The Long, Winding Road To Enlightenment

Confused? Why,
If we were

All going in
The same

Direction, we
Wouldn't need 

A compass, even
In the dark, now

Would we? 

 

 

As Good As It Gets

—for Eleni, always there 

 

In the worst of ways you were always
Under one rug or the other,
Murmuring and wondering just
What to do with yourself when 

Her uplifting spirit
Got wind of you and swept
You off your feet
At the speed of light, 

And dragged your sorry lot
Onto a pied magic carpet
Traveling untrammeled through
Eons of uncharted space.

 

 

 

Hardy Phoenix Rising

In blackened hearths, remnants
Of old growth

Sizzled to a crisp, still
Glowing embers 

Ashing to ashes, dust
To dust in an ever-swirling, 

Resurrecting myth. 

 

 

 

Keep Thanking Your Lucky Stars, Pilgrims

You’ll have noticed by now,
When the stars are right,
Nothing looks to go wrong.

Pay them constant homage then
If you wish to see the light
Right proper thorough,

Even through the now
Darkling before you
Night.

 

 

 

Poetic Limits And The Art Of Perusal

 

There are scores
Of normal

Activities you could have
Been gifted to do

In this life apart
From the peculiar

One of writing poetry—
Being transfixed at the sight

Of fluff accumulating
Between the folds

Of an otiose navel
Will never count

As one of them.

How Not To Lose Your Poetic Train Of Thought

The next time

You sit
Down to write

Whatever comes up, think
Of what Mary Shelley created*

In just one night,
And make sure

Your head is
Firmly in place,

All bolts fitted
Tight and no

More stripped
Threads or loose

Stitches; then and only then
Can you say all aboard the mystery

Train, so step lightly all
My grotesque friends!

 

*Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

 

 

Edict

 

Let it henceforth be known,
Poems shall no longer be
Pure as the driven snow.

It’s hard
Enough as it is, being
Rundown vehicles stuck

In raging blizzards
Of unspeakable
Clarity.

 

Almost A Full House

 

Being
Extra-ordinary,
Too much

In love
With your
Self means

There’s no room
For others
At your very own,
Very in inn—

Time to pack it in?

 

 

 

Wild Blue Yonder Beyond The Study Curtains

The thought

Of it was there, seemingly
Unmoving so long as you were
Captivated by it,

But even then
It wasn’t
With you all

The while, when
It would sidle
Between the folds

Of your mind, waiting
For the next inkling
Of wind to go

Rustling off again.

 

 

Survival Of The Fittest, Palestine, 1948

 

Oh suffering chosen ones,
Do not forget to be
Tenacious as lichen,

Living long
Enough to see
Your offspring surely

Turning into stone,
Brilliantly.

 

 

 

 

 

Nowhere Like The Distance Anywhere

 

It’s a lot like having
A shoulder you can rest
Your head on,

And saying I knew you
All the while you were
Here and I was nowhere near

So that you could hear
And embrace me
Coming and going,

Loud and clear.