Category Archives: Life

What do I know?

Italics on the do and on the know

Letter to myself, and,  
Clearly, others. This 
Letter may prove long.
A letter is long; it is not
«Note to self,« where 
The "my" is omitted,
Left out because self- 
Explanatory. Or just in
The interest of brevity.
Abbreviations often are,
Brief, that is, in the hope
Of being brief or briefer.
Letter to myself, to get
Back on track and no
Shortcuts, in the interests
Of brevity, of shortening
The inevitable advice, the
Words of wisdom gained
From the years the future
Inexplicably, relentlessly
Piled on, is time now to
Be my teacher, or yours.
Note to self, explore this
Further and farther as 
Time passes. Back to that
Letter to myself, have I
Learned nothing from so
Many years of living? Do
I, must I hesitate to share
Some grain of enlightened
Understanding, my hard 
Scrapped knowledge? Is
Knowing necessary? Or
Knowing better? Am I 
Here to share insights 
That you, too, may have
Made, even some in your
Younger years, your teens
Or thirties? What did I 
Know in my forties that
Wasn't obvious when I
Turned eighteen? Was I
Smarter at 50 than I had
Been then? Are you? Oh,
Remember, I write this to
Myself, not you, not you,
Necessarily, but do play
Along. I was a ridiculously
Serious child. Did that fuel
Frivolousity, okay, not a
Word, as I matured? Am
I so much wiser that I can
Leave hints, the bread 
Crumbs of a life best lived
On your doorstep? A letter
To myself from now to 
Then. From now to Zen?

Stardust III

Let's face it, I don't get the 
Science. It's the poetry of
Stardust running through
Our veins, pumping iron
To redden our blood; the
Chemistry eludes but then
Alludes to include us all, 
All of us universely in the
Universe. In each other.
We are all part and particle Embodiments of the stars Exploding in our veins, in 
Us. Chemically we unite
With star dust, with every
One, all of us as one. We 
Are all star dust come to 
Life. That's the science, and
The poetry. To be star dust
Is to be human. To shine.

There are three star dust poems, all inspired by a conversation between Leah Smart and NASA’s Michelle Thaller. The science that I (mis)quote is real. You/We are all star dust!

Dawn

Objects in the half-light of
A dawning day teach me
Lessons I never sought
To learn. Lessons about
Impermanence and the 
Ways in which our eyes 
Deceive, lessons about 
Altered shapes in altered
Spaces. They show me 
How wrong I can be, and
That not everything I  see
Is right there where I think
I put it. They move, they
Change. They are not who
Or what or where I imagine
Or imagined they would be.

Somewhere

We are here or perhaps 
Perhaps not quite here
But rather we are there
Where it's a greener or
Sweeter pasture further
From where we were or
Where we thought we'd 
Be, enjoying the sweet
Grass, here, lusting o'er
The greener grass there

Placid

The river, even with little ripples 
On its surface, is placid and lazy
Especially when I consider my
Life and the turbulence of living
It. Boats actively roam its facade.
As they skim these waters,  they
Leave them still quiet especially 
If I compare the calm river with
Living on the land, my land, as
I navigate through the maze of 
Contradictions and trials, all
Bumps in the road, my path in
Life, uneven as if gravel were
Strewn along the way. Now I 
Proceed with the caution of the
Cautious, looking for my quiet.

Passion

Love is a ritual, a
Way of living; we
Indulge it since it
Gives us pleasure.
It sparks in us and
We are urged by it.
There is urgency in
Loving, its passion
Fulfills not just us
But our object as
Well. Love feels oh
So good and real.
Those in love feel
Special as if their
Chemical attraction 
Were ordained. Any
Proclamation of a
Passion makes an
Audience go "aww."
Kiss me in public on
The jumbotron and
Everyone approves
Our mutual desires.
Hug me on a street
And the corner lights
Our way. Enjoy it we
Say when vows are
Pledged. This is life.

Envious

The young in general are so
Physical. It's not just youth
Which takes to preening so
Their movement is so much
More languorous. Children,
They're jumping - sideways,
Around, dodging, and loud.
Running into and away in a
Pattern athletes could envy
But I am the most envious 
Of their fluidity of their ease 
Of their comfort with bodies 
In motion, of performances
So simple yet so acrobatic.