The Swans of Isla Vista
The swans swim together
mated for life,
dive to their shoulders
necks stained with algae;
they sip along the water’s surface
necks coiling, uncoiling.
On the riverbank
in late afternoon
each grooms its white body
Universal Duality
The condition of duality endures inside and out –
I know yet continue to move one way and another.
Why not – what have I to lose?
Comfort is soon boring
but somewhere there must be
an ‘off the grid’ –
a place beyond repetition
for retiring Faustian souls?
Self Image Is Destiny
There was a little girl
with shining curls,
one in the middle
of her forehead;
daily she was told
they were beautiful;
they grew thicker, shinier
like the coat of a young alpha wolf.
As the girl grew older
she began to hear she’d caused
the hair of her friends
to be thin and limp
because she was claiming
the most care and attention
and she caved in, shrank from view;
her hair dulled, turned limp, fell out.
Then the hair of her friends
didn’t look so bad.
(It’s lonely at the top.)
Ideal world
Many have longed to be free,
self-governing, safe, in a space
where every being has a place
and is understood —
a heaven here and now.
Plato had in mind a realm
ruled by wise philosophers;
he said poets could not be allowed,
were hard to lead and told stories
of gods and goddesses, how they lived
before, some say, man fell to earth.
Others, mostly from the East,
teach how to get one’s self back
and the freedom that comes with that.
For as long as it takes
a seeker must look within for truth
and experience the karmic rule
that over time inflow equals outflow
like the breath — for everyone
and everything — there is only now.
Some reflections on loss of ethics and power
Ethics is the contemplation of optimum survival;
ethical behavior is always self-determined,
based on reason and belief in one’s own honor.
(L. Ron Hubbard)
As their appetite for power took over,
ethics fell by the wayside.
Turning pleasures into drugs,
chasing oblivion and reveling in blood sport
they cowered before Tiberius, Caligula, Nero
and became the prey of sackers from without.
This is history that repeats itself:
when the balance between ethics and power is lost
a downward spiral develops
and for every contra-survival act
there’s a ‘reason why’ to justify it.
Power itself doesn’t corrupt.
In the United States today
the story of George and his cherry tree
is often deemed a lie,
those who died at the Alamo
hapless drunks.
It is inconceivable to opportunists
who take what others have built
while trashing their vision
that when we were on our way up
there were Americans (sober or not)
who stood on their honor
at the level of legend.
Middle Way
I have found beginnings
of my middle way,
coming round full circle
after touring the world
in many pieces
and putting them together.
I can see truth and wisdom
on paths I believed
opposed my own;
what seemed contrary
belongs now in my larger world
where, almost surprised
I find myself centered,
somebody at home.
