The Legend Of The Moon’s Reflection (Republished)

THE LEGEND OF THE MOON’S REFLECTION

Deep in the Northern mountains’ silence
Once long ago
Far from the lands of men there lived a Prince
Cold as snow
All day long he would wander
Like a man possessed
As he went he would ponder
His life’s helplessness

Why it was that what he loved the most grew old and died
Why he found no place of rest however hard he tried
And he threw himself upon the mountainside
And knew himself to be alone and bitterly began to cry

And in his misery he saw
As if in a dream
That where his tears fell to the ground
There sprang forth a stream
And the stream fed a river
That flowed glad and free
From the hills to the lowlands
And so reached the sea

River and seawater
Flowing down together
Though the river ends
The sea lives on forever

And by means of this vision
The Prince was set free
And in his dying moments
At last he could see

Why it is that what we love the most must disappear
Where that place of rest is that is always free from fear
And he flowed into the river with his tears
And knew himself to be the sea without a knower or a seer

And if you gaze far out to sea at night
So they say
Sometimes you’ ll see his face shine in the moon
Far away
And the river still flows
From the hills to the plain
And the sea feeds the river
With drops from the rain

River and seawater
Flowing down together
Though the river ends
The sea lives on forever …

Meanwhile

MEANWHILE

Perhaps best assume
This is as good as it gets
For how would we know?

I Have Not Locked The Door (Republished)

I HAVE NOT LOCKED THE DOOR

A prophet without a name
A patriot without a country
Lost in a dying church
Lost in a black prison
Spanish prison
Small yard to walk round and round
Dry throats of guitars
(This is a short poem
For those who have someone to return to)

When you really need to be close to someone
You do not dare go away and admit you have failed
That is why people sometimes spend the night together
And stay together forever
Until even the touch of another’s hand is empty
And you share things individually

Take a last grand look down the fire escape
In case you ever need to run away fast

~~~~~~~~~~~

So … I decided, on reflection, to give a little background to this piece. Picture someone who is trapped in a relationship and is trying to give some advice to a good friend who is about to enter one. This is not written from a personal here-and-now perspective, but is not pure fantasy either. I simply wanted to capture some of the intimate, unspoken feelings from that point and moment in time. View it as a mental movie to enjoy (or otherwise, as desired); expand it to 90 minutes; make a movie; do it well enough and you could be talking Oscars. Selah.

Weather Or Know

WEATHER OR KNOW

Hard rains sweep by
Rinse soiled streets clean
Brief respite though
Hark, the next deluge
Of turbid effluence
Generously gifted
By the thoughtless

Slumbering in simplicity
No fearful encounters
In radiant solitude
Wherein to acknowledge
Realisation’s spiky burdens
And consoling gifts
Onward, onward, comrades

To oblivion
And no beyond
Hooves strike faster now
Valley of death looms
Engorging black hole
Rolling thunder clap
Hard rains sweep by

No encore

An Odd Coincidence

AN ODD COINCIDENCE

R E P starts both
Republican and reptile
Just saying that’s all
We don’t create destiny
Just observe its unfolding

Poker

POKER

The future, unborn
Promises pain and pleasure
We shuffle and deal

Messengers We

MESSENGERS WE

Believing
We
Are at the helm

Is
After all
Laughable

More important we observe
And absorb
Then pass on as appropriate

Bum Rap

BUM RAP

Love gets such bad press
But mainly because the word
Has been raped again

Alas – A Villanelle (Reposted)

ALAS: A VILLANELLE*

Alas, I bring no stardust home tonight.
The sky is overcast and all is maya,
For I confess I see no hope in sight;

Where once each daybreak promised fresh delight
We only found that time had proved a liar.
Alas, I bring no stardust home tonight.

These poor neglected coals cast little light,
So place another log upon the fire,
For I confess I see no hope in sight.

The wind is chill and bitter; hold me tight
And stoke the fire till the flames climb higher.
Alas, I bring no stardust home tonight.

Let’s not apportion blame or rue what might.
How can we but accept the trundling gyre?
For I confess I see no hope in sight.

In impasse let us yet remain polite;
Offer comfort, even as our dreams expire.
Alas, I bring no stardust home tonight,
For I confess I see no hope in sight.

——————————————————————

* http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5796

The Weight

THE WEIGHT

So many questions
In our lives sit unanswered
We shrug our shoulders