walking in L.A.

This must be L.A. 

Mercury's in retrograde 

And so are sidewalks 

 ~ R. Daniel Foster

walking in Laguna Beach

Thank you for not killing me
in the metal-grilled cross-hairs
of your monstrous SUV
as I crossed the street
cautiously, in full view, in daylight,
in the crosswalk where I thought I had a lawful right to be
and indeed once did in a different, slower world
when I could meander and even take a peek upward
at a trail of pelicans
or outward at a glorious pod of dolphins,
but now I must deal with the likes of you
as you fight for space, wrecking the world
with anger and the awful weight of your toys. ~ John Gardiner UCI

driftwood villager

I follow her into a cove ..through tide pools crystal clear .. into a village made of driftwood huts ..where women pit-bake shellfish and men spearfish in the waters of a lagoon. And I realize that I’ve always been cursed ..trying to imagine what life must have been like on planet earth ..before I came along.

Planet Hollywood

She’s a clear signal appearing in the center of noisy space. Everything else gets pushed to the edges. When she laughs ..she takes command of the place without even trying. I can see people frozen in the distance. Like a deer caught in the headlights ..so am I. When we talk ..her attention is mine. I can feel the warmth of its glow. When she leaves ..there’s a wake in the fabric that the rest of the world falls into. Fortunately there’s a trace or her that persists until next time ..making me feel  more at home on this planet.

Across the sky

See beyond the moment / think beyond the day / love goes on / but time does not return again / it’s cast away / across the sky / I will come for you / if you ask me to /  observe your dreams / stranger things come true / if you ask them to ~ Emilie Autumn

branching streams

branching streams
flowing in darkness
somewhere inside
an uncharted mind.

 

I follow a trail
of present experience
flickering scenes
arriving each instance.

 

swirling mist clears
a landscape appears
I see rocky cliffs receding
giant boulders looming
and careening water splashes
like laughter as it passes.

 

swirling mist clears
pine trees appear
a grassy meadow
can be seen
when I look in-between.

 

swirling mist clears
ancient redwoods appear
I follow a switch-back trail
earth passes underneath

 

swirling mist clears
a mountain peak rises
above the fogginess below
into vibrant sunny glow.

 

swirling mist clears
a calm pool appears.
I stop to consider
the wandering mind
thoughts arriving
thoughts dissolving,
narrating the story
of passing existence.

Lady of Shallot

Four grey walls, and four grey towers, Overlook a space of flowers, And the silent isle imbowers The Lady of Shalott.

~ Lord Tennyson

Esalen journal

Workshop, Oct 10: I’m looking at the fleshy, pale-green leaf of an agave plant ..with the aid of a jeweler’s glass. The idea is to get a different perspective of everyday things then write about them. Agave grows in the canyon where I live. ..but I usually don’t look at them this closely. The leaves have sharp purple edges ..with glassy little diamond-like fangs ..kind of reminds me of sharks teeth. Makes me quiver. When I run my finger over them; they bend like plastic. I say to myself “they may look fierce, but they don’t bite.” I wonder who, or what, they’re trying to scare. I notice dew drops clinging to the sides ..and watch them slide down the leaf and into pools of water at the plants interior. I see fairy-nymphs kneeling down by the pools to gather the water, then ..standing on tip-toes ..they pour it into the plant’s thirsty mouth. I look up and shake my head. I didn’t really see that .. but I thought it. Suddenly more images flash by ..I see a lotus growing out of the mud .. becoming the top of a Hindu temple ..then becoming the artichoke-like statue at the self-realization fellowship (in Encinitas). I tell the images to stop. My eyes enhance the edges of things then my mind takes me for a ride. I look out on the horizon where there’s a hazy line separating the sky and the sea. I notice my eyes starting to enhance the edges again, making the line look sharper and more distinct. I shout “stop” before my mind has a chance to take me for another excursion. I return to the plant and think ..they always look so full and happy ..like the ones in the canyon ..always satisfied ..never demanding.

A bell sounds and everyone starts writing. I decide to write a verse:

On a grassy bluff overlooking the sea
a flower is drinking dew-drop-nectar tea.
“Watch out for the giant agave” I yell,
with it’s razor-sharp teeth
blood-soaked lips
hiding over here ..licking its fingertips.

The instructor says “short but sweet” ..and I'm left wondering if I should have mentioned the part about the fairy-nymphs and all that stuff.

Indian springs

My friend tells me
how the forest stretching,
as far as the eye can see,
resonates with primeval memories
from a time when earth’s realm
was plentiful
and it’s bounty
inexhaustible
generous and free.
He says this was the reign
of the tranquil lapis lazuli

I pay homage
to the contributions
my ancestors made
and the healing powers
of these mineral springs
and the treasures friendship brings.

High above

High above
on a switch back trail.
Drinking ice cold glacier ale.
There’s a half frozen lake
at twelve thousand feet
with smooth boulders to sit on
in a cathedral of jagged peaks.
The sky falls into shape.
Water rises up
to fill the space
and lap the shore
rising and falling
always full
always finding
a level of it’s own.
In a place so simple and pure
shards of bitter memory
form on my tongue
I spit them out and think
Those are what make things taste
so complicated and unclean.

Coastal poem

I hike up to a shady grove
and sit beside a wandering stream.
Watch water splash over polished stones
of silver, red and gold
then disappear through the ferns
and whatever else that grows
under a canopy of redwood trees
somewhere above the coastal zone.

Esalen (day five)

I inch my way to the baths at night ~ there’s no moon to inform my legs ~ so I begin a cycle of losing my balance ~ stumbling ~ and stopping to regain my balance ~ telling myself what a brutal place Esalen can be ~ reminds me of when I used to ski ~ at the outer limit of my ability ~ feeling like, any moment, I was about to crash and burn ~ a kind person appears out of nowhere and asks if they can help ~ as comforting as that sounds ~ I say no thanks ~ this is the reason I come to Esalen ~ to learn how to find my way in the dark ~ we chat briefly and she disappears ~ my mind seems to be sub-consciously mapping the terrain ~ I have come much farther tonight before remembering to turn on the flashlight ~ wait a minute ~ there’s something else in the air ~ ambient light everywhere ~ where is it coming from ~ I look up at the night sky and see the milky way ~ but I go “no, that’s just a romantic notion I read somewhere ~ it must be coming from the cabins on the hill over there” ~ I float to the outer rim of the bath ~ look out over the ocean ~ and watch the waves crash ~ remembering what someone once said ~ I’m living on the cutting edge ~ then I look up and find that I was wrong ~ it wasn’t just a romantic notion of mine ~ the milky way really does light up the path at night ..!

baths at night
a pearlescent glow
as light waves arrive
from a journey that started
millions of years ago

Fire

orange sky at noon
fire breathing dragon of doom
solar nostrils flare
balls of fire soar
igniting the chaparral below
smoke rises
blocking the sun and moon
life on the line
can turn on a dime
but to make it stop
starve the beast
that’s the ticket
not much to eat
on a blackened mountaintop

Nano size

Nano tech bio-injector systems
can deliver pain blockers
directly at the receptor site.
Nano tech bio-switches
can turn on and off genes
that regulate immune response
which is good for things like lupus,
lymphoma and arthritis.

Angel of Avalon

Dance in the dark of night ..sing to the morning light ..I hear the horse’s thunder ..down in the valley below ..I’m waiting for the angels of Avalon ..waiting for the eastern glow .. the night is long ..the beads of time pass slow .. tired eyes look for sunrise .. waiting for the eastern glow ..at last the sun is shining ..the clouds of blue roll by .. I hear the angels of Avalon ..singing in the valley below.

Photo of ~> Lynn

Space cadet

Have you seen the stars tonight ..would you like to go out on the deck and look at them with me ..have you seen the stars tonight ..would you like to go out for a stroll and keep me company ..did you know ..we could go ..any place you can think of ..we can be ..have you seen the stars tonight ..would you like to lay under Andromeda and look at them with me ..did you know we could flow ..we are free to come and go ..like gypsies between starlight villages .. we are wanderers ..children destined to explore.

Darkeness at daybreak

I wake up feeling run down ..don’t know what’s up ..I drink some coffee ..eat some strawberries ..and sit outside to clear my mind ..images of Madonna appear ..flashbacks from the Grammy awards last night ..I also hear Bruce Springsteen singing: “once I had a job ~ once I had a girl” and then fades away ..I look across the deck and see sunlight coming through the eucalyptus trees ..a dry creek bed ..further up I hear the sound of banjoes, bluegrass and broken glass ..coming from an old abandoned Appalachia-looking cabin. No, wait ..those were auditory hallucinations ..not to worry ..they’ll pass. I remember hearing someone at the Zen center say that enlightenment gives you the power to “transcend all four elements and overcome obstructions”. I could sure use a case of that right now.

from my decktop
I see how brutal nature can be
to a butterfly on a leaf,
the hummingbird zipping by is a savage beast.

On deck

.. sitting on the deck
wondering when I should go
up the rocky coast road.
Big Sur may not be far away
but it’s on top of the world
at the jaggedy edge of the USA

Hallucinogenic zone

Never again is what she swore ..the time before.

At home

at home on earth
land and sea
on a mountain peak
tent wide open
senses clear
a deep breath
no separation here