among feelings

underlying all the wishes for a happy new year

weaving in and out of our multifaceted thoughts

clinging to us like smoke swirling around

is the feeling that we are held captive

by a man

who will hold the nuclear codes

among other indications of massive power

the feeling that there will be inevitable and unspeakable suffering

at his hands, by his decisions 

the feeling that no matter how unfair and how disproportionate the unfairness

we will have to overcome. 

we have to think of the kinds of resistance, the ways of fighting back

that will not get us locked up or maybe killed, depending on who we are. 

this is a man so desperate to control all narratives that he threatens 

the journalists, the story tellers, the truth tellers, the trumpets. 

Our lives, our freedoms, our voices, are choices are all 

on the chopping block, so it appears

So, you take a walk in these few days left before he takes office

you notice the flowers, the freshness of the breeze that lifts leaves higher than they were

you notice the quality of the winter light, knowing light is returning now, although

the days are still shorter than they were

you notice light is returning. you notice memories of times that oppression and violence

were intertwined with everyday life. you remember Gaza, right now, and your heart goes out

reaching far over in the distance landing with the people of Gaza, right now. 

You feel that the ancestors alive inside you are part of that light that is returning and 

you must make it through this. you must endure. 

And as you endure, moment by moment

the strength and clarity that helps you survive, and helps all of us survive, is 

deepening into your skin, your organs, your bones. 

and songs of resilience arise from these same bones. 

and you feel this upswelling will somehow, some way, be enough

for the unknown, the unknowable. 

ask me

(from 2009)

I have looked on your face

long and hard

the mask, the mirror

I have drawn many conclusions

in and out

more song than my voice has room for

ecstatic, mystical moments are vaporized right now

because I miss you

in the craziest of ways

All your qualities enlisted by this memory

ask me again

I will tell you I love you

spilling like jewels

I speak to the cool grass

under bare feet

I speak to the shifting skies

under which we meet

I speak to the breezes lost and found

to the essence of the energies felt all around 

and no matter where or who I turn to

it all leads me back to you

the truth of it spilling like rare jewels

sharing themselves, showing themselves

with abandon. 

I am asking for guidance from all of these sources

I am watching the rise and fall, the undulating waves of these forces

and still, I lack conclusions because the ongoing questions stretch out

across valleys, over mountains and wild seas

devotion, compassion, love, forgiveness, are ingredients, all of these

promising beauty in the results 

teaching new lessons and some of the same

sparkling in my eyes when I say your name

when will all the parts come together, with a knowing?

while I commit so many times, to never stop growing

speaking into the light

 Fragments of his dimension

Fall into the space between

Where we have been and

Where we were trying to go

Deep witness in a glance

Once frantic and wild

Now with a calming sound

Some of the chaos can subside

Calling on the Holy Spirit

Inside of moments you cannot fathom

This is a promise, a clarion call

At the very least a humble prayer

We open the space within

with our best inner sight

We start speaking into the light

Remembering the way home again

Blessings arising from the ocean

Moving across the dusty ground

Up into those distant stars.

Tapestry

Washing clean

the hands of Mother Mary gleam

glistening in the sun

She understands what we have done

and now we are here to have un-done

wearing our robes of archetypal wisdom

we are here for the big, long reveal

when the robes fall 

and we stand innocent, naked, shining

ready to cleanse body, mind, soul

free of the violent chaos on mother earth

our bodies have remedies for the 

cultural poisons

we were forced to swallow

Mother Mary breaks our chains by 

administering just the right doses 

of unconditional love

she guides us to the sacred caves

She blesses the ways 

that are being renewed by devoted 

healing intentions

It is time for us to tell the story

to weave the finer details into this

global tapestry

Consent is leading the way.

impression

 your lips 

make their impression on mine

I hold the kiss

in an eternal bliss

knowing your heart beats to the

rhythm of this destiny

my arms still want you, ache for you

during moments when you are near enough 

and far enough to bless my thoughts

and no fantasy could live up to our reality

like a tingling up your spine

becoming the energy pattern that liberates you

beaming with a love that creates you. 

see the grace

I see the grace move through you

like waves like water like wind like fire

I see the grace move you to move

like fire like plants grow like water flows

I see the grace inhabit you

filling up your form with light

I see grace integrating your shadow

blessing the past and bringing you into the present

I see the grace becoming you

and you move with it into each space

into each relationship

into each moment with ease

I see the grace enrapture you when you

see it in others,

in how they move like water and embody the fire

I see the grace light up your face

as lightning thunder rain storms and your understanding

of this force within, this force from below and above and in between

it comes when you need it, you begin to count on it

cultivating patience and humility 

to be the vessel that you are.