April 23, 2020: Letter to Jesus - Parts 1 - 3

Letter to Jesus

I

I want to walk beside you, Jesus,
Down the road by the side of the hill,
And sit beneath some broad-leafed trees
Beside an abandoned well.

I could sit for days and I’d listen
To stories from when you were young;
The way you discerned your life’s mission,
And the things you did for fun.

I’d like to hear of your sisters and brothers,
And the people you knew on your block.
Did you ever long for a lover?
Were you ever much of a jock?

Did you need to develop your powers?
Were there some things you had to learn?
How has your life become ours?
How do you expect to return?

I’d like to fish with you under the moon
On a row-boat without any cares,
And sing you my favorite tunes,
And kiss your face and hair . . .

II.

I’d ask about those you befriended
And your relationship to Paul,
Where you’ve been since the day you ascended,
And your connection to the God of us all.

I’d like to hear your version of history;
The lives of great leaders like you;
The meaning in human misery,
And how much we can know or do.

Did you never make any errors?
Do you think we could all be that strong?
Or, in this world of heartbreak and terror,
Is there anything “right” or “wrong”?

What do you think of those Gospel reports
And how would you put it today?
What do you think has been most distorted
About things you had to say?

How are your wisdom and kindness
Reflecting out to the earth?
How long must we live in our blindness?
When comes the promised re-birth?


III.

Do we remember you right as the hero
Who wore those painful thorns,
As you made it down to point zero,
Proclaiming the joy of the born –

Remember passing out the bread and wine
In honor of the Passover Miracle?
Did you make it holy, or was it blessed all the time?
Do you think of your Self as material?

And please come now and take me to task
With your version of heaven and hell!
I want to hear what questions you’d ask of me,
And I answer with what I can tell.

April 22, 2020: Please Come Home

Please Come Home

I said, “I’m running away, and that’s just what I’ll do!”

My mother said, “I want to run away too!”

But I said, as the sky turned to violet from blue,

“Let’s go home!”

Once, I was walking with my buddy to school

He said, “Let’s get out of this town with its stupid rules!”

But as we walked to the highway, like a couple of fools,

He said, “Let’s go home!”

Years later, I hiked along the interstate;

Took a different direction, ‘cause I can’t stand to wait,

While I picked up a new thought to contemplate:

“Please come home!”

Expanding my mind through the internet

Or a thousand channels on my TV set.

So much to take in; so much to forget,

Like “Please come home!”

I’ve tripped on all kinds of psychedelics,

While traveling the Amazon, looking for relics.

I’ve been everywhere, but how do I tell it?

Please come home!

I’ve always been up for any kind of a dare,

Walk down a trail where I think there’s a bear;

But follow that road to the electric chair?

Please come home!

I needed a job, so I jumped through some hoops;

Got tired of shoveling out chicken coops.

Then I joined the army, just to hang with the troops.

Please come home!

I became a scientist, who sought for solutions;

A bio-chemical contribution

Whose effects engage now, with our evolution.

Please come home!

I take my journey of transmigration

Which alters as I learn from each situation;

Each life-form a challenge and a consolation.

Please come home!

I was sleeping around and I got a disease.

It wasn’t that great; I was aiming to please.

Now I’m all alone, and I’m down on my knees.

Can I still come home?

I’m dizzy, and I can’t hardly stand on my feet

And there’s some kind of craziness out on the street.

Seems like days since my roommate went out to eat.

I say, “Please come home!”

Please.  Just  come  home!

My Mom was laid up in a hospital bed

With infections for which they could not find a med.

She said, “it’s just no good hanging on by a thread.

I want to go home!”

April 21, 2020: On the Street

On The Street

So many people, left out on the street.

Be more in these turbulent, rock-bottom days,

With angry eyes, smoky brains, tired feet;

Shiver in cold and thirst in the heat;

Lonely, ragged, skittish to meet,

And misunderstood in their ways.

Some folks you’ll find there are really lost:

Their thoughts floating ‘round and around,

With oceans of hope that they can’t swim across.

Some are too proud to submit to a boss,

Or in hiding, revelation’s too high of a cost,

And they’d rather stay close to the ground.

When you live in the jungle, you learn the ropes,

And you do what it takes to survive.

You might feel you’re a stranger.  You learn to cope.

You flow with the crazies, the cons, and the dope.

You jump through the hoops of the bringers of hope.

It’s rarely a place you can thrive.

But God keeps loving us all the same.

We’re all a part of one humanity.

We begin again, forgetting the blame.

We learn our lessons, releasing our shame,

And see our lives as a kind of a game:

That’s the way we hold on to our sanity!

Although some will be able to find their niche,

Knowing their friends and connections.

You can travel the world if you know how to hitch.

You can run with a gang.  You can be a snitch.

Beneath the radar, you can even get rich,

Or sustained under someone’s protection.

People come through, but not with reliance.

Everyone’s in so much flux.

Try taking control and you’ll meet with defiance.

Make an agreement.  You won’t find much compliance.

You can talk about politics; talk about science:

   Survival is really the crux!

But God keeps loving us all the same,

Despite all our posing and vanity.

We begin again, forgetting the blame.

We learn our lessons.  Releasing our shame,

And see our lives as a kind of a game:

But we never lose sight of reality!

There will arise movements to raise our condition,

And sustain a real counterculture;

Inspired projects for a common mission;

Real involvement and shared decision;

An organization unfolding a vision

That can’t be misused by a vulture!

But mostly, the dream remains a dream

While we all strive to be more aware

That people are more than what they may seem;

That there’s a thousand ways for a spirit to scream.

The Light is in us.  We can channel its beams,

Giving strength to know how to care.

And God keeps loving us all the same.

We’re all a part of that divinity.

We begin again, forgetting the blame.

We learn our lessons, releasing our shame,

And see our lives as a kind of a game

With endless possibility!

April 20, 2020: Plastic Bag

Plastic Bag

I am a plastic bag

And I hope I can be of use.

To be thrown away is such a drag,

Or tossed out to the street where there is no excuse,

Except that it isn’t my choice

If I’m passed along or horded.

You fill up my mouth, and I don’t have a choice

If recycled, reused, or exploded.

I’m glad to keep your things secure,

Protected from the rain,

And away from the eyes of hearts impure.

I just like to keep things contained,

That would otherwise fall all over the place,

Across your congested back seat.

My friendly red “Thank You” puts a smile on your face -

And you don’t want to lose your receipt!

My handles make me easy to tote,

And you can use me again and again,

Or tie me together for a belt or a rope;

I am a poor person’s friend.

Whatever I carry, I’m no complainer –

Though sometimes I’m poked full of holes

I’m a sturdy, flexible; light container,

Like the planet, or your personal goals!

April 19, 2020: Respite from the Sun

Respite from the Sun

I like these

  Dark, overcast days.

They give me the feeling

  Of being protected

  From that unforgiving sun -

Though I know

  It’s only an illusion:

One well-placed flare

Could reduce us all

   to cinders!

And the paradox is

  That without the sun,

There could  be

   No cover of cloud!

We would be

  Just another piece

    Of rock and ice,

      Wandering through space,

     In search

  Of another

Star.

April 18, 2020: Selection of Aspirational Haiku

Selection of Aspirational Haiku

High mountain valleys

Never glimpse the red sunrise

Reflecting on the peaks.

High mountain summits

Don’t embrace the noon-day sun

Like lush, green valleys.

People of high thoughts

Don’t yield to cultivation

Like wide, open plains.

The pine tree grows tall

Because it is straight;  Balanced,

Because it is round.

A person goes far

Because she has clear ideals

And keeps well attuned.

Life is a mountain.

You can’t always see the peak,

But you know it’s there.

Living is a climb.

Knowledge is the hook and rope.

Wisdom is the way.