| The Beauty of Apples
Had he known the beauty of an apple, seen it, a flower
In the palm of her hand, seen in his wife's hand, the sun,
Light to a tree of knowledge, knowledge of air and weather
The river, the flame, the earth, he'd know earth as woman,
Insect and animal, he would see in her hand the farmer,
A field hand picking the apple, the worker make the truck,
Mechanic at work on the engine, trucker haul his apple
To the grocer who oiled and set it out, he'd see in an apple
The checker check it, the boy bag it, the energy of a star
To power the car that carries him home to the hand of Eve,
A sun in her hand, a blossom, he'd know what an apple is,
Never again blame her for sin in a garden, nor she him
For the loss of Eden. | | Never At Home
I am as well alone as with others, still the boss's tiny daughter
Takes me by the hand saying, "Don't go... Don't go home alone.
It's not good to live alone." I reassure her, "I'm alright."
At home I am fine and well, but tonight, small sounds fill the air.
I cannot turn a deaf ear: A child cries and will not find comfort.
A dog howls and will not be still. Gears grumble, wheels go on.
A drunk vomits outside his door as rain begins in the dark.
Beyond fatigue, I tire of the world, old/new, then/now, alone or not,
There's as much suffering as ever, and it cannot be said enough:
We all have a part in it; I am never at home with that. Listen,
The wind brings down a gust of hard rain. There are groans in thunder,
Moans in a mountain landslide, floods. There are tears in things.
The wind carries the sobs of that child to every room in my house. | | | In The Word, Love For V.
In any moment all things are new, but in spring
All point to something in the word
And the saying of the word
True as motion
Dawn on an asphalt road,
Light on the face of the river
I held the wonder in for weeks, doubted love
Because we are new,
I questioned love,
Arriving at the same truth:
In each instant all is new,
Not young, for all is older than the oldest star.
In the trees along the river, spring began
Opening azalea and magnolia bud,
And I began to know
Not in the thinking or the wishing
But in the saying of the word, an alchemy
Clear as the effect of spring on all things,
The reason herons wade in water; turtles claw on rocks in sun
Why like a perfect fool I wear this idiot grin
Astounded by daylight on blacktop
Confounded by my own joy,
I tell you there's something in the word
And the saying of it
That comprehends why a star is,
Makes me more alive than a man about to die,
Something even rivers know and rocks rejoice in.
| | To My Young Latin Neighbors
The long hours of your drinking are now the short hours of my sleep.
Sleep covers me with black sheets,
but your Latin voices startle my ears.
I would cry out the window, "Callate!", but civility prevents me.
So amigos, I sit up with you,
hearing the riot of your banter,
pretending I'm a writer.
Have you so many considerations keeping you from calm dreams
or is it a lady that stirs you,
keeping your tongues wagging
into the moonlit morning?
It is true, the young believe they will live forever, talk forever
of conquest, business and love,
yes, they will live forever,
but will they learn to love their neighbor?
I am not so old, but tonight I feel I'm in an old man‚s body
with an old man's longing for peace,
wishing I could sleep, sleep forever,
while beyond my window
a mockingbird laughs at me, the moon falls to the west,
falling as I should be, word by word, laugh by laugh, into dreams. |
| | Everywhere in Everything(To Spring, to Jazz & a Three Legged Dog)
Was a three legged dog in spring woke me up
To the wonder in everything,
Extraordinary dog on three legs,
Hip dog, no hind leg,
Wise prophet of a dog,
Waggin his dog-tail like daisies in the air,
Makin' a way without a leg in May,
And me, with my pain and complaint,
What a fool not to know, not to see, not to be a three legged dog!
It's May. Ain't life sweet?
Three-legged-May-Day-dog got no complaint,
Musta been a holy Lama long ago, a saint,
'cause he knows what he knows
Being so deeply gone, so deeply dog-gone-dog!
And he spoke to me in the heavenly voice of Jazz,
He said:
"It's a mind thing, It's a mind thing man,
What's done is done, what's gone is gone,
Ain't nothin' lost, nothin' gained
When you ain't got it ta take with ya.
So walk like you never lost a leg,
Live like you never lost a leg!
It's a mind thing, it's a mind thing man"
Musta been momentary madness, I forgot my fate,
Jumpin' and howlin' at the sky,
May Day! May Day! Spring is a three legged dog!
Have mercy on the people in the park, they all stopped to gape.
Blame it on Spring,
I was flipcity, gone mad,
But it was like a dog lickin' my face to wake me from sleep
To the May Day-three-legged-dog-gone-Wonder...
Everywhere in Everything,
Everywhere in Everything,
Everywhere in Everything
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