2. unedited writings by ovia dale maddox morrow bell

2. unedited writings by ovia dale _odmmb
_____________________________________________________________


Today...
Pastorally speaking,
Country life's citified.
Long-lashed cows graze out of
one shoppe into another, munching
on artistic work of idealistic
window dressers who evoke warm sunshine,
sandy beaches, and moonlit cocoanut groves,
serene with brushed muslin, silk, satin,
and creampuff latex.
Fat calories nest delectably in
Three square feet of window showcase.
Plastic, perfectly shaped red strawberries grow up from
sharp, green blades of astro turf.
There she is,.... miss america....
Chewing her cud.
Gazing blank-eyed at nothing in particular.
___Moo.


Cut cherry tree twigs
Before they bloom
Display them properly
In your sitting room
Soon you'll enjoy
Beautiful Blossoms;
...
......Then later on
Pick a juicy red cherry
For your ice cream cone!



`````````````````````````````````````

Some folks can't breathe out there...
With clouds of pollen drifting in the air
So innocently golden, it's everywhere
And goodness, gracious...I do declare,
Being allergic is a bummer, totally unfair;
I guess I'll just hafta sail off to sea in a landlubber's chair!

```````````````````````

Duck, What do you see?
Do you see those glorious colors?
Do you feel the beauty of the world
You swim and dive around in?
Or is it your one and only feat
To be a feathery bundle of eat, eat, eat!
So many mysteries.!
It's no wonder we wonder all the time.

``````````````````````

A red flash in the rain
Around on the ground.
It's a cardinal looking for food;
We break our fast together,
No matter what the weather,
We're seeking seed
To fill a need
For we are "birds of a feather..."


The sun is shining bright
The rain it rained
all day all night
But now the birds that sing
and bees that sting
Are singing and stinging
another new spring
There's showers in april,
flowers in may
And Oh mY GoODneSS
Today's THE day!!!!!

```````````````````

"Sure I'm sure,"



"But do you
know you're right?"

"Of course!"

"Oh yeah!?" How do you
know you are right?"

"I know because I tossed a coin.

I said, "head's it'll be this color,
tails, it'll be that,"
Then I reached into a rabbit and
pulled out a hat.
I looked all around to see if I could see
If anyone else could see if they could see me,
I tossed the coin high
as high as the sky
It landed and rolled up
To a color-wheel pie
There it stood up
Straight up on it's edge
So I had to go kick it out
And off of the ledge.
It landed with a plop in a pot of porridge then
To pull it outta there woulda been a turrible sin,
So I took out two straws, a long one and a short
Took them to the king, took them to the court;
The short one came up the winner you see
And that's how the right choice was given to me!




The wind blows.
The storm rages.
The blue waters
change to black.
The waves rise higher
Pound the shore.
Unmerciful.
Angry.
Unmoving stands the
Huge boulder of a rock.
...
Yet more angry the sea;
Still more fury in the wind.
Icy, pelting rain.
Falling hard.
Then harder.
Harder still.
Unmoving stands the big rock.
...
The sea that was warm
becomes cold.
Wildly floods the shore.
The rock submerged
Beneath it's depths
Stands smaller but unmoving.
...
The sea becomes calm.
The wind dies dead.
The sun shines.
Hot. Molten.
The little rock stands solid.
...
Through the ages
Everything there is comes and goes,
Time and time again
Yet the shrinking rock still stands.

...

One tiny invisible particle
of sea and sky and sand
round and round the cycle,
The rock still stands.
...
_____________________________-
Too beautiful for words
Are trees and people
It's like the people are trees
And the trees are people
Limbs and roots and veins and eyes
Rivers of fluids flowing
Standing tall and strong and alive
Each from it's seed be growing.
Into the earth invisible roots
Go deep and far and wide
Into the sky go limbs and leaves
Laying bones and flesh aside
Yet the circles go 'round and around
'Round and around they run,
People, trees, sunrise, sunset,
One be all and all be one.
...




Shivering cold the fire went out
nothing left but ashes on embers.
carefully blow ashes away making
embers glow laying on sticks of
pale orange lightwood crisscross,
crisscross. Across one another.
Flaming fires blazingly lick
Little logs crackle and click
Old iron kettle, smut black,
nestled on embers way back
back behind the sizzling, frying
stuff in the longlegged skillet
getting stirred silently in
sweet contemplations,
great expectations soon fulfilled
with cups of kindness and care
all around the hearth.
home sweet home
how sweet it is
...
We Miss You
How long will you be gone?
When are you coming back home?
Your old gardening hat's still hanging
out there beside the back door on
the rack waiting for you to come back,
and granny made you some
chocolate covered popcorn last week.
She's the only one don't realize you're not here.
She calls me by your name sometimes,
but mostly she just calls everybody '"dear.'
Your Sweetie was standing down by
the pond yesterday looking all forlorn.
So we're all just wondering...
Will you be back pretty soon?
By the way,
are you bringing lots of goodies back for us?
From off your long sojourn out there in the world?
Well, we just can't wait to see what you got for us!
But please hurry, we cant stand it much longer,
It'll never be the same around here no more
Until after we see you come walking in that door!
We miss you.



In a dream my puppy
ran away from me
I chased and chased and chased
crying "Oh where can you be!"
An old song came to mind
like a stream into the dream
about a little doggie whose
tail was cut short and his hair
was cut long or was it that his
hair was cut short and his tail
cut long?
Never mind, never mind said the Sandman
in the dream
just wake up and go eat your breakfast,
IT'S STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM!



The door was open, so she walked right in,
with soft cat feet and a cheshire grin;
But lo and behold on the other side,
was a dirty rat! Well she nearly died!
What a scramble it was--nearly broke her neck,
couldn't get back out, but oh what the heck!
So settling down with needles and yarn
she knitted a Not-hole in the side of the barn,
then spent a long lifetime looking out
waiting for something to come about;
Some catastrophic thing must surely occur
some heavenly happenstance would happen to her.
But alas, alack! It was never to be
She grew old and ugly, could scarcely see.
Then early one morning like happened before,
the latch fell open, so she walked out the door.





The little fan in the fireplace is blowing.
I stand warm looking out at
pine needles scattered
wind-blown all over the deck, then
sit at the table chopping vegetables for
lunch, remembering the monk's admonitions to do
each task mindfully, with ease, not rushing, not
just to get it done and over with.
My winter door is open to the sun.
I feel a sense of peace from those cool
breezes blowing and the shadows playing on the deck.
Looking around, away, and outward from this
place, this moment, as far as I can see in any
direction, I see nothing.

Only Here
Only now
Is all I see.

________________________________________--



Travels.
We see him everywhere,
bringing joy and smiles to all.
He takes an old, ordinary, hum-drum day and
brightens it up into something well worth hopping up
from sleep to see--makes little squirrels all
"bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" causes those who might
plod downtroddenly to dance, swing and sing
takes work out of work, finds nuggets of fairydust fun
brings life into places where before there was none.
The laughing buddha's eyes
reflect fathomless skies ...
with sparkle...


regardless of words she swallowed the bait, hook line and sinker and got dragged into and through the mud being a bottom fisherman the old man was a catfish king, but keep the dog-gone thing short. Short, I say!
Short!
don't knock 'em over dead from nothing but pure boredom in their shorts while they fan the poor girl back into consciousness from her fake swoon!
everyone started laughing out loud ...
Then someone started crying.
heard a plaintive voice crying in the shadows: ....
____...."Mama,...where's Kitty?"


Hey, y'all!!!

I was sound asleep in my bed last night,
snoring up a storm,
when a tree fell out in the forest
out there all forlorn
Not a soul was there, not for miles around
when that old tree it fell, it came a crashing down,
woke me up it did, that awful silent noise
scared the living daylights
outta this old man...
...and boys the answer is yes!

"If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it make a sound?"

Yes!
it most uncertainly do!
(and it'll scare the cold tar outten you too)

--//\\-- :-)


Went to the trough to slop the hawgs
then ran around front to call up the dawgs
Minnie and Molly and Mary were there
talking to Maude and Mittie and Claire,
Slid on brakes and did what I ought,
no way, no way would I ever be caught,
talking to girls on such a fine day,
I d'ruther be sweatin' and pitchin' hay!
-//\\-

Mad Cat

Maybe I'm Mad
Mad as a hat
but all I am
Is a mistreated cat
They're gone all day
and I'm all alone
I get so lonely
when they're not home
When I feel frisky
and want to play
They shove me aside
and say go away
When I want to sleep
In the morning sun
they want to play
and have some fun
The girls get the dolls
and try to dress me up
they make me drink tea
from a tiny teacup
I finally escape
And find me a place
where I can groom
my frazzled face
So maybe I'm Mad
A very Mad Cat
but what Cat wouldn't
if treated like that!-
-//\\-
P.S. This one This blue velvet one
.......___sef the swampcat` could reach into it and pick the little people and bugs and animals and things like picking blueberries out in Yellow River swamp in July!.. :-)

Those Blue Velvet Things:
The Swampcat would pick them off
and put them all in a white canvas bag
Which she would wear out there
Slung haphazardly
over her shoulder with no care.
She'd fill it so full that soon the heaviness of it
would feel like a Smoky Mountain boulder
Which of course would make her hungry
For some real blueberries,
Instead of all these weird-looking little cracker jack cookie people
and bugs and even one village church with a steeple
That she picked from that blue velvet ART
So now that she's taken them all apart
She's going to give them to Millicent,
or perhaps to Jake-
Who, I'm sure will enjoy many games of fake,
Which is the one that always begins, "see...."
And ends when Ellie gets stung by a bee,
But no matter, no matter, 'tis only imaginary
She's now marched off to Tipperary!
-//\\-
Shadow sees a daymare
things turned around
Things once familiar
topsy-turvy, upside down

in a daymare:
"what is seen is seen"
then fading into a world of
what has been
nighttime comes creeping in

then comes the nightmare
with what to be
is "seeing what you do not see."
-s

...so true, so true.... eyes closed, sound asleep and not seeing anything, we see things!
and also hear, taste, touch, etc...not being conscious we are conscious...not being awake we are awake.
not being
we are
The second picture couldn't possibly be made from the first one although it probably is.

There's a sentinel:

Watchman,
all seeing sentinel
guarding gates of being
Standing strong and all-seeing,
keeping selfness whole,
the mortal
falling asleep at the helm,
must be awakened
or else be overwhelmed:
Therefore:
O great mysterious
Watchman,
the light there within,
Awake! Awake these mortal men,
-s

I grab my paints and brushes
And in a reckless frenzy of feeling
I paint whatever I wish
Then later when I look
At Real Paintings,
I get my come-uppance
I am always amazed
At my audacity
The nerve of me!
To spend half of my life
creating my own so-called "art!"
And to add insult to injury against genius
I actually have the gall
to enjoy it all
and let a little grin
hang above my chin!
-/\-
And now my garden
that was not my garden before
has become not my garden again
Lo and behold!
The artist's tools moving has writ
upon the stained glass sky
to make another beginning, many bits and pieces
put together in a way that I never could do!
To be true to myself and my garden,
must I forever stream through spaces heretofore
unknown to me?
Living in one moment only so thin and fine
when the garden which was not,
is and is not mine!
-sef




Here I am reclining,
looking up from ocean floor
watching a parade of fishes
Of every kind unseen before
watching sunlight filter down
From way up there so high
lighting the depths of deepest blue
with rays from distant sky
Breatheing in and breatheing out
as if I too were a fish
wondering if I'm now a sleeping
and if this wonder is just a wish....


Oh Agonistica! Thy name ART eeesssstt!
It's more complicated than it looks yet
more simple than it seems
she's growing up to be another Scarlett O'hara
whose scatterbrained romantic schemes are destined to be her downfall but don't despair dear
Parental one sil vous plait,
She will ever and always bounce back up
to paint another day.
:-)

After fresh rain on our neighborhood,
Then comes evening and the
very welcome cool of winter.
The QuarterMoon gleams in it's dark sky
The pines point upward like cathedral spires.
One lone cardinal lingers for one last
sunflower seed at the feeder then
flies off to find his bed.
Though the watermelon-green smell of
freshly mown grass is gone,
A body is happy in this place.





We watched an old man who loved his life die.
He struggled with all his might,
with every ounce of strength,
with every iota of
will power he possessed,
To stay alive.
He loved his life.
He loved the life he was living.
He loved every minute of every day
of every year,
From the time he was born
to the time he died,
he loved his life.
And all throughout his life,
The only time he ever struggled and strived,
Was at the end when he struggled to stay alive.

When he got old, and with death coming near,
He always said he wished he could go back and
live his whole life all over again, just exactly the
same way, all over again. He said he wouldn't
change a thing...

:-)
If life were a party, I wonder...
Would us teetotalers get invited?
Or would we be left out in the cold,
Shivering and shaking,
With no toddy to warm up our innards.
No Firewater to blast us off into
Fourth-of-July sky-explosions,
No Mountain Dew to
lick off the roses when we
get thirsty and dry
No barroom brawls
No spousal squawls
No shameful remorse
For stealing a horse
No sleeping on the street in puke.
Nor out in the alley of a juke.
Wouldn't it be great mate,
If the party's liquor were mild
So mild it could be drunk by a child,
But still and all
We'd all have a ball
As drunk as a skunk we'd be
But could snap right back
be sharp as a tack totally teetotal and free
We'd laugh and holler,
Kiss and Tell
Dance and snuggle and spoon
We'd stagger and stomp rip-roar and romp
Swagger and swiff and swoon
So if Life's a Party make it teetotal
If you wanna have a lotta more fun
For when a sot's all drunk, passed out in a funk,
The teetotaler's fun's just begun!!!
:-)



One day grandma was acting all silly and childish,
and laughing and playing with us kids and we were
having a wonderful time, when some other grownups
came into the room and frowning sternly at her
said she should quit that, said she should behave
herself and act her age!
Well, all she did was she smiled at them and said,

"Being a Child
goes on into and
all the way through
being all grown up
and serious
and old;
Being a child
does not wind down
and stop like a clock
at certain ages
No!
Being a beginner goes on,
Forever and ever and ever,
all through the teens and way past sixty,
even past seventy times seven
In fact it has been said that if we
become as little children we can enter into
The Kingdom of Heaven!"
-......
I change my mind from time to time
Always moving things
from here to there
And back again.
Running all over the place
With egg on my face.
One day old lady Jones said,
"Child ain't you ever gonna settle down?"
She said it quite impatiently,
wrinkled up her face in a frightening frown,
so I took off down to the creek
and splashed cold water.
Stomp! Stomp!

Pore old lady Jones.
She Settled down.



Bring yourself to rest and
Become whole again.
You can soon return,
Relaxed and respondant,
To deal with events.
Nothing is hindered,
Rivers stream gracefully out to sea,
The sunlight glitteringly sparkling.
On tips of waves.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I was out this morning flying.
Not in a plane, that is, but...well..just flying...
Looking to see what I could see
A trail of buzzards were following me
But i gave them the slip and landed here
(Flat on my belly--no landing gear!)
As far as being struck dumb is concerned
One little thing I long ago learned--
Some salty nuts're full of truth
be they grassy green
or long of tooth, ..

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX




If mindfulness is lost in the
forest of potentialites,
Then once a field of new ground is
cleared,
the stumps uprooted, removed
the brushes and brambles piled
high over to the side and burnt
to ashes
then there's a looseness,
a relaxation-like of the soil,
which makes cultivation much
more possible...
then as time goes by the soil becomes
loamy, pliable, and easy to cultivate, but
if neglect
ever creeps in and takes
over, then soon the field is back
to trees, bushes and brambles..
mindfulness then once again becomes
lost in the forest of potentialities...
-//\\-




The following are writings written by
Ovia Dale Maddox Morrow Bell
written
sometime betwee 1999 and 2003.

===================



There is a Tree beside the river
fallen across the stream.
Still living, still green and growing.
Swift currents have worn away the
bank and left exposed many of it's roots.
A Perfect Footlog.
-odmmb
=======

Tonight,
like one zen master of olden days,
I sit beside my window;
The outside world seems
far away and unreal.
Everything here and now
is as if waiting quietly;
The cool evening breeze has
been swallowed up by
the stillness of the night.
Unable to sleep,
I walk outside and
sit on the doorstep.
Suddenly, above the tallest pine,
The full moon appears.
=======

=======


Outside the window.
It's night
Still
Quiet
Suddenly these gauzy curtains
Billow inward.


=======


In my garden,
I raised honeysuckle: That sweet, sweet,
Flowered vine that's enticed me since babyhood.
After reading an entrancing novel,
I raised some heather, to see what it was like.
I raised monkey grass, gallberry bushes,
Youpon, briarberry, popcorn, vegetables,
Narcissus, figs, blueberries, pears, peaches,
and so many wonderful things I cannot possibly
name them..
But best of all were the ones that
raised themselves...
Spiderwort, yarrow, blackeye susans, violets,
broomsage, thorny little wildflowers, and
still too many more to name.
All sheltered over by Tall Whispering Pines glinting in
the sun, turkey oaks, water oaks, magnolia,
dogwoods, blackjacks, pinoaks, holly,
and again,
many more un-named.
One Day, at the end of summer,
A one hundred fifty mile an hour hurricane blew in.
All day long:
And into the night.
Howling, whipping, tearing, ripping, strewing...carrying
within itself tornadoes, it
ripped the tallest pine, twisted it loose, threw it down
on top of the sycamore,
narrowly missing buildings with it's main trunk, but
caving in the back porch, it fell finally to the ground...
What a wonderful storm!
When finally it was safe to venture
outside-- wind still so strong that mist in air felt like tiny
pinpricks on face,....
To see the world so littered with limbs, twigs, leaves,
and that huge Pine Tree on top and across of the Sycamore,
blocking way to back door!
WOW!
Next morning so miraculously, gorgeously beautiful!
Gentle breeze, bright sunshine, birds twittering,
and singing melodiously,
Everything clean, clear and sparkly.
Today there's a whole family of downy woodpeckers
living in the tall, rotting trunk of that twisted off pine,
and the whole garden is--
a thousand times better.
=======

Along the pine leaf carpeted road
Unseen birds awake
The spring morning slowly dawns
A trace of wispy smoke rises up from the ashes.
=======

Look at the birds of the heavens,
They sing among the branches
The earth is satisfied
by the silent waters
falling from the hills.
=======

The arrow, having already left the bow
has no mind for marks.
The arrow will go where the arrow will go.
=======

Weeping willow, pine
Riivers, Oceans
spider web a twine_
honeysuckle vine
=======

I love my little hut
Here beside the trail
among the honeysuckle vines and
tall thick trees.
Here in the swamp beside the river
I am completely free with my
friends the Water Hyacinth
and the blue skies above,
nothing to do but putter and fish,
and whittle and lay around.
There are roads and highways out there
but they can't come in here to my world:
Since I'm a no-brain,
Who will ask me to think?
"I sit on my doorstep at night alone while
the orange moon climbs up above the trees."
=======

I cannot name you
but you are always here
I speak to you in thought
I love you in heart
I sense your presence
I am aware of you always
Yet I know not how to describe you
=======

Start early.
Continue on the way.
Carry no unnecessary baggage.
Enjoy the scenery, other travelers,
And all details of the journey itself.
=======

Climbing up cliff,
hands grasping firm hold onto roots,
feet planted on solid rocky outcrops,
steepness of cliff not noticed;
as clouds of mist rise up with moon
I crawl eagerly over top and stand to
turn around freely everywhere.
Facing everything, I see nothing.
=======
Waterdrop on taro leaf,
Shimmering
Shining like a pearl
Drop!
Into river,
Dark waters swiftly swirl and flow
s


Butterflies, wipers, stained glass, sparrows,
Breath, eyes, words, mind, salty tears,
Believing, not believing, orange blossoms,
Morning, noon, night, planets, stars we are.
All the same, but different.
Unique.
Every vein of every leaf-
all the same
different! different! different!
Vive la difference!!
=======

i see five red roses
blooming in the garden
suddenly all the world is gone
and i'm alone with
five red roses.
=======

Bluejays screech from rail on porch
stealing food from cat's bowl...
(No shadows darken this door)
Fog rises up to soften surrounding forest:
Growing old brings cherished peace;
many mornings, many winters, many
hot summer days bring many changes,
All so different yet all so same.
=======

Last year:
Warm sunny morning in May.
Walk slowly up and down garden rows;
Barefoot, walk with handle of hoe in hand;
Arms gently rocking rhythmically back and forth,
Back and forth:
Listen to sound of blade cut away weeds.
Today.
Warm sunny morning in May.
Walk slowly up and down rows of
garden, barefoot, handle of hoe in hand,
clearing away weeds..
May return. Weeds return.
=======

Drinking waters of cold mountain stream,
Hands make a cup to dip it up.
What can two hands hold?
Only enough for a while.
Must continually dip and drink...
=======

mirror streams without end,
earth mountains shine
morning washed clean, reflecting
creeks and hills into infinity.
=======

clearly chime in time,
like a willow in a summer breeze-
deep, tranquil,
in harmony
Of nothing wanting.
=======

In the endless reaches of endlessness
To be and not to be
Essence of existence like waters
Of a deep, dark pool under sky;
Reflecting that which passes.
=======

Until this moment, the precious pearl's been hidden from view,
Now it gleams from the black velvet of it's nesting place.
Mind's open, clean and clear...at last.
One single candle
Lights all universes.
We smile and heads bow in gratitude.
=======

Watching azaleas daily leaping more fully into the glory
Of their spring blossoming,
From my window, I view each morning's vapors
Rising among the trees across the road.
Birds awake and start to twitter, chirp, and sing.
Trying to tell you, I discover no words are there.
-=======


When you enjoy the earth
and all of it's bountiful beauties and fruits.
You won't need to try to be kind and helpful,
For you will be without trying;
And if love is your desire,
You need not go out hunting for it--
For when you care for and desire only good for others,
You gain love without seeking it.
Take the natural lessons the earth offers naturally.
Take it to heart,
Therefore preserving ultimate reality,
And being nothing but sincere.
Embrace each moment for the good you find therein,
And the whole world will respond like ripples in a pond
When a leaf falls into it from a tree.
Like your shadow,
Good will travel along with you all along the way.
=======

Hear the hermit's report
of green moss growing on rocks,
pathways carpeted with pine needles,
sleeping alone in his little hut
through nights moonlit softly
never lonely though
never seeing or hearing
another living soul
=======

Tall, Cold and icy
cooling summer's breeze
A picnic in it's shadows
Where scent of cedars
sweeten the air.
Green, green
cold, white and green
=======

Night Fall from crags above
where icy towers rise
sleeping tent warm and brown
and wrinkled.
=======

The hermit does not hide himself away from his
fellow man for lack of caring,
he climbs the mountains to freely sleep,
becoming more and more enraptured
as he winds his way higher and higher.

Beneath tall trees of every kind,
Where green vines hang from the
tangled brush of undergrowth
He builds himself a simple small hut.

The silence sings to him more clearly than
the bells that ring out over little towns full
of people in the valley.

Clearing his head of all the history of the world,
the hermit's mind is free like the image he sees in
the pool when he bends down low to drink.
_______
=======

In my little house nothing
But empty rafters and barrel.
Yesterday we laughed and talked till all hours
We never listened to our own selves,
nor to one another.
=======

There stands a vase of fresh-cut flowers
from the garden upon the dresser.
The mirror reflects their beauty.
=======

Little green lizard sleeping
upon the window rod,
a bed of curtains softly cotton
cradle your drowsy nod;
Does your silence, little lizard
contain any thought at all?
=======

I sip from my asymetrical raku bowl
steam rising up comfortingly around my face,
my hands cupped exactly to fit it's curve,
I think of the hands that shaped this bowl
I think of the potter and smile a smile of appreciation.
we are together in the raku.
=======

Birds fly through the air.
Fish swim in the sea.
Plants grow, animals roam.
The earth has it's place in space..
A Sunflower grows up beside
the back doorstep all on it's own.
It's face follows the sun all day long.
=======

A young man was hiking in the forest.
He came upon a coldwater spring.
After drinking deeply of the crystal clear water,
he noticed that the quietly flowing water
formed a small stream flowing away from
the spring and on down the hill.
He followed it.
At nightfall he was still following the stream.
He decided to camp there for the night,
and begin again at dawn.
For some reason, he felt a strong desire to
see where the litttle creek went.
Fourteen months later, he stood on the bank of
a river that flowed into the Gulf of Mexico
and watched his creek blending into the river.
He was satisfied.
He had seen many streams blending into many other
streams as he followed his little stream,
and now he was at the end.
He had found not only the Source,
but also the Destination of that one little stream.
=======

Desire, like wisps of smoke
from chimnney
dissipate into misty blue cloud
floating upon peak
of frosty morning mountain top.
Tall green Cedar grow taller
beside Deep Spring.
=======

Desire,
like wisps of smoke from
chimnney dissipate into misty
blue clouds floating upon peaks of
frosty morning mountain tops, only to
reappear once more in valleys below
where tall corn grows row upon row in
fields of green.
-//\\-


I Climb high and far away
From my perch here on this park bench
People pass back and forth
The roar of traffic
The scream of the sirens
crawling in and out of awareness
finally fade and leave
Now I am alone at last
on Cold Mountain
with the fresh cool clean air
of non being from which being is made.
I shall carry the Mountain away
with me from this park bench.
=======

Mind.
Empty.
Primal energy.
Glowing.
Being.
Firmly rooted.
Venerable.
Unbreakable.
Flat on back looking up at vast sky.


We sit for a while together beside this stream.
While we are awake, let us dream...


An owl sits upon a branch pondering,
eyes open wide;
bright moons weave in and out between clouds above.
Silent feet trace myriad pathways
upon the forest floor below.
Look to the source, the rock,
the space between.


A form kneels reverently bending low to drink.
The flowing spring bubbles up from bottomless depths,
crystal clear waters pour forth, not stopping anywhere.
Mirror waters reflect sky and form while thirst is slaked.



The raku glaze cools quickly and crackles,
The hands of the master potter tremble,
memory of thought flees without attainment
a mourning dove flutters beyond the gate
suddenly the sky is filled with grey wings


Snowflakes swirl and whirl and dance all day with the wind,
until Twilight brings stillness which fades into Darkness---
falling upon a world white with silver moonlight.
Stillness abounds in bright silence.
Tomorrow will bring the first day of spring with tiny, shy crocus
climbing, climbing, climbing
up, up, up
To once again watch the winds of March
as they swing and sway
in the dance of the willow.



Snowflakes
One by one
yet all together
silently falling
calling calling
calling children--old and young
one must go out
cannot resist...
must...
stick out waiting tongue
to catch that sweet cold treat


At night by the river
It is still.
A towering wall of trees
Softly outline the sky with leafy shadows.
Mists rise up like smoke from the silently
Whispering currents flowing swiftly
Past sugar white sandbars...
Patterns of moonlight stirred by
Cool night breezes fall upon
A dozing body,
One warm, drifting mind drowsily
Waiting for dawn...
-//\\-

Sleeping ducks and geese lay dreaming
Air is still,
Earth is quiet
Wispy fog-clouds of mist from rivers rise
to blend with floating white sky-clouds...
It's daybreak



Twilight eve.
Soft moon glow appearing in the east.
From away in nearby distance a whip-poor-will call.
Coolness of approaching night bring
foggy mist rising up from warm earth.
Stillness.
The muffled sound of a screen door slam,
a spoon heard scraping into a pot,
come in my father, it's supper time.





Who shall escape from the tides of time.
And about the stars:
Tell me too about all these things,
From whatsoever source you may know them.
Tell me.



I stand in the back yard beside a popcorn tree.
Looking up, scanning the foliage of trees above my head,
I see the joyously singing bird,
and think of something someone said:
"Jesus emptied himself, poured himself out and clung to nothing."



This day will not come again.
Ordinary people possess the ability to sit in stillness..
.to carry the stillness into daily activities.
The Stillness:
It is present while working,
talking, eating, performing, or whatever we do.


Hidden birds sing as cool and clear
as deep mountain springs.
The winds carry the fragrance of honeysuckle.
When things come up,
we deal with them according to the occasion.
We are like the stillness of water,
like the clearness of a mirror.
In our deep inner self,
we know the inconceivable.


Hidden birds sing cool and clear,
like deep mountain springs.
In our deep inner self,
we know the inconceivable.



Colorful jungle birds
sleep in moonlight outside my open window dreams
Soft breezes stir the curtains.
From my drowsy bed by the wintry lamp
I can see the flowering buds of spring.


Hungry little didappers
awakening to rosy fingered dawn
like blackbirds in the field
..noisily they rise above the sea and fly away,
soaring higher and higher
until they disappear into the sky.


The path beneath our feet has led us to this place.
We are ordinary people possessed with identical potential.


One drop of rainwater
abides in valley of elephant ear leaf
for a time
before rolling off the edge
like quicksilver never to be seen again
until tomorrow
when drops of rainwater
fall upon the elephant ear leaf.


When leaves of yellow turn to magenta
to hang upon boughs whipped by northern winds
where it seems only yesterday
the sweet birdsong heralded spring,
go once more to stand upon the cliff
looking out to sea.
View of red sails in sunset
delight eyes and heart
before twilight of such day
fades away into setting sun.


I have not broken out of the world of illusion
into the world of light
but in the shadows of the morning
I feel that all that ever was,
is-
and all that is,
ever shall be.

~ ~ ~

-//\\-odmmb



Fear What is it we fear most of all? Not wild, ferocious animals: NO Not disease, or famine, or earthquakes Or any kind of natural disaster... We don't fear venomous reptiles Nor do we fear to be sent to oblivion by comets or meteors or any debris streaking down upon our heads from heaven NO: Our biggest fear is not the havoc wreaked Upon us by nature... Our biggest fear dear brother, Is Our Fear Of Ourselves and Each Other. --sef.

Fear--When fear walked into my abode--I did but flee unto you to hide me.--You heard me when I called out to you.--You have slain the dragon fear--With your sword of Light--The darkness does not hide, --No the night shines as the day--The darkness and the light are both alike.--PsalmsLover

Promoting Dreams "A rag, a hank of hair, and a bag of bones."__Looking straight ahead _Neither to the right nor to the left, _Prancing proudly upfront and back, --Selling Impracticality!--Promoting a dream.--When hunger gnaws into guts, --face turns into steel,--not allowed to sweat,--nor allowed to feel.--This runway, this field, this arena--can bring early old age,--so gather the rosebuds while you may--save them up for another day.--Now today, while hormones rage--reap a little sorrow and wait for tomorrow.--SuperModel, Pro Athlete!!! --Upon your pedestal tall,--hold fast to your dream,--don't topple and fall!--Look straight ahead, --when your body moans,--don't be distracted by digestive groans,--there's more to life than ice cream cones,--contained in rags, hanks of hair, and bags of bones."
Psalming My Love To Me Tomorrow--Have mercy on me and hear my plea!--Do not be angry and do not be against me!--I lay down and slept; I awoke, and you were gone.--You left a note.--I wept.--How long will you leave me worthless?--When will you hear my call--You have put gladness in my heart,--More in the season of our loving--Than In all times ever, and I do mean All!--O I cry out to you now with the voice--of my broken-heartedness!--Relieve me of my distress, I pray--Have mercy on me!--I was wrong, so wrong, my love, to hurt you.--I know, I know my love I am not worth you!--But you and only you can lift up my head!--Without you my love, I already am dead.--O to face the future without you!--I must prove that I do not doubt you!--Or else I shall be dashed to pieces!--I would go to the ends of the earth to find you,--My Love.--Meditate within your heart on your bed.--Raise up my soul from the dead.--Turn my Shame to Glory!--Put gladness in my heart!--I will both lie down in peace...--and sleep.--For you alone My Love shall awake me.--Tomorrow.--My SoulMate!
Being--Being, believing--seeing--Something and Nothing--Everything conceiving--Earth, sky, stars and stuff--Solid rocks and puffy fluff--Babies laughing, Towers leaning--Beggars bent upon their gleaning--Solons searching for deeper meaning--All the world and all that is--Things that fizzle and things that fizz--CocaCola and seven up--Cigarettes --And coffee cups,--Dirty diapers and laundry rooms--Churches and steeples--And brides and grooms--Weaving and spinning from dawn to dusk--Laying up treasures that never rust--Being is better than alternate states--So put the X where the cosmos mates,--And Be.--In Being.
Explain... Explain the pure pleasure of living? The good, the bad, the indifferent? How to explain the depth, the breadth of the agony and the ecstasy of eternal youth? How to explain bodies slick and smooth writhing underwater in the surf beneath a moonglow's sweet salty breeze? No whispered words of undying devotion could possibly stave off the beat of that undulating incoming tide-powered ocean of pure unadulterated LifeForce! Don't listen, I pray you, you young innocence! Time will teach you to Love Yourself First!, So that you can forgive before you are lied to, So that a hot, passionate lie will only make you smile, ...knowingly!
Face to face... I, Like the Queen of England In olden days Did not like What the mirror says You lie! You mirror on the wall! I Am! The fairest of them all! Face to face I faced her That ugly old hag That gnarled old creature Creaky bones in a bag, Then, with one fell swoop I banished them all All mirrors in my mansion I personally broke the one in the hall Then face to face I stood before my self I cleaned out all the crevices and dusted off the shelf And then I stood a mirror up to my very soul Who is this new-born baby? This wobbly little foal I cannot see her face to face For yet her image is dim But pray now for eternal grace to grow to be the image of Him.

Fear Once a huge monster ogled and snuck into a brain The monster's name was Fear, Author of agony's pain. The heart began to pound Panic loomed it's head Fear filled every pore with totally unfounded dread The poor unprepared victim suffered untold hours Just because the monster Practiced evil powers Then a beam of light turned on The brain began to see For Truth entered in And made the victim free.
Fear Vain imaginings give birth to horrors unspeakable! Fear is the father of quavering fright of startling up in terror at every little bump in the night And vain imaginings bring Lovers to doom When the proverbial green-eyed monster takes hold of a heart, fear spins on it's loom... Threads of fear among the gold Makes the tapestry strong and bold But all is needed is a little momentum Not total paralyzing, fear gargantuan Nay! Stay! Stay Fear! When our very worst fears come true All we do is pass right through.

a cold hard day. one of those when it even hurts to breathe stitches in your side afraid to move shivering and shaking and freezing to death left. alone. cold. this is hard. what a day!
If I have killed? Whether it was in SongBe, or by watching TV when I should be watching my baby. Am I not more responsible than they? I was not forced by law. I did not have to steel my jaw, to go to war. Yes, death stalks me; hovers at my door, wearing those unseen eyes, creeping stealthily, silently, while I am sleeping. Possibly never to wake again. Death. I speculate about it. For I have not yet died. --sef
Trails dusty dirt roads blackberries sweet puffy brown clouds 'neath little feet juicy purple stains upon pinafores giggles leave a trail up to cottage doors. --sef
Trails Seaoats tall and tan growing on the dunes waving in the wind and by the quiet lagoons bending graceful stem curly leaves so dry tracing patterned trails To tickle you and I Our footprints there remain for all the world to see Mine meeting yours and yours meeting me. --sef

Shakespeare Your verse is so barren of new pride, because you are you, You do not with new-found methods glance aside, Because to thine own self you are true, Your writings are all one, ever the same Because You are Shakespeare you know After all what could be in a name If we did not see you so? O, know, sweet love, you always write of me And you are my love O beloved Will, For as the sun is as new as it is old I and love are your argument still!

EddyMama&Me I ran to mama crying My little heart broke in two Because Eddy said I was uglier than a worn out muddy old shoe Mama looked at me in the face And held a looking glass up "Look in this mirror, honey," she said As she put down her coffee cup I looked into the mirror and saw a pretty girl Then I looked up at my mama The best one in the world "What do you see, my darlin?" "Are you ugly, or are you not?" She smiled a knowing smile (something she did a lot...The light then dawned into my mind The Truth was there to see In the mirror I held up to myself reflected back at me.

Reading All Night Many, many a night 'til morn daylight roosters crow reminding a mind the light has come the night did come and go. The words on pages under the lamp like a river flow across the eyes of men and maids whose youth is spent just so. Before the bells in towers tall out there in village steeple call to duty one and all, both high and lowly people. Calling them out into the world, away from printed pages, to act upon it's stages. Grist for the mill of writer's hands the drama of these people, the reader's not only the reader, down below the steeple. But when these rivers of words flow across the eyes at night or morning, or noon, or upon the stage or in the sunset light, 'tis their own life, their own thoughts their own ideas too, that readers read when nodding awake and reading the whole night through..

Quest The age-old question, asked by all and answered one by one, for seeking and finding each must do and we must do it alone. for if we seek, we'll surely find we'll surely find our way; the seed is planted into our heart and grows there day by day. No one here can find our path nor fill our lamp at night; Nor tell us what to think or feel Or give us eternal light; But Truth is there, and Life and Love, And Power is ours to find Our Soul and our Spirit is on the Way For we have the Intelligence of Mind. So the age-old question, asked by all is answered every day, one by one each traveler finds the answer along the way.

I don't know if I will be able to put words to this or not. It has come up time after time after time and I have tried before .God is not just A being. God is being itself. God is not just loving, God is Love itself. God is not just anything, God is the thing itself. God is not a person sitting around in a place off up there somewhere called heaven pulling strings and manipulating things in the universe, no God is not just a person, God is personhood itself. God is not just powerful, God is power itself. God's Love, God's Power, God's everything is expressed THROUGH not to or at. or into. but THROUGH...The whole universe, all existence is filled through and through with LIFE LOVE TRUTH SOUL SPIRIT INTELLIGENCE POWER ...God IS these things, not the giver outer of these things. These things don't sit around and let people get shot and starved and beaten and abused and hurt and tortured..Love has never allowed anyone to be hurt..

.

Out in the garden in the warm, moist earth he made a tiny bed then prest a place for sowing seeds While bowing low his head gently he patted the soil in place then sprinkled water all around He stood up straight and stood up tall then left the fertile ground He walked away to wait a while knowing his garden would grow He never came back to dig and probe to see if it was so for by the faith built year by year by things that he had seen He knew the Law would do it's work and make his garden green

She once was marble, the RavishingRose stricken in stone by frivolous foes, but CyberPrince bent and kissed her brow, so she became what she is now-- A delicate and dainty blossom sweet with green moss growing at her feet, tending her garden of silvered prose, this lovely flower, our CyberRose!

From where I sit I can see my toes looking back at me from out there on the ottoman happy-go-lucky and free My indoor garden gives me green all the way around the little birds twitter and tweet a lovely lyrical sound The air streams cool and fresh across the shadowy space stirring leaves and mobiles and curtains made of lace From where I sit on the earth as it spins around the sun the whole universe extend outward from this one. From this invisible point down deep inside of me existence emanates out to be and not to be.

The One Called Kitty She's the one who loves. And thinks. And cares. She's the one who holds and the one who shares. She's the one who warms the coldest day, and the one whose touch takes pain away. She's the one with the smile we love to see, and the one who knows what it's like to be me; She's the one whose glow could light a city, She's the one God Blessed, the one called Kitty. (this is copied from one of my old journals. it was written in the very early nineteen eighties..about)

Soulmates If you love me, more than I love you that means you don't love you enough. If I love you more than you love me then I need to love me more, which is tough. So to even it out and leave no doubt that we love each other in full, we each have to be able to live without the other's magnetic pull. A soulmate is something rarely found if truly the truth is known, we're much better off to set our sights on goals achieveable alone. For if we love ourselves enough to journey our whole life through, we'll live and let live in everyday life, and end in happiness too! To each his own, my mate and me, to respect, admire and love, knowing that life is much to short to push and pull and shove. You are yourself and I am mine, together we two are we, although we're a couple bonded, we two are also free. You have no fear that if you left that I would curl up and die, and I know in my heart you'd be okay if I were to make you cry. We'd each pick up and go it alone, we wouldn't be devastated for each being true to our very own self is the essence of being soul-mated.

Oh rise up misty dawn from the heat of summer's past and mornings ringing bells in tip top church steeples high echoing through old stones and fruit jars half buried and filled with flowers from the old woman in the sun bonnet's gnarled and wrinkled hands grown brown from years of sun and hard labor who stood in this very place drinking water from a dipper She's gone.Misty Dawn. She's gone. A Misty Rose grows there beside the steps upon the outspread skirts of one rosy cheeked little girl whose brown eyes sparkle and long dark brown hair shines out a halo around her down-bent head as she so solemnly gazes at each and every tiny little petal cupped so gently in its little green nest of leaves Rise up! Rise up! Oh Misty Dawn, Rise Up!!!


Verbs and Nouns are easy, no trouble to remember at all The ones thats causing the trouble That's making me stumble and fall Are those pesky old conjunctions And what they're supposed to do And pop-up prepositions, puzzle me greatly too. So seven or more poems planted Into my head I needs To get those parts embedded Into my brain like seeds!


Vine and Branches Once upon a time a traveler tired and worn spied a sprig of ivy early in the morn Broken from the vine The tiny branch was weak lying lost and dry upon the ground so meek The traveler paused and picked it up and carried it along back home He set it in a pot on the porch filled with moisture and loam He tended and fed and watered the sprig and watched it flourish and grow and soon it needed another pot to spread it's vine, you know The tiny sprig today is nowhere to be found for the vine covers the cottage from rooftop to the ground! --.

Time-Clock It's about a half-past never a quarter until ten time to go out and come back in. Clock keeps a tickin' keeping up with time watching out for hours knowing when to chime. Early in the morning before a cock can crow clock starts alarming get up and go! Throw the dad-burn contraption in the garbage can but time keeps a ticking in the world of man --.

Words But words are alive! They know! They have meaning! They grow! The more we use them the more they change, they're so weird, so wondrously strange! No matter how familiar, or how often used, no matter how tortured, beaten or abused, words rise up in triumphant power yet as sweet and soft as a morning shower.

"What will you call it?" Companion queried, I'll call it a string, the scientist theoried, But strange though it sounds a string is a word and the universe itself is no more absurd.

HaveABallGame
This game is fun for some folks it seems___ those who love it say! ___ But others'd druther sit real still___ on riverbanks all day___ and snooze and dream while worms float free___ in waters still below___ waiting for the whopper, the one big fish___ (the one that got away)___ Still other folks find plethora of games ___ to play and watch through life ___ that is those guys who never got saddled___ with a dad-burned chore loving wife!


River Around the next bend,___ river flow around.___ Soak the sand of bleached white shoals,___ drip from low-hanging branches___ of jungle thick trees___. Go deep and dark and black and cold,___ and reeve out holes.___ Eddy yourself old river, ___ into little circles swirling and drawn upon reflections___ of blue skys upon your surface,___ where last autumn's leaves ___still float like little boats.__ Downstream.___ Around the next bend, old river.--.


Time ___turns into memories.___ Old men talk of good old days, ___ while youth spins new fodder for future yarns.___ Then one day the old man___ sits unmoving in the sun___ on a rickety old rocking chair___ out by the barn.__ They say "leave him alone___. He's dreaming dreams."___ Old men do dream dreams they say,___ and young men see visions.___ Even so, time still goes.___ It blows across the land again.___ And nothing is there anymore. ___ Not even memories.___ Yet all is there again as before.--.


Words Words are wont to skip away... to behave in a most elusive manner when most needed. Inevitable brainwracking brings confusion causing mental block. How foolish, how inarticulate in the presence of human beings who know a dozen words for every condition, and access them with lightning speed, so that they pour out like torrents off the high precipieces of the tall granite of mountain walls, to fall at the feet of the dumbfounded, inarticulate being whose words are wont to skip away elusively just when most needed. --.

Your Self Portrait I worked and worked and worked for years and years and years, meticulously drawing lines and putting on paint, filling in spaces both positive and negative. Worried a lot about perspective, composition and values. "Since this is a Self Portrait," I thought, "I must be the best that I can be. I want this to be true... a good likeness... of me." So time went by. I labored long, carefully adding layer upon layer of color and doing all I possibly could do. To paint a worthy Self Portrait, with your approval in view. Then finally one day, "it's done," I said, "there's nothing more I can do."Stepping back at last to look at me, what I saw was You. --.

Mediocrity Years of digging the earth planting beans and squash searching for the blue sky, waiting for rain to come and water the plants piling up layer upon layer of mediocrity. ending with more of the same more layers of mediocrity watching the lamp burning on the kitchen table beside the butter dish the butter made this morning from the milk took from old bess the cow last night It was a good supper The biscuits dripping with some of the butter in that dish and the beans and the squash and corn and peas and all that other good stuff yeah, layers of mediocrity piling up layer upon layer making dessert with one of those butter-dripped biscuits sopped in thick sweet honey robbed just yesterday from that old hollow tree out yonder. --sef

Mama, I love you. not for anything you have done though it was more than I knew but i love you, mama, I love You. I didn't invent mother's day, if i had, i'd make it all year long because no matter how many there are before they're here they're gone and what about all the nights, mama?when you were by my side and I didn't even know it and you bragged on me and you took pride in things I did even at the same time you might be scolding me. I could tell mama, and you can tell too you know I love you. Not for any thing you ever did but mama, I just love you --sef

Staying Alive..a row of azaleas were planted upon a mound of earth they've struggled to stay alive since their azalea birth a shower of rain in summer brings them back around from the dying curling of leaves fighting deathly brown other plants nearby not on an arid mound have roots finding moisture deep in the fertile ground but these poor mis-placed azaleas were planted high and dry then left by an errant gardener to suffer and then to die Would that I could save them by moving them down to the stream where the river of life flows by sweetly upon a midnight's dream But no I cannot save them I cannot move myself for I'm but one clay vessel upon a wooden shelf.

Chuck and Charlie Chuck and Charlie went for a ride Chuck the groom and Charlie the bride Chuck was uglier than homemade sin But Charlie a beauty outside and in Charlie an angel Chuck not so Chuck's wagging tongue Wouldn't let go "Shut up and drive, Chuck," Charlie said, but she did'nt mean 'til he's stone cold dead. But Chuck took her literal and to this day not another word has Chuck had to say! --
magical stories stream far and near from old times and from new written by cyberwolf /ID and written by shadow too rainbow colors soft and sweet with a sprinkle of adventurous spin weaving a magnetic spell pulling all passersby passing right in we the readers pay tribute to magical word writer's power we bow in humble acknowledgement Beneath the growing-green bower We smile a rainbow as we read Our brow might wrinkle or rain as stardust twinkles showers of light we return again...again

I am grateful So I wake up and there's the bag lady. So now I am grateful not to be a bag lady. If I were a bag lady would I be grateful to be one? I would have to be one we are, but we can't know what other's being is like for them. I am grateful for that. --.

I am walking along a forest trail.>Sweet dogwood blossoms >fall like snowflakes>to carpet my footsteps. >I think.>I am there.>No space.>--ZenNovice

Fun in the sun>After the storm is gone>we find a pillow case >for each and every one>to use as a beachcombing bag >since they are so lightweight>and clean and easy to carry >as we run laughing and screaming >along the beach dodging the high stormstirred waves>as they come boiling in alongside us darting back and forth >up and down the sandy upswept side>toward the mountainous dunes >playing in and out among the clusters of sea oats>and drinking from the screw-top waterbottle>we stop to fish from the bottom of our own bag>which carries the stuff we have found so far, >a pair of sunglasses, >three seashells not very big >but exquisitely shaped and delicately colored, >two odd-shaped pieces of sunbleached white driftwood>weightless >not much more than softly colored air >but the day has hardly even begun >and our life's ambition was to grow up and be a beachcomber.--sef

Riverman Bred>This riverman is my father >to the river he's born and bred>And when I marry I know>a riverman I will wed>This man has never worn shoes>a whole day in his livelong life>not even the day he married
his riverbank rooted wife>He lives not beside the river >but up and down it's stream>setting out trotlines and checking>for catfish and for bream>The river's waters are cold and black>when caught up in deep holes
but swift and clear by banks of sand>when washed up on the shoals>This riverman knows this river>like the backside of his hand>>He knows it better by far>than a farmer knows his land>For the farmer don't sleep out under the stars>with his tractor-seat under his head>like the riverman sleeps in his dinghy,
his table, his chair and his bed>On a shady bank he built him a shack>where he keeps his wife and child
They made them a little bitty garden>And they live there a little bit wild>They love their life on the river>They live there totally free>They're the happiest little family>a family could ever be. --sef

Hummingbird Teeny, weeny tiny bird perching on a twig; One could hardly see you no bigger than a fig; Your colors are so brilliant,>your form, it is so small;>Are you truly a bird?...>After all?....>You're hardly as big >as a grasshopper green,>and oh such a wee little thing!>When you find a flower full of flavor,>your minute wings move so fast they hum,>helping you hover there above the bloom,>dipping your long little beak to nectar>until you drink your fill.>I saw your tiny nest today>and think it's near absurd,>but so are you, you teeny, weeny >creature called a bird
--sef
Stay Here Don't be too close but don't be too far away.Stay right there, where you are. Right in the middle.Between your mom and me,that's the perfect place for you to be...Mom...don't go.
Fog when it's mysteriously foggy and the mist curls itself around every tree and hides itself among the bushes, all the whole world turns silent you stand there watching. sounds fall to the earth and disappear suddenly. like this: clunk. silence. thud. silence. don't try to sing your o sole mio on a foggy, misty day let her majesty MistyMist have her way For she would swallow your song and smile and curl herself around you caressing your hair and your face moistly making your complexion glow so that when you return yourself to hearth and home all who dwell there would see that clean washed pair of you and she --.
The Great Smoky Mountains >never saw the world from a mountaintop> traveled for a mighty long time> made the treacherous journey> made the weary climb>gasping and groaning the last few steps> finally reached the top>Bright sun shining on that lofty peak>Finally now we stop>Stand up tall with outstretched arms>to look out at the view>But lo and behold!>It's all
Emotional Snipers There's no explaining them nor escape Sad, melancholy, feelings from nowhere. bring unwanted tears or heartaches for no apparent reason and inappropriate for sure Or rain down in feathery tickles making silly giggles destroy all trace of human dignity right in the middle of a serious situation, such as a wedding ceremony horribly embarrassing and terribly inappropriate Oh what betrayal of emotion run amok when outbursts of laughter rise in spite of all effort to hold them back in the face of terrible angry attacks where fingers wag in front of faces from some ridiculously unfair attack where laughter viciously fuels the flame of anger and is decidedly inappropriate Oh humanity, humanity, You indigenous inhabitants of earth-- What terrible trials and tribulations you endure, bombarded from every direction by slings and arrows of every kind, both visible and invisible!All divinely appropriate.--sef


Fog>Whole self enshrouded>in a fog of outgone tide>wrapped up in warmth>so as not to shiver cold>nor huddle crouched upon a driftwood log>on the shore just out of reach >of lapping waters' murmuring speech>cannot see the ends of ocean meeting sky>cannot see the colors of sails passing by>All the world is grey and moistly lovely>huddling wrapped in warmth enshrouded>upon a driftwood log.

The Turtle>in a dream the cucumber vines> grew from the turtle in the center> when the old cucumbers began to rot away> the turtle scurried away carrying the roots> of the main vine to grow again> in another place to make another vine> leaving behind the young cucumbers > which were thriving on the offshoots > of the main vine.> The turtle always scurries away again
_________________________________________________________________________
Listen to locusts clinging to bark,> The sound of wind in the pines,> A wee-hours rainfall washed clean the grove.> Don't say there's nothing here worthwhile,> Sit under my tree with me and feel the breeze


___________________________________________________________________________________
whatever is not cultivated will disappear> plants must have water> plants must have sun>people must have people>each and every one> vain imaginings cultivate fear> make paranoia grow> but turn mind the sun away>>>turn tears the rain away> from imagining worse and worse> then fear will wither and fade> making fertile the ground> for flowers of peace, security and love> to fill the garden of life on earth> "The sentry stands at the door of the mind turning away all thoughts but those worthy to enter." "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
__________________________________________________________________________

i bend over your pool> to see myself reflected there> vocabulary sparse, inarticulate born was i> non-verbal, born shy> shaky, tongue tied, blushing red> yet not dead...i feel. I reel with sharp blows> must i ever dip and drink> from your trough> must I drink your cup> in my search for mine then?> aye. but for thee > there would be no me> I am the voice of echoes> gathered from far and wide> woven together into one coherent piece> I am the me i make of thee
____________________________________________________________________________________
"
__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
We had a cold dawn> in a dark and southern sky> The tide fast ran out> Left us high and dry> We shivered in the dark >But the boat was stuck so tight > We gave up in disgust > We hauled ourselves uphill > to find a sheltering dune wallowed out a bed of quartz then slept til half past noon Hungry and dry, baked to a crisp we finally stirred our stumps Looked to where we'd left our boat Then leapt to terrible jumps For merrily rocking to and fro And drifting out to sea Our boat was riding out on the tide where never it ought to be In the nick of time we reached her oar and grabbed ahold to board Then lay there panting and waving goodbye And thanking the merciful Lord For looking back at sandy shore the Island loomed so small deserted, forlorn, no life was there no drink, no nothing at all No life in sight, we are adrift On dark and salty brine But surely tomorrow our little boat Lighthouse or land will find. Some cold dawn we'll awake Shivering in the dark Hearing the unmistakable sound Of the song of a meadowlark We'll weakly raise our weary head To see what day will bring We'll find a forest growing near And hear a gushing spring Paradise once lost, now found again! Enter, Friend!!!,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,once upon a time she stopped upon a dime spun around a cotton candy stick picked up a guy a stranger with a lie took a sharp-right turn just in time to burn a little rubber ducky-lucky strikes were out there would never be no doubt he was a dirty low down no good for nothing sorry excuse for human being in a tizzy was no way to hop on a tin lizzie that's what grandma used to say but what does she know anyway said the poor little fellow with his thumb in his mouth then taking it out all shriveled up to show to the whole house it was the only one that was clean whereupon his momma turned green and went outside for a while trying to find a reason to smile before somebody said why don't you just go jump in the lake you dumb idiot, but then they put a bandage on the skinned knee and after a while there was a big brown crusty scab there looking horrible but soon it was gone too and the shower waters poured down nice and warm and soothing and they all grew up at last and became adults who sat in the corners quietly working on their own separate project.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,When the whole world turns dark with overwhelming grief turning the self into a writhing horrible seeking for escape, Love comes quietly to give surcease to the soul; gathering the self in to itself, Love holds the self close... rocks it into a place of healing sleep... where strength is gathered up for waking

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,A huge wave of heartache unbearable came washing over the land unbearable! no escape The whole world turned black all around nothing was left but overwhelmingness then a comforting presence was there it was real like the arms of a mother tenderly holding close to her bosom her newborn child The huge wave of heartache subsided until the land could gather strength to survive the next engulfing wave remembering the promise "You will not be given more than you can bear."
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
It's Spring Again! Seasonal flux, the ebb and flow of life in all it's glory hoary hearts throb, self renewed buds and blooms and green Thank God, it's Spring! nostrils sniff the air movements grow sudden, jerky no longer languid nor smooth leaping spry, young hearts exult! Thanking God, it's Spring Peacocks Preen It's Spring again! Thank you, God!
_________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________
I wonder about Angels If they are real I think I could never be one. And I feel that if I were in heaven, and interviewed for the job, they'd just smile. then a paper would be slipped into my file stamped: "Unqualified."
__________________________________________________________________________
hot sol baking bones soothing, easing lifelong pain frowns erase from face
____________________________________________________________________
A little backyard pond, the sensuously graceful willow beside it swings and sways all day, standing there with its bare feet rooted in the fishy waters where coy dart around playfully teasing the bluegill. The breezes come and go toying absentmindedly with the long tresses of the willow as it stands there all day swinging and swaying and reflecting itself in the still waters of a little backyard pond.
_________________________________________________________________________

words drip from the lips of man and fall into the rivers of other's words... they all flow together... tumbling and frothing over rock and rill down the mountainsides and across the endless plains down into the sea upon the waves of the knowledge of man where they rock back and forth... meaninglessly _________________ __________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
"a tiny tot... of years, only three or so, struggled with a big job! (folding washcloths) the pile grew larger, lopsidedly askew... She takes them to big sister when there's no more to do. Big sister smiles and praises a job so very well done, The tiny tot's little face lights up like the sun Her little heart is human it needs a little praise to fuel the drive to perfection for which we live our days.
________________________________________________________________________
The sound of Applause in an auditorium sounds like rain. The first time I heard it I looked out the windows. Then to my amazement I realized The hands of all these people's approval were raining blessings down upon my upturned face refreshing, renewing my determination to do better.
__________________________________________________________________________
gather up the flowers while you may... for When the sky hangs heavy over your head and the sound of footfall on your floor has gone dead when there's eternal quiet and you're all alone that's when you know Your lover is gone. but Do not leave the path journey on to the end Your lover awaits around the next bend.
________________________________________________________________________
Black Tunnel of fear bearing down on innocent souls helplessly caught in it's path Tornado!

Line Spacing They were putting double lines between the days and nights creating empty wasted spaces of nothing filled minutes, cutting life in half but I fixed that! I put my little finger down hard on this little hour and shifted it into one single minute between sunset and sunrise now there's twice as much time to live. The empty wasted spaces are filled with useful doo dads and whatchamacallits.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
the ice on the pond is very wet starting to melt but not quite yet a squirrel ran across another did too a jay got a drink where the water came through robins are flocking and flying back north finches are flitting back and forth signs of spring are in the air adding light to limbs now bare soon the buds will burst their skin and spring will March herself right in.(: )
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
bright sun shining no cloud in sight who'd ever believe it froze last night words that rhyme pop in your head growing violets and roses red but rhymes and roses are not the way to pass the time or spend the day so we are told, but is it true aren't rhymes and roses a good life too let farmers flourish and mills weave thread then trade a rhyme for a piece of bread let markets and streets be profit wed then trade a rose for a cozy bed.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////tthe weather is warming ice all gone a tulip is standing all alone beside a post where snow once lay spring is sending winter away

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


Buzzards on the roof ... carnage down below? though a pretty good sign ain't necessarily so. nature has a way of washing clean her house She knows just what is needed... a cat or a mouse She's done a pretty good job up until today Let's hope we don't mess up by getting in her way


////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Warm winter sun is shining in through the windows on me again It gets so bright it blinds my eyes! I have to use my old Atlanta Braves baseball cap to shield them so I can see! But far be it from me to close the blind ! I leave it wide open in front and behind. My indoor garden is soaking it in those plants and I are kith and kin.


///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


Everybody's on vacation I'm left here all alone they all just packed up and left. they're all gone they're probly having a high old time off on some riviera in france or somewhere probly sunbathing on some blackrock beach or shopping up and down old curio shoppes and sipping some cold frosty glass in some sidewalk cafe before they have to get back to the hotel and dress for the sumptious gourmet dinner they are planning to linger over for a few hours before they go out dancing and romancing until dawn...well that's ok. I don't mind. This peanut butter sandwich ain't half bad. Guess I'll watch tv a while.--yawn---um...zzz zzz zzz



When Mama died, I didn't cry. I kept forgetting that she had died. I couldn't understand that. I thought that was very abnormal. Something must be wrong with me. About two or three years later, I dreamed a very clear dream about her. In the dream, we didn't talk or anything. She was just in the dream, and she was young again, about twenty-five years old, and she was very happy and healthy. After that, I had all kinds of good memories of her, and little pleasant daily reminders of her, and I see her in myself a lot.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

apple orchards ,peach orchards, pear trees and plum
little kids laughing, yelling yum, yum, yum
sunny days, silly days, cold days or cool
rainy days, up the creek with a golden rule
not a day, nary day, no other days are free
but foggy days, fairy days, misty days 'n me
**********


////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
when it's mysteriously foggy and the mist curls itself around every tree and hides itself among the bushes, all the whole world turns silent watching clunk. silence. thud. silence sounds fall to the earth and disappear suddenly. don't try to sing your o sole mio on a foggy, misty day let her majesty MistyMist have her way For she would swallow your song and smile and curl herself around you caressing your hair and your face moistly making your complexion glow so that when you return yourself to hearth and home all who dwell there would see that clean washed pair of you and she.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Sure, and this is a silly little ditty:
Life is living upon an earth Life is loving and giving birth life is living somewhere out there life is living anywhere. here and there and everywhere life is living here and there.
lifeee, lifeee, lifeee, I must needs a wifeeee
'cause life is living upon an earth, life is living and giving birth
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Thank you, Lord, that You're always there, not just here but everywhere, thank you for soothing our sobbing heart, for helping us through when it seems so dark Thank you for angels and sights and sounds, thank you for baseball and merry-go-rounds, for leaves and grass and ocean waves for highest mountains and deepest caves, for all that is good and all that is bad, for joyous days and days so sad, thank you Lord for songs to sing, Oh Thank You Lord, for everything.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

older than the hills younger than yesterday no age no fear no death no threat of hell to pay no blood no sweat no tears no toil from morn to night no shadowy shapes to scare away from dark moon's light no tangled webs we weave no lies we ever say for in this world we live and here we are to stay
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
high up in the sky in the middle of the day if your eyes find the sun and do not look away stare straight into its face with eyes open wide look neither up or down nor look to either side then turn back and stare at all you saw before blinded you will be will be forevermore 'tis like the face of God to spirit eyes you see, for none can bear the light of be or not to be
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
my alarm clock the birds awake me at seven I open my eyes and listen to heaven i turn my head to look for you, to see if are listening too but you're not there. I didn't forget. I just still look...cant stop it yet. Sleep came too early and stayed to late you had to go I had to wait.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
An ivory-lace antique cloth. A large bouquet of fresh flowers from the garden....This cloth is there to cover the pain of not another "goodbye again" of which there were many, but to cover the pain of "the last goodbye." I sit here with dry eyes because all tears are gone Only the pain...the empty loss... of that which has never been known.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
RC Cola frosty cold big moon pie to hold in one hand to eat t'other a treat An RC Cola drink Cold "a nickel apiece," grampa said back in the old days past automobiles were made of steel and things were built to last a dollar a day was mighty good pay and things were hard to get Nothing to do after supper at night but go on the porch and set but the sun went down one fateful day when gramps was heard to holler Oh Lord I'm done! I'm coming home! another day...another dollar...

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

That cat's name is Annie Calico indeed She's looking for mice in the attic so she can earn her feed Annie was once the principal of your old elementary school She follows you around daily
you old pluperfect fool she wants you to pet her a little and maybe scratch her ears she's not here to scare you or add to your store of fears she's only here to teach you a little thing or two about the world of spirits of which one is you You ain't nothin but a ghost yourself and i think you oughta know it but judgin from what i can see you sure as heck don't show it! so sharpen up your spooking shine up your old halo you'll be a whole lot better looking everywhere you go and when you see a cat named Annie If she is calico give her ears a scratching and her a bright hello!

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

before this asphalt river was here the land was lush and green flowing sweet with waters pure pathways welcomed feet protected by carpets of leaf and sand and smooth rocks worn by the ages travelers moved quietly along accompanied by songs and sounds of birds and breezes in the trees and little rustlings among the brushy banks along the way. when this asphalt river is no more what river then will carry me to and from my door?
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
A Starry Night.... seen through tears made swirls and whorls back through the years I stood alone, Van Gogh with you, for my eyes were full of salty tears too. I did my work the best i could now some will see if it withstood the test of time as your work can or disappear out from this land. My work is done I'm almost through, I sing my song along with you Our Starry Night will twinkle bright and swirling skies will shine our light.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
all night long warm winds blew as I lay curled close to you salty sea air caressed our face as we slept in that hallowed place burrowed in sand beside the bay where we came to laugh and play never before and never again did we sleep in salty sand
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
here in this place this time this magical time of day bare, shore-locked feet stand on wet sand lapped warmly by lazy little wavelets eyes made huge with wonder fill themselves full of shimmering glassy rainbow colors glimmering out there sparkling the bay dark little patches of white seagulls flit back and forth with seagull sounds following in their wake the darkened sun inches it's way down lowering itself gently into the deep indigo horizon arousing the sleeping moon to lift her lovely face to softly touch this place this magical salty sea-breezed place she sparkles a dancing path across from her to here to this place. in this time in this magical time and place.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
MistyRose ducked her little head and dug her toe in the dirt. She grabbed a handful of cloth and hid behind her mother's skirt. She peeked around from the other side to see who spoke so sweet and felt her eyes fly open wide her face turn red as a beet for sending smiles from all around a bunch of angels was what she found!
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
it is quiet in the house now quiet outside too sometime I see shadows and think I hear you calling once so loud it woke me out of my deep sleep all i could do was awake awake and then weep ah, but now this silence now this silence is mine 'tis a gift i am given while I have time now i can walk out and listen listen to the night now i can hear stardust floating by on light my eyes are lifted up up and up to space where mystery moves eternal to touch me on my face.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The end is near my love... and i have found you not... i do not look for you my love, ...for i have long forgot, ...they said that you would come... that you would come to me, ...but now i know my love ...that it shall never be. for tis too late, too late my love ...for passion's come and gone ...now must needs i die my love... now i must die alone
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Under our spreading chestnut tree... we stood there holding hands... then carved our names together... on heart shaped wedding bands... When winter comes and skies grow dark... and dreams die slowly cold... storms of ice and shivering winds... cover rings of gold... yet deeply etched in living wood... our carvings still are seen... by lovers in the newness now... of passion in the spring

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


under our spreading chestnut tree I stood alone today looking for two new rings that appeared only yesterday
two new hearts are linked carved on the other side one for a young and handsome groom one for a beautiful bride. I saw them when they put them there they didn't know I was near. I lowered my head a little and shed a salty tear When they saw our rings they touched them oh so tenderly then exchanging smiles they gently carved their own rings on our tree.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the taste of fresh snow in cold sweet gusts,burning upon the tips of twigs like the bush that burned with fire and was not consumed gradual invisible dark becomes visible light, misty light just before sunrise bringing the blue and soft rose sky gently to crystal frosted laces of ice lingering on left-over goldenrod huddled among the bare branches of dogwood underneath the huge loblolly pine spreading its protective branches out over the little forest below as human presence huffs and puffs along blowing billows of frozen warmth out to mark that he was there before disappearing again into the white,white, softly dripping world as silence once again closes in behind.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

do not follow me...for I am in the dusky darkness. I am feeling my way through the shadows of this cave, keeping one hand's fingers lightly to the wall beside me so that I don't lose the way. I do see a light yonder ...a light drawing more and more nigh to me... but if you are there beside me let it be that your beacon was the light, let it be that you did not know I was there....

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
It's a great day in the morning when we see robins come flocking in..down here deep in the south the robins are the cause of winter and spring. late in the fall when they strip off every berry from every tree in their path we know winter is on it's way... and oh what a blessed relief from long hot humid scorching summer days! and as is nature's way we forget...by the end of february we long for warming, for new green leaves, for spring, and behold one cold night the pond freezes over. lightly. but enough so the puzzled myriads of robins needing a drink lands at it's edge only to be thwarted. We run out hopping and skipping in joy to break and smash the frozen fragments away so they can drink . Spring! Spring is coming! Suddenly our inner sap gushes forth and sends us running to the shed for our garden tools. We dip our hand into the bucket sifting the seed we saved from last year..while listening to the nearby robins splashing and chirping as they flock in and out from the little nearby pond drinking their fill and taking a good bath before eagerly flying off again to northward, dragging a long trail of spring behind them.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
think of this body as only an image in a mirror? in these the youthful years of life ? a scornful laugh bursts out from bodies humming, throbbing, pulsing, leaping shouting with pure physical perfection... I Am! I Am! I Am! muscles stretched taut pushing Self out under skin of living, breathing sensation pulsing, throbbing whilst the sap of spring shoots explosions through tender green shoots waiting to unfurl living leaves of summer heat. Image? Hah! This body is no image! This body is... fertilizer
.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
a little child awaking just at the break of day sat up straight in bed tossing covers away little bare feet hopped down upon the floor so cold running to the window a wondrous sight to behold for someone had put a tree outside near the window sill where christmas lights were shining still A Christmas tree outside! all wet from last nights rain a gift was there! something bright and shiny and sparkling like the dewdrops my mama used to point out to me sparkling in the sunlight. poor folks' diamonds, she said but they were diamonds...a sparkling drop of dew glistening in the dawning sun a little child awakes.
............................................................................................................................................................................................
I and my friend was out last night gazing at the sky when all of a sudden I saw something go whizzing by! It looked like...well.... a whole bunch of christmas sparklers zooming across the horizon! "what was that!!!??!!" I queried my companion in much surprise , My dear friend smiled and with a twinkle said, "that? oh! that was CosmicEyes!"
,...................................................................................................................................................................................................
we're all gathered round to greet you here by the warmheart's fire let's pull up a chair and seat you and listen to a musical lyre let's talk and listen and tell our tales and spin a web of homespun sails let's span the ocean of cyberspace and link together the whole human race.
......................................................................................................................................................................................................
when december's frost has melted into the new years snow yes after sleeping thru the winter's night yes not back to yesteryear no but on into buds bursting lacy green in a new spring where gentle and warm the breezes blow on and on again into another full hot summer of dipping for relief into cold creek's waters and tables laden with the juicy fruits of earths' paradise gardens not those harvested yesterday but those fresh and sun-ripened now hanging ripe and ready on tendrils of vines wrapped and clinging to trellis and tree and those unknown one waiting on the horizons' endless mystery.
.................................................................................................................................................................................................
Oh what a glorious thing! To be so young, so full of life and joy! A Frosty Cold Christmas Eve! A Party! The moon was shining so bright the whole world was changed from ordinary to like heaven sparkling everywhere on frosty little sticks spewing up from the ground which we delighted in smashing as we frolicked along the way to the house across the fields where you could see white smoke streaming upward toward the sky from the chimney bricks. Laughing, jumping, skipping, pushing. Singing. Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle all the way!!!! Later: going home...quiet.thinking. singing softly.... Away in a manger no crib for a bed the little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head....Silent Night, Holy Night...
................................................................................................................................................................................................
How do you love me? I cannot count the ways. I see too many in looking back on our many days. Without a thought of stranger's eyes you take my hand in yours you never utter dangerous lies because your love endures When I am ill you kiss my brow then tuck me in so warm and watch me close to guarantee that I will know no harm When glowing joy is shining bright from my eyes out to you your heart leaps and starts to shine and you are happy too The words "I love you" could never say what you have been to me, For love is not a thing to say but is a thing to be.
..................................................................................................................................................
This globe is sweet this earth the ebb and flow of it glows green all over generating feet to walk and trample upon its crust making tracks among the jungles of its teeming chirping humming lifesong batheing salty bodies in the warm waters of blue oceans covering its atlas form to be seen from far away in space by little lens eyes venturing out in all directions searching searching for a form like itself it's mirror image out there somewhere among the stars for the earth is lonely the earth reaches out its arms hoping to find another of its own kind for 'tis not fitting for earth to be alone the earth must needs a mate
.............................................................................................................................................
Eternity explodes the universe fragmenting bursts of lightning bolts melting every grain of sand boiling in the hot blazing sun of summer's longest day only to be washed away by long swells upon the beaches of earths lullabye songs sootheing filling all space with light, with life...swelling, swelling...filling all the emptiness of eternal dark with love. pure love.
..................................................................................................................................................
Today's chilly breeze sending leaves scurrying hurrying to find a cozy place to sleep to pull winter's blankets of snow up around their little brown ears snug and warm planting dreams of springs to come.
.................................................................................................................................................Your back street love's no good to me it's worse than no love at all for even though you hold me, I know you'll let me fall. You keep saying I love you, I love you with every breath you breathe, but I know that when it's over, you'll turn and go and leave.
....................................................................................................................................................

grandma said, "yes i do admit it. he is old. i see him walking across the back yard all bent over and i can't believe my eyes. i notice how white his hair is."he's old," i think. then i sorta shake my head and wonder. then i remember we are the same age, and i wonder if i am old, too.... i wonder...."
..............................................................................................................................................
We know fall is best of all glittering gold and green Cool and sweet, the breezes blow fresh and softly clean hazy hot days of summer gives way to nippy nights delicate frost-traced patterns on window pane invites we snuggle warm in cozy beds after dozing by the fire we whisper "thanks" for now fulfilled is our deepest heart's desire.
.....................................................................................................................................................
Little children, and puppies and kittens play and tumble all over piles of fallen leaves scattering joy while grown-ups watch with happy hearts, remembering their youth and not minding at all that they will have to rake them up all over again!
................................................................................................................................................
Over all the whole world we all join hands On all the mountains, in all the lands When we all give thanks we're one with no creed We're all just people with one basic need To live and let live To have a good life To share daily bread With our husband or wife To raise our children in laughter and play For this to our God we all daily pray So in every moment in every clime Someone is praying all the time We're all giving thanks for all we share And thanking our IAM for being there.
.....................................................................................................................................................

my little sister said "i woke up too early today it was so dark out there i culdunt play so i went to the cowch to watch a cartoon next thing i know its nerely noon but since its saturdy thats ok i don't haf to go nowher today." i ask her if it was the little rascles and she said no
..................................................................................................................................................
i had 3 chickins but a turrible site was waitin for me ther after the nite some chickin eatin varment got in ther house that dirty no good fur nothin lowse it made me sick to see what i saw it made a pain stick in my craw. so i had 3 chickins but now i got 2, and i am reely reely mad and sad, so what'll i do? i don't no yet thats for shure i mite take the others to mary macloor.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................
I say yes to change because I grow I plan to go on growing until I become a BIG BANG! then I will start all over again
.....................................................................................................................................................
March winds blow the leaves left over from winter all over the yard sweeping clean the bare uncovered ground little girls run laughing through the wind with armwings held aloft and soaring whilst streaming locks behind their backs allow soft fingers of delight to ripple their hair leaving trails of sweet memory to take root and burst the buds of spring into long hot days of summer.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................
...and daddy came back in a dream so clear I still today could swear he was here It was on a warm and windy early spring day under a sky of windswept grey he came right down from up in the sky, I was so happy I thought I would cry! He said he'd have to go back up there, that he'd only come down to answer my prayer, that I should not worry nor ever fear that he in spirit would always be here. He said I have something I want to give It'll be with you as long as you live, it's freedom from fear I give to you for you to keep your whole life through I didn't understand the words that day, I only knew I wanted him to stay, but soon my sleep wrapped me near and to this day my daddy's still here.
...................................................................................................................................................................................
sam 'n sally chewin' on a scone sam left sally all alone sally she laughed n sally she cried sam got sick n nearly died sally sent soup n sam got well then sam told sally to go to.. "WELL hello there, darlin' where you been all my life?"said sam to sarah later that day, "Come on sweet thang...let's play"...but sarah knew sally and sarah knew sam so sarah told sam he could just scram so sam went back to sally that day sayin ,"I'm sorry I acted thataway" n sally said, "sam you're such a sad case 'n "liar" is written all over your face," so sam says, "sally, you got me all wrong, come on honey, sing me a song" so sam n sally sung a duet n that's about all you're gonna get.
..................................................................................................................................................................................................
Two baby blue jays Sitting on a limb One named John The other named Jim John jumped up Jim jumped down John learned to fly Before he hit the ground!
.....................................................................................................................................................................................................
A one-legged worm And a two-legged mouse Once lived together On a two-legged house One sat down The other stood up They both saw a man With his motor-hood up "Is your car broke down?" They hollered so loud That a four-legged tree Stuck it's head in a cloud Then the sun came out Starting to shine And the man hollered back, "No! Everything's fine!" So the two-legged worm And the one-legged mouse Sat back down On a three-legged house.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................
muscled dreams driving them boysturn into men where life's nitty-gritty soon sets in dreams fall flat but traces remain for old weathered souls to dream again
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................
Definition of redundancy: Being hugged by an octopus.
................................................................................................................................................................................................
For stars and streams and children's dreams snuggly beds and roses red for dusty dirt roads and berries black for choo-choo train on railroad track for games to play and words to pray, we thank you Lord every day.
.......................................................................................................................................................
tears are waters of purification washing away error
Frozen bones slowly thaw as they stand in dumbstruck awe in the sun of God's pure light washing away the soil of fright washing clean and bleaching white as morning mist does the night knowing the noon of fate and feat of flesh an blood and hearts that beat will drive the cold into retreat and bring the bones back to heat
.................................................................................................................................................................................................
afternoon heat burns through the glass of dusty panes blinding all vision soothing frozen bones
...............................................................................................................................................................................................
Legacy of the Nile: drifting desert sands swept into seashell patterns by hot dry winds blowing over bones of pharoahs and princesses whose olive skin glows swathed in cloths mid earthly treasures reposing in the afterlife of pyramids whose stony apexes point to eternity
...................................................................................................................................................................................................
Life on earth and everywhere Love to hold them in the air Soul to make us you and me Spirit imparting immortality Intelligence knowing what to do With Truth that's never naught but true Power to drive the universe from the last up to the first
..............................................................................................................................................................................................
one seetheing hot summer day a million years ago I landed here on God's green earth with not a thing to show with nothing better else to do I set off truth to find searching spaces in and out of body and of mind I piled up knowledge mountain high learning this and that I even learned the proper way to wear a paper hat but every time I found a truth and had a problem solved up popped another question even more involved and that one fact I now detect gives life it's spice and zing It's great to know I'll never know every blessed thing.
........................................................................................................................................................................................................
Under a Basket candles hidden from view where nary a soul can see dancing and flickering under the wicker thoughts a flying thicker and thicker, till atomic blast smithereens fly through the sky on wings filling the cosmos with light even the darkest night Little Bird not to worry when the snow drops flurry, hurry, hurry fly away fly away
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................
Cape San Blas baking brown in boiling hot sun twixt dunes of searing sand faces held high toward misty surf racing, racing and running through foamy white lapping waters hearts bursting with joy a girl and a boy laughing, loving, living along the shores of Cape San Blas
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................
Close to you I think that you are bound to be as close as close can be to me To me whose hungry heart is blest by being nurtured in your nest My newborn self by you is led to the earth's sweet flowing bread I think that I was born to be As close as close can be to thee.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................
A Tree 'Though stars do shine and twinkle bright Lighting the sky with merry light Their twinkle can never outshine the sea Of leaves that twinkle on one green tree.
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................................................................................
being... If a tree is not a tree nor is a leaf a leaf all ships on earth to be are wrecked upon a reef a star can shine a sun can burn a frozen rain can turn and turn and turn and turn and turn again again again if a tree is not a tree nor is a leaf a leaf odb.oct.99
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................
tracks imprinted patterns woven among the rocks and caves old bones making note of long forgotten graves no one can say I was not here my tracks my self will prove I myself someday will probe into my ancient groove
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................
grief I cried for years 'n years while floundering in a storm almost nearly froze in tears just never could get warm this too shall pass this too shall pass kept ringing in my head 'til finally, finally pass it did when I was stone cold dead! odb.oct.99
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................
If I was a little girl again and had my own grandma I'd like to march myself right in where you could say, "aha!" "aha my little one, I'm glad to see you here! come in, come in, sweetheart come in my little dear!" Then I'd give you a great big hug, I'd smile at your pretty face I'd crawl up into your inviting lap into your warm embrace Then we would laugh and sing and play 'til the afternoon was gone then i'd wave goodbye to you and leave you all alone but you would breathe a sigh relieved to rest a while to maybe fall fast asleep and smile your grandma smile!

My Special Friend once i had a special friend a friend who wished me well I did so dearly love my friend much more than I can tell but now my friend's not here my friend's not here today but i still carry all the love that at my soul he lay

Rings of Gold Under our spreading chestnut tree... we stood there holding hands... then carved our names together... on heart shaped wedding bands... When winter comes and skies grow dark... and dreams die slowly cold... storms of ice and shivering winds... cover rings of gold... yet deeply etched in living wood... our carvings still are seen... by lovers in the newness now... of passion in the spring

Woman I am woman. I am real. I am private owner of a home of bones wrapt in aerated fleshheld together by negatively charged vapors emitting positive flashes of rainbow colored light. There is no wife here in this bony home. I own this universe. I created it. it is mine. Thank me for your existence. All I have to do is blink a thought and you will disappear forever.

Soulmate The end is near my love...and i have found you not... i do not look for you my love, ...for i have long forgot, ...they said that you would come... that you would come to me, ...but now i know my love ...that it shall never be.for tis too late, too late my love ...for passion's come and gone ...now must needs i die my love...now i must die alone

Earthmate This globe is sweet this earth the ebb and flow of it glows green all over generating feet to walk and trample upon its crust making tracks among the jungles of its teeming chirping humming lifesong batheing salty bodies in the warm waters of blue oceans covering its atlas form to be seen from far away in space by little lens eyes venturing out in all directions searching searching for a form like itself it's mirror image out there somewhere among the stars for the earth is lonely the earth reaches out its arms hoping to find another of its own kind for 'tis not fitting for earth to be alone the earth must needs a mate


Being Eternity explodes the universe fragmenting bursts of lightning bolts melting every grain of sand boiling in the hot blazing sun of summer's longest day only to be washed away by long swells upon the beaches of earths lullabye songs sootheing filling all space with light, with life... swelling, swelling... filling all the emptiness of eternal dark with love. pure love.

Trails March winds blow the leaves left over from winter all over the yard sweeping clean the bare uncovered ground little girls run laughing through the wind with armwings held aloft and soaring whilst streaming locks behind their backs allow soft fingers of delight to ripple their hair leaving trails of sweet memory to take root and burst the buds of spring into long hot days of summer.

A Little Girl's Daddy ...and daddy came back in a dream so clear I still today could swear he was here It was on a warm and windy early spring day under a sky of windswept grey he came right down from up in the sky, I was so happy I thought I would cry! He said he'd have to go back up there, that he'd only come down to answer my prayer, that I should not worry nor ever fear that he in spirit would always be here. He said I have something I want to give It'll be with you as long as you live, it's freedom from fear I give to you for you to keep your whole life through I didn't understand the words that day, I only knew I wanted him to stay, but soon my sleep wrapped me near and to this day my daddy's still here.

Sam 'n Sally sam 'n sally chewin' on a scone sam left sally all alone sally she laughed n sally she cried sam got sick n nearly died sally sent soup n sam got well then sam told sally to go to.. "WELL! hello there, darlin' where you been all my life?" said sam to sarah later that day, "Come on sweet thang...let's play"... but sarah knew sally and sarah knew sam so sarah told sam he could just scram so sam went back to sally that day sayin ,"I'm sorry I acted thataway" .n sally said, "sam you're such a sad case 'n "liar" is written all over your face," so sam says, "sally, you got me all wrong, come on honey, sing me a song" so sam n sally sung a duet ' n that's about all you're gonna get.
A Prayer For stars and streams and children's dreams snuggly beds and roses red for dusty dirt roads and berries black for choo-choo train on railroad track for games to play and words to pray, we thank you Lord every day.
Not to Say How do you love me? I cannot count the ways. I see too many in looking back upon our many days. Without a thought of stranger's eyes you take my hand in yours you never utter dangerous lies because your love endures When I am ill you kiss my brow then tuck me in so warm and watch me close to guarantee that I will know no harm When glowing joy is shining bright from my eyes out to you your heart leaps and starts to shine and you are happy too The words "I love you" could never say what you have been to me, For love is not a thing to say but is a thing to be.

The Rock
The wind blows. The storm rages.
The blue waters change to black.
The waves rise higher and pound the shore.
Unmerciful. Angry.
Unmoving stands the rock.
Unafraid. Unaware.
Yet more angry grows the sea;
Still more fury in the wind.
Icy pelting begins the rain,
falling harder, harder still.
The warm sea grows cold, grows wild;
Yet the rock stands. Unaware.
Again the sea is calm. The wind is dead.
The sun shines down. Hot. Molten.
Through the ages they come and go.
Yet the rock stands. Unaware.
Now one tiny grain on beaches of sand.
The rock still stands. Unaware.




Bluebirds of Happiness
They came on their own,
of their own free will
and made a nest
upon the hill.
No trapping or flapping,
no hurt or harm,
they merely moved in
without alarm.
They're warmly welcomed
and daily admired;
never grow old,
never grow tired.
They came on their own;
of their own free will,
and made a nest
upon a hill.





My Sin
I tell you plain,
my love, my sin,
It was your sex that did me in.
You reeked of it.
It came in waves
from your eyes;
It shot like sparks
from all over
your skin.
And did me in.
It left me hanging
over a dead, dry limb
like Dali's watches.
When some kind stranger,
my last witness,
notifies my next-of-kin,
these crumpled words
will testify:
It was your sex
that did me in.
--odb(Nov.1982)


Grief
Sometimes
tears well up in your heart
but they can't get through
to your eyes.
There's naught you can do
but wait.
You cannot even cry.
You feel so sad and broken,
yet you don't know what to do,
there's only the waiting and hoping
for love to win and come through.
And it does. It always does,
it soothes and calms and heals:
Oh hear my heart, my fellow man!
You know you know how it feels!
Oh grief, oh grief, oh swelling grief!
You come, you come to us all!
Were it not for the balm of love,
all earth would surely fall!
All hearts would wither and writhe
and curl up dry and wasted
would fade away into darkness
leaving life to die untasted.
--odb(1980's)

Be Still and Know
In the night when all was still
I, alone there
In my little pool of light
searched to find
the truth in me
I plucked away the covers
from my warm, complacent heart,
"Oh how foolish, how foolish
I am!" I cried in pain,
"Will my naked heart be slain?
I must, I must cover it back again!"
But then the magic of night
.wrapped warm around my pool of light
as truth came shining clear and bright
from my heart, now open, bare and free
never, never more to be
bound up tight away from me.
--odb(late 1980's)