the people you like/the people you love

they are with you
they care for you
they play the empty piano
squeeze the bright skies for joy
this is why high wire between us
no safety net -just wings(invisible
we are connected fine as mist
particles/these add more oxygen
to the serenading stars
Here you are -with earth foundations
cloud bandages,lightning changes
elementary these facets of you in them
and they in you-extending indefinitely
this matrix of inter-relationships.Surf this!
Deep beneath ,above,surrounding
Thin links sustain us-all of every part of us-
the people you care for-the people you are!

UNDER THIS FULL MOON

outside my morning window-round,close
as if i could just reach through
and pluck this globe from the starlit sky
illuminating wednesday with a healthy glow
of course i know it is from long ago
and that distance and time separate us
yet would i best expect an intimacy
when she enters my dreams even before awakening
I know less about her surfaces(pockmarked or perfect
and the names of her past lovers stay on maps for others
I see my moon as silent poetry-no sound
apart from passing trains demanding rites of passage
Moon alone,above,within-a dream
for this specific morning/when
it will soon be dimmed by rise of warm
yet its cool white disc /ancient as this
hangs suspended in my window/framed
by trees and clouds and stars and names
unknown.She is on her throne.She rules(my visual attention
Every wildflower nods .Every weed rises to skies
She is the reason for this rhyme.Moon time.

PRAYING FOR WILDFLOWERS

ON her street fringe-by the roadside
riot of colors-flowers!..standing to attention
sharing bright and brilliance-she is amazed by this!
planted,prayed,and watched-as they rose
now they compete as to who will shine their Light most
towers of petals with core for bees visits
she prayed for this-and her prayers were answered!
Devotion never lost-focus of energies/and we
are connected to all living by active listening
She is a flower planted in South Austin
Now she grows bright and brilliant with house concerts and gardens
Musicians pilgrimage to sing with her/dream with her
as she sings and plays guitar/with anyone who will play with her
Her flower stands out-solo ,unitary,one-
she has come to this point of celebration
where all those seeds planted in her garden
can now bloom in human smiles,and the joy of those surrounding
for Paula Held on April 26,2010 in her Garden

MIDNIGHT TO DAWN /INSTANT ANTHOLOGY 2010

No idea is new-it was Tim Woods of Dallas
who introduced us to the concept
of gathering poets at a reading(round robin style)
asking them to bring 50 copies of their original works
then collating them during the reading
and distributing copies to all who contributed-
sans editing/censorship or standards or controls
Whatever happens each time unique
as snowflakes and fingerprints and poetry DNA
Whatever is read does not have to come from teh book
and a marathon reading(like a film festival)
allows diversity to show its verse free
of fear of judgments or of censorship.
This has happened @THE HIDEOUT
@(new defunct)MOVEMENTS GALLERY (on Sixth Street)
@MAGNOLIA CAFE and many times at old and new RUTA MAYA
While not exactly historic,such an exercise relies upon co-operation
Poets need to be sharp and clear to keep the reading moving
Someone needs to assemble,collate,provide a cover
and each poet is responsible for their written and verbal behavior
DAVID BATES(Host of Tuesday Nights Ruta Maya Open Mike
and CHIP ROSS(poet/drummer )provided cover and continuity
and BOB MUD a line drawing of great Barton Springs beauty
to visually restore the environmental impact of trees turned into poetry
6am the cleaners came in-all the books created /distributed
Smiling caffeinated poets disassembled for breakfast in Austin Town
and another Midnight to Dawn Instant Anthology
was passed around

CAPTAIN COLOR!(and LADY BLUE!

Inspired by Ashley Kim(who actually listens to children (of all ages
Captain Color resurrected for the Ruta Maya Children's Sessions Sunday morning AIPF
Fool clown understood by fresh hatched wombwet ones
who understand both movement and colors
and joy and openness,we stood-Lady Blue accompanying
entering the magickal world of the very very small people
Now-soon there would be the Children's Anthology
(a standing room only event of magnanimous success
organized by Lady Blue with suitable accomplices
but this early session was an open mike
for those with sound poems and movement poems
but not necessarily words as yet.No matter-they are attracted
to the prospect of actually being heard,and line up with their trusted parents
so that they might best share their miniature amazing worldviews
Riddles and songs and poems and stories flowed like honey on sandwiches
(there is no limit in the world of imagination nation,and
time was almost up before a prodigy or two emerged
to speak to their own generation in pre- and after-words
Isabella Taylor shared sonnets with panache
Max his mathematical bent,and time went so fast
the room was filled with those awaiting wonder
in the form of the annual Children's Anthology
so Lady Blue(in charge of bubbles,shakers and colors)
changed costume in time for another miracle of children-
sharing their creativities in front of elder generations
And Captain Color could retire secure in the knowledge
that after each generation of wonder
another new wave is surfing enthusiastically after
even,endless,anon-Lady Blue shines on!

what is important?

as our poets creak sails in elder beds
some pilgrimage to them
to sit and listen or share some salad says
or stir the soup of reminescences
others,absent from these front lines,remind us-
bees are disappearing,and someone needs to restore balance
it is not for honey,money,fame nor fortune-
more for the continuance of diverse expression
that takes writers into gunrunning,drugs,alcoholism
religious crusades,anonymity and voting in elections
The fields of choices are poppies @Flanders Fields
white for peace,red for blood sacrifice
Someone has to set nonviolent prisoners free
Someone has to dance naked every fool moon
Someone has to keep vigil with the children
as they grow around our knees,witnessing our limits
One will run all his life Another meditate.Third will shop
More will store experiences within cameras or these barrel words
so bees might sip @future flowers,instead of a website of what once was
What is important is to know what is important
It is different for us all.It always was.Always will be
And that is poetry.

HEMISPHERE!

"everything changes when you start to sing!"
Once a month,Alison and Arno come to this Dripping Springs cafe
within a furniture store,an improvised stage
among the objects d'art-and they sing!
in a circle old as antiques-
they extend welcome to all in a come all ye
that resonates within what would otherwise be a shopping precinct
So we pilgrimaged to support in March
and again in April(for had they not extended their support
to Oda-Lisa @Round Robin Review(Maui Wowie?
Had they also not supported Thirsty Thursday?
(Third Thursdays at New Life Lutheran Church)
always with joy and panache and much positive energy!
So Lee played Native American flutes
Bob Mud played his many wind instruments
The night became a circle spiraling high
as smoke rising from some Sacred Fire
Elemental it was-added to by the fuel of voice
as Alison sang WORDS and Arno serenaded with guitar
Once a month is not enough-
yet they converted a coffee house/wine bar
into a tribal gathering(which always happens when you sing-
The wind listens.The sky is in tune
Earth hears and vibrates with us beneath our feet
and Dripping Springs becomes more human-
more than impending WALMART/
more than soccer mum shopping
And this always happens
when Alison and Arno gather in a circle
welcome you in-and you sing!
FOURTH FRIDAYS@Hemishere 28000 RR12 Dripping Springs
6.30pm-9pm

farewells,endings,departures,uniqueness

your eyes glaze at hitchhiking tales
(so passe-impossible these mass murdering days..
much less talk of acid,mushrooms,peyote,visionquests-
all these outside your experience
LEGALIZE IT! translates as "decriminalize"
Medical Marijuana the new front line
prisons still bulge with non-violent offenders
drug wars now behead both police and army
This conversation becomes another when
there are certain topics verboten
Once records were not censored-
now they carry FCC warnings-and radio and TV
are censored media-with fines for lapses
Free speech a lost issue-when protestors are tasered
and FREE SPEECH ZONES limit liberties until they are lost
We are now used to abuse by police-
black people still shot,illegals still jailed..
No one questions why prisons are for profit
privitized and poor quality-like schools
(which have become low level detention camps)
Never ask about waterboarding,tortures or civilian murders
There are issues we dare not speak about
to even raise them brings in Teheran,China,Tibet
This is where poetry is needed.Here is where we ask you..
Where are your words of wisdom -for the defense of the human race
requires a sense of humanity,respect ,focus and attention
This is where you come in...
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION on April 24,2010

WE ARE INVISIBLE

like those sounds that dogs can hear but we cannot
like microscopic particles/viruses/electrons
we are beyond the visible spectrum
we can sit next to someone with white earphones
and they cannot hear us at all
we can perform poetry and encourage others
and every word forgotten
we can open mikes and hearts(but not wallets
we are invisible! The great gift is to enjoy this-
as fountains do-adding ozone of happiness mist unconditionally
as nuclear sun does-beaming anonymously in disintegration
as stars do-sending light over huge distances
as moon reflects upon us.How lucky we are!
If anyone finds themselves listening attentively
asking questions,or altering their ancestral patterns
they will find it hard to explain the existence of poets-
as co-workers,friends,lovers,or family members
They may wonder exactly why this irrational exuberance
Smile! Say nothing.This poem explains all-
how it is and why we wish to be invisible..
on April 23,2010

EARTH DAY 2010

i gave 5 plastic bags to Central Market
and took another reusable one home
I bought a half price books card
and was given a plastic water bottle
I looked for any sign of diminished consumption-
found only urges towards more
wondered if our earth had a voice
would she earthquake China to prove a point?
would she flood over populated areas?
disrupt weather patterns?
bring acid rain to kill all trees
and radiate whole areas-o no!
that was us,in graveyards and plastic Sargasso Seas
filling up this earth like a water bottle
thinking all is disposable
This is a closed system
Everything remains(until it changes
Sweat from Egypt falls in rain
Nuclear fallout leaches into our water supply
until we realize it was never ours-
we borrowed it from our children's children
Our ancestors bones beneath our feet
We walk on eggshells.Dream rainforests
While highrise towers block our sunlight
and feng shui becomes a story told to children
Once upon a time,there was an earth...
Before us-and afterwards
April 22,2010

RESPONSE ABILITY

everything leads to something else
we are all influenced and influential
every step we take brings others with us
bravery is permitted..
Julia Butterfly in her tree
brave girl standing up to Israeli bulldozers
Those who save our whales and dolphins
You have one life-and you can use it
to add to all that sings around you
Attunement is a listening exercise
Respect is due environment
All is sensitive and sentient
All is songline threaded joy
Every one of us is millions
Example teaches us new ways
to navigate all labyrinths
You walk outside your comfort zone
find more awaiting /watching
for a brighter Light(there is only us here
When you ask another to take risks
Make sure a safety net is provided
We are only ever human-this blessing secular
calls us to be united.One by one by one begin
Right now,and here-with you-and i...
on april 22,2010(EARTH'S ONLY DAY!)

WORDJAZZ@VICTORY GRILL

Sara-Jane on flute,Cami on sax,Doug drums ,Harold bass
An eclectic mix of silver frequencies and golden tones
Within the walls of this historic Victory Grill,we
invoked connections of harmonic means
"by any means necessary"-we inverted conflict
to find the Golden Mean within
Happiness Gardens between-Bridges of Emoting
like chocolate -covered strawberries on the counter
Miss Marla returned to her form-we
aligned with her desires,connected and connecting
flew via saxophone and flute
Foundation bass and drums/voice between
reaching out via dreams to human beings
This was the mirror reflecting
This was one unique evening
Dreams became lines within auricles,and we
became the jazz of which words speak
and only instruments can reach.Teach us more!
Each night a diamond star.We fall as we rise to attention
Soon WORDJAZZ will return(again..and we will all..


leave it to your imagination on april 16,2010

what to do with this(age)

when all you know has faded
only you remember-widow,widower
another faster age has slipped into the drivers seat
leaving a certain physical helplessness as passengers
Elders are not treated well(unless rich-
like at a will,magnetically attracted
to the prospects of pickings,friends found
are never seen at poverty funerals
Burn my body!Donate organs!
Whatever works to forestall this slow negligence
There is aliveness within this skeleton dance!
My older eyes have storied lines
My speech is stuttering syllables
Yet steam has passed to tourist train sundays
And new nuclear families split the proceeds
We dream solo shadows,sip thin soup
Sleep no longer necessary as we dip into these years
You have not the time to listen as we talk
You have appointments to forestall your fears
One day you will be small blanket single bed
One day you will be less.Right now,you wonder what to do
with all these shadows that collect.Like memories,i expect
you will forget.Elder shadows for the fire or framed garage sales
Hold us in your hands.We are you with years ahead
And only backwards to remember
On April 21,2010

POETRY T.V

Every year the same-we gather in East Austin studios of PACT
improvise new poetry(with musical backing)
and watch as it is recycled endlessly on cable TV over aeons
You may be channel surfing at midnight-slip into ACCESS 16
and bright colors come out of the empty tube to remind you
human beings make poetry with and for you!Flip the switch
we will still return.This cycle creative and expressive
open to all-in fact,more apply than there is room for
Each year expands even while PACT is threatened
volunteers still reach out to include the poetry community,and we
share flowers and feathers of sounds and silences
to better fly through the war zones of our time.
Poetry is the Esperanto of our Spirit-argot of soul
We add to each others' worlds via mediated TV,and we
are you with words on-a suit of verbal flowered fashion you can wear
whenever you are channel surfing -and find poets OUT THERE!
Channel 16 EXSE POETRY SESSIONS

in an age of invisible things

like viruses and volcanic ash
radioactivity and avian flu-
we know via effects what these things can do
We have become the final filter of altered nature
Chopped trees,built houses on Holy Ground
Even bones mutter discontent beneath us
All these young men and their victims sharing graves again.
Now the air carries particulates-remember Chenobyl
where Welsh sheep carried radiation deeply?
Everywhere is cesspool,plastic oceans,detritus,trash
we are becoming what was expelled from us
From expanding universe to closed system
first the thought(invisible)
next the effects(quite tangible
All aircraft grounded while volcanoes sing
We are prisoners on a planet that we are burning
The moon reminds us of distance and of light
There will be no planes in the Sacred Air tonight!

for the silent ones

like you,i was silent too
brought up to be seen and not heard
quiet,obedient,withdrawn-
i knew what was going on
but i could not articulate it
till i found the alphabet
in the tongues of those around me
found wings of vocabulary
rejoiced in listening(deeply)
to everyone and everything
Watched from a distance the difference
between actions and speech
Years passed.They still do-
only faster now,with no certainty
i speak to you that it is safe to take risks
Speech is as natural as breathing
Listening and watching are art forms too
but what you create and communicate is unique to you
I will not ask you to speak before your time
Nor to dance with everyone watching
I just ask you to consider the possibilities
that trust is an earned measure
and you are worthy of your own
so when your time has come
rise up with wings of words
and never look down!
FOR SCHREINER CIRCLES (HIGHER! April 14,2010

how open?

yes (we need the rain-
but these storms?
gentle folk withdraw
when grackles caw
trumpeting thunder
scares all birds
disturbance/dissonance
substitutes static for signaling
Preference is all-ignore mores-
standard deviations kill followers
cliches are not calendars!
Seasons within/around/surround
One day peak experience/
next Sacred Ground
Starbucks permits gun carrying publically
i want you to carry your poetry
tattooed clearly upon ipad,in ipod,MP3
This is a Declaration Of Emergence
(not Emergency)-we breathe the same air,so where
comes this notion that violence is entertainment?
Bread,circuses,Colosseum-Rome still fell
Wars,bombings,assassinations-songs still rise
in harmony with every elemental being
Ride this wave of Spring fed joy!
Gardens grow in Light,as we do
Storms pass,we change,peace rules
Genial and eccentric as poetic fools!
LET GENTLENESS VISIT US on April 14,2010

THIS HABIT YOU HAVE?(of dying)-i do not agree with it!

The way i see life is continuance
continual change of consciousness
Death is when we stop-even then we change
in form and function(food for worms
and add to our world one form at a time.
I like this moment,and the way
we unfold like flowers in the sun of smiles
I like what happens when we grow
especially when we grow together
in the same air,on this one earth,attuned and joyous.
Times like this allow me to deal with sudden endings.


and another thing.!whether we return
we still have lessons to learn right here and now
i pin no butterfly wings upon another chance
if i am wrong,sing your bright sparrow song
and i will listen to your versions of your truth


but just in case i am alive
stay right!

HIDDEN WIMBERLEY

Where there is water(Jacobs Well,Cypress Creek,Blue Hole..
there is settlement.Pioneers.People of depth and dimension
So it is with John Ellis-a member of Wimberley Writers
who assisted in the publication of "Memory's Shorts"
His own opus was "80@80"-which he published
on his 80th cycle round one sun,with 80 poems therein!
He used to frequent the Round Robin Review@Maui Wowie
when that was held on Thursdays in the car park of Brookshire Brothers
Recently,his health has been suffering(he is in Seton-
and this is a petition to your healing consciousness
to send your best thoughts,prayers and meditations to him,
so he might explore 81 poems@81 cycles round one sun
Every prayer bead and affirmation works
Every act of goodwill shines.His lifeline extends when
you devote time ,energy and attention to his continuation
John Ellis his name-focus upon a smiling thin man
willing to add to this world with joy ,poem and panache
Petition for his preservation and good health.
Prove that poetry is love in words-and that it preserves life
for the good of all.One line at a time.One human being.One life.All!
FOR JOHN ELLIS on April 12,2010

AUSTIN'S POT LUCK ANNUAL JAM

Bring a dish to load the tables with!
Bring your instrument to add to all!
Gather in the hall of some Unitarian Church
Wait for the first new notes to call
Flutes of the forest from all earth beneath us
Turtle Island unites with Gondawanaland
Now more musicians resurrect THE BEATLES
Circles are formed for more sing-a-longs
And if the crowd is too loud,go outside for a while
where smaller circles will restore your smile
Oscillate between the two ,hover near the tables
where new foods are added in the munch of a minute
and disappear in the plate of a song!
You may stay short or long-
Austin strums guitar songs/plays keyboard along
everyone who wants to joins in these songs
New folk replenish the tables of pleasure
New musicians add instruments of measure
Some return home with children in hand
Others stay long into the purple evening
And this repeats every year(this is 57!
as we come to celebrate the birthing of Austin
and he returns to us our reasons for celebrating-
food,music,goodwill and the pleasure of friends
Once these jams start,it is hard to end
And that is why we will all return again
to share his annual birthday pot luck jam!
SUNDAY APRIL 11,2010

Sing Dude!

i love the rain

our garden grows best with the kiss of wet
seeds rise green with liquidities
i love movies of snow(from a screening distance)
up close,it is cold,wet and inconvenient
i love sunshine(so long as it is not TOO hot)
(drought bakes bones and adds skin cancers)
long ago,realized that living between preferences
is perhaps the best we can wish for-
that even moderation in excess cloys and curdles
that taste is an acquired taste,and changes as we change
that RIGHT and WRONG are often contextual
and we violate someone else's moralities just by being here
So i rejoice in rain and heat,wet and cold
seek comfort where we can,and shelter in the possibilities of change
(for the better,that is..according to our current prevailing prejudices
and that is sweet ,according to me,on sunday april 11,2010
what do YOU feel? what do YOU think?your poetry?

IDEAS, and EMOTIONS LIMITED

The idea of an idea is a false idea
The idea of a frog is not a frog
A cartoon is a movie slowed right down
You cannot eat ideas-even Readers 'Digest
The picture of a meal satisfies visual appetites
The sound of a promise is sedation
VOTE FOR YOURSELF!(says every politician!
Water over paper-are ideas waterproof?
Storm insurance for rising tides of peoples?
Is retro-the future?
Who was it said-personify!?
Flat Earth Societies fell off the globe
Divorce-(nuclear family)-once atom split=Humpty Dumpty!
Do you believe in ideas?How about not?
The limits of belief are will.
Projecting a movie of projectionists(solipsims slippers
Kangaroo logic-naming creates reality!
REAL ESTATE OPTIMISMS! FOR SALE =REPOSSESSIONS!
Basho frog sushi.Served on lily pads!
Sand once rainforests will be oasis.Just add water!
INSTANT BLISS! JUST ADD JOY!
All water is recycled.Just like us.
If ONCE UPON A TIME is now(what happens next?
Heaven was here(until rents rose.EVICTED(again!
Ideas do not clash.Cars and people and economies crash.
A bird does not need to know she is a bird-or that she is a she.
Identity is not a crisis-more a manna festation.
You weave your selves in to every lion.ROAR!
Coach to train to plane to ?
Progress of ideas is oven retro-
It is fashionable to copy original fashions!

EMOTIONS,LIMITED
ever felt something that does not have a name?
ever NOT felt an emotion?
ever been stuck in a feeling ?
ever visited an emotion(with no return ticket?
ever felt that emotions were not enough?
are you only emotions?
which one?
is detachment impossible?if not,how?
what time lapses before you feel?
how long does an emotion resonate?
what emotions are wrong?are any right?
how do you change emotions?
which feeling dies first?which survive us?
or do all emotions rely upon us to make them real?

TEA PARTIES vs COFFEE SHOP CULTURE

We used to have tea parties @Gini's Tea Rooms on April Fools Day
They were benefits for touring poets,and goodwill flowed freely
Tea and scones and jam and cucumber sandwiches were the order of the day
and original poetry and music were the lingua franca
Now tea has again been appropriated for political purposes
much like those tea bales thrust overboard in Boston Harbor
as a protest against taxation without representation
Well,we are more than this!Culture is a kiss of possibilities
so every independent coffee shop now has poetry readings
and open mikes where democracy can be practiced to perfection
note that we do not gather solely for coffee consumption-
some of us are catholic enough to embrace tea in all its forms and pleasures
from Japanese Tea Rituals to Zen teas of meditative qualities
So it was we pilgrimaged to Shriner University
to share with their arising Spring Flower poets
strains of older,weedier varieties.We listened more than spoke
and marveled at how variety and diversity finds truth in resonance
Note that these gatherings are rare ,even when ritual
Hear how spoken word is a form of addiction-once bitten,the bug
resides within both pen and hand,diary and mooncloud meditations
We hears stories that would break your art-
of cancers and recoveries,of healing and harmonies
of tears and lost loves,of brave ones struggling to articulate
how the gathering of circles with their story stick
allows all and each and every rites of passage-we
left when tears of joy streaked all our faces
and will return to learn the many languages of dreaming
within our cracked coffee cups-where all the Light gets in!
@SHRINER UNIVERSITY COFFEE SHOP SPOKEN WORD NIGHT April 7,2010

LACEY ROOP

child eyes the moon and wants it
(there is no reason why she cannot have it!
She spins a bridge out of her stories
lassoos the moon and that is why this darkness

Next she wants heart warmth sunbeaming
He burns her,so she turns to sea
Her levels rise
That is global warming

Next she sees trees decapitated/disemboweled
wants them to dance with leaves forever
Seasons ration this to autumn
Stick figure winter

Soon every child sings to stars
for autographs.They fall(in to headlines
and that is why Tiger Woods /Madonna
still smile like outlaws

If you listen soft enough
you will hear your inner laugh

thom woodruff wrote:

1.Listen
2.Listen deeply
3.Listen even more deeply
4.Watch.Witness.Wait.Wonder(Wander!)Willingly
5.Absorb(examples of effective communication)
6.Integrate others styles into your nascent expressing
7.Memorize.Improvise.Collaborate
8.When you are full of Light-share open as the moon
9.When you are full of heat -share equal as one sun
10-When you are a star-remember to send Light over huge distances
11.Meet.Greet.Be inspired and inspire.Greet every moment as a guest
12.Learn from everyone and everything.Always.Right now..
13.SHINE! You have much to give-begin again..more..deep
14.There will always be more .Give it!
15.Write your own rules.Then glow beyond them!
GO TO SPOKEN&HEARD SUNDAYS@kick butt 7-10pm sundays
5775 west airport.After writing new rules,perform and break them!

CHARITY BEGINS EVERY SATURDAY MORNING

when you stage a garage sale for some needing cause or person
Cynthia Good staged one voluntarily today
for the South Austin Food Co-op,where we
shared sunshine and good intentions,entertaining
those who came for bargains but went away smiling!
Altruism is intelligence-to share this world with someone else
dissolves all borders,barriers,fences,limits
Every step we share is breath for more-
example is our very best teacher
So every garage sale can birth new ventures
the rest for goodwill or all volunteers
by which this one world is sustained
and all magick is retained
when sharing is the only game
to play is all!
2
next,parading past temptations
to a multiple sclerosis benefit table
where volunteers gave smiles
with every donated item released for dollars
grains of sand when gathered together
make more than beaches
Seeds of goodwill planted=
rainforests,birds,gardens,futures..
3
this is all we know-
to give is all we are
made up of the goodwill of others
THANKING YOU WITH GRATITUDES on April 3,2010

OCCUPATION

Before us,there were indigenous
Displacing Springs,bison,prairie life
Tribal,affiliative,factional,small
One degree of separation between us all
This was Tejas when pre-Mexican
Stephen F Austin brought 300 settlers in
This will be the place for an occupation
Settlement by water ,with hills and green
Building began on imported dreams
This is where your ancestors came in
Singular stories,in families and clan
Lone as the image of Texican
As Tejas fades from us/
we find ourselves displaced
Now new Californians in condominiums
Valet parking,credit card metering
Leander train against endless gridlocking
We find ourselves pre-occupied
Now all our stories are historical
World culture comes to merge with local
Myths arise by distance from the facts
We are twice occupied-by new and by ancients
Now backwards look Cassandras of our day
Who cannot afford to live here nor to move away
trapped in the Velvet Coffin,they regret
the way things are,were,will be ..and yet
they know this town as resilient.
It has not made its image yet
and they can resurrect a futuring
by every poem and songline they sing
Hence we meet,to make new myths each night
so little Austin might still yet shine bright!

BEAR TRUTH

BEAR TRUTH
Inside the Cave For Poets,all are welcomed
laptop students recede to the Main Room
where TV and distractions make them monks of solitary studies
and we can con verse ations resume
New faces present each and every Friday night-
before the reading,they study and apply
THE ARTISTS WAY-Bob Mud will add his earth
while within the circle new lines are giving birth
Improvisations and fresh creations from laptops
to notebooks of moon droppings-stars share light
as we do-sharing dreams and visions with musical accompaniment
Original songs acoustic as breath forestall ,delay,demure all death
Bear adds his verse when gaps begin-he sings within harmonica
smiles his bear way truth with claw for clarity,and fur for warmth of beard
Each sings their hidden harmonies,shares unity via harmonies
strums strings and adds to all and each and every
This happens every Friday evening 8pm
when you sing in to JPs Java 2803 San Jacinto
You add your all to everyone you know
Come out and GLOW!
@BEAR MAN POETs /MUSICIANS circle @JPs Java Fridays 8pm

AUSTIN INTERNATIONAL POETRY FESTIVAL

Eighteen years and still fresh and new as now
Board Members bring their poems and dreams to share
as each climbs the mountain of each moment
they validate and vindicate their volunteerism
to those assembled seeking good example
Each told of a different path to the waterfall
Each one stepped up to the same microphone
and divulged their deepest secrets happily
in trust of warmth and reception
Doors opened within added to those without doors
winds of fresh perceptions extended windows
where Light poured inwards,then out again
Transformation is like this-trance formations fill us
with change as organic as this apple earth
Every momentary bite (another opened mouth mike)
a pomegranate,snake and tree of wisdom too
The Bird of Paradise has lines and form and function
Wings of Angels guide us in our Evolution
Crystalline silences melt and merge into new poems
and a Festival is Eden and Nirvana regained..
Every cycle round one sun with moon wisdom
finds us smiling for another ,deeper reason
Come see the results this April 15
when Austin International Poetry Festival (apple!)spins again
ARROW WISDOM/WILLIAM TELL-AIPF April 15-18,Ruta Maya 2010

50 horses in my herd

Right now he is driving to Oklahoma
in his Cadillac in which he has lived
(yes-LIVED in a car-in Austin
the life of a musician of jazz persuasion
is thin as strings for his guitar
He owns $400 worth of a pawn shop
He wants to be redeemed
He wants his instruments to be redeemed
He has work in Oklahoma
so he drives off under the same full moon
that animates your ON THE ROAD dreams tonight
I feel him driving away and wake up
to the myth of Austin as benign
when every Bird of Paradise
turns into a grackle to survive
Doves and wood pigeons of peace
must fly from the shotgun shacks
that litter from Katrina survivors
to the sides we do not look at
He played at open mikes like these
He gave his all-usually he returned to Mexico
This time he overstayed his season
Now he is on the way home to a barn in Oklahoma
to work his release from being a pawn
Perhaps some Queen will redeem him
if they love the jazz of miles enough
to be his key from these locks
he frees himself from
every smile under the moon
He flies tonight
HOME! on March 30,2010(for J D)

APRIL FOOLS NIGHT ON SNAKE ISLAND

Foolishly,we embarked on the ferry near Youth Hostelry
Puttered and oared towards Snake Island
where a circle of celebrants had tables awaiting with pot luck buffet tacos
another for wines and juices/all with a fire pit around which
musical souls twined harmonies divine
For this was another special evening
of dreaming in company with evolutionaries
each of whom had chosen to add their natural selections
via food,music,drinks,and good company.We
are different every evening,and this self-selection
makes for a healthy diversity of species.We
listened to Bill as he strummed and hummed,
to Richard as he fiddled Heaven on four strings,
to flutes by Bob and Lee,to Mandolin Man and Singing Woman
and the sing a longs were improvisations upon a theme..
Wonderland/Alice/Last Supper/Fantasy-
who won the prize for the Best Mary?BOTH OF THEM!
The Easter Egg hunt had rice in them/doubled as shakers and zen
it was after midnight for the Ferryman to put put and oar our way home
Adding another Night of Light upon Snake Island
and dreams that remain all our own..
on April 2,2010