heroes

little mama
with little baby
3 months old or so
rocks her on hip
sits on an Ottoman
hubby sipping coffee
David Bowie sings, "Heroes"
today, she is my hero
in oxytocin bliss
holding baby girl
both their faces flushed
swaying to the sound
of synced hearts

root of roots (title taken from e.e. cummings)

the root of roots
the face behind all faces
our gut instinct
like a jellyfish
floats unimpeded through substanceless liquid
knows what it knows
which is more
than most
would give it
credit for

snow and sun
exist at once
smile and scream
laugh, cry
daring to seek why
whoa!
close the book
open the eye
of the heart
the audacity
to know

in the aura of a binge

my adult self
to my screaming toddler --
let's sit and think about it
let's sit
let's breathe
rub your belly
let your breath rub you from the inside
it's delightful, you know
more fun than a one-man party at Burger King
tastier than a sausage and mushroom pizza
more comfortable than tight-fitting clothes
than a sleep apnea machine
than pre-diabetes

Outis Duo

2 dollar coffee (best in town)
50% tip (gotta support these kids)
buys a free show
with bald and bearded electric guitarist
and buttoned down drummer, improvising through
only a few changes
for over 10 minutes
altering tempos, rhythms
swapping picking styles, with and without tremolo
power chords, harmonics and arpeggios
this is a birthday gift to myself

ends a day of minimalist self-indulgence
couldn't be happier
or more anxious
my frail father, dismissed the hurricane with a laugh
will probably be in its path
come morning

cool born

I

sparkle brown
and maroon bleed

leaves' pigments
shedding into pond

small needles of fish
darting in and out of hiding places,

unavailable in season preceding
or still, frozen world to follow



II

I adore this time of year
while it is new
near-autumn baby
September, cool born

into the arms of a nurse
or a foster family
or a young mother,
adopting out of a lust to love

this is the fall to me --
arriving abandoned,
leaving love
to love, once again

One without a second

Genderless and genderful
Omnipotent and rather small
Size of a blue lentil seed
A shock of solace in time of need

Inner sunrise, awe to blindness
Silent sounding, sea of kindness
The world needs now, One with no second
Sacred cow and simple transcendence

It hurts to see the joy of release
It came to me once when on my knees
And there it bloomed, the living stone
The conscious rose, the unknowable, known