Home

"I have no home," she said to me.
There I sat and pondered her thought.
What is a home? I thought
What would it be like for me to have no home?
How do we properly define "home"?
For "home" is more than a four-letter word.
Its boundaries are not limited by geographical dimensions.
Home is where we are liberated to fully be ourselves without fear
A place, perhaps THE place, to live outside of restraints imposed on us by the world.
Home is a place of rest and absolute security.
It is where we laugh, we love, we live, we give, we enjoy.

Bubble Head Girl

I'm the girl with the bubble head on,
in my own world today
Trying to silence
the cacophony raging around me
Rage! Rage! In seemingly vain attempts
to capture elusive peace
So sink me to the bottom of the ocean,
melodic surf quieting my soul
No need to rise above the water
the mermaids will take me in
Simply serenading me to bliss
with the stillness of it all surrounded by water's gentle touch

Eduardo

Mi maestro. Patient with me.
Cuando hablo muy lento, tu comprendes.
Never fixated on conjugation. Grateful.
Simply allowing me my mistakes. Mi tortuga.

I don’t want to say goodbye. Solamente hasta luego amigo.
I will miss you greatly friend.
Because of your help my Spanish has quickly improved.
Gloria a Dios.

Back to beloved Spain.
Though gone, I will remember your smile and our shared laughter.
Como cuando decir mi cabeza esta una sopa ahora explota.
I hope we meet in Sevilla again.

Take You In

I want to take you in as the air
Never thinking, only breathing

I want to feel you like my pulse
Never thinking, only living

I want to abide in your tranquil river of peace
Never thinking, only deeply content

Swimming in Mud

I feel like I'm swimming in mud now,
like you pushed me in.
You took away my choice when you pushed me,
but I'll accept this fate.
Father, up on the lake's edge,
throw me a life preserver, let your wisdom come down.
Wash the muck of unintended situations off
and let Your honest peace enter in to resolve this awkward mess

Rio Antonio

Antonio, you are a strong and humble river
pushing what needs moving forward with ease and grace

You have been vulnerable, spilling forth your water,
and when your gorged banks overflowed you brought the entombed flower blossoms to life

The bends of your river have taken you through the desert
while you learned to rest your hope on Him above and taught others how to flow likewise

You are the determined river that penetrated craggy rock
and brought your blue delight into parched sojourners

Oh river, part of you is evaporating soon, a reinvented river for us to behold
as a glorious rainbow to always remind us of your joy, warm smile, and laughter

Antonio, tu eres un humilde y fuerte rio,
moviendote y empujando facilmente y con gracia hacia adelante.

Has sido vulnerable, derramando el agua
y cuando sus bancos se desbordarón, las flores sepultaron la vida.

Las curvas que tu rio han tomado a traves del desierto,
te enseñaron a descansar en esperanza, por encima de los demas y enseñastes tambien a fluir.

Eres un rio azul poderoso, que penetras en escarpadas rocas
y el pelegrino sediento se deleita en ti.

Oh rio, parte de ti se esta evaporando rapidamente, como un rio inventado por nuestra vista,
como un arco iris glorioso, que nos da alegria y nos saca una sonrisa.


Note: Spanish translation compliments of my friend, Eduardo Manuel Arias y Baz.

Upon Hearing Ray

Well Ray, you say you gotta woman,
but I'm wondering if I can
ever find the man who wants to be
with me, who'll mean it when he says he loves me

Don't sing me some soul
just give me yours
So our rhythm and blues
will be nothing but a unified dance of life

A Prayer to Stoke Love's Dying Fire

Free and true
make my love unto you

Revive the fire that's died within
relationship renewed, let sincere passion begin

Desiring what You say is good
in total sincerity not simply because I should

Pine, yes let me pine,
until your reflection is completely mine

Music Isn't Colored

Music isn't colored
though it colors the world.

There's blue jazz
and the blues.

Red taiko drums forcefully struck
with tan sticks.

Porcelain white face masks donned,
sparse notes ring out during Noh.

"Black, black everywhere" conjectures only the ignorant
when death metal and rap play.

Is green the color of bodhrán and penny whistle
and céilidh and jig?

And white is not the lone color
of square dancing and contradance.

No, music isn't colored
though it colors the world.

Ode to Simoné Van Der Berg

Simoné, we've only just begun to know one another
But I must already tell you that you ... simply ... inspire me

You, who took care of her grandma when no one else would or could for love
You, though a child, actively assuming an adult's role as provider and source of security

Somehow, some way you found the School of Hope, your saving redemption
And so, you've seized your chance to erase the past, to jettison gangs and young motherhood

Now you arise as a captivating phoenix displaying a beautiful new story for others to follow
With family who've become friends, a playful spirit, and a destiny filled with hopeful service

You are fun and brave. We met because you dreamed and dared enough to step onto another bird
And fly here --- with your glorious kinky hair, creamy mocha skin, and eyes that bid me enter into your soul

Your path from Jo'burg to the City That Never Sleeps has given you new chapters
Transformed, your doubts buried in their concrete graves, by ordinary New Yorkers walking the streets daily

Now you stand blissfully tall walking in complete even in solitude
You are free, filled with hope, living out of the box, setting others free from their invisible barriers

You return soon to South Africa knowing life will never be the same
You will make sure to encourage your younger brother and sister to graduate from school

Simoné, you will, you are making a difference determined to inspire
And so, at your watch, there will be no more poverty and kids will finish school to live hopeful lives

On My Walk Home

big breeze blows biting bitterly
coldly caressing chilled cheeks

Jim's Ode

"He'd have kittens!" he said,
with not the slightest look of dread.
Desk moved, office a ruckus.
Party ready to begin!
Approaching living with spunky vibrancy.

Untitled

In the darkness the shadow appeared
calling to her, a most comforting, yet despised siren
She wrestled in the night, reminding herself of what had come before
trying to silence the siren’s pleas
And in the struggle, the lion appeared, roaring ready to devour
He was cunning, an old foe, who knew her well,
though one, more ancient, knew her better
The lion closed his mouth, for now, knowing he could lead her
the trivial trinket dangled before her, alluring, just enough
The soft, velvety paws, began to walk, drawing her from the spring
She followed him along the ridge and journeyed down, down
Each step drew her closer, yet more distant, to intended destination
The surf lapped upon the shores, wave after wave
beckoning like the deceptively gentle undertones of the lion
Purrs muddled with ebbing current, the serenading Bacchic pipes arousing
Inhibitions gone exchanged for pleasure and fantasy,
she plunged into the salty waters and drank deeply
She swam until the tide made her weary and return to the shore
There she lay, finally comatose, upon her grainy bed
The lion opened his mouth once more delighted at his fallen prey
Unable to stir or speak, the effects of the salt water, she could only but watch
He encircled, relishing her scent, sniffing with glee, taking his time to consume
Fantasy turned horror, mute, convicted and paralyzed
She could do nothing except await his impending, flesh-piercing, lacerations
Overwhelmed with desire, he leapt upon her as silent screams echoed forth
Butcher savagely, the lion thought, and yet with each vicious bite
blood and salt water surged forth from her mouth and wounds rendering healing
The lion ate without remorse consumed with hateful desire and gorged himself
Invisible before him, a new woman lay, revived and free from her saline death
Though he was deaf to her words, she thanked him for liberating her
appreciative of unintended pedagogy and renewal, returning to the spring

Seesaw

Elusive seesaw. Why can I not find you?
Have you been hidden in the sandbox?
Why stay encircled by the Ring Around the Rosies?
I have enjoyed this game of Hide-and-Go-Seek too long.
Do you not make yourself visible because you think me too old for the playground?
My childhood has not passed.
And so, I sit, and await you on the swings.

Dawn Breaks Anew

Dawn broke over the field,
Light piercing the blades of grass,
Like shards etched out of the ice
As graceful skater weaves seamlessly to and fro.
The cold seeped into him until he was numb
To all but his pain and the relentless lies.
He awoke.
Another day to drink his wounds away,
To forget the hateful shouts of
"I wish you were dead."
"You are the son I don't have any more.
Get out of my life!"

He ached for his pain to leave him.
Yet, it followed him, his inseparable shadow,
Wielding taunt after taunt
Until he believed the lies and they became truth.
Loser. That's all I am, he thought.
A bum for life, my wretched destiny.
And so, he took his dole and drank it away
Until hands shook without ceasing until inebriation.
Friends parted. Deception became daily reality.

"God, if you are real, why don't you help me?"
"Why AREN'T you helping me?"
"You must not be real then!"
Agony. Mental torture. Sorrow. Loss.
He consumed his fulvous pints in vicious cycle.
Stellas next. Then gum. All counterfeits to hide the shame.
Surrounded by humanity but constantly ignored.
Loneliness and falsehoods his best mates.

Nine years later. Copious love, grace, and hope gently sown.
A transformed man with a grateful heart.
Atheist turned Christian.
Cheeky but tender with those who live as he once did.
Brilliant. Renewed. Comical. Patient with distinction.
Beloved son.
A father some day soon
Writing new futures bright with ambition and purpose.
Radiating smile both now and then
Revealing the light deeply placed within.