as I get older people
get fewer and fewer

We were made
to create
to work,
to wonder.

Maybe by gods,
Maybe by stars,
Maybe by
nothing at all.

Truth
lost in time

Still,
we carry each day
in our questions.
looking for answers
in books
written by men

We're born, we live, we die.
That's called life. What is life
about? For so many, it's just
about survival. For a tiny number,
it is about acquisition of things.
For the blessed, it is about love--
love of self, love of another,
love of all. I wrote once that
the greatest thing you can ever
be is your real self. To be true to
your real self is to be true to all
others, true to the Cosmos.
Fame is a social cosmetic.
Wealth is unconscious com-
pensation for lack of self-love
and thus for lack of love for
others;  political power much
the same. Leadership is an
amalgam of real power, self-
love and love of others, and
the courage to do the right
thing. It is uncommon and
precious. To live your life
fully, you must be fully
your real self.

TOD HOWARD HAWKS

I've no money
but can write poetry
despite  owning very little
I'm totally happy

if I were to
have money
but can't write poetry
that would be my misery

so I conclude --happily:
between being wealthy
and writing poetry
the latter I'll celebrate fully!

To forget someone
You need to remember first
And that's the odd thing

As a poet and a believer --
I am a minor player
in a major score:
Hallelujah!

That there's so much more;
More poetry to underscore
More connections to wire galore
More time to forgive and forge
New healing paths
Despite the destruction before the wrath,
Hallelujah!

May I play today
The tune written before the dawn,
So the symphony
Can rise once more
Wrapping us all in love forever more;

Hallelujah!

The dampness
of the rainy season
        is soaking into
My bones
And
Into my being