For tribalmysticstories: A Tribal Mystic Story; Poem For My Father

• – Poem For My Father –

One day he took me to a copse of trees 

where we sat under a canopy of 

newly formed leaves  

above us a clear blue sky 

where he gave perspectives to me

different from anything I had 

learned.  

Thoughts from the other side of

what we think we know.

How wind and leaves 

are not separate forces rather 

part of one single entity

connected to an infinity 

of larger and larger wholeness

stretching outward from 

the air we breathe,

beyond heat and light 

from the sun then, 

further into space and time until  

I saw myself in a world 

quite different than my own,

a world I’d never seen before, 

of single limitless form.  

He drew my attention to 

the random movements of 

the leaves

rising and falling, relentlessly 

shooting ‘round and ‘round,

limbs branches leaves and needles 

the grasses and saplings below 

touching one another 

sharing unique thought patterns 

not unlike the synapses 

of our brains though 

infinitely more complex,

not confined by 

the craniums of our skulls,

gathering awareness,

from earth and sky,

the mysteries of the world 

above and below spoken to them

content to accept all that is true

without conscious reflection.  

“Trees are the supreme creation of life along the continuum of awareness, free from all bonds, able to gather all knowledge from earth and sky and share with one another.”

I listened and within 

the silence of my mind 

heard leaves and limbs 

whispering to one another,

their voices rising and falling 

in concert with 

the wind, 

it seemed I was watching  

a playground of laughing children. 

He told me all root bound life 

the trees and even the grasses reach 

the tendrils of their minds, their 

roots, 

into the planet where they feel 

the living vibrations of the earth and glimpse 

the secrets of life

“They know the stuff we struggle to understand.” he said.  “From the smallest particles outward, one long strip of awareness from where they are rooted, to the edge of the horizon and beyond, while we scurry about like ants grabbing pieces of sticks or crumbs of knowledge thinking how clever we are.’’

Trail’s End: The Great Beginning

Hear words spoken softly

whispering kindly

seeking solitude

shelter from the storm.

…

See withering roses planted

the sky above paying tribute,

fresh water flowing

through breezes in the dark

to places unknown

on paths never taken.

…

The never ending search

for trail’s end.

…

The great

beginning.

When I Was Born

That summer hot and sultry
mid month mid year mid way past midnight
bright lights shining blinding
hands grasping fingers smashing
through the air

i did not really care
it was not my problem

i was their’s for the taking …!!

i heard the pain that wasn’t mine
explode into my space,
the air, the rush of light that came before the crack of dawn
exposed the ship that i’d been riding on
between the worlds where i once lived
when i was born … !

with great surprise i threw away my aqua lungs,
I sucked in air while water flooded,
breathing synapses firing new born pistons,
283 horses blowing streams of light
in all directions!!

… so this is what it’s like to live in the land of milk and honey … !!!

Come time to leave for home
i looked into the sky i’d never seen,
acorns falling through the air,
cool harmonies on the breeze singing memories
from where it all began
wrapped around light
that fueled the seeds of future’s flight

while tightly woven earthly patterns
leading everywhere in sight
gave great brilliance
and such

delight .. !!

Each night I see the world inside my dreams

wrapped inside the morning dew;

Each morning my life begins anew,
never sure of all that i have seen
until i return

and do it all again and again and again and again and again and again … until i think …

therefore

i am …..

That summer hot and sultry
mid month mid year mid way past midnight
bright lights shining blinding
hands grasping fingers smashing
through the air

i did not really care
it was not my problem

i was their’s for the taking …!!

i heard the pain that wasn’t mine
explode into my space,
the air, the rush of light that came before the crack of dawn
exposed the ship that i’d been riding on
between the worlds where i once lived
when i was born … !

with great surprise i threw away my aqua lungs,
I sucked in air while water flooded,
breathing synapses firing new born pistons,
283 horses blowing streams of light
in all directions!!

… so this is what it’s like to live in the land of milk and honey … !!!

Come time to leave for home
i looked into the sky i’d never seen,
acorns falling through the air,
cool harmonies on the breeze singing memories
from where it all began
wrapped around light
that fueled the seeds of future’s flight

while tightly woven earthly patterns
leading everywhere in sight
gave great brilliance
and such

delight .. !!

Each night I see the world inside my dreams

wrapped inside the morning dew;

Each morning my life begins anew,
never sure of all that i have seen
until i return

and do it all again and again and again and again and again and again … until i think …

therefore

i am …..

When Night Birds Take Morning Flight

When Night Birds Take Morning Flight

I watched night birds take night time flight.

While breezes washed ashore

I walked the line where all three meet.

Sky within dark water,

waves of moonlight,

sparkling grains of sand

reflecting light

below/above …

between each other’s sight

within their kisses

of the night …

I looked into the grounds of sweet good byes,

the thought of daylight in disguise,

my thoughts on morning’s rise,  with

each new morning’s light;

the sky that touches deep within

the sound of inland seas.

I climbed back into bed and slept again.

With speckled stars above the nighttime breeze

with moonlight showing through the leaves

I’ll sleep ‘till morning light

when

daylight birds

take morning

flight …

 

The Great Beginning

Hear words spoken softly

whispering kindly

seeking solitude

shelter from the storm.

…

See withering roses planted

the sky above paying tribute,

fresh water flowing

through breezes in the dark

to places unknown

on paths never taken.

…

The never ending search

for trail’s end.

…

The great

beginning.

Daylight Birds Take Morning Flight

Daylight Birds Take Morning Flight

I was up before seven
I made a pot of coffee
I swept the floor
I listened to the radio

I poured the coffee
I put sugar and cream in
I climbed back into bed and slept
until the dawn of night.

I watched the moon arch overhead
from orange to milky white; silver dollar sized
with full moon’s
full moon light.

I watched night birds take night time flight.

While breezes washed ashore beside
I walked the line where all three meet; the sky
within dark water, waves of moonlight,
sparkling grains of sand reflecting light below/above
between each others sight

within the kiss of  night … 

I looked into the grounds of sweet good byes/the thought of daylight in disguise/the sky that touches deep within …

The sound of inland seas.

I climbed back into bed and slept again.

With speckled stars above the nighttime breeze
with moonlight showing through the trees
I’ll sleep ‘till morning light
when day begins
and daylight birds
take morning
flight …

Light Stained Against A Sea of Thought

From a place where time was small with brightest light

came purest boyhood dreams

within my mind that night

 where 

with sun and single pleasure sought …

I moved from place to place …

seeking other orbits … better places to see

to

move and turn about

and look upon her face with

wonder …

…..

Where

Light stained against the sky of thought

suspended in time …

hovered over each place …

waiting to be seen.

Perfect prizes captured to be lived in

momentarily.

Where

rain returning to the sky

waits

for future retrieval.

Where

 never ending cycles return,

the light of time

re-mingled;

the light of days remembered and forgotten

taken in like

air

to a newborn child.

Thoughts that flicker in and out

like waves along the

shoreline:

where

purest water replacing every

grain of sand

forever …

takes me back

to

where it all

began

…

Wind/Travel/Time/Serenity/End

 

Imagine ….

It’s a frigid early winter

day …

no snow on the

ground trees bare of

leaves …

fingers and

limbs black against a dismal

gray

sky …

…..

you are on a bicycle

barreling down a black top

road pushed by a

powerful western

wind …

you are the only object

static ..

in your world of

movement …

…..

the road a black

ribbon

disappears beneath spinning

wheels …

boulders submerged among

giant elms separating fallow

fields of broken

corn stalks, plow lines

extending into the

distance …

approach …..

run parallel …..

then

disappear into the

void …

…..

reality pure …

unencumbered by

thoughts and words

appears

tiny …

distant …

then

looms

larger and

larger … forming

funnels of

sustained

color, form, size and

movement …

…..

You are experiencing

Life

within a

river of

flowing awareness …

on a frigid early winter

day ….

…..

Your world

framed

against trees bare of

leaves …

fingers and limbs

black

reaching into a dismal

gray

sky …

You are

IN

wind … where

there IS no

wind …

…..

IN wind

there is no

sound …

there is only

SILENCE;

AIR;

SILENT AIR

and SIGHT with

heart and breath

combined …

the sound of your

SERENITY …

…..

Yet

you are moving

faster through a world of

silent magic river flowing

sight …

while …

… IN the wind is only silence the

sound of your serenity pulling

you

further through

space …

…..

The spinning road

beneath you

flies the tape that

measures growing

shorter;

distance measures

time … the road

consumed

yet …

IN the wind is only silence the

sound of your serenity pulling you

further

further into

time …

the road that has an

end in time the

point of no

return

the

thread keeps growing

shorter

the fear within you

growing larger

yet …

…..

… IN the wind there is only

silence the

sound of your

serenity

pulling

further pulling

you

into space

the

end …

the

point of no

return …

…..

your comfort dream is

ending

fear is taking

place …

the turning point upon

you

the dream within

the

river flowing

sight

your

serenity drawing

closer …

the time is

right …

yet

IN the wind there

is only …..

your

serenity

but

now …

IT IS TOO LATE … !!

the end is HERE …

---

Reflections

One day, two and a half weeks after the swelling in my knee had lessened I found myself looking through the six foot wide slider opening to our pool area /at the hundred degree world outside/wondering what to do with my time. 

 I remembered a phrase I’d heard long ago/on the hottest days of summer/when I worked outdoors for the railroad. 

“Looks hotter than a two peckered billy goat out their today, doesn’t it kid?”  

But, it didn’t stop us from working.

 …..

So I took the plunge into the hot zone/deciding to redirect two water jets along the side walls of the pool/ (a foot and a half below the surface of the water) to a sharper downward angle to better push algae on the bottom toward the drainage pipe/at the far bottom end of the pool.  

What could be easier work/for a man two and a half weeks after total knee replacement surgery?

After returning from the tool box with a short, regular head screwdriver I knelt on one knee, my bad knee thrust straight back.  

Leaning over the edge of the pool/I guided the screwdriver into the eye of the nozzle/wedged it against the insides wall/and gently turned.  

When the jet’s ‘eye’ cracked loose/I cranked it downward to the left.

When the surface turbulence above the jet disappeared/a shadow world of spinning phalanxes, galaxies/black holes appeared from nothingness/their forms wandering aimlessly/hastening destruction or reforming forms torn apart/circles growing tails inside revolving shadows/subtle shadings of waves WITHIN the water clearly seen/patterns changing always changing/light absorbed from the sun cast down/onto the bottom of the pool/a photographic negative revealing details; moving shadows clear as night/the interplay of sunlit water, air, blue sky earth and liquid space had emerged.

Wow!  An invisible world becoming visible for me to see/all because I moved a water jet!

 How wonderful the world can be! 

Then I wondered.  Am I taking too much percoset?  

It didn’t matter.  One more jet to adjust.  We’ll see how it goes!

 continued … 

Field Study 5/22/14

Morning Field

Boxed In White Blue

Red Barn Green

Distant Silo With Field Sky

Lone Tree Majesty

Horizon Within Tree Sky

End of the Road Crossroad

Tower Green In Wait

Past Its Prime With Willow

 

Lighthouse Tower, Point

Lighthouse Tower

Tawas Bay Point

Tawas, Michigan 12/29/13