INSIDE OF ME

If I were burned
on a pyre, I would want my ashes
to be spread on the water.
The way of truth and love always wins,
but slowly and painfully.
The tyrant, the oppressor, the sinner,
the criminal—they are all most visible
in my own eye, even in my
greatest devotion.
We are our own last best hope
for peace in this life.

(June 20, 2009)

SPACEMAN

Today I sat for a long time
not knowing what to think about,
my worries and hopes
taking no solid form, not breathing
on their own. Everything is possible
when the world
suddenly turns to sand. I have my place.

The earth still circles around the sun,
while we all strive for a freedom of mind
and soul that we have not seen before.
It will take a thousand years to unravel
this old freedom, and a thousand years
to see a new one slowly weave together.

I am waiting for a mystery to
descend upon me, like a storm over a village.
I am waiting for a change—
breathing, breathing.

(June 2, 2009)