Along the Journey (selected poems)
A Celebration of the Solitary Life
I am
I am not Present, I am not Here
Intimate Truth
Grandchild
Nighttime


A Celebration of the Solitary Life

There's time to be and no one stopping me
The expectations put on me did not allow me to be
Had I left them where they lay
I could have gone a different way
Like bound breasts whose milk runs dry
the who, I was, was not the I
For the Dreams I picked them up
For the Dreams I put them on
But the Dreams were not mine and
soon what was, was hard to find
For the Dreams I picked them up
and looking back to that time
had I known who I was
I would have known they were not mine
And strange though it may seem
I think that those who held the Dreams
had picked them up just like me
never knowing who was meant to be

I Am

I am the small freebird who almost died
and now nests in tall city buildings
grasping for a space in our world
I am the salmon of wisdom who
swam the seven rivers and is slipping
from this world
I am the birdsong, no longer heard on this earth
the wolf who mates for life
the whale who sings across
the breadth of our oceans
and so are you
and when these beings are gone
from our world
I too will be gone
and so will you

I Am Not Present
I Am Not Here

I am not present
I am not here
Now I'd like to say
I'm off exploring
other worlds today
so forgive me if
I seem a little slow
there's lots to learn
in other worlds you know
But sad to say
that's not my defense
My mind is busy with other tense
with what's been done
and what's to come
with what went wrong
and what could have been
Now they might seem
like okay thoughts
but if I'm always there
and never here
it will never be now
and I'll never be me
It's so hard to stop
the noise up there
to watch the wind
to smell the air
to watch the eyes
of someone who speaks
and hear his soul
to breathe slow
and hear earth's sounds
above the rest
Sometimes,
I think my mouth can run
on auto-pilot
while my mind is on stun
I've grown, and healed
and become
more whole
but something is still missing
that permanent connection
to my soul
She tries to speak above the noise
she has to scream
she has to shout
Finally, I hear
and I go out
to a place of quiet
and listen
When I can be in my soul
and my soul in me
and we can be
in the here and now
Then I'll have found
that place of peace
where friends are souls
and nature speaks
where visions are powerful
and paths are clear
Then I'll be present
Then I'll be here

dedicated to Jon Kabat-Zinn
for his work in helping us to be where ever we are

Intimate Truth

I don't want to hear
what you think I want to hear
I want to know what your soul
whispers to you in the dark
I want to know what
sparks your senses
stirs your spirit
quickens your step
quiets your mind
and soothes your soul
I want to know what you see
when you look within
What fears hold you back
what dreams call you forward
I don't want to hear
what you think
I want to hear
I want to know what your soul
whispers to you in the dark

Grandchild

We play together
running talking
rolling laughing
We speak through
her plastic toys
imagining great leaps
and hazardous falls
No pain is felt
horses fly
roosters lie down to sleep
She is three
loved, protected
and happy
I feel gratitude to her
mother, my daughter
her father, my friend
for their gift of
beautiful parenting
It is a gift they give the world.
For every day
their child places in this world
a joyous, loving, healing energy
She and all like her
hold the promise
of all the good that may be
I thought of other children
unloved or uncared for
those hungry and unhappy
I cried
for all that is lost to our world
every day in all the corners
or our unseeing lives
I wished for our world
the knowing
of all the love just waiting
within each of us
Waiting to show us
what children are born knowing
we are all meant
to be happy

Nighttime

May all that is holy
bless all the Earth
May all humankind
know their full worth
May the Light and the Truth
be known to us all
so our self made prisons
can crumble and fall
May Earth's energies
weave through our soul
so our Love and Compassion
can heal the world whole

Dedicated to John O'Donohue
who helped me remember
the beauty of prayer