I could take
belligerent opposition
to Others in everyday life,
or I could be an Adult
and **** it up,
my judgement and my hubris,
and see where Others will go
if they get their way;
in fact,
I'll try to help
in any way,
if I can.

Perhaps
they will learn a lesson,
or perhaps I shall;
but, regardless, I hope
in turn,
all shall be wiser.

People are interested
until the very moment
wherein you sincerely wish to convey
a concept or other idea,
but in that moment
they seem to tend
to turn a blind eye
just to 'save face'
or some ******* like that.

Good, bad, it don't matter; notoriety is notoriety.
Notoriety is a function of absolute value, in other words.

This Moment is a cosmic Joke;

Laugh at it.

It is a sad but beautiful Truth
that Suffering begets wonderful Art.
But perhaps it is a divine ability
to be able to make of Suffering,
Beauty.

You have become that sort of itch
that I can't quite seem to reach.
You are the mirage on the horizon
that urges me to preach that
I can't take my mind off you,
for what it is worth to you,
you captivate me through and through.

Your face and your smile
assimilate in my mind
in such a way that I can't turn away,
and I wouldn't if I could:
but, I rather hang myself
on each and every moment
with hopes that I may see you once more,
though not soon enough.

I never knew of you as a friend.
I never knew you were so close.
I can't wait to hear your voice again.

Subtlety is virtuous.

This field is required.

If thy self worth
derives from the status of others,
thou art a narcissist or a sociopath.

If thy self worth
derives from bringing others down,
thou art already lower than they are.

If thy self worth
derives from petty comparisons,
thou art a vain and unsophisticated soul.

If thy self worth
derives from thy own accomplishments,
no worldly thing can restrain thy potential.

Break free of thy Ego,
learn to let it drive thee
rather than steer thee:
thus may thou thy bliss construct.

Aye, though ye may have the spark within,
thou needn'st be a **** about it:
for, it is that very spark that you may squelch,
and if thou findst joy in that inhumane act,
thou art of the very Evil
we strive to overcome
as artists
and Humans.

In a sterile society, who needs immune systems?

Over two hundred
unread posts
by the pens I love the most;
where to begin?
Perhaps not at all?

May the cowards' way out
be ne'er known
to the readers
of these, my poems.

In Love's name
be they attempted
but by Love's name
be they hitherto
unread.

So grateful
am I;
are we;
for the words
of those
who seem to be
worlds away:
they, who share
the same words,
the same air,
the same Earth
as I;
I;
who am not
those I idolize
(if any)
;

A problem?
Nea;
a blessing
hitherto
disguised.

"Call me a pragmatist,
but I like my ***** to **** me up
and taste **** good doing it."

"Once is cool. Once."

To whom or what do I refer when I use the name "One"?

Is there a recurring character named "One"?
Is it an impersonal pronoun for "you"?
Is it a sort-of metaphysical Unity?
Is it a symbolic, externalized "I"?
Is it that "One" is many things?

Do I know if I know?
No; that is,
I don't know if I know;
while that is not to say
"no"
to any of my prior questions,
I can't truly say
"yes"
to any, either,
for "One"
always seems
to shift,
to me,
and could be
any, all, or none
at any given Time

And so, I suppose,
it is to say: *"perhaps One knows"

Slot machines serenade us with a C major chord;
no wonder we're so primally enticed
to shake the hand of these harmonious bandits.

If desire for privacy predetermines guilt;
haul me away and never let my voice be heard again.

You know those Dreams
where everything seems familiar
but nothing is recognizable?
It was one of those Dreams.
One of those but somehow more... inescapable.

The first thing that happened was searing over-stimulation
followed by a cooling period of what felt like Eternity.
The first thing I remember is that I couldn't remember how I'd gotten there.
Everything was so familiar, yet so.. alien; even myself.
Like I was seeing the World through new Eyes,
or perhaps a different World through new Eyes.

I remember then thinking that everything was real;
that Perception was the End instead of a means to an End.
I remember then thinking that I was in control;
that I had figured anything out at all.
I remember then thinking that it may be a Dream..

It was a quite curious Dream
wherein I had:
a Body, Intuition,
Creativity, Ability,
a Mind and a Purpose.
I couldn't recall at the time
what the hell my purpose was,
but I know now the purpose was
to make a Pilgrimage of Self.

I chose to experience it;
I set the stage and acted.
I set up for myself a series of Tests;
I proceeded to fail a decent portion of them.
I learned from my mistakes as best I could; but
I even failed at that fairly often!

I played.
For a while.
I believed in the Illusion.
For a while.

I caught on to patterns.
I learned to teach myself.
I became evermore aware.
I caught on to more patterns.

But alas,
then there was Death.
He lured me away without chance for second thought
and assured me he meant no harm;
he told me about how he played a part in the larger mechanisms of Consciousness.
He reminded me of where I had been before I had lived, where I was now going;
that I have now merely returned to the Audience,
the Nameless Other:
Formless Void.
Potential.
Energy.
Tao.
O
I haven't lost anything.
I didn't wake up.
There is no such thing;
I simply returned to the other side
of the coin of Being.

Being is all that exists.
It seems so obvious
when it's said so plainly.

Being is all that exists.

Just be.

One, who can't, or merely won't,
be sensitive to One's own Godself
deserves to be One's own captive
rather than One's own master.

"...I suppose I simply have a great mistrust for institutions, which the people, for whom they were built, cannot resist or otherwise transcend without dire socioeconomic repercussions.."

being a conscious being
reality is a sort-of
onomonopea
of consciousness-
that is, dare i say
of God

Leave them to their devices;
they will have it no other way.

"I blame the Government!"
"I agree on principle!"

"Do not always say what you know,
but always know what you say."
-Claudius

One,
who cannot handle
their opinions being questioned,
most likely hasn't derived them independently.

The reason
many things
do not happen
is not that People
choose not to do them,
but, rather, it seems that
they simply do not realize
that
they had the options all along.

Yesterday was my birthday,
whereupon I became Twenty-two
so I decided to meditate on the day of Twenty-two
and the age of Twenty-two.

I pick up the coins
shake them in my cupped hands clasped shut
listen to the jingle of the Universe
trying to make up its mind
as to which coin faces face up

A few seconds of using my hands with the coins as a shaker
defining a sort of polyrhythmic cosmic probability;
I let them fly.
They crash down:

Two black and one white. Yang. Solid line.

I throw the second set:

Two white and one black. Yin. Broken line.

Third:

Two black and one white. Yang. Solid line.

Fourth:

Two white and one black. Yin. Broken line.

Fifth:

Two white and one black. Yin. Broken line.

Sixth:

Two black and one white. Yang. Solid line.
-
The Twenty-Second hexagram in the I Ching is Grace.
In it's unchanging form, Grace signifies a temporary period of harmony and of fruition.
It is a bad time to make big decisions, but it is a great time to work on one's self, one's craft and practices, and one's immediate surroundings.
-
Fitting that as I turn Twenty-two on the Twenty-second of the Fourth month,
the Hexagram I throw is number Twenty-two (2+2=4).

The only thing I find more enjoyable
than meeting outrageous expectations
is defying expectations outrageously.

It's supposed to be over 100 degrees all this week
here in my forested northern California foothill town;

**** that, I say.

Is there anything Language can't either over-complicate or oversimplify?

These are powerful forces;
heed them in the utmost.