Kirtimukha

the yarble of my thinking
like a trash compactor devouring itself
or an old man who chews on his gums
enjoys the blood, the slick friction
and the twinkle in his own eyes

I wonder where the peace comes from
that flushes out the metal parts, the teeth

the absolute wrong tool for the job
once noted by your discernment
becomes leverage
for a better world

by firelight

by firelight and snowlamp
by the hand of the pineal gland
I see the world
inside me, outside
hold a torch
search the catacombs
of a new moment
while you have forever been
the eye that envisions
its way home

like freedom

breathing like freedom
inside myself
I am a thing in flight
in a cloudless sky
outside, turmoil
alternating with peace
and kindness
from within,
it is the same world
the same life
I'll join you
take a seat
and breathe

an auger eeshin'

the man sworn in
the rest of us swearing
some watch, while others
compassionate, hold
each others' noses
hide their faces in hope
in each others' shoulders
in revolt and revulsion
or in silent protest
speaking screams of disbelief
resolving to love one another
through the coming storms
of possible futures

and I drew a poem

and I drew
a poem,
its arms extended
like a child
sees a gull
and wants to fly
who says he does not
fly?
his little imagination
as big as the ocean
of space and the stars
that drown in it

bright blue

bright blue
immaculate shine, cool lines
parked out front of the cafe

Fleet Foxes, giddy indie
vocal harmonies like sweet honey
over a sea of bland yogurt

the times they have changed
with a pen-mark in a voting booth
with a Tweet, with a mocking gloat
that hovers over an endless field
of insipid lack-of-hope

yet the car's sheen
and the soaring songs
remain true
are here for us
while the fearful rage
at what has passed
the fearless prepare
for what is to come
and the mystics and children
stay sheltered in raincoats
rooted in what is now
and ever will be

the only way

the only way
I've found
to free myself
from daydreams of omnipotence

-- both deletion and warmth
death and comfort
have their end
in the same light
streaming
from the same star
at the center
of infinite hearts