* full moon over quanah *

(11:00 pm)
driving by the light of
jupiter following the moon
at just the right moment
the timing belt shreds

(12:00 midnight)
lying bundled in an empty field
up above, the cold night sky
football field on the road just ahead
sign says this is "indian territory"

(1:00 am)
son to tow truck driver
he was a native chief? "yep"
so how'd he get his own town name?
well...(long pause) he was an "indian"

(2:00 am)
walkin' in to quanah parker inn
sleepy indian pulls on slippers
scent of curry through open window
"good evening sir, smoking or non-smoking"?

(3:00 am)
son walks outside the smoke-free room
pulls an additive free smoke
from a pack of natural american spirit
and lights a match

(( end without world ))

cool wind upon your cheek,

stillness in the bones beneath.

flesh and blood, on the day of birth,

scattered soon upon the earth.

all here is yes and all is no,

all in motion, ebb and flow.

sun shine on and through to know,

from conscious high and callous'd low.

down stream now, against, diffused,

pick up, divert, awake, reuse.

symbols shout, and push, and crowd,

none clear as nothing, none so loud.

tell of this world, world without end,

on to an end without world again.

dreams @ 7,000 ft. (pt. i)

(fluffy kitten)

in a building, i find a tiny, fluffy gray kitten, then lose it among the rooms. walking outside and down the sidewalk, in the late afternoon sun, i look up and see the kitten perched on a ledge at the top of the building, two stories up. suddenly, it leaps into the air, legs outstretched and falling, lands heavily on my chest. it's claws dig in to my skin and hold on tight.

----------

(flying scooter)

i am in the house of family friends from fifteen years ago. they are having a party. my son is there, too. feeling as though i don't belong, i walk out into the suburban neighborhood and am suddenly zooming along on a segway scooter. someone is holding on to my back, perhaps my son, or my shadow self. the scooter picks up speed, going rapidly through a wooded park and i hold on to the handles for dear life. nearing a set of descending steps, we accelarate and ramp off the top step high into the air. gliding, i look down and realize we are way too high to land safely. i reach for the willowly tree branches to break the fall, but they are just out of reach. as we careen upside down, hundreds of feet up, i realize that i don't have to fall. it is then that we begin flying through the air in a cascading rhythm of ebb and flow.

----------

(grandmother's apartment)

i am visiting an apartment owned by my deceased grandmother. she is there and alive, but feeble. she has leased the space to three college-age guys, who do not want me there. i tell them i am only visiting and will leave by the end of the day. at that point, they leave me alone and i walk over to the open door and lean against the door frame. closing my eyes, i go into a deep, meditative trance, my third eye firing in rushes of brilliantly colored fractal patterns, eventually coalescing into a deep saturated blue circle. then, a sense of leaving my body (or going deeper in) as heavy rhythmic vibrations begin thumping inside.

* awareness (in/finite) *

heavy clouds roll across blue mountain tops

internal conflict of the human mind

wind whispers through resin flaked branches

piercing insight into my own weakness

staccato rhythm of rain on cemetery grass

anger builds gradually, exploding outward

the valley below, a scene of unspeakable beauty

feeling the emptiness of the miles between us

the play of shadow and light across pale earth

having lunch with jesus carrying the cross

luminous green of sun infused catalpa leaves

coasting downhill on an empty tank

a shaft of moonlight slicing down the wall

the presence in absence of your body

vibration of earth through stone floor night

the sad refrain of a guitar in an empty room

gutted mesas slowly tumble to ground below

stars flicker high above in the night sky

everything and no thing all at the same time

the sticky sweetness of purple sage in your hand

deities staring impassively at time's procession

lying in the dark on a bed of raw cotton

the faraway glow of a distant city beckons

a dim and constant fire burning deep inside

an elusive place where no cliche exists

inked skin peering out from soft hidden folds

a dark quietness of ancient depth and splendor

Acrostic

Alternative forms of dopamine
Beautiful yet weary
Connective tissue connecting
Dreams of flying
Entire nations swallowed, the
Fullness of time
Google maps lie, an
Hopeful rebirth
Illusionistic time
Justice with mercy, a
Kiss for luck
Losing track of things
Mysterious ingredients
None of the above
Oil and water mix
Potty training progresses
Quixotic endeavors ever
Reigniting the spark
Scenarios, both real and imagined
True, sort of
Under the water
Violent equilibrium ensues
Where to begin
Xeriscaping the future
Young teaches old
Zen unfolding

entering the stream (sotapanna)

at the edge of a dark stream, further out others flow by.
wading in, you take a last glance back as she fades.
a moment's hesitation, then you step into the swift water,
thinking "i trust".

over the edge now, into vast darkness you fall,
liberated from fear and in peace,
knowing that you will be torn to pieces
when you hit bottom.

and yet, when you land, on the rocks below,
it is on your feet, in a soft cascade of water.

----------

en el borde de una corriente oscura, en la distancia flotan.
usted mira atrás ella y ella se va.
un momento de vacilación, entonces usted camina en el agua rápida.
usted piensa el "confío".

ahora sobre el borde del agua, en la oscuridad grande usted caer.
libera de miedo en la paz,
usted sabe que usted no será no más,

pero cuando usted caerse en las piedras,
está en sus pies en una cascada suave del agua.

tierra encanta

none own this palace,
they that walk upon.
made to eat the dust,
then to return.
blessed rolling waves
of yellowed earth,
breaks on this heart
and then dispersed.

******

ningunos poseen este palacio,
ellas que caminar sobre.
hecho para comer el polvo,
entonces para volver.
ondas bendecidas
de la tierra amarilla,
rotura en mi corazón
entonces se dispersan.