Without which

Without which how
Can we be happy
Without it
How can
We be free

How can
So few know
That it is here
With us
In these moments
Alone

I just need to realize
How important
This is
To me

I think of all the riches
-I would like to have
-I think of all the youth
And beauty
- that is gone

I think of the perfect man
The perfect house and garden
The perfect car

I haven't one of these
But they pale
Before
This emptyness
This freedom
To explore

The depths within
The depths without
The feel of spaciousness
Of peace
Of bliss

U

All those years
I spent
In your
Institution
Teaching for u
Promised the moon
And the sky
Part time
All the time
While u paid administrators
To sit
And spin
Now I walk in
To a new district office
Conference center
All brand new
And all those years
I couldn't even get a pencil
Out of u
Now my retirement will be
A laughable pittance
Which I will be glad
To have

Just remember
If there is any justice in heaven
And if any of us
Get there

I wouldn't want to be
U

black cat with one eye

the black cat 
with one eye 
walks by 

this is one of the yards 
in the neighborhood 
the cats know... 

there is no dog 
there are chairs with 
     cushions 

there is a way 
to the alley 
there is a hole 
in the fence 
cut 
for when i 
had a cat 

they walk 
they stalk 
sometimes they talk 
to me 

mostly i am used 
for my cushions and 
and my chairs
and the calm, quiet 
air 

no kids- 
not much in the way of 
power tools 
or blowers 

and water- 
and fish 
to watch

little birds 
do hop about-  
these cats 
are not much interested 

they are being fed 
somewhere else
worried over 
by someone else 
vet bills paid by 
someone else 

part of the landscape 
part of the scene 
these cats 
walk by 
me

grey day

what can i say 
about today 
it is grey 

grey and damp 
with no rain

there is a drought 
with dampness 
and no sun  

the crack in the ceiling 
is widening 

i despair 

perchance 
i take myself 
too seriously 
here 

this body 
this life 
do not last 
long 

some days 
they last too 
long...

my stalker 
is not stopping... 

but i must 
i must find something 
to be glad 
about 

today especially 
something to beat back 
the grey 
and the grey mood 
i'm in 

oh yes
i got some news- 
the root canal 
does not have to be 
dug 
the Erie Canal 
in my mouth 
has got a reprieve 
silly me

if we think 
if we just stop and think 
amidst it all 
all the fog 
and drama 
and feelings

there is always something 
there must be something 

to be glad 
about  

The Tango Cloud

the tango stage show 
was beautiful 
with many young people 
showing their 
prowess 

and yet,
i remember 
my favorite partner- 
who doesn't move so well 
-is elderly now 
and yet- 

and yet 
we can create 
the cloud 
so easily 
so effortlessly 
it seems like 
we are 
the only two 
in the room  

the tango cloud 

the one we ride 
upon 
-the closeness 
we create 

-for only a few minutes 
and then we return 
to our respective corners 
     of the room 
and to our life partners 
     after having shared 
an intimacy of movement 
     which cannot be portrayed 
     on stage 

no matter how well they dance 
-how high they throw their partner 
-how fast they run 

it is more important 
by far 
to me-
to create the cloud 
to enjoy it 
to ride around on it 
to be enveloped by it 

to be held 
in the arms 
of my favorite 

Tanguero 

simple things

sometimes
in life
it is good
to be thankful for
the simple things

the gas guy came
the heater works

it is not good to be
standing
negotiating
with a thermostat
begging it to tell the heater
to turn on
cursing at it
pounding on it
-crazy people
do this. . .

while

beginning to shiver
beginning to think
another astronomical bill
will be coming

it is good to have heat

I have begun to believe
in the old saying-
people make plans
     and the Gods
          laugh

I have begun to see
there is a difference between
what I can plan and
what I can want
and
what is

What is-
is the way it is
The way it may be
meant
to
be

My plans are
based upon some ego idea
based upon some past
-some premise

these plans
have no bliss
in them
no inherent presence

the way it is,
however,
is
a part of God's plan
and therefore
full
of presence
and bliss

who knew? 

Rat's Nest

Mention a rat in a poem
And adds for exterminators
Arise.

They don't know it's  you
I am referring to-

They think it's the furry little cute guys
Who get in your attic
And create havoc

Not the furry little cute guy
Who got in my life
And began to nest
Became a pest
And then
Wouldn't go away

Would that they could understand
Sometimes a woman needs an exterminator-
Terminator
For the relationship which
Has made a nest and
Set up housekeeping
Uninvited
Unappreciated
Unwanted
Uneverything

Advertise for that service
If you will

There is a need here-
A brilliant business idea

-Needs a plan
Some venture capital
And then
Wham

No more rat's
Nest