Smoke Signals

It is late but I’m
Still sitting here
Dreaming
Smoke shapes,
Clouds that animate
These landscapes of wide skies.
Somewhere here my ancestors lay buried
Forgotten skeletons in some forlorn closet
Me without the skeleton key,
But I have never felt so whole
Treading light steps on this Earth
My hand in yours,
Two sets of footprints left behind us.
The wind has not spoken to me in days
And yet this state of stagnance lets me drift
Inbetween
Collective clutter,
Murmurings from other worlds
Whispers that the path ahead is safe
Yet it remains in shadows
Stepping forward
Footfall, follows footfall
Tentative on hidden terrain
I will go there and back again
Trusting
That these moments
Can span like lifetimes
Open doors
Let me soar on sprouted wings
The future is uncertain
But here and now
There are you and I
And to live that simply
Is as beautiful
As a sunset over the ocean.
We can lean back watching the cloud-shapes
Wish on dusk’s first star
Sift our hands through one million bits of sand
But right now
There is nothing but you and I
And expansive prairie
The sun slowly cycling
Towards summer,
Fresh green sprouting in the fields
And later will come the sunkist gold
But today
We will touch the moist Earth
Feel fully this moment,
Though time reaches out tendrils
Prying into pasts,
Feeling out the future
But for me
As I watch the spiraling smoke signals
I see that I am not dreaming as I thought
But here and now
This is real!
The Earth
The sky
You and I...
And I laugh out to the wind
“Look at me now!”
I came here looking for skeletons
But those old bones
Have long grown cold
And my heart is still beating
My flesh warm,
My body has a soul.
So why do I look for things long gone?
Their spirits linger on
Whisper secrets to me.
Tell me things
My heart already knew.
Beckoned me with formless hands,
Told me which spots to stand
So that I would find you.
Because life is still going on
And on
And they knew
I would love you.

The Dream

Image by: Josephine Wall


I saw a rainbow
Prismed in Victoria Falls
Saw black clasp hands with white
Neither flinching
I looked into the eyes of poverty
Became unable to turn away
Watched smiles unfold
Looked into the hearts of the many
Saw joy, not despair
Was overcome with love
I let my wishes be washed to sea
Let my prayers be answered
Let go of the things that chained my spirit
Held a newborn babe
Sat with the old and wise awhile
I danced at dawn
And again at dusk
Sang praises to the heavens
Whispered poetry to the wind
I shook hands with the elite as equals
Looked them square in the eye
And held my ground
I spoke for 1,000,000 unheard voices
Then woke up in my own bed
Too soon the dream faded away

Letting Go

Image from: http://www.designflavr.com/Stardust-Philipp-Schilling-i172/


We are as chained
As we choose to be
We are as lost
As we let ourselves be
I am a free spirit
I jump and laugh and yell
I turn heads
Receive stares
Sometimes swear
But I am happy
I want to be
More than these 2 feet
2 arms
1 head
My heart overflows with a world of love
My mind dreams
My spirit soars
I am an eagle
I am a tiger
I am a dolphin
I am sun and moon and stars
I am the wind
The earth
The water
I hold the Universe in my belly
I sing babes to sleep
I crow the morn's first light
I taste the rain
The ocean spray
The dust storms
I rush with hurricane force
Move mountains
Form islands with molten hands
Cloak myself in fog
Live on eternal
I am light
I am darkness
I am ALL
All is ONE

Sing for 7 Generations

Image from: http://www.asanet.org/introtosociology/TeacherResources/IMForUnitIII.html

Leap up and sing songs
Today we join together
Rise up against our oppressors
Leave behind the merciless night
Burst forth in radiant dawn
Today is the beginning of all days
All before washed clean
We bridge oceans
We circle lands
Chant in tongues of love
Dare to envision the future
Cherish the Elders
Pass this world to the Children
Teach Respect
Humility
Love
Honesty
Bravery
Truth
Wisdom
Clear the way for 7 Generations

Why?

File your initials in my skin

I am already dead

Hours lost in some sort of sickened daze

Lying to myself that I'm alright

Sucked dry

Dead but still walking

Did the institution

Finally steal my soul?

Locked me up in whitewashed walls

Shut out the light

March in a line

Speak when spoken to

You have no rights

Just burn the Charter now

It's a lie

Everyone's will be heard first

Tell the children

Sweet little lies

Cover their ears

Paint illusions of false hope

This is your job

Now take your place

Now wait in line

Make things easier

Create an illusion of success

Don't worry it will get easier

The Truth

Tried to close my eyes

Because my world was spinning

Trapped myself in empty towers of stone

But you cannot chain a soul

They always find their way back to the truth

Looking for change

Need to rearrange

A few things

But tomorrow brings

New life

And we should be so afraid to step up

It's really messed up

And it seems like there's too strife

Horrors happen before our eyes

Images procured

To cause a stir

There is a loss of innocence

Those days came and went

Showed us only pain

And it continues

It's insane

We become numb to it

Block it out

Try to forget about

The world

But we are only hiding from ourselves

In empty rooms, on dusty shelves

Try discarding are beliefs inside the door

Entering the world as empty shells

It's a slow hell

Open up the door

You think you can't take it anymore

But sit back as you're assailed by wave on wave

Be brave

There is a lot of pain

But truth's worth more.

Stagnant

Stagnance

Creativity has died

Falling into sharp reminders

Memos written in black ink

Compute screens glaring

Phones blaring

Trapped in institutional white

Papers, papers

Flying like gulls

Watch this empire fall

Slaves of economics

Living for our pockets

What's most important

Has been lost