The Fall of it All, part I

the evening mist dances

around my consciousness

like a slight headache...

as it attempts to get a foothold

on the night...  its adversarial

relationship diminishes over

time as darkness adorns its

cloak for the night...  a brisk

breeze terminates discussions

as the moon's argument is

always the same and watchful

eyes close their observations

since evening discloses nothing

in return for its silence...

calmness rules in the absence

of light directing its attention

nocturnal prowlers who

roam without permits in the

land that was theirs for the

taking once daylight could no

longer provide protection...

dusk is the interim referee

who is paid nothing for its

timeless responsibilities but who

stands ready to pounce on those

who do not heed the warning signs

that daylight is no longer 

interested in saving time since

the war efforts are no longer

deciding who had lost the most.

21 October 2021

Patterns

patterns of behavior

unravel daily...

forming new choices that

dictate changes in the way

we perceive all that we

have been given...

patterns of thoughtlessness

filtered through our

subconscioius awareness,

guide our actions but

not the thoughts that

motivate their movement...

patterns of colors flow

in and out of our vision

giving us the three

dimensions in which we live

while time is an abstract

understanding that few

admit is even around...

patterns of feelings impose

their will on us daily

when the rules have not

yet awakened from slumber

and the mind collapses

in on itself in an effort to

delay the inevitable...

patterns upon patterns

patterns within patterns

is how we live these days.

21 October 2021

Water of Life

the water of life pours down

from above quenching our thirst

for knowledge...  at least

temporarily...  but we search 

for answers we don't have as

if finding them will result in

our salvation...  while we

drift through life in a never ending

journey towards a conclusion

we have avoided since birth;

the water of life renews our

spirits and our souls that we

know we have but cannot see

nor can we touch them as they

are hidden from us for all of

etermity so that they might

survive our  disappointments;

the water of life flows freely

down the mountain of light

that guides our dark paths

through the wilderness of the

existence given to us as a

gift when our original bodies

were created by that which we

don't understand but accept;

the water of life is as clear as

our minds that absorb existence

as if it were food from heaven

whose all inclusive jurisdiction

guides all of our current insecurities.

21 October 2021

Non Conformity

a light rain fell as I was sleeping

filling in the holes I had left open,

a town moves in the direction of its people

refusing to cater any longer to strangers,

a feline lays on its side licking as it

taunts a robot cleaning the carpet,

loose fitting spectacles fall to the ground unnoticed

as the wearer concentrates on a foreign actor film,

tears of joy roll down the face of a cancer patient

when ringing the bell in the hallway of completion,

threats of invasion comes from our allies who

can no longer tolerate our ignorant isolation,

losers stand on the scales of change hoping

their diet plans are sufficient for the politicians,

we look into the space above our heads and

see the emptiness of stars distant and close while

others see horizons of opportunities and sacrifice,

will power lends credence to the battle with

our own minds but for others it is merely a

religious event where giving in is necessary

and essential to one's hope for an everlasting life,

we dig trenches around our tents to divert

the water than has fallen throughout the night,

awakening at first light to confirm we are dry,

our fires, made from the wood of forgotten thoughts

cook the meals we are to feast on daily as our

actions dictate nonconformity towards the rest

of society that would have us become dependant,

upon our leaders who want to make all the decisions,

a light rain fell while i was off sleeping

opening up the holes filled in yesterday.

21 October 2021

Precursors

ageless memories...  haunt

the imagination as the

incongruent recollections

pile up inside the barracks

of the mind...  where less

eneergy is spent remembering

than dreaming about the

future and its limitlessness;

seasons pass through filters

triggering random realities

taking pleasure in their chaos

while forming opinions the few

will ever know or understand...

ageless memories...  transform

circumstance appearing

benign in their recollections

while discord plays on the

mental piano of enlightenment

that dissipates before it

ever arrives...  curiously

and predictably alone, we

recallibrate with tuning forks,

silencing the critics who have

finally come out to play with us;

ageless memories...  flawless

in their presentations recapture

one's innocence and ever so

gently remind us that our

present is a precursor for the

past we failed to acknowledge.

20 October 2021

Childish

my thoughts linger on a

youthful memory...

early awakenings

embracing the day

bluejeans and a pair of

high-top tennis shoes,

breakfast with family

walks in the woods

and talks with birds that

did not want to be there;

a fortress out of wood

we built in the trees

and dug out a hole 

in the ground that we

covered with tree limbs,

all of which were secondary

to the campfire we made

cooking eggs and bacon

between slices of Wonder Bread;

years later when we had

reached our teens, those

wooded areas were gone,

replaced by homes and

sidewalks on which some

rode bicycles while others

walked their dogs...  it was

no longer the same as it had

been remembered and I

wondered if I had really

done any of that at all.

20 October 2021

Conclusionless

each morning do I sit in this chair

contemplating life around me and

to no conclusions do I arrive as I

dwell on the back porch of memories,

some of which are enduring and lovely

while others are illusive and hateful;

time spent with unfulfilled dreams

is the cruelist time of all as one

revisits failures and lost opportunities

that can only be realized with old;

of all the journies I could have taken, I

see myself taking none of my paths

as life has already been decided and

some of us see that attitude as being lazy

while others embrace it as their reality;

change leaves us all emotionally bankrupt

as life unfolds conspicuously around us

and our pre-determined lives move this

way and that from the choice we have made

but that free will is just as much of an

illusion as were the dreams we had when young;

each afternoon do I sit in this chair

contemplating most of my morning thoughts

and to no conclusions do i arrive as to

their validity or future value, discarding

most of them as just having something to do...

old age leaves us wanting more while

appreciating and grateful for all we had as

life is not about accumulation of wealth but

about what we learned from our journey.

20 October 2021

Evergreens

a lonely tree sheds its leaves

in a forest of evergreens,

lloking down at the ground

in despair as it gazes at

all its lost friends...

a lonely tree loses its birds

as they relocate to the evergreens

who provide more cover...

a lonely tree weeps alone

as it endures the harsh winter

and the squirrels hide in

its hollowness until spring...

the evergreens smile at 

the lonely tree until they are

cut down for the holidays

and those who have survived

beg for forgiveness...

a lonely tree reaches out in

comfort to those who lost

brothers and sisters,

sharing what it can to aid

in their recoverry...

a lonely tree awaakes one morning

to find its leaves have returned

along with the birds and the

squirrels who have awakened

to enjoy the sun...

the evergreens are thankful

for its friendship and offer

more for the coming year.

19 October 20231

Continuity

edges of darkness

give way to light,

a new birth is

seen by everyone,

and for a while

there is peace

and appreciation

for its life...

travelers mark their

paths with stones,

others see them as

landmarks of

serenity...  we are

divided in our

purposes and in our

thoughts as we

strive for continuity

during the light,

albeit brief...

we do not despair

but when the edge

of darkness comes

again, we are united

in our hiding...

in our homes

safe and sound...

from each other and

from ourselves in that

our thoughts are those

which show no]

encouragement to change

any of our behavior.

19 October 2021 

Life's Currents

we all sail down currents of doubt during

our brief lifetimes of existence...  some of

these currents are found in creeks and ponds

while others are found in rivers and lakes...

some start our large and dwindle away while

others begin from a puddle of rain and end up

washing away an entire valley of opportunities

and all the dreams and plans carefully stacked

along the grassy banks of our inner thoughts;

we all have anchored our feelings to a dream

that in its infant stages made every bit of sense

but as it developed into fruition...  its reality

made less and less sense until abandonment

was the only course of action to be taken

by an innocent but not so young activist;

lie shadows emerged quite unexpectedly and

our incursions into hesitation were prompted

by fears of those closest...  waving banners

in our faces to cease and desist...  ignoring the

crime of the creative imagination as if it were 

just a blip on someone's radar that was not

properly or even routinely honesly calibrated;

minutes form barrier reefs for days allowing

them to create break waters for months that

alter ther terrain of years so lifetimes can move

inland to avoic all the salt water corrosion

taking place inside...  our souls are free to 

wander and sail down life's currents from one

port to another on an endless odyssey of purpose

like Ulysseus...  nomads of life learning and

understanding as we go...  and all the riches we

acquire during our perilous journeys will be

left behind to be enjoyed by those younger

souls who are experiences these currents for

the first time without our parental guidance.

19 October 2021