Need Nothing

No, I don’t need nothing,

no, nothing I don’t already hold.

O, whether tomorrow,

O, ever tomorrow uncontrolled.

One moment of deep repose—

a thick jungle of lawn between my toes,

a paper glider landing on my nose,

curling colors of a painted wing grow,

Until they fill they screen,

and draw me in

to a place unseen,

where I’ve always been,

to somewhere so serene,

complete within,

and evergreen.

When I want too much

of what I’ve missed

to be content

with what exists,

I must remind myself

to savor this wholeness.

No, I don’t need nothing,

no, nothing I don’t already hold.

O, whether tomorrow,

O, ever tomorrow uncontrolled.

Tide

Time and tide wait for no one.

I was young when the water was rising,

but didn’t drown.

Every tumbling wave capsizing

knocked me around.

That was the first time I learned that

time and tide wait for no one.

I got stuck when the water receded,

dropped in the sand.

It was tempting to read as defeated,

throw up my hands.

But I was once more reminded:

time and tide wait for no one.

Staring out from the edge of erosion

at what the tide took back.

Floating off where the moon meets the ocean—

Whatever I lack,

well I’m not swimming out after it.

Time and tide wait for no one.

Rains

Rains

clear clutter,

make rivers down gutters,

uncover

new colors.

Rediscover all you forgot about

when your world was draped in snow.

Rains

make motion,

fill valleys

with ocean.

Stay open,

you’re not broken.

Erosion carries debris away,

and it disappears downstream.

Rains

bring summer,

wings flutter,

bees hover,

barren meadows

recover

For another chance to begin again,

and I want the same for you.

I Was Not There

When the wind picked up

and blew through my hair,

I stood still to listen

to God’s intuition.

And O, I was not there.

When the wind picked up

and turned tall grass

to waves upon the sea,

I needed no mention

of others’ intentions.

And O, I was not there.

When the wind picked up

and roared across the field in a hurry,

we made a prediction,

we ran with conviction,

sprinting through thunder,

laughing with wonder.

And O, I was not there.

Ahimsa

Time is all we have.

I hope I have enough,

enough to show you love

before my time is up.

Before you wake the dead,

take a pause,

instead of deafening nonsense, share silence.

No violence today.

No violence,

no violence,

no violence today.

Like driving with the window down,

all of this will disappear.

I only have you now, you only have me here.

And we can’t count on tomorrow night,

or wait for brighter light.

I can hear you thru my eyelids,

chère Silence.

No violence today...

No violence,

no violence,

no violence today.