Trafalgar Square

little whisp among giants

old, established things

takes a peep of breath

compared to the deep inhalation of history

tiny thing

took the giant leap abroad

eyes absorbing foreign horizons

alone and shining

like a new copper penny on cobblestone

there in its uniqueness

its fragility

there simply to absorb

the braveness of a new adventure

a penny on the square

there to marvel

at the Greatness of life

beyond familiar boundaries.

wild fire – tribute to Scott Beall’s 70th Birthday

from the nubile venus of California

to the ancient goddess of the East Coast

this man has traveled…

maybe not in miles of geography

but in the life path, this man has traveled

sailing on musical notes

and spouting all that is Gaia

comes this mountain man

screaming guitar licks

and arranging matriarchal patchwork on a patriarchal quilt:

flecks of light from the many students he inspired

spiritual journeys and his life-long love of nature

the band years and the brotherhood

pieces of family knit together

then fractured

and re-sewn

Remembering

Merle and Bud

Alex

Bebe and all

this patchwork stitched together with love

alive and well

colorful patches of nature scenes and camping

music compositions

and books written

Then,

and then

in only the timing that Scott’s life could dream up

Power House of energy that burst forth as Meka!

Fatherhood and finding his way

homework nights and bedtime stories

he fell back on love and let it carry him.

it’s the sing of the guitar

the call of the wild

the patchwork screams “Life!”

it busts through you man, brother, father, son

shouting LIFE in all its fragments, in all its glorious cohesion

teaching without boundaries

learning like there will not be enough tomorrows

it’s a fierceness

a fierceness for truth

a passion for natural beauty

a devotion to love

Scott, you’re a wild fire burning bright

and we are here tonight

soaking you in

star struck and admiring the boldness of living life with your amount of passion

we celebrate the patchwork of your colorful quilt

yes, Scott, you are quite the Traveler

and we are basking

in the radiant glow

of your untamed, magical wild FIRE!

weathering the storm

Does the planted oak quiver when the storm comes

that which is at One with its cousins and bloodline of nature?

Or does it weave in harmony as the rains descend

and stand in welcome as the winds pick up, or thunder strikes?

Does it open its unseen arms and say “I embrace you

I know you

I am unafraid” as dry twigs fall, then limbs are torn from its body?

Does the tree give itself willingly to its brother or sister

who eats away at its bark, feeding its fury

on its once tough and nutritious skin?

Does the tree go willingly…trusting the continuation of its soul, life beyond its body,

or not?

Could the tree feel trepidation when the deep howls heave up?

Or darken with heartbreak when the temperature drops to make new formed buds frozen in a flash?

Does it feel the fear of what it suspects is coming

the tearing of life from its limbs

the threat to its vitality?

Can it contemplate the loss of what its known and grounded into for years and years

the reciprocation of its community, so familiar

and it’s love stories with its place?

Or not?

Does the tree embrace it or is it just as afraid, just as resistant as we are?

Brave tree, Wise tree

This is happening

because

weather happens

We can’t stop it

It belongs to us as much as it does to the tree

Somehow, some way

we reach for Something inside

to console us, to assure us

that we are something more than the impermanence of our breath

We reach deep to know

that somehow

even in the loss of the unthinkable

We will

weather the storm.

unstoppable light a birthday poem for benita

Something zipped past me real fast one day…

It was

It was like a shooting star!

I reached out… caught the tail of the light

Of this heart, as Big as the pacific ocean

Smile as broad as a Hawaiian sunset

Yes I got caught…in the orbit

Of Generous BZ

Spark in her eye, Busy like a bee

Zipping around like a …Weee!

That’s our BZ!

Yes we are caught in the magic of her orbit ~~

She’s flying on her bike

No! She’s on a mountain hike

Flying like a kite

That’s our girl, an unstoppable light

BZ

Appreciator of art, dancing to the music

Loving her family

Caring for her friends, her community

Remembering her beloved Karma

And if you’re here today, you too were magnetized to this spark

You too got caught in her orbit, didn’t you?

And here you are today

To celebrate the love she bestows as Big as an ocean

70 years of heart, adventure, loving and giving

living through the good

living through the grief

Living through it all like the champ she is

It takes a lot of courage to have such a generous heart.

And that’s the gift you give us, sister and friend

You see, BZ, we are all touched by you

We’re all caught in your orbit

Your laughter, your grace…and might I add, your crazy pace?

Now, you might out-hike us and zip past us at the speed of light

I mean, you can’t help it you were born with so much energy!

But don’t you worry girl.

At 70, we are still chasing your star

We will never stop chasing you, as you cycle up that steep hill or charge down the mountain side…no, sister we will NEVER stop trying

You have a heart true like the sun

As bright as a star

Shooting

like an unstoppable light

you shine so much love on us all

you are our champion, because you show us how it’s done

embracing life in all its adventure and beauty

We’ll never stop loving the embrace of your luminosity

Happy Birthday, BZ!

Welcome to 70!

the fab four

a tribute to four birthdays of the smiling eyes tribe men: Virgil Patterson, Bob Peek, Rob Cassidy and Anthony Johnson

You may have heard of them, the Fab 4

Yes, that’s right, the Fab 4…

The smiling eyes men of this tribe on ages they are a-turning…

We’ll start at the top:

we see you, sparkle in the eye, ray from your crown

yes, you, Virgil Patterson we SEE you, living your art

Loving your life and your radiant wife

humble heart, an artful man we hear your song

We absorb your words and we watch you growing

Growing at 80

Spawning infinite numbers, you go brother, you GROW – Show us how it’s done, Virgil

An original of the Fab 4…You of the smiling eyes men

A quartet of lives converging

A birthday banquet

Another of the Fab 4 — the man who plays peek-a-book with Roy

Yeah, that’s you, Mr. Bob Peek

We see you behind your wig, muscle man

We love you brother, with your pepper spice and your tender wink

Playing in concrete all day then wailing at night with the band

Loving your family and your rockstar drummer wife

We howl at the moon with you, music man!

You of the smiling eyes men, an original of the Fab 4 –.

And at this birthday banquet who’s at the head of this madhatter table?

Who’s the guy who’s got your back?

Who’s the life of the party?

Who is that live wire who spirals us all together

And we say welcome to 60 Robert F. Cassidy

Rob, we all know your middle name is “Fun”

We’ve got your number, we see your heart

Loving such a big family and beaming proud with your beautiful wife

It’s all the love among us that floats this levitating boat

A quartet of birthdays

Celebrating all of the Fab 4

And we’re coming down to it, to our youngest brother, Anthony Johnson

Don’t you give me no humble pie, you Louisiana outlier

Tweaking your tunes, giving us your soul in a song

We seeeee you

We don’t need words to feel the honor of your presence

We don’t have the words to admire your passion

The fire of your art, your music, your devotion

Standing not alone, but with your amazing wife always at your side

You’re one of the rare good ones, at least my Daniel always said so

And for that I’ll always love you…

And so I say to the free-hearted FABULOUS four

Happy Birthday to all that you are: Patron, Brother, Father, Husband, Musician, Poet, Artist and Friend

We see you

All four of you

Smiling eyes tribe men

Your hearts, they are a-growing.

Play Therapy

a poem by guest poet and friend, Ray Carlson, whom is nicknamed Ray of Light….Enjoy!

When we were children

We built castles in the sand.

We dreamed and played along our way.

We took each other’s hands.

The waves swept in, the tides swept out.

Our castles rose and fell,

and yet we clung to one still thought-

The future: Who can tell?

Now that we are grownups

we have learned to change our ways.

We’ve vowed to be responsible

with how we fill our days.

We have to make a living while

we tend the human nest.

For this great Earth that gives us life, we owe to Her our best.

But then again, lest we forget

our childhood gift of play,

If only we will make the time,

We’ll save more than the day.

We have the time to heal ourselves

and tend to our own sutures.

And now that we embrace our pasts,

Our presents heal our futures.

The magic hides for us to seek

Each step along life’s way.

So, take my hand and once again

we’ll dream, and build, and play.

(c) Ray Carlson, 2018

music together

songs like paintings

the art that shows itself

when we turn away from all the distractions

the warmth you hold me in

all the make believe

dreaming

we can show up

bolder

we can shine

we can feel the passion

in each other

you are my champion

i your vixen

it is our time

to make art together

to dance

to hold a temporary grip on the changing clouds

aparagraha: reposted, literally

I wrote this poem after the 2017 Sonoma fires that took down so many dwellings like our beautiful Cinque Terre in Glen Ellen which was utterly destroyed. Anyway, I am very gratified to know that neighbors up there discovered that poem and honored their shinto temple which burned down by posting it on the burned remains. It was lovely to meet neighbors over a poem and an honor to see it posted at their property to commemorate their loss. See photo that follows poem.

NOTE: aparagraha is a sanskrit word expressing non-possessiveness, non-grasping or non-greediness. it is the opposite of the desire for possessions.

Aparagraha

shiva came through this place
smoke signals foretold

Destroyer
wiper of slates

Destroyer, you hit your mark
smeared your body with our ashes

crumbled our city
of material dreams, security illusions.

that which you have reduced to settled piles
disintegrates my grasp of worldly form

with one fierce sweep you’ve left me clinging
my fist clenching

nothing but material ash

oh shiva, open my eyes sealed by
beholding the “Plan”

my hands wail, they pound futile rage,
but all that is left is suffocating ash, a strangle of fear.

run! shiva has swept through here.
run for your life. run until you collapse in the horror stilled by the dissolution
and stand in it, melting like ice in fire

stand in the loss, in the center of it all, in the calm eye of the hurricane
release my false grip

travel through shiva’s eyes where destruction offers a path, that if taken
shows the soul beyond the pointless grasp, false security

aparagraha

shiva, destroyer
cut the cords to my grasp of that which is not my soul

leave only the cinders of what never belonged to me
force my hand open to lay on my heart
embrace eternal heart beat

let what has been taken
blow away in the winds

leaving me standing with palms open
on shiva’s purified ground.

you’re calling me but i don’t know how to answer

you awoke in me this morning

furnace curling my skin
blanket of heat…
is it despair
anguish
or grief?

i try on different masks to face you

mop the floor
brush my teeth
the mask of busy-ness works the best

yet your heavy arms
load me like a wet cloth

no time to collapse under your weight
just enough time to get in the dog walk for the day
only time enough to slog on
to my next duty, the obligation awaiting

what is your name, i call out
as i drive to my next errand
no time for tea? you ask…to sit and reminisce
no time, i answer, to inquire why you left, why i’m the one here

which mask can cover this
which cover can protect me from sitting so close
to this campfire’s heat

i look for anyone to be at my side
to have someone next to me at this ritual fire blistering my skin
melting my mask
but then you fade
like a specter, a whisp of smoke

you blend into the scenery
you are here
but hardly seen

calling my name
and threatening my to-do list
as i drag on
to the next thing
in my hollow day

face painting in my dreams

when the light goes out and the waters of the day recede

the avatar is left behind with its breath

and you are free to float in the fluid waters authored by the night

they call your nameless name offering you brief reprieve

an escape from the land of the day you believe so real

to swim in the lightlessness

between worlds

between illusion and eternal

this ethereal bay where the hardness of the day mixes with unreality in the craziest ways

permutations multiplying

no stops except for the edge

that holds you here

tethered to the face reality has painted for us

no waving you through the pearl gates

no welcome mat to passing on just yet

here to dream in this unreality

to wake up every morning, churning your dreams aside

here to stay a little while longer

at least, for now

to paint your dreams into the face of life

as if it were real