return
foliage rises up the mountains
clouds amass upon the eastern ridges
i am home, finally i am home
my feet grew sore in the desert
my back stiff on the plains
like gusts of wind, i could not rest
rivers wandered their courses
stars glittered from the abyss
starved and alone, i followed them
one day i crested a ridge
and cradled in a valley
a hamlet lost from the world
this place i had never seen
yet what my eyes never knew
my heart somehow remembered
in the world i am tossed relentless
storms pass to leave me in ruin, but here
am i a cypress firmly rooted
desert song
heat rises in waves
dust plays gently on the wind
the sagebrush whisper
here creosote dance in rings
whenever a raindrop falls
Moonpines
Montgomery Redwood Grove at Full Moon
Mendocino County, California
Winter, Spring and Summer of 2003
Gently gleaming from shadowed depths, a single pillar shines,
Held in place by the full moon’s gaze, suspended on the night;
Bold within the enshrouded gloom, the silent moonbeam climbs.
Vaulted high into moonstone heights, both bark and bough alike
Etch mosaics of subtle hue in countless shapes and shades,
Held in place by the full moon’s gaze, suspended on the night.
Shifting softly with light subdued, the moon with traces vague
Brushes ever so faint the forms where rays, diffuse and dim,
Etch mosaics of subtle hue in countless shapes and shades.
Slowly walking, devoid of thought, low glimmers skim the skin,
Moonlight faint as a whisper’s breath, with tingle and tickle touch,
Brushes ever so faint the forms where rays diffuse and dim.
Sitting down where the wood is deep amid the moonshade hush,
Downy zephyrous breezes join the opal-toned caress,
Moonlight faint as a whisper’s breath with tingle and tickle touch.
Sudden, deep in the patterned depths one massive tree is blessed,
Caught entranced by the moon’s embrace, and all my heart is thrilled;
Downy zephyrous breezes join the opal-toned caress.
Here my spirit escapes the mind and laves in peace until
Gently gleaming from shadowed depths, a single pillar shines,
Caught entranced by the moon’s embrace, and all my heart is thrilled;
Bold within the enshrouded gloom, the silent moonbeam climbs.
Legacy
an essence rises from the land into our spirits
a touch like the raven’s down dispersed by a maiden flight
that permeates our souls with an otherworldly memory
in one ear seethes resentment deep and bitter
reflections of a suffering long endured
and in the other burns remorse as sour
this land is an amalgam of disembodied psyches
its rivers and rocks infused with their enigmatic drift
an essence rises from the land into our spirits
as one hand grips a wound too deep to bear
the other twists a blade that lightly glimmers
reflections of a suffering long endured
we drink of water filled with transcendental engrams
a sense emerges in all who share in its natural course
that permeates our souls with an otherworldly memory
while one arm holds a steady hand for moments
and all the warriors freeze in sober pause
the other twists a blade that lightly glimmers
like sea-mist on the wind our minds are touched by phantoms
immersed in their love and hate—a plight we cannot escape
an essence rises from the land into our spirits
one eye sees arrows pierce men to their rest
another watches bullets drop their targets
and all the warriors freeze in sober pause
the waking world is brim with long forgotten relics
their shapes reduced to the dust we breathe from the fragrant air
that permeates our souls with an otherworldly memory
one hero’s war-lance slaughters human objects
the rage that sent it warm upon the blood
another watches bullets drop their targets
all ancestries are fused in our subconscious insights
we dream their atrocities—their advances and retreats
an essence rises from the land into our spirits
that permeates our souls with an otherworldly memory
each side is long remembered in our veins
in one ear seethes resentment deep and bitter
the rage that sent it warm upon the blood
and in the other burns remorse as sour
Reunion
i met him once
in another plane
beneath pale blue sky
surrounded
by cold grey towers
older than time
i remember
walking by myself
down archéd hallways
stretching long
sullen and dim
devoid of life
life lived not here
though it did pass through
in its erring quest
to fathom
what it all means
this strange journey
i met him here
where corridors crossed
through ages brooding
we alone
held in our gaze
one another
his face showed pain
fathomless concern
i saw not in life
but here now
in this city
Necropolis
we did not speak
though thoughts in balance
poised long on his lips
unable
to form one word
from his pained heart
not one thing moved
in this agéd place
where motion and time
stood frozen
as in silence
our gazes locked
i saw his pain
his longing to know
how i was doing
in absence
of his own life
he took from me