In stillness
there is a Peace and Joy
that exceedes all worldly pleasures
the price--
a discipline that can tame
the restless heart

the path I walk
follows an Ancient Riverbed
sometimes there are tracks laid in a distant time
otherwise
the only tracks left behind
are mine
destination unknown, unimportant
the path emerges
one step at a time
its not wise
to look ahead
or behind
one step,
one step at a time

on the streets of austin
many a wanderin soul
has lost his life
the old must die
that the new be re-born
sumtimes its painful
sumtimes done in the blink of an eye
on the streets of austin
there is no why or wherefore
just do and die...

letting go
Now there's the rub
how to
just let go
to paraphrase
Not to do it!
sittin
doin nothun...

SCHZOID

The wheels on the bus
go round and round
round and round...
The man on the bus
talks to himself
talks to himself...
what's that line?
"only drowning men can hear him?"
now I'm not suggestin
that all who converse with themselves
are responding to the divine call
But what prompts one to converse
(with himself)
may be the Primordial Echo
the message may be garbled
but the meaning is Pristine
Someone is out there
and the word has been spoken.

The wheels on the bus
go round and round...

Pauline culda been a linebacker
extraordinaire
I'd put here up there with the Great L. T.
In the soup kitchen line
she'd bull rush to the front
flaying elbows, bustin ribs
leaving a wide path in her wake
but now, Pauline is sedate
she sits slumped
broth drooling out her mouth
she's better now
she's taking her meds...

Perfection
unknowable in the material world
brings blessings supreme
a Joy that pervades all existence
Perfection is spiritual

no clock do I own
but the street keeps time
early in the morn
great grey garbage trucks
come rollin with a thunderous clap
upending dumpsters
and slammin them down
with brakes squealing
their 4am alarm
echoing like great whales
workin their way thru the alley ways
of downtown

a spiritual warrior
adapts his tactics
to that which he stalks
in stillness
there is movement
it is not the hunter
that moves...

SOFTLY

quietly I wait
doin nothin
silently watchin
my breath...
mindlessly
waitin for that Ethereal Light
Softly
like moonlight
on a cloudy night
She lays her mantle upon me
How Sweet
the Comfort
of the Spiritual Companion

Beyond all movement
beyond all hearing
all seeing
there is a stilless
that waits...
so must we
become still
and wait...

ECHO

The echo of Spiritual Reality
rings true
Gathering
thoz of kindred spirit

Among the reeds and rushes
A Call
Strikes a Joyous Note
heart strings
unite
to an invisible sound
a bond of mystical contact
a bridge to the unseen world

here I sit goin thru my pack
sortin this and sortin that
the less stuff we have
the more control
we try to exert over it

no Yesteryear
no tomorrow
only moment to moment
the Eternal Moment

The truth of the matter
lies not
in freudian shadows
or stalkers of the night
or demons of the psyche
Yet, we are not alone
Spiritual Reality
Awaits our discovery
we are as
3 men blind
no matter...
Joy Abounds!

"if you want to live life free
take your time go slowly
step by step stone by stone
heartfelt things are holy..."

somethun I heard

a rainy night

it rained in Austin town
last night
I lay with my back hard-presed
against the doorway
of my "downtown suite"
the finest in sidewalk accomodation
rivulets of water swirled around and under me
my cardboard mat turned to sponge
remembering when rain on a tin roof
was a luxury to sleep by
my eyes shut tight
searching
for the beauty
in Austin rain tonight

RULES OF THE ROAD

A preppy-looking girl gets on the bus
she doesn't have a token or exact fare
she offers a "dollar for a quarter"
the black girl sitting next to me
eagerly makes the exchange
the preppy girl stands in the aisle
for the duration of the ride

STUCK

Its 3am and the streets are deserted
Tui, a street-hustler,
high on crack
is "stuck" in the middle of the street
he looks both ways on a one-way street
but still can't move
we walk out
and talk him across

Safe, on the sidewalk
Tui rants and raves
cursing
the "ghost drivers"
who highjacked him...