My love feeds off your love, beloved

You and me, we
are one, action, reaction.

Fire, ash, regrowth.

For as long as your roar,

I roar.

I'll fade if you do.

For as long as you grow,

I grow to you,

I'll wilt if you do.

For as long as you're rooted,

I'll root to you.

My love will set sail as you do.

Autotelic

My heart for my heart's sake

My ambition for my ambition's sake

My art for art's sake

My self. for goodness' sake.

Myself, is myself, for Pete's sake.

"My whole life has been a poem I would have writ

but could I not both live and utter it"

~ Thoreau

Birdhouse

Who am I without you?
A birdhouse without
a bird, without a song without a nest without
your discarded feathers without
your weariness in stormy weather without
your weight without your warmth without
your eggs without your morning call.

Who am I without you?
Who am I without you

The story of morality

In the beginning there was white.
and for quite a while that seemed quite alright,
and by its absence, there was black.
But soon things started to get off-track.
The first mistake meant the birth of grey,
and then fifty shades of gray,
and if you open your eyes wide,
for each shade, you have a black and white on either side.

So - in an attempt to get back to white,
and stop things getting duller,
they tried get there from new ways,
but instead they invented, err - colour.
In an attempt for real improvement,
they accidentally introduced movement,
And since we're doomed now we might as well mention
the inadvertent début of the third dimension.

So now we know we won't get to white,
since it was probably only real in our minds,
lets hope it doesn't hurt to try,
then we might slip in some fun. on the side.

Hanami

Who thinks of winter,

while spring is in the world?

Beyond their evident beauty

sakura contain the reminder

that all beauty is ephemeral

appreciate it every moment you can.

"kisses are a far better fate

than wisdom"
 ~ E.E.Cummings

Poetry makes nothing happen

"For poetry makes nothing happen: it survives

In the valley of its making where executives

Would never want to tamper, flows on south

From ranches of isolation and the busy griefs,

Raw towns that we believe and die in; it survives,

A way of happening, a mouth."

~ WH Auden

My mouth, my mouth!

my subtle chirping,

my squawks and my slurping,

my lisp mutterer,

my gluton-er and my stu-stu-stutter-er.

My mouth, my megaphone,

shared by my single-minded mind

and a sentient soul.

Mind you, my sole

goal is to be and feel alive,

 and so my poetry, (if you stretch to call it that),

my poetry, my way of happening, my mouth,

it
will
survive.

The rest will follow

I'll not beg for attention,

I'll not even earn it,

I'll become someone worthy of holding my own first.

What I was to you

The future fell farther than the furthest clouds
on that warm, blue, day of fun,
We sipped on high spirits, spit limericks, and licked liquor-ish;
committed cynics, splitting politics,
all day sitting in the sun.

The future fell fast when the sun faded,
under an inverted black sea of cloud;
it whipped as if bent on flipping cloud ships,
while blipping drops gripped our outfits;
we sheltered in your alley.

When morning came, I limped away,
weak knees were hurting badly,
with dark clouds still above, no sign of a dove,
I looked up -
and remembered -
that one night stand-ing in your alley.

New York

She's Royal without a Monarch
She's Grand without being old

A heterogeneous hegemonous metropolis

And for some her streets are made of gold.

She's confident without perfection

She's self-aware with out a self

She's glamorous and generous, wealthy and amorous

Indifferent to those on the shelf.

Your Air

I was swept beneath your carpet once,
as if without your care,
the last in line to breathe your air
between the dust and spiders that sheltered there,
the last to breathe your air.

The things I saw, I'd heard about,
in the times you'd let me breathe,
the papers of sweets you'd once ate,
a corpse from when you'd fumigate,
it had run out of your air.

Periodically, you'd vacuum clean,
and sucked unto the carpet's fur ceiling,
the closest to you I'd recently been,
I'd gasp out for your air.

Through lint and mold,
I've heard wives tales of old,
behold a sky so big so bold, so slightly cold-
er than your bless-ed air.
And sold I'll stroll consoled and inhale my whole,
one day you'll find me there.
With lungs full of my fresh air.

Ambitious Growth

When I grow up
I don't want to be a..
an actuary or a reactionary
a commentator or a mere spectator
a passive participator or contrived test acer
an impotent protester or a haughty rule maker.
No,
When I grow up,
I'd want to be a fiduciary revolutionary
a mover and a shaker
a polemic king-maker
A pragmatic ideologue the anti-demagogue
A first mover - a way chooser.

And the growing up started today.

The Unfortunate Tail of the Lobster and the Chef

Lifting the lid of the boiling pot,

the steam rose thick as death,

it frothed at the mouth,

and it coughed;

with a towel,

the chef dabbed her brow,

extractor fans whirred ahead.

The bullet-proof leviathan of the sea,

king among crustacean kind,

lightly lay, tanked, with huge humiliated claws

contracted by plastic ratchet tags.

It didn't squeal as it was placed in the pot

the searing swell served to massage smoothly

when you've got shells made of steel, 

not even bullets from an uzi, nor this sizzling jacuzzi

could cook this colossal crustacean into sushi.

"Look, lobster, I'm going to lunch on you." the chef warned bluntly

"Its just a matter of time.

I've got a life I love, but other things to be done,

if you want in, you just decide."

Taken a-back the lobster kept its cool

and thoughtfully readied the reply,

And goes the proverbial tale of old,

as it opened its three mouths to speak, things started to go awry.

Quick as a flash, the scalding water was in,

its life extinguished like a light

it doesn't matter how thick your skin

when you're being cooked from inside.

To Love At All

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. 

Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. 

If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. 

Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. 

Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. 

But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. 

It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. 

To love is to be vulnerable.”

~ C.S. Lewis

They Can't Ignore You

"Pursue your passion / follow your dream"

may be the worst advice

given to our generation.

Following your dream may leave you with no options

because you can find 'non-dream like aspects' in every kind of work,

because passion is not the same as disciplined improvement,

because what we want to do is not always what society wants.

But if you pursue mastery

at something that you can be great at,

something you can see the greater value to;

you may hang around long enough, to see 

your work appreciated and respected and

the positive impact of your personal contribution.

So you may just find yourself pursuing your passion

after all.

inspired by "So Good They Can't Ignore You" - Cal Newport

Do your best

What does it mean

to do your best?

Is it the best action you are capable of?

What does your best look like

with finite time and energy,
finite patience and compassion,
finite waking hours, money and influence,
finite motivation and inspiration?

Aren't we doing that all the time?
Are we?
and,
Is that enough?

Remember

Every now and again
He'd look up from his papers
to the mirror sitting idly
in the corner.

A glance just long enough,
to remember.

Tanker

I will not negotiate with the vicissitudes of emotion,

I won't entertain the vagaries of myopic desire,

Like an enormous tanker in a tumultuous ocean,

I will reach port,

I will reach port.

I'll hijack my own mind,

ransom my ego if need be,

if this is the one life that I've got,

there's no way it will be taken by thieves.

Staring game

She started the staring game first,

Those eyes fell on me,

like sunlight on a spring day.

I blinked first.

I'm in the shade.

Back to work.

Escape Artist

He's an

Escape artist,

an escape-from-his-life artist.

Games, T.V.,

Alcohol, weed.

In a world where there are a million ways to find happiness,

and to be fair he didn't just try the easy ones,

he tried the quick ones

too.

Surprise.

They didn't last.

There was once a thing he hung his hat on,

until 'life' it came and sat on

it.

So to feel again maybe he'd steal again,

or deal again

or down drink 'n' drugs till he

keels again.

Caught again?

Court again?

Definitely time to snort again. and

Houdini couldn't get out of this one.

Because, we told him he didn't need a map,

the path was wide and straight,

we told him the wind was with him,

and at the end, an open gate.

And if we didn't say that,

there were other lies,

that maybe he'd never be good enough

that he'd best not even try.

That's enough to turn even the mildest escapologist

into an escape-aholic.

He's an escape artist,

an escape-from-his-life artist

I'd tell him - Life's tough

but you can be tougher

if you won't, you'll be escaping all your life.

from one early grave

to another.

End of Act 1

He studied acting in London,

and each day he plays his part;

a victim of bad advice, bad economy, 

a bad start.

On his desk, all is left, 

is a pen and a gun

he feels like is closing credits,

when it's the end of Act 1.

I'll come this way again

I see the victims
of promised futures
on the wayside like car crashes
but I press on.

To say I press on for them only
is a half truth.
To say I couldn't fix their future anyway
is a whole one.
So I press on for me,
for someone must.

I'll come this way again
I'll come this way again.

East and West

I straddle two worlds.

While one half stumbles

to find its feet,

I wine and dine,

with the world's elite.

"Walk with Kings, but don't lose the common touch" 

~ Rudyard Kipling (para)

Special

When we were told as kids that

we were special,

it wasn't true.

But it was a prophecy, a promise.

To make someone of yourself,

someone truly special.

Mid-dream

Have you ever woken up

in the middle of an amazing dream

and though you try to resume the dream

you'll never know how it should end.

You can only live your dreams

if you wake up,

though you'll have to figure out

exactly how they end.

Grandparents

Two tall trees stood

At the bottom of their garden

ever since they lived there.

One fell the week he died.

I stood over the stump,

having once sheltered there.

Same lessons, different classrooms

I'm looking around

this Manhattan penthouse party

just as clueless

as when I delivered the village papers for pennies.

I know I won't know much

until I know myself.

Tailored

Weddings, Funerals,

Business, as usual,

the mood

in the hue

of the suit.

I expand to fill

its broad shoulders,
and still

there's room to spare.

Catch-ups never caught

I've had birthdays, and bad days,

new movies, old festivities

and you

are living your life,

somewhere.

I've had friends, girlfriends,

new trends, old events,

and you

are living your life,

somewhere.

I've had plane tickets, and train tickets

Head aches and alcohol nights

while you

live your life,

somewhere.

Life Well Spent

What is a noble life?

Art may bring pleasure

and not affect our daily lives.

Business may affect our daily lives,

and not the lives of the next generation.

Academia may change the next generation,

and miss touching the hearts of the living.

Service may touch the hearts of the living,

and miss the hearts of the deserving poor

Charity may help the deserving poor,

and not improve their society.

Politics may change society

and not change the soul.

What is a noble life?

Maybe it is appreciation

by many or few 

of the impact you've made,

great or small, 

whether they know it or not.

or maybe you decide.

Connection and Expression

Some find in religion

what others find in art:

a mode of self-expression

that helps us to feel

less alone.

Revel in the being

Above all the doing,

revel in being;

do it as if it
were the only doing,
you know you were created

to do.

Channel

There are no resistant people,

there are only inflexible communicators

we able to contribute and channel

where we would normally oppose.

If only I'd had...

Saying 

"If only I'd had..."

Will rob you of

the best things 

you could have.

Doubt

Doubt yourself

and when you are done,

doubt that you

have done so.

So that afterwards

you can begin

to fully 

trust yourself.

"The whole problem with the world 

is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, 

and wiser people so full of doubts."

~ Bertrand Russell

Routine

This will be a year

to lose my fear

of routine.

For what it lacks

in drama and fire, 

it overwhelmingly

compensates for

in consistent, nourishing,

compounded

progress.

Hanging

What is, and what could have been

once hung precariously in the balance.

Carried by undecided breezes

jostled in incalculable ways

all of us.

in the air.

hanging.

But we all land eventually,

in familiar territory or not.

Progress

Don't just change,

progress

Climb

He'd climb without fear

because he did not know it.

How can we un-know fear?

Maybe we can't,

but we needn't un-know zeal

as well.

Be Yourself?

Don't be yourself.

Not as you are now

Why not?

You can be better

Be the best version of yourself.

Always be graceful towards yourself

Don't lose your idiosyncrasies!

but never make excuses

for your advertent

or inadvertent decisions.

An Author's Mirror

Is he that same man

that wrote those words

that battle cry

all those years ago?

Was he ever?

Has he championed the life

of passion, integrity and vision

that he called once called for?

Has he become satiated?

Dear Future

I'm pressing on without you

until we meet.

You and Them

Do you see the world as full of 

confident, outgoing people, 

or full of shy, private people?

Does that say anything

about you?

I Can Change The Future

Dream as big as you can,

hold that dream in your mind, now,

dream a million more!

There are no rules,

only convention.

Become a Sponge

This is your chance,

to learn what you can

and change what you can about yourself.

Because soon it will be time to act,

and the time for learning and changing

will have passed.

Speed Up

I'm going to be sprinting through life,

because there is no distance limit

only a time limit.

Get Uncomfortable

Unmotivated?

Find a way to become

uncomfortable,

Nothing spurs into action

like absolute necessity.

Flourish

For him, for her, for whoever

become a blessing to others,

become an attraction to others,

become a beacon to others,

by ensuring that you flourish

physically, socially, emotionally

spiritually, professionally, creatively.

It can be done, I've seen it

Never underestimate your own

creativity, ingenuity and ability

when it comes to completely

changing your own life and the

path of the whole world.

Warm Heart

Encouraging others

encourages us

too.

So there is no excuse
not to bathe the world
in due praise, that we
might be a greater
blessing to it.

I will speak ill of no one
and speak only good
of everyone I know.

Keep Moving Forward

You've not said your 

last goodbye yet mate.

So don't let this one

dampen the spirit

she loved you for.