the glass is empty
not half
but totally
the emptiness is full
of wrong views
what does all this mean?
nothing
nothing at all
there's noise in the background distracting me
but still I know
a glass half full and a glass half empty are one and the same
and a glass empty and a glass full are one and the same too
everyone knows this
everyone knows there are no glasses
only windows into another world
the poem takes off
on a runway
of its own making.
where it's going I don't know
where it's heading I can tell
who's in charge
I don't know
but it isn't me
of all the messages
you've ever received
how many had any real effect
on your life
big or small?
How many just wasted moments
which could otherwise
have been enjoyed?
battery drains
while I wait
battery drains
while I look
stop waiting
stop looking
stop draining
there's a time to write
and a time to walk
and a time to sit and watch tv
there's a time to think
and a time to not think
and a time to be none of these things
I am legion
so are you
we are all many people
we may revert to a default
but through the flowing day
we turn Jekyll
into Hyde
and back
forming different personas
to suit the changing circumstances
of existence
all existence
and our own small one
let it all fall away
let it all out the door
don't get stuck in despair
don't get stuck on the floor
worlds are born and die
people slip away
make hay and love and laughter
and let the crap drop to the floor
preacher man
at it again
tells the world how to live
while he doesn't even pretend
to live that way himself
great advice is ten a penny
wisdom grows on trees
but a sane man or woman
is rarer than dark night
another one died
famous people that I knew
from childhood, TV, news
of course they're going to die
we all do
of course it's sad for the family and friends
that's normal
but we don't have to know
we don't have to grieve
we don't have to talk about it
like voyeurs at a funeral
so people die
even famous people
who knew?
don't let unhelpful stuff
into the container of your world
give me who you are
where you are
when you are
give me it all
not some flotsam and jetsam mirage
don't give me any of your bullshit
old man
with your fancy philosophies and preaching
I want to live
to hear music
to dance over the graves of the dullards
who made this country the hell that it is
don't give me any of your hectoring tones
your sick visions of a world without love
a world that crushes all that is human
and raises all that is cold and cruel
I want to laugh
to walk in the sea
to swim where the ocean meets the sea
and lie in its golden sands
There are times
when the mind wants to work
create
drive forward
There are times
when the mind goes on strike
refuses to budge
refuses to go into first gear
These are times
to breathe in
fresh and clear
breathe out
quiet and peaceful
and accept the non-action
for what it is
a response to
the work
the creating
the drive forward
the world is clear
pure
transparent
no obstacles in the way
of the multitude of living things
from the blue whale
to the single cell organism
everything flows as it should
everything is born at the right time
everything dies at the right time
the world is transparent
pure
crystal clear
I am not your baby
I am not your path
why don't you go upstairs
and have a restful bath?
I am not your future
I am not your past
why don't you just go away
and give me peace at last?
I am not a robot
I am not your pet
Why do you always remember
and never forget?
This world too will vanish
leave only a trace behind
and you and me and all our thoughts
will be deaf dumb and blind
whatever may come
we know that we know
whatever may go
we knew, now don't know
and now we are here
do you know where you are?
the secret forms of sleep,
near-sleep but not quite awake
aware of being unconscious
not-knowing what we all know
we sit in the silence of not-knowing
the most secret form of sleep
