JESUS AT SEVENTEEN

I met Jesus As a teenager
Yes a real Jesus

Face to face
Mind in mind
In juvenile hall.

He admitted to
Defending an innocent
With his fists, confessed

That he needed to better learn
How to turn the other hemisphere

He sits with long hair
ultra white teeth
Against olive skin.

Growing from the center of his chin
The beginning of a beard,
Hints of becoming a physical man.

His energy filled the room,
Embraced me with goodness,
Truth and humor

His hands danced in unison
With words, those fingers
Wrapping around eternity

Felt the pull and spin
Of the earth’s rotation, his eyes,
The core and axis, felt

My life in his hands
adolescent flesh and flame
Being one with his emptiness.

2007

THE DAWN ADVANCING

The dawn advances
On a dream
As my wheels turn
Speeding down an
Empty 3 A.M. street
         In San Francisco

All alone
For the solitary lone-
liness and joy
        Travel brings.

2009

THE ENDLESS DEPTH OF STARS

There is an Africa
Which possesses me—
Which lives on the inside of
My world view—

The fine leaf intricate,
Invisible creatures seen,

A brief waterfall
After the rain, the

Temporary rivers
Releasing the dust

For the evening offering
Of dusk—prelude

To the surface of sky
And the endless depth of stars.

2009

THERE IS A JANUARY

There is a January
That won’t go away
A ceiling of clouds
Grey and misty.

I standby on the ground
Like in a room.
The sun enters
The windows all golden.

My joy turns yellow orange
The grass no longer green
On the land
                 I thought
I owned.

2009

WITHOUT HIM IN THE VISIBLE WORLD

At the San Diego Airport
On the other side
Of the fence from where
I was in 1975 when

My brother graduated
From M.C.R. D.
As a United States Marine.

Never thought I would be
Standing where I am
Without him in the visible world.

2009

A PHOTO BECOMES A SKETCH

A family photo taken
In this one nothing hidden
Bruises show in the negative

Make-up cannot hide their eyes
Dueling colors contrast
Her black and blue
          His blood shot red

With two kids on either side
Muted smiles on painted faces
Like well decorated bookends
          Holding secret histories.

2009

AUTUMN INVITES WINTER IN

Fog kisses the ends of the bridge.
Birds waffle on the water’s edge.

Palms stand unstill in the wind.
Grass once green now brown

(Autumn invites winter in)

As water ripples shift
               Mirroring endless skies.

2009

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DAYS

“Smear the queer”
         on the open field—
cream whoever has
          the ball—

Played at eleven different
          Elementary schools.

          During recess,
                      I was
Commanding General of the second
                      And third grades.

So much power
               For such a little frame.

1992

A PHOTOGRAPH: THE FLYING BOY

On Prainha Beach, in Rio
Years ago, among sand people
                And sun gods,

Papa flings me with mighty arms
                Into sky.

A new vista of him, of world:
Open arms, nearly nude, he waits
Underneath my flapping outstretched
                Wings,

Sings “smile son or you’ll bite
Your tongue.”

I feel all wind, and all of him
Will my body to suspend.

1993

A KIND REMINDER

At the final
hour of day,
you place
the delicate
daises
on the hardwood
table
for the sake of joy
and a kind reminder
to an otherwise
temporary life.

2008

ROBUST CLUSTERS

Thank you W.W.
for the inspiration
and breadth of what
a poet needs to be
in order to expand
the capacity of vision
and skills enough to discover
a reason to breathe and leave
all else behind for the beloved

In the open air
In the atoms of other travelers
In the robust embraces
of every single stranger.

2008

WITH JUST ENOUGH SPACE

Now my age
when i was born
my daughter
completely fifteen.

So many levels
to awareness
each age begs
awakening and
like human births
every exit and entrance
arrives with surprise.

All along the way,
my birthday girl,
stay open to moments
even though they close
when you don't want.

Pay attention--
the gaps in between
will reveal
what is needed and
prepare your living's
own unfolding.

2008