The Rhythms Of Wandering

Twilight scouting out another quiet place

Untying our knotted hiking laces

Calling of the morning birds

Arising slowly amid a trickling peace

Well-used wool sweater, safe and warm

Our old dog, thick and furly

Quiet Fall mornings strung like amber beads

The warm smell of crusty new bread baking

Simple joy of your soft brown eyes

Breathing gently through restful sleep

Catching sight of forest dwellers

Changing tools and rhythms to make them better

Sloughing off our unused burdens

Sensing the complicated in the simple

Sleeping deeply in big tree shadows

Hearing small creek again as we awaken

Freed at last of choking specialization

Coming slowly together with the dawn,

Neither at work nor on vacation

Traveling widely yet always home

Mending socks and fixing breakdowns

Finding water and planning meals

Picking up yet another’s trash

Retiring early, safe in the darkness

Drying happily in a sunny breeze

Looking forward to our own cooking

Watching bees work on autumn flowers

Lingering where we really like it

Sipping wine and making music

Vagabond Koans (1)

West Slope Sierra

Utterly impressed by their sheer size

They made sure they could cut them down

Now only giant stumps lay decomposing

neither logging nor tourist jobs remain

………

in the land of milk and honey, organic internet

there are still small towns with real people

where a young man might make a living for a family

while thirty million thirsty souls swarm the smoggy cities

………

basso profundo pickup truck

shatters peaceful predawn stillness

dumbass rumble at last dissipates

merciful silence refills his empty space

………

in the creaking breeze awaiting,

the stroke of god in the sunlight

bursting out with pregnant silence

mere sequoia emitting oxygen and grace

………

buying wood for the metal campfire ring

to cook the trout dumped from a truck

locked safely within his mobile modular

behold the happy camper

………

warm against the autumn frost

quiet there beside the lake

soaking in that radiant silence

full moon sets at nearly dawn

………

still gurgling over polished autumn granite

slurping into holes and eddies

sierra stream carries on its business

and then the reservoir

………

from out the wide smog-choked, dusty central valley

sheer sierra wilderness rises to catch the snow

the big trees and bigger mountains soar

barely beyond it spreads that awful desert

As Darkness Fell We Held Each Other

There was no one there that I could talk to

But hoarse shouting assailed me from all directions

The evidence was simply overwhelming

Still I thrashed about for any faintest clues

The stakes were already quite high but we all stayed in

I lost nothing but my worthless and failing pride

It looked like the rain would not stop falling

We were surprised and then shoved outside

Before the bridge broke it gave no warning

We sat and talked throughout the morning

Pretty soon we always hurried

When they were quite late we began to worry

We never guessed that we were lost

For it seemed we always headed somewhere

There was time to spare as the days grew longer

Then we awoke to cold and dark November

Kept on playing as darkness fell

Tucked them in before I left

Remembered all their lives so well

Now I’m only talking to myself

Watched the leaves fall from the trees

In those windstorms, I too lost branches

Caught up to clouds and their rain began

Missed many details since I always ran

Colors faded with the approach of night

My hair stood up from unseen demons

Felt my chest grow too damn tight

Lost silly dreams of getting even

Saw myself on the surgeon’s table

Kept on thinking I saw some light

Left well enough alone had I been able

Knew only I must awaken in the night

We sat close together as sunset faded

Nothing spoken passed between us

In your brown eyes I saw why I was created

We held each other close as darkness gathered

Dawn Patrol

In the quiet coolness of the early morning, it’s best not to rush around or lay asleep

In this brief interlude we can try to restore a certain measure of calm and levelheaded thinking

There’s lots of time when the sun is high to do more than a full day of work

But the early morning light is a precious thing of which there never is quite enough

As the end of night begins turning gray you can often even see right back into the past

A bit of fading sleep intoxication only adds to the wonder

Maybe a full moon still casts its own shadows, even after a pale December sunrise

In june the sky takes a while to fully waken because dawn comes so very early

You’ve got to stand outside first, just to be sure that all the stars are still in place

You must watch the colors slowly return with the advancing pre-dawn light

It is a waste of life’s best hour to hurry about blindly, just to get to work

This time is yours for contemplation, creation or some kind of meditation

The quiet hidden spring can be located before the noise of our folly fully resumes

The center of that large circle can be found and marked once again

The day of the week surely does not matter for this time always belongs only to you

There’s not yet need to shout to be heard or to concentrate hard just to form simple thoughts

In the early morning clarity, the foolishness of all their bullshit becomes quite apparent

muddied thoughts have cleared overnight to briefly reveal what’s important, once again

And there is no mistaking when it is over for another day

It’s not like our foolish jobs which never seem to end

Maybe you will hear the calling of the gulls, doves, roosters or the waking songbirds

Sometimes there are only answers and you must match up the proper questions

You cannot hurry it or slow it or save it but you can simply be there to enjoy it

There are daily lessons and inspirations in the quiet change from dark to light

There is no way to see it changing, but when you glance away, it becomes subtly different

Look inside and the gathering day gathers you up as well

In the quiet of the early morning you can remain very still but nonetheless grow quite alert

Shattering this peaceful calm is not a task that should be so commonplace for us, as human beings

Quietly Late Last October

Autumn paused just for a moment amidst the golden sunshine

Held its breath and listened before quickly disappearing

The warmth of those late October afternoons was far sweeter

Knowing well how cold rains would fill the dark days to follow

After the salmon had spawned and little remained for the bears

There came a subtle pause as their noses twitched in that pure air

With waterfowl departing and the streams low and very clear

Dying leaves began their gentle drifting down, to fertilize the ground

Echoes also grew fuller with the lengthening of our shadows

The morning sun greeted us later and the stars came out so soon

The harvest moon looked warm but we reached for our sweaters

The hunters finished their epic drinking bouts and returned to their jobs

Quietly late October removed her costume and set aside her lovely jewelry

Slowly revealing a deeper and more somber aspect of her beauty

Silence filled the early mornings until the remaining birds shook off the frost

The sky grew deep and blue awaiting the first of many storms to come

Dust motes gathered to float one more time before falling with the rains

The fingers of the boys grew cold as they pedaled off upon old bikes

Rivers thirsted for the many long and quenching, cleansing winter rains

Craggy peaks awaited the deep, white blankets of their heavy snows

In sunlight and shadow she paused as a faded memory was awakened

The true smell of wool and a crackling dry campfire sustained him now

The raucous crowds of summer fled with the warmer weather

And that good silence flowed off into the void again, for minutes at a time

May You Take Your Leave With Dignity

In the turbulence of this chaotic maelstrom

may you learn to center dynamically, without conscious effort

Then to note with some amazement how marvelous is it all,

a single petal slowly spinning towards the ground

Amid the spindrift of this cosmic storm

may you find the simple peace of staying warm

Somewhere in the quiet dignity of the sighing evergreens

the sound of snowfall on your shoulders

During that magic hour before the sunrise

may you enjoy your emergence from good sleep

As the colors once more return

the morning birds begin their calling

In short intervals of blessed silence you may find

may you have the time to pause within them

To draw upon their great and pregnant strength,

thus to calm the miracle of your heartbeat

Amidst the roiling blur of this eternal present

may your soul find a lifetime mate

That you need not always stay anonymous and live alone

perhaps again to dust and ashes, wrapped in each other’s arms

After years of honest work and love and preparation

may you take your leave with dignity

Having summed and mused and smiled and perhaps gained a little understanding,

ready to decay with the dignified grace of some ancient tree

Vagabond Koans (7)

Return to a Reality

making music, sipping tea and reading books

eating healthy, staying calm and sleeping well

walking early and feeling fine

the tragedy of marijuana

………

gathering of the requirements

water boiling on the gas

waiting cup steams and steeps

the portable warm glow of green tea

………

heading back at last

almost out of sights to see

weather keeps on getting colder

there is still this place called home

………

village lights twinkling far down the beach

waves come up with morning tide

fog on mountain as fishermen prepare

rooster to wake me before the dawn

………

salt residue left by the fog

dust layers mixing on every window

scraps of paper and lint on floor

details I grew pleased to ignore

………

ragged shirt and dirty shoes

wild hair and untrimmed beard

moving our snail house upon our backs

fitting somewhere into Mexico

………

up before the sun

cool desert wind blowing

the sound of wind chop far below

last day upon the Baja

………

new trailers and powerful pickup trucks

camp gizzies and play toys unfolded and erected

safe food brought from home

bow again unto the weekend holiday happy camper