The Green Man

The green man
Stands in his forest
Rooted in nature
Welcoming us home

Sometimes we brush
By his wooden ankles
Sometimes we can look
Down into his liquid eyes

There is always love
Deeper than we see
Carried with his soul
As he flys from tree to tree

The dreams he loves to share
Are cast into the clouds
Where they float above the leaves
In this forest full of trees

I never walk so fast
Through the landscape where he lives
That I would fail to greet him
Any place where I might meet him

Sometimes, he hides too well
In the forest where he lives
Though whenever I seem to find him
He's the one who shares my breath

Not everybody sees him
Not everybody needs him
But I love him
Deeper, deeper every day

I have always been his brother
And yet, just like any other
You may find him in your forest
By your self

If his hand should gently wake you
Softly brush along your cheek
With the silent mist that is carried in a cloud
Your soul can ride its ever-flowing stream

Don't whisper who he is
Or he will lift and float away
But you will always know it
When you meet him on your way

I Thought I Understood

I thought I understood
But I didn't know anything
I wished so hard
For things to be different
But it has not changed anything
And I still can't understand

I know that I love
And that should be enough
To sleep and to feel the rain on my face
Now I can see that I wished
For my love to change other worlds
As I would want them to be

It just may be that the only world
That really needs my love is mine
When love is pure and unselfish
It is transparent and will not block the vision of others
They can see right through to truth
Where love and forgiveness live together

In that deeper universe
That patiently waits to welcome me home
Back into my own world
Seeming so familiar and yet
So brand new again
I just can't understand
What still holds me back

I know that a bright spiritual peace lives there
And yet, I still hold so tightly
To this coattail of suffering
So unwilling to let it go
But I know now that I am being shaken loose
And am reawakening in the process

I know that I feared loosing what I had
But my life stopped breathing so long ago
Crushing pressure from my clutching grip
Has cost me so very much
Everything I thought I wanted has fallen away
Now, I seek to find my rightful seat

In that place that lets me see and know this pain
Just for what it is and not for what it could have been
In a world that smiles deeply with love and compassion
For this new child as he learns a deeper truth
And opens with joy - just like a bud
Unfolding the beauty of its flower

In a new and richer world
Where love is created
Inside every thought
And reborn with every breath

Awake to this Morning

Early morning
Quietly breathing
In its own
Rich way

Unable to stir those
Who sleep in silence
Awaiting the narrow call
Of a starter’s signal
Rousing them into
A new days race

Few truly notice
The beauty of this morning
The river seems still
But its belly is full and round

The surface of the water
Braised with all the colors
Of overheated steel
Reflecting back
Gently but lively
Into the morning sky

Cool air finds me under my collar
Grassy dew holds to my boots
My body lightens as
I join this morning song

Airport

Tiger! – Tamel!
Pre-dawn raid
Shooting shouting running
Chasing bullets through shattered glass
Refuge in the trees…

Sweet quiet smell
Of summer earth...
Lying on our bellies
In our best white shirts

Gentle whispers
Phut.... phut
Of Unseen bullets
Striking nearby

Children clutched at my side
Phut.... phut
In this strange game
That seems less real
Than I could ever imagine

Totem

artist: Ben Houstie 1995

^ ^
Family
Tree
On
A
Wooden
Pole
Spirits of ancestors fly on the wings of great birds
Many others travel with the fierce killer whale
Totem speaks from the front of our house
( . ( . ( . Eagle . ) . ) . )
Raven
Beaver
Bear
^^^^
Whale
Holding
Otter
^^^^
Three
Meter
Grizzly
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

}< ///o > ......}< ///o >...... }< ///o >

Reading room

Sunlight streamer
Perfect angled ray
Teasing dust dreamers
In and out of your way
So drawn from my story
I reach to rest my book
And stir new worlds to glory
Each inviting me to look

The Human Part

Can I just give you a hug right now?
I want to fall asleep in your arms
I want to feel the rain on my face
And hear the waves on the beach
And smell the moss in the forest

Winter tide

Playing on a winter beach
Sun's Warmth still far from reach
While wet and cold dare two bare feet
Precious moments I will keep

Lost in quiet, a forgotten place
My loose string of footprints trail through space
Now washed with waves that drowned the race
I feel the smile that finds my face

The smell of seaweed loosely rolled
With shells and rope and boards that hold
Wind-rows of stories all untold
That I with driftwood can unfold

The moon has whispered to the tide
The ocean turns and needs to rise
My footprints change in shape and size
And through the mist my soul can ride

Butterfly Clam

Beautiful broken blue butterfly
Sitting stuck-still in the sand
Half-buried beneath a black beach
Letting go of living life
Breaking into brittle bits
Then swashed as sand by sea

Special Places

There are places
We can stand
That will not let us
Be alone
Where our heart
Is drawn open
To the fullness
Of our time
Where senses unfold
To enter
The moment
Emerging
Bright and brand new
One with all
No thought of alone
none

Boat Wake on a Quiet River

After the boat went by...
Wave~
~upon
Wave~
~upon
Wash~
~upon
Splash...
Melting me into the moment