the desert
with a ball-point pen
and no paper
but that was the least
of my worries
as I watched the thunderstorm
off in the distance
and only my rucksack
on my back
filled with enough jerky
to hold me over until
I tired of trail mix
and water enough
or so I thought
for the autumn day
was cool with only hints
of what could come
if I continued to hike
beside the ancient dry river bed
in search of petroglyphs
that I imagined
from the distant storm
would hold clues
to a raging muddy river
that took ancient lives
and those that survived
scratched on rocks
of a river that came
without warning but for
a roar that stopped
hearts in their tracks
and in my cargo pants
I searched again
and lo and behold
the to do list
was in hand
as I read the last
of the scribbled lines
and it said
in case of flash flood
disregard
all
of the above.

Bees

Listen
to the buzz
in the breeze
on a warm
summer day
when blossoms
fill the air
with hints
of honey
on winter toast
to come.

Wrestling

Wrestling for me
has always been
a tiring enterprise
the childhood skirmishes
on the front lawn
usually brought on
by perceived slights
the high school match
strength versus strength
is why I found chess
more to my liking
until I met my match
when my mind struggled
until it had no more to give
then I began wrestling
with words
and soon like Jacob
I would awake exhausted
from wrestling with angels
or God?
I still do not know
yet daily I arise
and so far
I do not limp.

Values Are

Values are 
what I think they are 
or let others
tell me 
what they are 
some believe God
planted inside each mind
conscience
the arbitrator of ought and not
while others believe evolution 
created 
by the process of elimination 
when oughts survived 
and nots 
died.