I know. (a song)

I know

sometimes

I know

sometimes

The walls around the person that I long to be

I build them high, so high I can not see

I can't see you

and worse,

I can't see me

I know

I know sometimes

I say things that I don't even recognize

as coming from these lips

that pressed to yours

turn up and smile with joy.

Sometimes

I know

I fall into a place I don't recognize

far from the rosy-colored world that is mine

if only I could stop dragons from

blowing fire on my secret garden.

I know

sometimes

I know.

Don't Forget To Look

Once you see people, beneath the surface, once you really get them to talk, it's amazing what you hear from each and every soul walking the earth.

Amazing.

If you can really be Present with someone, really look them in the heart . . .the beauty is endless.

Sometimes when I'm walking through the airport, which I do almost every month, I look at all the travelers walking to their flights and I think about all their stories, their histories,

their desires to paint or write or raise chickens or sail the oceans of the world, you know?

I look for the Love in them

even and especially in those that don't seem to possess it. It is there. We have to look for it.

It is there.

It's breathtaking when you open your eyes to another being that way.

Most of us only do it when we fall in love

then we forget to Look at our loved one, or anyone, once the newness wears off.

Don't forget to Look.

Autumn at the Parker River Wildlife Sanctuary, Plum Island, Massachusetts

Autumn in West Newbury, Massachusetts

A Mirage (song)

Is it all a mirage
at the end of the day?
It was pretty convincing
when she danced that way.

she laughed as she said
"I'm not even a good Buddhist,
I never got that
letting go thing.
You see, that would mean

I'd have to trust,
somethingI don't do.

Is it all a mirage anyway?"

She laughed as she said,
"I never said 'do as I do'
you really should do as I say."

Is it all a mirage
at the end of the day?
It's the best we can do,
to find our heart's way.

He waltzed her around
on that sparkling marbled floor
and she said,
"I'm always looking for the door."

What happened next took her
by surprise . . .
he pulled her close,
tears welled in her eyes.

"I won't let you leave
unless that's what you want,
you'll just have to trust me,"
and then her breath caught.

is it all a mirage anyway
anyway
is it all a beautiful mirage?

she laughed as she said
"I'm not even a good Buddhist,
I never got that letting go thing."

Buon Compleanno, Amore

Autumn on Plum Island

Orange, saffron and mahagony leaves
tumble on the sand,
I stop and stoop to take one, red
and hold it in my hand.

I smile at autumn on the beach,
the beauty of the waves,
and my great luck to be with you
for all these wonderous days.

If it's autumn at the shore
it must be getting time,
to celebrate the birth of one,
so handsome, smart, sublime.

Happy Birthday my beloved,
I hope today is sweet,
one more year of love and joy
is really no small feat!

Ti amo caro!

We Weave Together ( a poem)

We weave together
You
then you
and you
and finally me.

Each of us
a thread
of a different texture;
silk,
cotton,
linen.

Diamond sparkles fill my lungs
when you laugh,
did you know?

Did you know that when I count my blessings
I count you thrice?

Did you know that 1 + 1 + 1 +
all of us equals
more peace and love than you can imagine?

Did you know?
When one of our hearts shatters into
the proverbial million pieces,
we all get on our hands and knees
with tiny mini-mag lites
and search and search
until we find ALL the pieces
and we hand them back to the broken one
until he or she is whole again?

We weave together
a warm blanket for when you are cold.
What do you need?
A shoulder?
an ear?
a heart?
a friend to ask how you are --
a friend who really wants the real answer?

This cloth is all of that.

Come.
Weave together,
this
complicated,
simple,
light,
dark,
black,
white,
gray,
gold,
silver,
aqua,
grass green,
indigo,
blood red,
saffron yellow,
lyra's kitchen orange
bermuda short plaid
tapestry.

We call it Odonata.
Yes, it's quite beautiful, isn't it?

Come and weave.

The Moment After (a song)

Is it all the things we do
can't we do them faster?
Is it all the things we lose,
and is that such a disaster?

What are the moments
that make your
heart beat faster
is it this or that we do
or is it
the moment after?

Is it sweet sounds intertwining
and whispered breathy sighs?
Is it songs sung in darkness
those precious lullabies?

What are the moments
that make your heart beat faster
is it words we speak or sing
or is it
the moments after?

That's when promises are kept
and
when tears of joy and sorrow wept,
when the truth has been revealed
and when the wound is healed.

Is it the circle in the pond
when the stone is tossed?
Is it the letting go that comes
when the bridge finally crossed?

To be sure live passion and fire
in the times our hearts beat faster
but there's a quiet sort of flame
that goes on burning
in the moment after.

butterfly's view (poem)

he moved toward her
with a question and an answer

his hand traced her heart
or was he knocking on its door?

the corners of her rose-colored lips
turned up as he caressed the porcelain surface
of this delicate creature

his face leaned to hers
their lips met
the fullness of his enveloping hers
claiming her completely

he left her face and
began his journey down the expanse
of the land that was her body,
his new home

she began to sing
her songs of doves and moonlight
of waves and water

returning to her mouth,
eyes open, he offered his
passion with his tongue
and she accepted both
with a desiring murmur

his body blanketed hers
his backside clenching and releasing
with every thrust into the precious creature
willingly trapped beneath his body

This was the view of the butterfly perched on the
heavy, dark beams of this
bedroom of fire and laughter
of tears and anger
of joy and always love,
this bedroom of desire
of freedom and whispers
of delight and truth.

Caro Mia

For all your cynicism,
you love with the heart of
the innocent.

For all your cranky moods,
you cheer and lift
like no one I've ever met.

For all your humility,
your intellect thrills and informs,
you are my teacher.

And for all your woundedness
(aren't we all),
you let me heal you and in doing so
I heal myself.

amazing,
adored,
revered,

you are.

Perchance To Dream (song)

Could you dream,
perchance to dream
of kisses faded by the past?
Could you dream of lovers lost,
forever parted from your grasp?
Could you dream,
sweet violet dreams,
that every day forever lasts?

Could you dream
of your small child,
laughing like the summer sun?
Could you wish for one more day,
when laughter was a cause to run?
Could you dream
perchance to dream
that his pure heart is never broken?

Could you dream
a sepia-colored dream,
when you were small
and love was yours?
Could you dream
a clear blue dream,
that it is still as you believed?
Could you live,
perchance to live
in this moment, on this day?
Can you see, can you breathe in,
that it's all yours anyway?

Could you dream,
perchance to dream,
that all is well,
and you are love?

Fly Away (a song)

I fail myself
almost every day
it's more tempting all the time
to just give up and fly away

It is what it is,
this heart that is mine
these thoughts that live in my home
how kind they could be
if they would leave me alone
leave me alone

I fail my love
almost every day
he thinks I am beautiful
he doesn't see the pain
and he rarely feels the rain

It is what it is
this heart that wanders now
through every European city
wishing for a life
that she doesn't lead but
once did

what happened to that girl?
How did I get here?
How can I get out?
I remember now, I can't. I won't.

In that smile, that laughter
it's worth it every day
I bet I fail him too
I try to be the sun
I try to be the moon for him
the steady beating of his mother's love
I can't beat from afar
so I am here.

I fail myself
almost every day
it's tempting
to give up
and fly away.

Whispered Bed

There you lay

above my head

there you lay 

in our whispering bed

sleep overtook you

after crimson felt

after violet said

now you lay dreaming

in our whispered bed

teach stone-strong trust

teach strong surrender

teach me to wrap myself

against long winters

teach wide heart gates

teach patient waits and wise retreats

teach me to walk without

you here in summer's heat

Now there you lay

above my head

in silent dreams 

in our whispered bed

I'll walk right up

tread after tread

lay by your side

in our whispered bed.

Night Sky (I Believe in Love)

I believe in the night sky
in the power of a lullaby
in being kind
in searching until I find
in the ocean and the wind
in the power of a friend
in a touch, a kiss, a hug
I believe in love

I believe in frightened chills
and in climbing tall green hills
I believe that the heart grows
yes it does
yes it does
I believe in a deep sigh
in almost always asking why
I believe in things I can not see
I can not see
never see
never see

I believe grace lives with age
in the powers of love and rage
in words and tears and pain
and it's all beautiful, all beautiful

But what do I know?
just that the heart can always grow
if we believe
if we believe
if we believe
in the night sky

In Blue I See My Life (a song)

In blue I see my life
funny how it looks in blue
indigo and robin's egg,
into blue sky I fly away

All the colors
that rain down on us
teach us hope and light
and whisper how to trust

In red I see my life,
funny how it looks in red
fire storm of setting suns
and hearts and passions.

In gold I see my life
funny how it looks in gold
shining like a pirate's treasure
even in ocean's stormy weather

Tucked into this lovely life
are all the colors, peace and strife
tumbling over rainbow clouds
and I have to say out loud

In green I see my life
funny how it looks in green
Mermaidy and leaf deep
green that hurts your eyes, first of spring

We'll never tire of the colors
of love
of passion
of whispered indigo nights

And down the road
I'll turn to you and say
In white I see my life
funny how it looks in white
and you'll laugh with me, too.