Love and Fear
Are the angels of religion
And the demons who haunt
Our explorations of reality

Jesus the Jew went into the wilderness
And came back with love thy enemy
And conquered Rome

Southern California
Constant Concrete
Serial subdivisions
Endless Freeways
Multitudinous Malls
Contagious credit cards

I would see him walking in the afternoons and evenings
Slowly, quietly, carefully
Along the busy boulevard towards the park

He walked with a cane
But it seemed like he didn’t really need it

Nouns—
I love nouns—
Book, Table, Chair

Verbs—
We are verbs—
Read, Eat, Sit

Adjectives—
I wonder about adjectives—
Good book, Bountiful Table, Comfortable Chair

Words escape me
Like stones thrown
Into a puddle

Ringlets on the water
Echo meanings
Not known

My heart aches
As shadows
Falter

My soul watches
And wonders

Early dawn twilight filters through the blue-green curtains.

Dawn Approaching

Dreams are
Slowly sneaking

Consciousness
Back in to

The trance of daily life

The colt was still new to the world and so was I
When my father decided that we would spend the summer afternoon
In the green pasture, coaxing the colt to trust us so I could sit on his back.

Serenity is not a gift-

It is work

Our religions fail us
In those moments of our greatest need
When the demons we keep hidden
Grab reality and act out unexpected scenes

Her life
Has become
A long conversation
About what went wrong

Once upon a quiet night and a quiet night it was
A turquoise horse and a red, red rose
Rode beneath a yellow moon.
A tiny bird with ruby eyes
Flew above the purple skies

I remember
As a teenager
Fifty years ago

My elders were bothered
By transistor radios
Glued to our ears

Now I am bothered
By teenagers
And my own peers

Detached from reality

“GOD” is a three letter word that begins with “G”

I do not believe in the letters “G” “O” “D”

I believe in my mother’s big kitchen table

TEQUILA JESUS

Tequila Jesus
Warm me up, Tequila

To hear
What your friend
Has to say
You must stop talking

To hear
What your heart
Has to say
You must stop thinking