on children

On Children
Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

i think i'll skip
the stories about hell
for today, thanks

i've seen enough
but i've been missing
the canopies of the green trees
the pink caverns
the tide coming in to the sandy shore
the mermaid spreading those fins
to embrace the rolling
of the surf

dip that chip
in the red, saucy salsa
dream of places like california
the man in the skin
the secret times
when you want to say baby
and realize there's few people
maybe one
who you'd say that to

they save love is finite
but they forget
it multiplies

i saw a raccoon rattling
into the grass
as he gently made his way
into making a living
out of the rain
his gentle,
unrabied gate
started in my eyes
by a fire hydrant
ambled beneath a bush
too close to my building to see
and as i sat back at my desk
he reappeared
in my dream
in my waking
skidding toward the street
where he metered the car
driving by
ran fast
across the street
and seeking safety
retreated
into the sewers
wish i could give him
a better home
in my hands
bet he wouldn't bite
that cute, cute raccoon

waking life

life is a confrontation of dreamers
and workers
and wakers
and sleepers
working for the dreams
connecting to more
falling back asleep
and when there's someone next to you
saying where are we now?
and getting an answer
and sometimes
just going back to your own dream for awhile
hitting snooze
nap
and seeing how you appear
who appears
in the mirror
and realizing real life
is no different from animation
there's theory
and action
maybe the old man
who climbs the pole
without a theory
is the smartest one
but the motion
of the dreamers
and the talkers
is something worth paying attention to
selectively

lorene's parting words

May your relationships be radiant and concious

behind the muse

In line, waiting for the chili
He said, I'm going to wait
behind the muse
My hair soft and curly, I smiled
another character in the play

Chili in a bread bowl, reminded me
of my Dad
The beans, whole and red
Anything but dead

A new day
Started with a white sky
ready for an application
ready for what needs
to happen
life very clearly
needs to happen
in line at the cafeteria
smiling at Ella, who
I met yesterday

Onward into new moments
Life is arriving

i am tremulous
in the face of anything
i would perceive as fear

tremulous in front of
of forgetting
the beauty inside
the beauty of the perceiver
of the bluebird,
laundry,
brown leaves
remembering my legs
full of energy
remembering the running
the red fire hydrant
all that is around
and within me.

we are the same
and yet each flowing
in currents

people's biggest fear is falling, even though they spend the whole first year of life doing it.

thanks for the message u church

"tyranny is always
better organized
than freedom"

celibate since saturday

what do you think it means
when you've replaced your password
from your hometown
to sugarcoat?
(don't worry, i'll change it again)...

i chose to take the journey
i read so many student papers
and sometimes it feels like an avalanche
but you know what
if you get out from under the avalanche
you'll see
sometime the light will reappear from within
and you'll remember you have a soul

and those souls who have been weighing you down
you'll remember they have a story
and they're the hero
and better yet, you're the hero
of yours

so many of my students love their fathers
and i remember how i love mine
one father of a student drives 20 hours a day
in a semi
and she hardly ever sees him

and i don't know if i'll provide some child
with a father
maybe all the men on the planet are too busy
being other things
but i also don't know if i'll be a mother
maybe i'm too busy doing other things
and
i won't let that make me sick today
i will find a place to put each and every paper
as each story makes my heart wholer and bigger
even though sometimes
that feels like quite a stretch

but today i learned in yoga that the main thing
i need to stretch
are my hands
this typing
this white-collar lifestyle
some people may say i don't work with my hands
but what the fuck do i work with then?
my heart?

we all do

and i love my heart
and i love how i've really used it
and it doesn't even matter if the people
i loved
loved me back
or not
because i'm just in this moment
and i'm going to make mashed potatoes and gravy
and keep living
because my grandma didn't go through all she went through
and either did carolee
who was so alive
she still feels alive to me
5 1/2 years after she's dead

go ahead
and give yourself a shot
at being some kind of hero, too
for yourself
for a change

better yet
may all beings be happy
may all beings be free

bo

i wish i had a cat
named bo pellini
who likes to eat
shrimp linguini

but because i spend
all my time teaching
i'll skip the cat
and skip his preaching

strength

dear carolee reilly,
thank you for the strength you gave me.