Clouds
sketching
synchronistic
footnotes
into the novelties
of the day

Tucking into the folds
of late August valleys

painted in vintage clover

falling toward winter

Ivory forms lazily turn mobiles overhead

As symbols,
as comfort
as bucket filled rain.

I Have
With you
This faith
This love
This intimacy
This knowing

I Have
In you
My love
A lilt
A tune
A flowing

You are
Sometimes
My darling
Worlds
Of ache
And pain

You are
Right now
This moment
Forever
And
The same

I long
To tease
Apart
The me
The you
The thy

I want
To scream
And shout
You are
Not you
You’re I

I love you
Slow
And softly
With tenderness
Not shame

I always
Was you
Always
We are
one, And
The same

There is
A vast
Awareness
That seems
Not yours
But mine

There is
Some solace
In that
You are
My very
Mind

nandirito na naman ako,
nag-iisa.
madalas, tuwing tanghali,
ay nalulugmok sa isang paboritong
sulok kaharap ang mga bulaklak
at insekto habang kinukumutan
ng pinaghalu-halong amoy ng mga
naglipanang mukha sa aking harapan.
dito ko madalas hintayin ang mabagal
na oras dahil katatapos lang ng klase
at ayaw ko pang umuwi.
nagpapahinga,
nag-iisip ng kahit na anong maisip,
nakatanga,
nagmamatyag sa kahit na ano o sinong malapatan
ng paningin.
walang pakialam sa nagmamadaling
mundo ng mga gising.
nandito ako't abala
sa isang munting sandali
ng kapayapaan para hanapin
muli ang sarili ko.
teka... hindi pala ako
nag-iisa rito.
kasama ko itong sigarilyo.

I sit, breathe in
eyes closed
feel my breath in my lungs
notice my eyes open and hands reach for the computer
remember I'm meditating and close them again, pulling my hands back to my lap
breathe again
listen to the neighbors chit chat outside my window
the sound of which has no meaning and is only melodious like birds singing
breathe out
phone rings
all of 15 seconds I could meditate
now it's time for more chronic busyness
doing absolutely nothing
ahhhhh

The mind makes this hand
strike this head
as if to say - See! I am here and you have to listen!
We invite all sorts of ugliness in
to protect us from who we think we are
and employ others
to help with the job
knowing nothing
What am I writing?
Doesn't matter - I am always writing
I wish to go to a place
where the mind cannot go -
where the mind does not matter
and the mind couldn’t help
even if it wanted to
Much better to let things go -
fall to sideways -
than to keep fighting
Life just goes that way anyway, right?

The mind - roving, moving -
always looking for next
Eat smoke drink blah-blah repeat
Little agitated thoughts come -
shouldn’t this - must do that
Poke, poke and prodding along
To where?
Like the poor cow - to my death
I can smell the blood
same like she could
I turn - try to turn away
from the death they bring -
eyes mad with fear - humanity’s disease
But the walls are close - so close
Didn’t we make it this way?
For security and comfort
and to keep us all moving in a straight and steady line?
A lineage of unbroken sleeping zombies
drunk on our own separated imaginings
The world you see shrinks smaller
You start to touch the edge of panic
Yet steady in the storm
and no long feel it
Yet see it go rushing past
and leave you where I am.

Yet still and I see the mind
throwing up moments
setting up forms for my perusal
wasting its time
For what?
Isness minds no time
Why some times I get hooked?
It’s just this world - no need for fear
I am free
Did you think to make me
believe I was the worst?
Ego - mind
all deceit and trickery
Yet, I see you
Will I take you again
to yet another life -
some other dream
No this time is done
This mind is set aside for no person
This mind is made for only bliss

As a teenager, I can sometimes be frantic,
unfocused, stressed and anxious.
Luckily, I was introduced to meditation.
I love meditation and the way it makes me feel - solid.

So, how does it work?
First I set a 15 minute timer and get
prepared to look a little foolish.
I sit somewhere comfortable, cross-legged.
I close my eyes and focus on a point
in the center of my forehead
between my eyes, relax my mind,
and think only of the sound of OM.
When your mind wanders, just go back to OM.
Existing in that territory of nothing
there is a silence that must be listened to.
You end up giving sharp attention to nothing.
It is simple, compelling and satisfying.
When you’re done, a new stillness will remain in your mind.

I'd share with you
how much our
early morning
walks have become
sacred coffee meditations

a chance for you
to confide in me
your dreams
pose bizarre scenarios
tell me about kids who
are YouTube famous
& vow you'll
make "mom a millionaire
one day"


I smile
absorbing obscure
WWII trivia
listening to
your laugh's positivity
wanting to just
hold you close
       catching my breath

instead
we silence
our footsteps
  staring up at the mystic sky

        an ivory moon
                    tarnished yellow
by the yawn of day

& I want to keep this moment
open, blooming inside my chest


feeling your steps racing
beyond my own, knowing this

wedding cake memory
is but a taste I can only savor

you, the moon, the talk of
future days, such riches
blessing my heart

only quiet tears express
this love

of a mother
  to her teenage son