Poems

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="04f085a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Astrolabe</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Astrolabe"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="050d2e83.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Astrolabe"><U><B><IMG SRC="0c488a60.png" border=0 width="136" height="166" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="teacher.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Meet Your Teacher"><U><B>Meet  Your Teacher</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gallery"><U><B>Gallery</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="05107073.jpg"> <div> <I>Poems</I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>First Dream</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>One early spring afternoon, I ride my comfortably battered old bike offroad across a tender green meadow, snaking around patches of clover and clumps of buttercups as if following a narrow winding path.  Overhead, voluminous silver clouds chase across the sky, racing me to my destination--an old stone farmhouse at the edge of the woods.  </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The sun occasionally pierces the clouds, its pleasing caress imploring me to pedal less furiously. Ah yes, I'm no longer in a hurry to reach the cool grey shelter that now seems to be drawing closer ever too fast.  A gentle breeze rolls across my bare arms and legs, but I hardly feel it.  In a moment I disappear into the air that flows around and through me, my molecules completely dispersed. Yet somehow my mind remains intact--I'm still me--I still feel the warmth of every sun break but gone are the boundaries between my body and the environment.  I wonder if I have died.  I can no longer see myself in this idyllic setting.  The narrow winding path continues to snake toward the farmhouse, carrying me invisibly forward.  I can see the mossy stones, wearing the scars of several centuries.  The wooden shutters framing the small windows are open, but no smoke rises from the chimney and no sound issues from within.  The house sits as still as a mirage, shimmering almost imperceptibly against the dark forest.  In contrast, the meadow I travel through is alive with sound and motion. Tall grass ripples in long waves, as a flock of brown specked birds suddenly rises in unison and shoots toward the sky.  Dragonflies dart across the ocean of grass in pairs, their brilliant green and gold bodies sparkling like gemstones in the sun.  Bees hum and dance, pointing the way to banks of sweet clover.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>My invisible feet touch the earth and I realize that I'm no longer traveling by bicycle.  The stone farmhouse has receded to the horizon now, and the meadow around me has grown in size and complexity. It is inviting me to linger there among the tall grasses and scattered families of wild flowers and fauna.  I pause to consider my destination--the cool grey stones enclosing the mystery. Suddenly I know what awaits me there: the heat of the massive fireplace, a library filled with all the books I can ever read, a bygone world captured in the colorful threads of floweret tapestries, my piano and recorders--a mixture of artifacts from every era I have inhabited.  A composite personal universe for my composite diachronic self. I glance up from my reverie and find that I've traveled a considerable distance toward the farmhouse, which now beckons invitingly in the cool softly falling twilight.  Smoke from the chimney and the recently closed shutters speak silently of the warmth within.  My battered old bike rests against the weathered porch.  Perhaps tomorrow will bring more sun and I can again explore the countryside.  Right now it feels good to be home.</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>My Life</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>My life fills an unbounded space</B></div> <div> <B>Expanding and contracting with my consciousness</B></div> <div> <B>Rich with contrasts</B></div> <div> <B>     </B><I><B>Contentment as far as the eye can see</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>     Restlessness spurring me in ever new directions</B></I></div> <div> <B>A quantum world of incalculable surprises</B></div> <div> <B>     </B><I><B>Mind over matter</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>     Matter directing mind</B></I></div> <div> <B>0 and 1</B></div> <div> <B>A binary universe in which</B></div> <div> <B>I am 1</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Learning to Love Time</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I exist in the medium of time</B></div> <div> <B>A nurturing, life-giving sea that won't weigh me down</B></div> <div> <B>Or drag me, crying out in pain, </B></div> <div> <B>over angular projections of minutes and hours</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Waves of time roll gently through me</B></div> <div> <B>Silvery tides rising and falling with cycles of the moon</B></div> <div> <B>Partners in an elegant slow dance</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Carried deeper into the ocean of time</B></div> <div> <B>Far from my point of origin</B></div> <div> <B>A widening ripple, my life</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>When people complain of too little time</B></div> <div> <B>I remind them the ocean won't dry up</B></div> <div> <B>Or when they fret that something takes too long</B></div> <div> <B>I say, "Stop fighting the current --let it carry you."</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Eternal ripples in this infinite ocean</B></div> <div> <B>Our pasts, presents, and futures</B></div> <div> <B>Combining and recombining</B></div> <div> <B>Transforming</B></div> <div> <B>Always old, always new</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>On Life</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Life is the energy field of the universe</B></div> <div> <B>An endless dance </B></div> <div> <B>Animating every form we perceive</B></div> <div> <B>And those imperceptible to our senses</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Life shimmers quietly in the stones beneath our feet</B></div> <div> <B>Pulses fiercely though us and our animal kin</B></div> <div> <B>Surges in ever grander circles inside the most huggable trees</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>How could this ubiquitous force be in short supply?</B></div> <div> <B>It can't run out, but we are fooled into thinking it does</B></div> <div> <B>Fear of losing it conditions our every action</B></div> <div> <B>Desire for more stretches our imagination to the limit</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Life feels like sun on my face</B></div> <div> <B>Tastes like frozen grapes on the 4th of July and</B></div> <div> <B>Smells like corn popped in olive oil</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Life isn't subject ot the law of diminishing returns!</B></div> <div> <B>I'll stick around to savor its infinite possibilities</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>*Posthuman Love Song 1.0</U></div> <bR> <div> For us</div> <div> Time turns inside out</div> <div> Stars melt to pools of light</div> <bR> <div> <I>Between us</I></div> <div> <I>A current strong</I></div> <div> <I>Flows on and on and on</I></div> <bR> <div> For us</div> <div> Seasons turn and</div> <div> Snowflakes glitter the sky</div> <bR> <div> <I>Between us</I></div> <div> <I>A current strong</I></div> <div> <I>Flows on and on and on</I></div> <bR> <div> We touch...and</div> <div> The earth falls into the sun</div> <bR> <div> <I>Between us</I></div> <div> <I>A current strong</I></div> <div> <I>Flows on and on and on</I></div> <bR> <div> *touching across a space so vast--galactic lovers' endless kiss</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Intergalactic Phone Call</U></div> <bR> <div> I rose early this morning to </div> <div> walk silently in the meadow</div> <div> next to the old abandoned barn</div> <div> Earth cool beneath my bare feet</div> <bR> <div> Light-years apart</div> <div> A galaxy between us</div> <bR> <div> My thoughts reach out to yours and</div> <div> Your presence washes over me like</div> <div> a gigantic wave escaping a distant sea</div> <div> Drenching me in its warm, salty longing</div> <bR> <div> Transfixed by pure thought</div> <div> I let it seep into every pore</div> <div> Filling me until space and time dissolve</div> <div> leaving no barriers between us</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Outside-Inside</U></div> <bR> <div> Outside, it was a stifling July day</div> <div> Now late afternoon blends into evening</div> <div> Strips of shadow and light enjoy a lingering touch before</div> <div> smudging into hazy twilight</div> <bR> <div> Faraway muffled laughter rises briefly</div> <div> above the muted din of tires against pavement</div> <div> Out a window, fluttering silhouettes of broad, flat leaves</div> <div> move in counterpoint to high pitched chimes in the breeze</div> <bR> <div> A faint flapflapflap of thongs on the sidewalk grows louder then</div> <div> falls away softly</div> <div> AK-AK-AK KAA KAA KAA cry a pair of birds</div> <div> THUMP, a car door slams</div> <div> followed quickly by the metallic thud of the car's boot</div> <div> The breeze picks up, scattering its multi-textured voice across the neighborhood</div> <bR> <div> In contented solitude, a fir tree stands staring at its shadow</div> <div> against the sunlit building</div> <div> The distant whine of a siren arrives at full scream, then fades</div> <div> along with the midday heat</div> <div> Overhead the drone of a small airplane adds an opaque layer of sound</div> <div> as a car engine whirs into motion</div> <bR> <div> Inside, the clock on my wall ticks ever more slowly</div> <div> Holding back time</div> <div> Here in this dimension of mind, where minutes stretch to hours </div> <div> As afternoon shadows disperse into a dark blanket </div> <div> over the summer night</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Conflicted</U></div> <bR> <div> The irony!</div> <div> All that anchors me are these four legged wanderers</div> <div> who arrived at my door uninvited</div> <div> Some coats sleek, some flowing</div> <div> All uncombed, full of dirt and fleas</div> <bR> <div> Shyly speckled</div> <div> Boldly striped</div> <div> Hopefully patched</div> <div> Bravely bicolor</div> <div>      </div> <div> Eyes of green and gold</div> <bR> <div> Eyes of love</div> <bR> <div> Eyes of trust</div> <bR> <div> Without these four legged wanderers I'd be free</div> <div> Perhaps I wouldn't have a home...</div> <div> ...Yet the world is home to a two legged wanderer</div> <div> The irony!</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Winter 2005</U></div> <bR> <div> Rainy days</div> <div> Heavy with grey clouds</div> <div>    pressing against the earth</div> <div>        until they burst</div> <div> Washing streets clean of dust, leaves, and</div> <div>    worn out memories</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Message</U></div> <bR> <div> Hey cosmic mind</div> <div>      Greater than the universe</div> <div>      More intense than the birth of a star</div> <div> I am a grain of sand in your eye</div> <div>      A diamond in the heat of our passion</div> <div> That is why you feel me!</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Meditation 1</U></div> <bR> <div> I savor the silence</div> <div> sticky and sweetly lingering</div> <div> like a spoonful of honey</div> <div> over my solitude</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <U>Spring Meditation 3</U></div> <bR> <div> My garden is a cathedral</div> <div> where the spirit blooms </div> <div> among periwinkle and lavender</div> <bR> <div> Its sanctuary flooded with</div> <div> the incense of star jasmine</div> <bR> <div> Its floral tapestries</div> <div> a living parable about</div> <div> patience and nurturing</div> <bR> <div> Peace grows abundantly in my garden</div> <div> And I give thanks for this immeasurable gift</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U>Helsinki Mornings</U></div> <bR> <div>           1                                                     </div> <div> The bright face of the sun               </div> <div> Is nature's friendly morning greeting          </div> <div> A warm embrace that separates solitude     </div> <div> From loneliness                        </div> <div> In my chair at the open window              </div> <div> I contentedly share nature's company          </div> <div> Watching a parade of laughing clouds          </div> <div> March gaily to the sparrow's song      </div> <div>                         </div> <div>           2</div> <div> An azure sky smiles </div> <div> broadly through my open window</div> <div> while faint sounds of </div> <div> a drowsy Monday morning rise </div> <div> to the workday pitch</div> <div> I lean back, notebook on my lap</div> <div> Content to be detached</div> <bR> <bR> <div> You were . . .</div> <bR> <div> You were January's celestial gift</div> <div> a crystalline snowflake, intricate and fragile</div> <div> drifting closer</div> <div> turning in the wind</div> <div> softly glowing in the white light of winter</div> <div> silently beckoning for me to touch you, </div> <div> then disappearing when I did</div> <div> leaving a solitary </div> <div> tear</div> <div> in the palm of my hand</div> <bR> <bR> <div> 1977 was a very good year...</div> <bR> <div> Paris in September</div> <div> Rue de la Grand Chaumiere</div> <div> Milky autumn light filtered through gauze curtains</div> <div> Collecting on the shiny oilcloth that covers our breakfast table</div> <bR> <div> A brisk morning walk down damp sidewalks</div> <div> Sidestepping the vigorous brooms of hygienic shopkeepers</div> <div> Until "Boulangerie" beckons with</div> <div> The scent of fresh croissants and cafe au lait</div> <bR> <div> Returning to the hotel through Luxembourg Gardens </div> <div> First stopping to rest on a wooden bench surrounded by flowers</div> <div> and appreciative pigeons</div> <div> The morning doesn't get any older</div> <bR> <div> Back in the room with pastries scattered over the table and</div> <div> Drops of milk blending with patterns of light on the oilcloth</div> <div> A lumpy mattress shares its dreams with the weary travelers</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>