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.

April 17, 2020: In Relationshp to God and to Our World

In Relationship to God and to Our World

I see God when I find a friend;

A person that I need to know,

But when conflict arises that we can’t amend,

Where does the friendship go?

I seek for God because God is the Friend

Who knows what I’m going through,

Though I’m cursed by afflictions I can’t comprehend,

And have no idea what to do.

I see God as a relationship

To myself and to the greater community,

But everyone clings to their personal trip,

And we scatter.  So where is the unity?

And sometimes I think I see the Lord,

When that’s really not what I see.

I think It asks me to wield a sword,

When the problem’s all about me.

I don’t see God in every place;

In every bridge and wall.

I don’t see God in every face,

Though I know It’s in us all!

I serve a God who is kind;

Who holds all of life in its weave.

I see It as One who identifies.

I see It as That which conceives,

Infusing the earth with its wisdom and power,

And finishing all that’s begun;

Nurturing seeds to grow and flower

In the balance of the rain and the sun.

I don’t see God in every place;

In every bridge and wall.

I’m looking for God in every face,

Because I know It’s in us all!

April 16, 2020: Vitality in the Ebb and Flow of Thought

Vitality in the Ebb and Flow of Thought

I’m seeking to reach a new synergy.

I want to make the Garden to grow,

But I’m appalled by how my energy

Seems so much to ebb and to flow;

How I forget the things that I know.

My mind is swaying in the winds of the world,

Pervasive, mysterious - that world keeps me humble!

I recall my ideals:  Will their promise unfurl?

Whether jet or thunder, I hear a rumble.

Like waves, my own thoughts sway and tumble.

They start off subtle, like a gentle breeze

That wafts a profusion of scents.

I hear them rustle the leaves of the trees,

And I’m not sure about what is meant.

Are they of seas, or the firmament?

So I seek to confirm my sense of connection

To the life I must live, and the Spirit,

Without knowing the reason, I change direction,

And I hardly seem to get near it.

It has music, and I so want to hear it!

And then, I’ll be seized by an inspiration

That swirls like a sudden gust:

A life-changing vision, for consideration –

Is it an impulse that I can trust

Or only a moment of bluster?

So where does it come from, and where does it go:

Our creative force and vitality?

Can we ever be sure how the winds will blow,

To support or affront our humanity;

To heighten and threaten our sanity?

It enables me to set my own sails,

And tack wherever I choose.

My resolve might falter, but the urge that prevails

Is the one I’ve got to use,

Even when there’s much to lose!

Just as winds also might carry the rain,

And dissipate the pollen,

And catch into a windmill’s vanes,

Or set the surf a’ rollin’

Or raise up a kite that was fallin’ . . .,

They may also carry a thunderstorm,

Or commence a change in the season.

It may stir up a fire.  It may flatten the corn.

Though balance is always the reason,

At that point, it isn’t just teasin’!

We seek to maintain our composure,

While striving to do what we will,

Awed when Life makes Its disclosure;

In sorrow at what falls, unfulfilled,

And yearning when the wind is still.

Will we ever end our inner resentment?

Will our balance be restored?

Will we ever find our contentment -

Beyond ideas of what we can afford -

In the wind from the wings of the Lord?

Will we ever attain the grace to accept

Our lot, though we seek many things,

And while we don’t know the steps to be truly adept

We draw vision from poets and kings,

And our souls are flapping their wings!