Just a kiss

Perhaps it was just a kiss

warmer than your soul remembers

in that moment's comprehension

but no doubt only some dim fraction

of your inner light unbound and undressed

where you are entangled

longing to be entwined, forgotten, and lost

adrift upon the sea of no desire without direction

lingering there until the sky becomes sunset

sunset becomes night

night becomes dawn

and dawn becomes day again

born anew a thousand times

each time unique without parallel

perfect

wrapping around your own reflection

as your shadow consumes itself

in the darkness of your own light

and in the light of your own darkness

you become one without separation

floating in yourself

a salty sea within a sea of clouds reflected in an eye

each folding into the other

oozing slowly like molasses

or running fast as heavy liquid gold

birthing out of each part of the other

and diving back into the same blissful abyss

a continuum of sighs

layered over in a divine skin sliding

like silk across a warm lake of fire without flames

screaming or silent

in motion or stillness

ever changing but always the same

never really new but always fresh

you reach for the finish that will not come

but eventually slice yourself apart

to become two again

two so you can see the both

and comprehend the beauty

of having been one

and the desire to be that again

perhaps calling this love

you might forget it is your essence

and nature

------------------------------------------------

Painting: Edvard Munch, The Kiss

Brenda's New Path

As you wander far and wonder wide

unafraid fearless and bold

you walk a new path

along a new stream

where the forest meets itself

in filtered shades of sunlight

and you find a new way

to stand strong and real

against the currents of doubt

as the Brenda you always were

emerges from your cocoon

crisp with fresh wings shimmering

ready to fly away upon the breeze

loving every moment

like tomorrow would not come

armor now left aside

its burden no longer needed

its heavy weight gone

the wait over

finally you stand as you are

manifesting your world in beauty

washing it over the eyes

of all who follow you

so that they might see

a brighter day

and a clearer night

as you spread joy

into worlds that once frightened you

now you find love overflowing

and you become the woman

you always dreamed you would be

and always have been

--------------------------------------------------

Photo Credit: beautifulplacestovisit

Winter Fair

The sun shines in like honey

across a sugarplum lane

laden with icicles dripping slow

or freezing fast suspended un-dripped

where the water flows not

or does at the whim

of the sun, wind, and clouds

these days cannot last

but indeed it seems they do

yet the cold lays out a path

in which spring will soon walk

making happy the moments

born of sweet desire to be warm

in ways that only winter's child can know

so we find in that momentary sorry

the seed of tomorrow's joy

and as our toes freeze tonight

we take pleasure in knowing

some warmer pasture will bloom

when we can appreciate our life

that is how it feels to be

in the grip of love or loss

and in that grip we know

the pendulum will swing again

and that alone gives us some cadence

to appreciate the moment for itself

full and graced in every way

if only we can look through

beyond the mirror of our constraint

and see the pretty day rising

as it always does

-------------------------------------

Picture Credit: Lucie Fair

Musings Unknown Without Direction

This new moment poised

flower of passion unopened

wondering how to step

or withdraw somewhat shy

unafraid to say but

so far away she flies

and how could I not recall

those curious things unsaid

that were already spoken

before their time could be known

and of course again the chime

like a bell somehow in mist

sheets of falling rain

cutting through fog

like soft candles in the night

peaking and peeking

awakening from a dream

that was only a memory of tomorrow

she calls my name and I

know the answer to that

but hesitate here a bit

never wanting too fast

to walk when running would do

just the same I sit and stare

at these words I write

fantastic in their speed

not how they flow but

the quickness of recognition

that comes from two souls

locked in kisses that may never come

yet they do in some strange way

haunt me to wondering now

could a moment so soft

skin pressed nakedly imagined

without even knowing a face

and yet it passes away again

like water falling cascades

musing in day dreams as I

poise my fingers for the next line

that erupts in a river of meaning

unknown

nevertheless less alone

for a friend with some voice

resonates occasionally late

and I do dream of speaking again

as it will come no doubt soon enough

never too late to hold someone's hand

in the darkness of fear that we transcend

so I withdraw nothing here

and walk forward without direction

or even intent

only thinking to scribble my breath

into these pixels to this stranger

unaware how her heart sounds

pressed against my ear at night

when only the moon shines brightly

or perhaps a whisper illuminates the room

where two entangled bodies recline

again without purpose or direction

other than more nearby than before

----------------------------------------

Photo Credit: SandChamps

Hanging Between Heartbeats

Can you see the flow, dancing above you now?

Close your eyes,

let yourself drift back to a time before you were born,

still inside your mother’s womb,

while you were being carefully woven together,

bit by bit, strand by strand,

stitch by stitch, fold by fold,

guided by flowing fluxes of energy and

gradients of ions,

orchestrated by the loving rhythms,

switching on and off, fading in and out,

in a timeless march,

singing the tunes of those who came before you,

recalling the notes they have chosen,

so that you could be,

who you are,

in this moment,

HERE,

NOW.

Have you forgotten so soon?

Close your eyes,

see yourself as you are,

suspended in time,

hanging between heartbeats,

in your perfection,

waiting to awaken,

or trying not to sleep,

in order to perceive,

the wonder that surges through you,

from the edges of the universe,

to the end of time.

Cradle Dream

Dream child float away

lilting through the night

on your summer bed

softly in shadows sweet

the mystery of you is true

my heart comes unglued

at your golden sight

rocking you

in tender contemplation

true in every movement

how could you be wrong

and that proves it too

what you learn is only

just a wrapping

of blankets leaving you pure

even in your darkest deed

as you grow to be less

and I cast my eyes

into your heart sweetly

listening to you sleeping

my eyes grow tired too

but stay open just to know

another moment of this bliss

hoping you might stay

just a day longer

before the time must come

as you walk your own path

blossoming from this root

you have come full circle

I wonder, wonder, wonder

but answers fall away

I am content to know nothing

and only be here

in this true moment

alone by myself with you

my precious dream that breaths

our two worlds kissing edges

like distant galaxies

of far away times

-------------------------------

Photo Credit: okooko

UnAsleep

Perhaps you sleep unawake

under the rainbow of illusion

behind your ego's veil

glorious in your blissful misery

that you unknowingly embrace

gluing it against yourself

calling it without mercy

dashing yourself against the rocks

sharply thinking to be

unable to escape their reach

playing your own old patterns

then look deeper

down inside your knowing self

you are you alone

your way is your way

and no other's before or since

be unafraid to shed your presumptive conditioning

without following some teaching

or walking a path worn well

along some other ego's gory glory

or shaking a ritual stick

or gazing into crystals deep

or chanting a magic verse

all are tools leaving a mark

and they expire, leaving you nowhere

other than back with yourself

as you already are

to begin again

so follow not that way but only your own

like the Buddha, Christ, or any other

before they had a following

to corrupt their possible sweetness

perhaps only prophets unto themselves

if they existed at all in some way

before some rumors for profit entangled them

into a web of complexity obscuring the offered truth

and enslaving those that blindly follow

perhaps including you

so follow not the leader

or follower's follower before you

for the circle needs only to be stepped across

that line so thin that entraps you inside yourself

embrace your inner knowing

to transcend beyond your weak belief

release your fear and walk free

walk not in your own shadow or another's

but only find truth to be

as simple as it can be and is

without the complexity of explanation

only needing to be seen

so that you might find yourself to be

UnAsleep

-------------------------------------------

Ethereal Reference: UnAsleep

(NOT to follow, only to be inspired)

Lucie Fair Extraordinaire

Lucie Fair Extraordinaire

artist in hiding

in this pixel land so curious and strange

nowhere ever seen in flesh by me

she opened her heart

on some book of faces

somehow trusting me for no reason

and let loose a watercolor waterfall

full of light and love sparkling

cascading into the eyes of few

and then exploding somewhat larger

in a safe place she had never known

unasleep she began to awaken

shy perhaps and reserved

careful to manage herself properly

I see an angel painting the heaven

that flows effortlessly in her mind

in a warm summer sea so large it has no edge

other than the constraints she imagines

but I know her heart is as large as time can reach

across the universe of all dimension

a rolling thunder hiding there

awaiting its moment of passion so deep

placed dangling on the tip of her brush

it leaks onto her canvas so well and kind

always with good intention but reserved

and in that exposure

and see the edge of a soul

sweeter and pure

longing to sing and glow and grow and dance

spreading beauty across the eyes

of anyone willing to truly see

and that is my artist friend Lucie Fair

awaiting her cocoon to open

and become the butterfly she already is

-------------------------

Artist: Lucie Fair

Today's Weaving

Astonished by today's weaving

I find music in the air twirling

singing my song and yours together

as separate melodies combined

A note from your world leaks

into the softest corner of mine

and tickles my imagination

in wonderment of what could be

I know no bounds today as I fly

above the darkest moments ever

they are gone in a flash of recognition

as I remember the score I wrote before

without ever knowing it would come

behind that veil so lovingly blinded

a curve ahead without warning

unwinds forgotten splendor now

gasping for my breath, effortlessly

humbled and mystified

I turn around and tomorrow arrives

a new moment unfurls itself at my feet

where I see a rainbow gradient backward

upside down if you could really know

inverted in time to find itself unplugged

but at least the color is perfect

and my imagination bends again

as some car comes off the rail

and flies across its chosen abyss

leaving the ground and everything behind

it was long ago just this moment

that I came to understand you as friend

and again I clutch my chest in wonder

how could no time have taken so long

and just like a mother's labor

emerging as a child

in joy and pain

so today we are born again

just another knot in the fabric

tipping my hat as you curtsy

locked in a perfect dance

that never ends

----------------------------------------

Photo Credit: Lynsey Stone

This Strange Thread

What is this strange thread

passage upon water we walk

supported by nothing

only in a dream

somehow doors open and faces appear

faces long or wide

looking into hollow spots in our day

we follow trails unknown

some connection leads to another

and another yet

do you wonder how you came to be

standing in thinly worn shoes

some person showed me a light

and I followed into the darkness

not knowing how I might stumble

or how I might climb higher yet

one after the other each meeting

chance as they seem were really a dance

and I was lead to find you

my beloved unknown yet to come friend

and here we are now in this moment

unconnected yet but soon to be

how I wonder what time might come

if only we could whisper like the wind

I turn left from a crashing noise and see

a new face scaring me to run

falling on my knee trembling

I look up in fear and find smiling you

and you lead me to them

and they take me to some other you

and you and you without end until

I finally come to the you I have been seeking

the you who is me and us all together as one

shimmering transparently clear through

unless we cannot see it

and then only do we know nothing

Vision of Love for the World

Picture yourself as one person in the embrace

Picture the rest of humanity as your loving partner

Picture the universe as everything else that surrounds you

Don't worry if others cannot yet see it

They eventually will

Show them the way with your love

Nothing more is needed

There is only ONE LOVE... embrace it... be it

Remember that no matter what, you are never ALONE!

The correct spelling of ALONE is not A-LONE but ALL-ONE.

That is how we are created, and that is who we are: ALL ONE.

We can only be LONELY when we forget that we are ALL-ONE-LY

Thankful

Thankful today

for the dawning awareness

that nurtures me

I find myself grateful

for YOU in this moment

as YOU read

that I wrote for YOU before

as YOU behold the words

know that YOU

are the reason they were written

And if that pulses strangely

within your heart, unaware

perhaps even with a scoffing laugh

know that you are as old as time

and beyond its first imagined beating

and that YOU are perfect

even if you choose to change

But if you know

then welcome to this table

where we feast together

in words of praise for all

all the many who are one

taken together we are whole

imagined whole by yourself

you are none alone and lonely

but reflected we stand today

as the brothers of tomorrow's sunsets

and the sisters of yesterday's dawns

gloriously woven together

thankful for everything we are

and everything we ever will be

Gratitude

Gratitude

in grace of flight

across my heart

this feeling soars

leaving me breathless

sometimes with tears

engulfed in blissful realization

I cannot grasp it fully

nor even do I try

I want to leak it out

spreading it across your face

making you smile larger

than the universe's bounds

It overtakes me here

where I stand alone

better able to see the many

where we are all as one

thankful for my eye's moment

to be awake in this wonder

grateful for all that is

Affirmation of new friendship

How it glows like old wine

new on my palate

sweetly unexplored and untasted

not yet digested

just open this bottle is

breathing as we wait

knowing some taste will come

but even now the aroma

fills my senses with wonder

and tickles my imagination

for how it will be

to hold this full glass in contemplation

and grow familiar

with an old friend yet to come

knowing somehow it is destined to be

The One We Are

Some times, it become so difficult to actually differentiate people, in a strange way. When you start to embrace the whole, the one, in a deeper and less attached way, a more loving way, it is as if the skin disappears, and the ego-independent differentiation disappears, melts away. And you see through that, deeper, not without losing recognition of each facet's beauty or uniqueness, but seeing somehow just how lovely we are all sewn together, at our core. And then it becomes so hard to love one without loving all, so hard to know where to seat anyone in the large room we call love with all its many seats and positions. For as you truly begin to see you understand that wherever you look, you see back a reflection not of yourself, but what you yourself are a reflection of, the one. And I find that so lovely and confusing all at once. But there is a sweetness so profound in that way of seeing and knowing. And I feel so very blessed to sometimes be able to look just past the edge of our facets into the core of the diamond that we are.

Wrapped Sweetly

You are such a blessing

so many nice things you know

and say them freely

like the wind that flows

wildly across the open field

being in its own moment so easily

meaning no harm

leaving only freshness

in your wake

perhaps causing a twig to break

here and there

but not with bad intention

mindful not of where you tread

sometimes but rare.

The path you walk is graced

it would appear

by a kind heart

wrapped sweetly in you

Smiling Heart

The world is so rich with beauty

sometimes one cannot imagine to see

how the sparkle of one moment

shimmers brighter than the rest

but not just upon the surface

no matter how sweetly adorned it might be

or that it glows brighter than a thousand candles

on a dark cold moonless night

but deep where the river runs

true to itself and all others

silent without affirmation

without proclamation

sweeter than honey dripping

into virgin mouths of new bees

too far to reach

or even dare hope

but then the sunrise appears

after the glorious dawning of awareness

and you stand there gazing

almost blinded by your good fortune to see

just between the ocean's surface

and the first kiss of setting moon

and you see what is good

and realize this day

is again blessed

by a smile of sweetness

glowing not from sweet lips

but radiating lovingly

from deep inside a warm heart

Really Still

Really Still

you can see

beyond the veil

The veil that

blinds you blissfully

and denies you

Denies you of

what is and always

will be

Chocolate Goddess

Chocolate goddess of my dreams

I await the soft kiss of bliss that is you

if ever you should come to meet me

beyond my imagination's musing

how I would melt into loving

chocolate that swirls around

you like soft summer slowly

caressing you in waves more

tender than butterfly's wings

kissing the tender lining of

your heart as you rattle

my tranquility in quivers

causing it to settle more

deeply allowing my eyes

to touch my soul each

time I have the pleasure

of seeing you standing next

to me where you've never been

except only in my exquisite dreams.

The grace

of your beauty

illuminates the path

that I could not well see

before your heart appeared

standing motionless in the doorway

of time that stood still in honor of your being

and began again only so mortals could see you

showering loving inspiration into their world

where you bless them as you walk

upon the ground they worship

never realizing their own hearts

are just the same as yours

if only they could realize

we are all one

and you are

but a slice

of heaven

on earth

as are

they

too

be

This Perfect Moment

Behold your own glory in this precious perfect moment

Behold the place you are

in all its undulating beauty

Allow the breeze of your own making

to flow across the field of your being

and toss you too and fro

For you placed it just there

in order to feel something

so be sure to know it

and feel it before you leave

Where you stand

hand in hand or alone

be there in yourself

present in the moment as it is

to find your footing as it is

Know that the green pasture

you see afar and desire to drink

is not but a glimmering oasis

do not make yourself thirsty

simply by not drinking of

the abundance you already stand in

Be careful that your desire to change

and steer a new course into a better dream

is not rooting only in the fact

of your unwillingness to truly see

the high ground upon which you may already stand

even when you are sinking to the neck

in the quicksand of your self imposed suffering

Meaning to me stand tall and open

drinking into yourself what is offered

as your dream awaits your participation

rather than disbelieving what could be

never realizing it already is

if only you would open your eyes to see

So before you jump yet again

as is your wondering and restless way

be aware of where you are now

before you set sail to a new harbor

where you will only miss meeting yourself again

Shake your own hand goodbye

looking into your own loving eyes

accepting all you have made yourself to be

before you turn away to a new day

Only in knowing yourself

and loving yourself truly complete

can you find what you have come to see

So as the night turns cold or warm

as you prepare for the season's change

Behold your own glory in this precious perfect moment

Tomorrow I Might Fly

Some days I learn nothing

much more than a dew drop

upon a butterfly's back

and I step forward slowly

never quite knowing

if tomorrow I might fly

Yet with eyes brighter

I look forward into the sun

squinted at the brilliance

of my own heart beating alone

as it always has

at the center of my universe

pulsing with you my mirrors

reflecting what is not me

nor you but only the one

like a rainbow prism

shimmering like sunrise

in the dawn of our divine weaving

as together we shuttle our soft wills

Yet if you mistake

that which is granted so sweetly

as if what you hold belongs

in your hands like a captive wish

you will find it vanish into nothing

as love leaks away when held tightly

and only in giving it away freely

without so much as a wish

can you know it fully deep

or have it at all inside

for captive it dies like a flower

plucked away from its stem

warn yourself then

as your pretty face reflects

itself in the mirror of an old soul

to stand guard over nothing and freely give

what you once thought you owned

in order to have nothing and everything

Release and Be

Color bright and fading

powdered sweet in sugar tones

behold yourself on fire

basking and alone

without more than your own wonder

creating some deep well

in which to throw yourself at last

before the moment comes

when rescue arrives

in your own dramatic hands

You look outside at the weather fair

or stormy a cold night thrashing

and think there is something

sweet or threatening that awaits

the tender footsteps of your tomorrow

so you cower fireside in blankets

or throw yourself into the bliss you dreamed

somehow thinking it all too real

like a knife stabbing pain in your shoulder

or a lovers kiss on a perfect moonlit night

But alas you stand alone in your own hands

surrounded by all you have thought could be

infested by all that you feared

and your pathway home is only three clicks

of ruby red heals away

though you dare not try

for you fear to fail

or lose your nerve

so instead you wallow

or perhaps like a sunrise unexpected

in the hurricane's dark grip

you release and be

Life is but a Dream

Together alone always

separate from our oneness

we strive to flow swirling

as the river finds a home

in the clear perception of nothing

and our cloudy misunderstanding

paints the sky into each other's hearts

where we see ourselves reflected

merrily rowing our boats

into dreams of our own making

Realize love

Real eyes realize love

looking deeper they see nothing

the nothing that is everything

without a name or category

floating just to be of no merit or consequence

and yet they mean everything that is

is around you

when you stop, and use real eyes

to realize love

Moving like wind within yourself

spinning a swirl in no direction

only just to move no goal or intent

some muscle in your arm loves you

when you realize its affection

and feel it swimming in the sea of you

and the rest like your heart

beats for you and never leaves

an old friend you seldom cherish perhaps

she loves you unconditionally every moment

and plays the song you may never hear

unless you listen to her love

Be still then flower blossom

take a moment mindful of each step

as you teach those who forget

or never knew they knew

that they are a fish

in the river of all

part of the one

always but never alone al-one all-one all one

let the rock on yonder mountain

feel your loving gratitude as you stand

upon the sand it may have given

and realize the love you are

rather than desire

the love you already have

Sister of Light

She came to me one evening at sunset as I was walking alone upon the beach far away from my home in thought and space. Her auburn hair floated in the air and her feet almost touched the sand as she sailed away from my view. She smelled like sweet red roses from a far away enchanted island where nothing else grows aside from yellow-green berries and love. And she was following her brother the sun into the ocean when I called her by name and she answered. I cannot recall the name I spoke because it exploded from me at my astonishment beholding her beauty. And so I cannot help you summon her unto yourself. But I can tell you to try because the sweetness of her smile would be worth waiting a thousand lifetimes for one glimpse.

In her smile I felt myself falling and as our eyes met, I could feel a flow of love that was carried upon streams of shimmering cool blue stars that size of sand. And as that effervescence filled me a grasped to hold her hand to prevent myself from falling into the abyss of my own dreams without a way or will to return. They were warm and soft like a summer pond covered in silk. And I recall having no sensation of a body as I realized all that could be and was. Music flowed from her mouth as it moved and it sang me a love song I cannot remember but will never forget.

While I could not understand her words, her message was as clear as a cold night in winter with an aurora dancing above. Somehow she told me, through some conduit I don't understand, I must find my true heart and follow it like a butterfly finds its home. I must not ask it the way in words, and I need not understand its message in a logical way, but I must know it and follow it like a river finds the ocean. And while my footsteps must be swift and sure I should not hurry. I can look back but only to see how far I'd come and I should never worry what lies ahead because it is perfect. She revealed that her lovely scent was intended to remind me to take time to smell the roses along my way. And her soft skin was to remind me to be gentle with all those I meet.

With that she began to fade as I implored her to stay. But she insisted that she needed to go to assist her brother in finding the morning. I started to cry and she turned back for one kiss. And in that blissful moment my tranquility was complete as I came to understand who she was and my own name. That is why I know but cannot tell except in whispers that which I have learned. And even then you must lean near to the frothing shoreline rocks in a summer storm to hear the truth, that you are love and love is everything. And yet you've known it all along.

Moonset Sunrise

The moon's a harsh mistress

forgive her slow retreat

she lingered longer with her lovers

but her brother already paints the morn

his orange glow awakens me

and I catch her naked

dancing away just so I could see

or perhaps tonight she danced for you

my dream caught her kissing

one of my favorite stars

just long enough to stop my heart

and glorious is the day I wake

to find her dashing fast

to beat retreat before the dawn

that catches her anyway

Unspent Time

Flowing backward into unspent time

you see the colors unfold around you

only in the moment you are there

as time stops and seeing begins

Feeling your butterfly's kiss

upon your cheek you blush deeply

realizing your divinity well

as into the night you slither

Wider ever than before

standing more still yet moving more

contradiction lights the sky

if you engage your thinking

But quietly you look now

without the fanfare of old

forgetting what has come or will be

as is you live a real moment

Lifting twisting foreword back

bothering not to gaze or judge

you see the light of all that is

becoming yourself once more again