Walk Away

Oh no- here comes that sun again.
Means another day without you my friend.
And it hurts me to look into the mirror at myself.
And it hurts even more to have to be with somebody else.

And it’s so hard to do and so easy to say.
But sometimes… sometimes,
you just have to walk away.

With so many people to love in my life,
Why do I worry about one?
But you put the happy- in my -ness
And you put the good times into my fun.

And it’s so hard to do and so easy to say.
But sometimes… sometimes,
you just have to walk away.

We’ve tried the “goodbye” so many days.
We walk in the same direction so that we could never stray.
They say if you love somebody than you have got to set them free,
But I would rather be locked to you than live in this pain and misery.

They say time will make all this go away,
but it’s time that has taken my tomorrows
And turned them into yesterdays.
And once again that rising sun is droppin’ on down
And once again, you my friend, are nowhere to be found.

And it’s so hard to do and so easy to say.
But sometimes, sometimes you just have to walk away.

-Ben Harper

invitation

there is glass in the sea,
blue of your memory.
there by the dunes
our minds gather- what
never was will be.

the logic of defeat

dropping off is nothing new to me.
i silently slip from the air to a
sea of forgetfullness and am gone,
no vacancy. where my footsteps
trod the grass of your heart
i hope the sunlight warms a
tender bruise. i am sorry.

something like a psalm

this god is more than i can
stand, handled sea, bucket sun,
a northern flash of lightning
striking sand and trees.
i assumed my strength with
a flourish and am dashed
like a wave on the rocks, like
rain on the forests.
who turns their head to
the weak? who takes notice
of the disgraced, the humbled,
the defeated? who remembers
my place once i am gone? i am
a stranger to those close to me,
now far afield and worn-
a phantom to those i love.
clouds chase me from above;
out of the snowstorm speaks
my gospel. i drink my own tears
and the sun hides it’s face in shame,
the spring turns away from me;
i am buried in darkness
as the earth is tombed in ice.
who can speak the
language of the grave?
will you forget me forever?
my steps are short,
driven against the wind
up the mountain of
peace, the zion hill
reserved for the weak
and the weary, the faithless
and the wanderers. look
on me with mercy. i
am ended on my knees.

A Fragment of Thought

someday i’m not going to wake up.
that was me you passed back there,
that was you you left back there,
where tires and lives are irretrievable.
i erase a misshapen letter when
it needs to remain the most illegible
and parade my cannon
when people cannot understand.
the dust settles. my road is
straight and narrow. you are further
today than ever before; air, sun,
cold and sleep- ocean eyes
and complement, what is our meaning?
where do we meet? where do we
turn? who has surmounted
ourselves and where does that banner
burn? where does it loft in the breeze?

You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

I’ve seen love go by my door
It’s never been this close before
Never been so easy or so slow.
Been shooting in the dark too long
When somethin’s not right it’s wrong
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go.

Dragon clouds so high above
I’ve only known careless love,
It’s always hit me from below.
This time around it’s more correct
Right on target, so direct,
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go.

Purple clover, Queen Anne lace,
Crimson hair across your face,
You could make me cry if you don’t know.
Can’t remember what I was thinkin’ of
You might be spoilin’ me too much, love,
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go.

Flowers on the hillside, bloomin’ crazy,
Crickets talkin’ back and forth in rhyme,
Blue river runnin’ slow and lazy,
I could stay with you forever
And never realize the time.

Situations have ended sad,
Relationships have all been bad.
Mine’ve been like Verlaine’s and Rimbaud.
But there’s no way I can compare
All those scenes to this affair,
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go.

Yer gonna make me wonder what I’m doin’,
Stayin’ far behind without you.
Yer gonna make me wonder what I’m sayin’,
Yer gonna make me give myself a good talkin’ to.

I’ll look for you in old Honolulu,
San Francisco, Ashtabula,
Yer gonna have to leave me now, I know.
But I’ll see you in the sky above,
In the tall grass, in the ones I love,
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go.

-Bob Dylan

the dead weight of possession

crowds me to the earth, crops

a shrinking field of vision- mud

and grass, brown like the bricklayer’s

sunburnt abandon; the

march of perdition sings in my

joints and my marrow

there beside a thousand

slain, a thousand brothers,

sisters, wanderers, aggregate

strangers, dislocated, mingled and sold, 

for a hope and a voice in our silences. oh,

peace, wear the rags of my people!

your love rises in the distance

like a mountain, coming slow,

rattling like a chain, a tambourine,

a blood steeped hammer and a nail.

the ground shakes and fear

is it’s parent. let your eyes be

what color they will for i love you.

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

-Dal­lan For­gaill

at night the pale grey

earth holds its breath for

me. it sleeps with me

and begs for me. we grace

each other like dew

and sorrow, without words.

about the moon our

brother’s aura steals

and wakes

the mystery of our parable.

harken to the darkness

so that you come to the dawn;

pride, my vagabond imposter

languishes with identity.

soon in the mist of present

locked environs blows

the distant whistle white

proximity. leagues mean nought but

in demension only potent.

nigh comes help

on the mountains. can i

shake but tremble off

my worries. pray fo rme,

oh vessel wailing. the ways

of birds, the walking trance

of pitch and fall and

stand. we are they who throw

ourselves cheaply and

majestically foreward

upon the stiffness of our legs,

the shadow

of our memories. my historian

will be the dust of

my bones and the breath of

the grass that i feed

and the tears of my children,

my loves, lines, impressions,

scandelous hopes

for hope and peace in the

tide and the night of

my soul; here is the drowning

of worrie. i name your giving

with authority. wait long at

the snow-gate, for the dawn

will be patient and i will be

waiting. the desert will wake

for our crossing.

A haiku to love between Arctic Seals

Your breath smells like fish;

You kiss big like a Walrus-

High tide affection.