BENEATH THE WHISPERS

Because the mind is free
Listening to the rain is a memory
Of Evolution, dripping from sight
The drops become
One with me, I alone in nature
The tribe alone in nature
The child is of nature

I am aware as a migrating bird
Leaving no trace behind
Needing no guide by inner sense
That is freedom, beyond belief
To what shall I liken the world?
Not to a leaf, a moonlit night, a dew-drop
Shaken from the beaks of ancestors

We all belong to the Universe, the night
To the stream rushing past
To the dusty world where time is made-up
And my fleeing form casts no reflection
Because the mind is free
I can be a slave and observe the world
And feel no chains, I am just a part of the world

Lonely or alienated, like a tangled hair
The circular delusion is a symphony
Without beginning or end, I dream no longer
But live in waking dream, I am awake
Studying the Sutras for nobody
When do love and hate matter?
Maybe in society one must follow.

GREAT FOOLS

I am too lazy to be ambitious
My unconditional surrender too full to act
I let the world take care of itself
I let my fate weave its roads
I can get along with good books
One friend, one meal of rice a day
Why chatter about the news or enlightenment?
We are all deluded in our own ways
With our familiar dull frames of reference
I write instead, poems that are not my poems
These poems are not my poems
This way we can begin to speak
About the poems that touch everybody
The seers wrote poems like putting twigs
Into the fireplace, the fire that keeps all beings warm
It is not important to be famous, but to be comfortable
I am too lazy to be ambitious
I am too free to believe in particulars.

LIGHT TRAVELERS

I won’t even stop
At the edge of light
At the sacred pond of beginnings
For fear that
My shadows
May flow into the world

The Universe requires beings
As enlightened as humanly possible
I won’t even stop
At the water that reflects the moon
Because I know the moon
Does not get wet, nor is the water broken
By the image of light, although

The light is wide and great
I must get to the other side
Where the entire sky is covered with life
Nearer to the Galactic center
Where wisdom is common, and war is rare
I won’t even stop
For the Gods, for I know our place is with them.

Psalm 8

O Lord of our Lord, how excellent is thy name in this Universe
Who hast set they glory above the cosmos
Out of the mouth of children and for the Light
Hast thou ordained us to feel such hunger
For knowledge, new worlds, within and without
Thou has made us into migratory seekers
Forever between faith and the Earth
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
The moons and the stars of this mindful tapestry
What is man, that thou art mindful of all creatures?
And the children of men, that there is life everywhere?
Has thou visited us, have thy seen our progress?
Will thou crown our wisest children with new technology,
For thou hast made him a little lower than those angels,
Thou hast made man with for the use of tools and language
And he has used the fish of the sea, the beasts of the field
For his dominion, brief dynasty or a species to sow the stars
With the milk of new Earths, O Lord of Love,
How excellent it would be, to greet ourselves in eyes unlike our own.

Psalm 7

O Lord my God, my universe, my Evolution:
In thee I do put my trust, save me from turbulence
Deliver me from persecution among my own kind
Lest they tear my soul like last lions,
Rending my faith to pieces, while there is none to deliver.
O Lord my God, train me as I train myself
Let me learn good in every evil, and in ignorance
Find bright specks of knowledge, let the presence
Of Majesty persecute my soul until I surrender
Not to mine enemies but to God’s will for me
Yea, let him tread down my life until all doors are closed
But God’s own will, and lay mine honor in the dust. Selah.
Arise, O Lord, as all cosmic things, revolving Stars!
In the absence of judgement, I will protect them
In the absence of greed, I shall give unto them
In the absence of righteousness, I shall humbly love with them
For the congregation is the compass, the people are the journey
Let the Universe organize its energies, fate’s integrity is enough
That some die too young and others wield pain without remorse
My defense is of God, and to all people I must assume
God’s plan works in mysterious ways, until all wickedness comes to end.

Psalm 6

O Lord, rebuke me not for my ignorance
Neither chasten me for my vexed state
Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak:
O Lord, heal me; for my heart is feeble
Let me recognize then, the weakness in others
As those that should be helped, deserving of compassion
My soul can only hold so much grief
But thou, O Lord, how long?
How long must I wait, Return, O Lord, deliver me?
Oh save me for some special work, for mercies’ sake
For in death there is no remembrance of thee:
In the grave I shall give no thanks for
The story which I alone was given, my Dharma’s weight
I am weary with my groaning, my own kind of special suffering
All the night make I my bed to swim with heavy dreams
I water my couch with useless fears, and dozens of tears
It waxeth old because of all my chided memories
That kept me apart from kindness, in isolated shame
Depart from me, all cowardess, all dread
For the Lord hath heard my soft weeping
All supplications and prayers till the end
Let all my faults turn away their misery
Let them return and be ashamed suddenly
That I might have a chance to be another kind of person.

Psalm 5

Give ears to my words, O Lord, that I may be healed
Consider it my meditation
Of a poetry without end
Hearken unto the voice of my silent cry, my Sovereign King,
For unto thee I will pray, quietly
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Diamond Lord;
In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up
To the vigilant Sun of my few days on Earth
For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in harshness and disdain
Neither shall I dwell upon my ills or misfortunes.
The foolish miss thy sight with petty thoughts
They shall destroy themselves with their negativity
The Lord will abhor the warlike and deceitful mockers
That hoard and do not ask questions of laughter
But as for me, I will come into thy house with shining eyes
Full with the mercy and compassion of the wretched
And in thy fear of all ruin shall I worship a higher way
Towards a holy temple by thy feet
Lead me, O Lord, where I my own worst enemy
Make my path straight before my face.
Let me be silent until my wickedness does melt;
For my tongue should be a healing grace
For my heart should spread some vibrant joy
And my soul a shield to men pass an eternal flame.