Forget

Forget your old self
That person is gone for good
Discover what's new

Just let the past go
A leaf adrift on water
While you look ahead

If you are a wave
This is your special moment.
Reach for the hot sun.

MS #2 (or 3, I forget)

Who can predict the future?
I vaguely remember the past.
I'm only sure about right now.
This moment, and the next.

Just a breath and a look around.
I hear music, feel sunlight, smell coffee,
I see family, and friends,
Amazing blessings.

We just call it "letters"
"M" and "S", 2 of the 26 English letters.
They only get as much power as you give them.
Leg pain, tiredness, all the rest? You don't faze me

Haiku

My heart speaks to yours
With no eyes, ears, hands, or words
Growing forever.

Day, night, dark or light
Winter, summer, spring and  fall.
Love grows deep and tall.

Haiku For U

Instead of careful
Crafting of words, I prefer
To just go crazy

Joy comes when it does

Moving quickly like the wind

Mind reaches in vain

Sorrow comes as well

An unwelcome companion

Not a friend for life

Watch closely, listen

Sit in silence, let love grow

Speak only to spread love

Thanksgiving, 2011, Kovalam, Varkala, India, Part 1

Morning tea is new
Bringing me closer to now
Hot, wet, sweet and good.

The light house turns again
Shining it's beacon on me
When will I awake?

The miracle of life
Found in each wave as it comes
And goes for awhile

How could anything
Be better than now? I see
Buddha everywhere.

The past is a dream
The future uncertain. Only
this moment is real.

Sleep is sweet but so
is waking to thoughts of you.
I turn to find you.

No eraser here
Or in life, only forgive
-ness, and compassion.

Tea is gone just now
But it's tast remains on my
tongue and in my mind.

I can only do
As much I can can starting
now, with this intent.

Today I will find
A time to share a smile, with
Someone I will meet.

My wife is sleeping
She knows no Dharma, except
She already does.

Cosmic thoughts seemed real
At seventeen, now they have
returned for a time.

Thoughts come and go, but
 My love for you will remain.
Strong and real like fire.

Two hands reach out, one
From you and one from me, and
Our eyes shine with love.

I don't know you yet.
But you will be my sister,
My brother, I love you.

I don't know you yet,
But I can already tell,
You will be my friend.

I haven' met you
I'v never heard your voice, but
It rings in my ear.

I need only food,
And sleep to be strong so that
I can do some good.

One breath at a time
One world at a time, this one
Is incredible.

Unraveling all.
The way to empty, who knew?
Many people knew.

This page was intent
-ionally left full so that
I can find my way.

I can mostly stop
And let go, but other times
I still grasp too tight.

Each morning brings the
Promise of a chance to do
some good in the world
OR
some good with my life
OR
Some thing that is right.

These words are wirtten
In a small book made by hands
That I can sense now.

In another page, the
Book will be half full, but the
heart is completely.

Close your eyes, then look
Again at the clouds, see how
They will always change.

India #3 (Nov-Dec, 2011)

She works in the yard
Sweeping with a homemade broom
Beautifully dressed

Photos in Nat Geo
Cannot do this place justice
All senses required

Magic in the air
Not just here but everywhere
Clear thoughts of true love

To my great-grandson
Please come to India once
Ride in a rickshaw

Reincarnation
Not among my core beliefs
Yet I lived here once

How does this strange place
Seem so familiar to me?
From the first morning.

Varkala seems home
For too short a time, it seems
Still glad to go home
OR
So glad to be here

Electricity
We so take you for granted
Here not quite the same

Satori right now
Just needed some time away
To see things clearer
OR
To see things clearly

Don't miss I.P.A.
Or lager or red wine here
Dharma fills me up
OR
India fills you

My old friend Wesley
Dedicated life to help
What a path to joy


I haven't left yet
But still wondering just when
Will return again.

India #2 (Nov-Dec, 2011)

Smiling faces watch
My little book surprises
And makes them wonder

Cold Kingfisher beer
One of my favorite tastes
In my India

When I go away
Only some of India
Can come home with me

We must go and see
The elephants.  Will we hear
Them roar with delight?

 The waiter watches
To anticipate my need.
His smile is so bright

I am now seeker
Truth and love have found me here
Will I find them again?

Drink, think, write, repeat
Some measure of progress now
On all three accounts

All of my travels
Every person I have known
Has helped me get here.

This is just perfect
Not one single thing needs doing
Except this last line.

Nikhil pours cold beer
His effort cannot be matched.
His intent is clear.

Warm milk in hot coffee
Eggs, bread, fruit, juice and dosa
Indian breakfast.

Go the extra mile.
It's just the way things are here
How can I help you?

Tabla, flute and sita
Float over the lake.  They are
celebrating there.

The sand shifts below me
Waves crash over my poor head
I come up smiling

Hindu woman sings
And sells her sweet pineapple
Some ritual first.

The stairs are many
Leading down to the beach
Water is perfect

Salt taste on my lips
Walk back to find my wife
Reading in the sun

Mystery lives here
Like everywhere but just
More accessible

Black birds busy themselves
While overhead predators
Search for prey below

Criticism fades
Replaced with true compassion
Can you see this clear?

India #1 (Nov-Dec, 2011)

Birds and a loud saw
With the waves on the beach below
Fill my ears just now

Words fit together
But they can never really say
How India is

Rain last I see
Leaves a sweet scent in the air
For you, were you here
OR
For me, lucky me

Cloudy and so hot
Palm trees, flowers, saris, beach
Kovalam this week

Leaving the music
Of the waves behind, why then
Do I still hear them?

Indian eyes are
Dark and calm and arrive with
A smile if you look

When will I be back/
Now is when I have returned
This flood of words rolls

Learning to look close
Pay attention, India does that
to me, maybe to you

Today's rain and heat
Fog my glasses but open
My heart to the sky

Green leaves, wet with rain
Shine and bounce as each drop falls
Such green hands praying

What could be better?
My India and my love
Together right now

What inspires me here?
The list is too long to write
Just look around you

I see way more trees
Than I can possibly count
Green, yellow and brown

Birds call out so loud
As the evening draws closer
The end of a day

The rain has stopped now
Only the sound of drippings
Water from the trees

When the music stopped
I never heard the last note
But now I hear the birds

Gandhi-ji taught peace
Which begins in one's own heart
And spreads where you go

Communal Indi
A is not like where I live
We live for the one

I can find these things
Nowhere else but India
My true heart feels home

Each visit makes clear
This is my spirit's true home
I might never leave

MS Part 1

There is no real past
When I did not have MS
No future, just now.

Yesterday's issues
A distant faint memory
Hear the truck outside?

Outside the wind blows
So gently, trees sway. I think
Of nothing at all.

MS Part 0

If my body works at all,
I still feel grateful
To hear a friend's laugh

Pain is just info
The secret is not to run
Straight to aversion

MS doesn't get
A vote in how sad or
Happy I feel today.