Made In The Shade

love’s fire

                 warm delight

burning through fright

                                      starring night

awe

          us to be light

Rendering Unending

when bodies die

                           we’re

transformed by mud

                                  sun

                                         sky

                                               so

why not

              our psyches

Empathy’s Remedy

compassion

    clear

mind

reel real

                finding fruitful ways

to feel

             wheel

                          deal

 heal

The Cat’s Meow

Sitting in my kitchen after teaching philosophy

I discover the meaning of life:

we’re all like white blood cells

in the body of the universe

doing what we can to help

when we’re called

(just like my father, a fireman, did  

whenever bells called him to a fire).

As this thought ends,

from my rooftop I hear a meowing cry

I might have ignored another time,

but since tonight answering calls

is the meaning of life

I walk onto the roof

where I see a skinny tabby.

I give it some milk.

In the morning, with my girlfriend’s help,

I carry the cat down the fire escape.

Since we are stronger than a seven pound cat

we break the cat’s many grips on the railing

and are able to put the cat on the sidewalk.

The cat hides under a car.

My girlfriend says, you now have a cat.

I name the cat Uni for Universe.

His name and meows sometimes remind me:

keep meowing for response;

keep responding to meows.   

Cries Arise

while tuning into

who we are

                    I smile surprised

by tears

              in my eyes

Sticking Together

tape one hand to heart

one hand over lips

                               and we’re

forever

             dancing