But, for us,
memories aren’t enough
nor is the present –
we’re looking for the future
and what we want to do.
And the making of new memories.

The music of time
Remains frozen
Drifting like snowflakes
Across the Himalayas
Waiting for dancers
To unlock the mystery
A simple Pas de deux
Lyrical and elegant
Filled with the joy
Of lovers
Joined by a thread
Suspended
But never touching
Until the final moment
As the music of time
Transports their reality
Into one

I sit on the porch in the early morning
And watch the world.
I watch the birds and squirrels awaken.
I watch the sun slowly drift
Across the lawn;
Casting a golden light
And drying the dew.
I watch people jogging
And getting ready for work.
I watch a woman as she walks,
Outlining the perimeter of every parking space
And I wonder – why?
I watch as people start their cars,
Pull out and head off.
Where are they going –?
To work?
To play?
To start another day.

My dream of academia
Is an idealized one
Mr. Chips and the Paper Chase
Classes of five hundred
In lecture halls the size of stadiums
Students focused
Totally absorbed
Hands flying skyward
With thoughts, questions
And answers
Always thinking
Always searching
Always seeking the challenge
Digesting facts and adding knowledge
Connecting dots from places obscure
Yet always looking for hidden meanings
Layers and levels and subtexts
That clarifies cognition
And opens the portal
Of the enigma unknown

My Darling
I was so hopeful then
First it was
Home for Christmas
Then it was
Home for New Year’s
But you never came home
Except in my heart
Where you’ll live forever

The Quest (complete)

Bruce Levine

And I don’t mean The Impossible Dream, because the only thing impossible is that one can never reach the end and, in one sense, maybe the quest is the end unto itself.

If one can never reach the end of the quest
Is the quest, then, an impossible dream?
Or is the quest the end unto itself?

Or, maybe, the quest is the end unto itself.

There is no such thing as an impossible dream
Because the only thing impossible is that one can never reach the end
And, in one sense, maybe the quest is the end unto itself

The 4th of July

Bruce Levine

(To be read in a G & S cadence)

Here’s to the 4th of July
Tra la
The Founding Fathers rejoice
Tra la
Though their work is done
There’s much more to come
So
Here’s to the 4th of July
Tra la