A New Time

A new energy and consciousness infused the planet and many awoke and began to live and build a new spiritual and holistic planetary culture.  The 'counter culture'  is all about love and liberation and a new way of being in Oneness. 

A New Wind

 *

They came from back east in an old van.

From cities, choked and dying, they come.

From moribund farms and sterile suburbs,

From the clutches of family,

Leaving friends and the wheel of deadening routines.

From the dreams of a bygone age

And conventions shackling,

Singly, some in ragged clothes and bare feet

They come together

Picking up others on the way,

Sharing their music and their love.

Joyous pioneers of a new race,

A new time,

An unusual time,

When nothing will stand as it did before,

And nothing is left to hold on to.

Now a new wind is blowing.

Everything is in flux.

The new breed will come

Moving to some felt purpose,

Recognizing their own.

Under a rainbow sky on earth newly christened

They will know where to look

And what they're about.

Children of the new--

Walking amongst the old but not of it,

Moving in their own ways,

By their own light,

Sure of the spirit guiding them

In their comings and goings,

Formings and reformings,

Unfolding.

Yes, from seeds newly quickened

Something long awaited

Has silently begun.

Children of the New

 *

Sitting in the airport, thinking,

Opening to the new--

Children of the planetary nation

In t-shirts and tennis shoes

Pass unconcerned--

Moving forward in trust,

Acting on a new idea

Impinging

Emerging--

Space is being born on earth

And a new mind is being born

In humankind

Beyond words or thoughts

A new being

And with it a new sky

And a new earth

A new light

A new way--

Simple ones embrace the future

Now

And everything is cherished

Moving away from patterns of conflict

And of personal aggrandizement and power

In love and cooperation

Is the new being built

And in wholeness and joy

The new life emerging

The new earth is now in their hands--

Guided from within

California

 *

California!

A new being!

Wild, strange,

Raw.

Long-haired youth of a new age

Awakening.

Proud sun-fierce features quiver

with a new energy--

Alive!

Sparks ultraviolet, shock and vivify.

California!

First unchained.

Harbinger of a new future.

Something never before seen or done,

There on the edge,

Emerging.

Come into a New City

 *

Come into a new city,

and the past forgotten.

Walking down sunny streets,

and everything is perfectly right.

From the hilltop, looking in all directions--

and I feel at one.

The continual movement below,

calm into the distance--

and I love it all.

The noise of daily life,

the moment's concerns--

wispy clouds floating in the blue sky above.

Closer to the dream now,

nothing special or apart--

just to be open to it.

Nothing any longer good or bad--

it just is.

Only everything is suffused

with a warm gladness.

Beginning life anew now,

here where I've wanted to be,

where I should be--

this anyplace, no-place-in-particular.

In the middle of a mild winter

a feeling of eternal life just lived now

apart from time.

712 Ridgeway

 *

It was something we all wanted to try.

Everything was thrown together and shared.

Everyone helped out and did what he could--

all of like mind.

It was a completely free zone,

just to be, each as he will.

But together too.

Just working in the garden

or sitting on the steps

talking in the morning sun,

was all you could want.

Sometimes the music would spread out,

embracing the neighbors.

But no one cared.

They'd all stop by--

the hallowed beings from around the block.

Or working in the co-op,

giving stuff away free.

No one ever had any money,

but it didn't matter.

The Real Days of Summer

 *

Those late summer days!

The ones we look forward to

When the day, intense and hot

Is already there, waiting for us

When we wake up

And we have to move

Get going and get out.

Something's there

Happening

And everyone feels it.

Decisions are quickly made,

Lines of activity determined,

And we're off--

Hair blowing back

Sun beating on bare chests and legs,

Glad to be out and in it,

To breathe it deep

And feel alive and whole

As the sunlight life is poured out

Filling us.

Now the day opens up

And liquid, the moment is--

The future precipitated in the present

And flowing, this moment unfolds

In all that happens.

As that which was meant to be

Is now.

For a Friend

 *

Everything was happening then--

A new adventure

A movement spreading across the land

Another way was opened

And those of the new nation

Made their choice and heeded the call

Singers and poets

The orphans and the dispossessed

The ragged vagabonds

The fiery spirits

the gentle and sensitive

The leaders, the strong

Those who yearned and those who suffered

Those who cared and those who didn't

The old laws were no more

A new freedom was given

A new covenant passed

A new tread approaching

Hearkened toward a new age

Prophets warned of times-a-changing

And messengers cried out far and wide

of love and liberation

 *

I had traveled there in search

of something more, found a place

with some people in an old house,

and a construction job across the bay.

So often at night walking over the Granville Bridge

I was so amazed and awed--

the whole city spreading out vibrant,

a sea of lights cupped between the mountains

and the ocean -- and so alive!

 *

Then to Kitsilano and your place.

There seated on the floor

passing out tea from a low table

with your old philosophic ways.

There was hurried and excited discussion,

friends coming and going,

staying late into the night.

New ideas and dreams

and experiences were shared.

Things going on now here and there--

all of us were together in something happening.

 *

We kept in touch for years--

notes from the latest town.

Even came together in Berkeley once,

a few years later.

Hitched up to Pt. Reyes, singing

and drinking wine in the back of a pickup.

Camping along the cliffs that night.

 *

Since then I've heard sporadic news,

of continual developments,

unraveling relationships

and late night musings.

I just wanted to share this.

I know you're out there.

A New Day

 *

Cool and delicious morning air,

Awakening, quickening,

I breathe deep

And harmony and beauty infuse.

A new day,

Waiting not on the sun,

But on a rare effusion, a subtle presence

Hidden in the wind.

Before I was not.

But now it fills me,

And only now do I breathe

And look about.

Morning Walk

 *

old shirt sleeves

bare feet on sun-warmed earth

wrapped in a dream I walk along

glad to breathe the morning air

and all I meet are friends.

Idyllic Days

 *

From high upon the hill,

over quiet rooftops and the trees in blossom,

snowcapped mountains rise at the horizon.

Here, along the edge

where the blue ocean begins,

and the coastline stretches northward,

fringed with lace,

under a soft spring sky.

Sunflower World

 *

Sunflowers in the garden,

Stems thick and green and prickly,

A small caterpillar moves along,

Flowers bursting in the sun above.

For Clouds Too

 *

Even clouds today,

Gray and dismal

Have their place,

Warming a cup of tea

And some sunshine thoughts.

They Give Me Hope

 *

The sparrow held on to my finger

Afraid to fly,

To take the freedom offered.

I remember how beautiful the flowers were--

So absolutely beautiful!

It was as if for the first time I experienced it

Coming up from deep within.

I didn't plan on it

I didn't mean to say it.

But what does it matter?

I want to release and see what it will bring.

I've been afraid of loosing,

Wanting to cling--

But growing more whole all the time--

Unfolding with divine help.

New possibilities are showing themselves,

New things are there to discover.

Something I Needed

 *

 It has to do with remembrance

of something unworldly--

feeling at home in my life's center

opening my heart completely--

something had foretold this,

telling me to completely open up--

that there was something

I needed to find.

Noticing and Not Noticing

*

Today the angels brought rain and clouds

But I wanted something else 

And so didn’t notice them

And their gifts.

I realize it’s a bad habit—

Getting lost in thoughts, expectations, assumptions.

Desire is fine, however,

So long it’s rightly directed,

I am desiring now,

And the Muse replies.

To See

 *

Seated on the rocks,

Looking out over the water--

The entire surface, expansive,

Sparkling white

So bright!

Squinting eyes tired gazing all day long

As far as I can see.

The Song of Birds

 *

The song of birds

The song of joy--

Wake me to the morning's scents,

And the breeze,

Sunshine laden

And glad.

Sweet as the Breath of One's Beloved

 *

Sweet is the summer air

Swaying the grasses and trees

Blowing hot over the fields

With the fragrant smells of sun-baked earth.

Sweet is the autumn air

Coming from far away

Singing softly in the rustling dry leaves

A melancholy song.

Sweet is the winter air

In the still gray frosted morn

Tingling as it is breathed deep

Inside a thick winter coat.

Sweet is the spring air

When early in the year

The scents of fresh life awakened

Give promise of new hopes.

When I was Young

 *

When I was young I used to like to climb

High among the tree branches

And gaze far off --

Somehow the view was better from there,

As if the wind in the swaying boughs

Were filling a ship's sails in a far voyage

To enchanted lands.

And the sweetness of the apple in my mouth --

Was like the ambrosia the fairy gods give

That awakens you inside a timeless world.

All life is now experienced to be eternally alive,

And the bird's song and the rapturous chorus

All about speak to me in a sense I now know.

So would I also sing, unheard perhaps,

But like nature Herself, am grateful to give

As I receive in this blessed moment.

New flowers are already dancing in the sun,

The earth breathes and moves as one,

And high above, a God's dreams

Are thrilling in the air.

Among the Sacred

 *

How blessed to live a creative life!

How blessed to hear the piper's song!

Let the world go by--

Off by itself, unseen, a flower blooms

Giving off its thankfulness to the sky,

Rooted in the dirt, it lives complete

Without need to wander

Opening to a world it's never seen--

Life itself will give it all it longs for--

Joy to be among the sacred!

Song of Life

 *

Now the air is splashed with color--

Radiant greens and yellows and blues.

Birds sing though the evening late

And in joy the spirit floats free

Streaming crystalline through all--

Coursing skyward.

Knowing no hindrance, no limitation

I move at one with life now

As it reveals itself new.

Now I vibrate to this, now that.

I accept everything and move freely

As I am given to.

I am no place.

I am every place.

And the world is transformed

In beauty!

Forgiven Everything

 *

Forgiveness asked, forgiveness given.

And for the sorry days

Weary and woe begotten

Forgotten now

Cries fading away amid the roar of the world

Merging bright into a new sound,

Fathomless, crystalline and unheard.

Past, those shackles freed.

Unto another day now I lift my cup

And in the morning raise my head.

Would I not give all up?

Would I not do anything?

Yea in words unspeakable blessed

In the starshine

Forgotten of the world.

Morning Sanctuary

 *

Liquid gold stillness--

The notes of many sounds interweaving

Gently in the silence.

Tenderly leaves vibrate

while insects flit in the sweet sun-warmed air.

Life exudes and fills me--

Giving thanks for the blessing of life

And the mystery of it--

Knowing not where I come from

Or where I am going--

Having no home--my hands empty,

I open myself and look about me

In wonder

And anticipation.

Spring Blossoms

 *

After many cold months trees now bud,

Streams flow as though never frozen

Life breaks open, lives and moves

And cast adrift, I am carried along.

Like any bird, I break into song--

Onward, O Joy, moves this great Way

In full Day toward a boundless Ocean--

May winter not touch me again ere I reach It!

 

* *

From buried seeds do roots and sprouts now grow

And day by day the myriad seasons show

Nature, who by glory does confess

Her unbound joy--

Her Lover's secret kiss!

 

* *

Trees sway o'er the meadow,

Clouds fly with the sun,

Grass lives free of sorrow

And feels not envy of anyone.

 

* *

Upon the blessed morn there rose

A holy day bright golden clothed--

New as when the world began

When God walked still at one with man

And he no separation felt--

No fear or lack or thought of self.

 

* *

I dreamed we awoke--all the world together

And on that day we were not alone

Each was arrayed in a natural splendor--

As a passing dream, the world we had known.

Light Reverberates

 *

Noiselessly chimes the morning light

In litanies of angel bells

Refracting silver and gold

The silence reverberating

 *

Faraway, remote, forgotten,

Timeless blessings streaming

From an inward life

Filling the world

Till all that sounds

Sings to one Heart

 *

Now does the air smell sweet

Now is there life and living

Now does the cock crow

And the sky shine blue

 *

Thought hovers immaculate

And a primal chord resonates

One synthetic sound--

Now am I born in heaven song

And eternal Day commence

 *

Yes, to listen, to know,

To understand and sanctify the human will

In this place of tribulation and trial--

Referring all to the Guiding Hand

And taking our brother's hand--

Our hearts' united,

The future shinning before us

Glorious as a vision of countless suns

Singing together.

Even Now

 *

I walked, anon, through an agèd wood

And heard its solemn music blow,

The perfumed air was soft delight--

The moist earth smells and the warm sunlight

Through another realm this path did wind

And minstrels sung on every side.

Along this onward way I trod

Under open skies and stars

To distant moors and hushed vales--

Enchanted worlds of fairy tale,

And everywhere the chorus rose--

Oh sing to life and death's repose,

For all is glad and all is fair--

A timeless song sung without care,

And earthen mound and jeweled rain

Eternal night and each new day

From darkened glen to shining peak

Her living Life exudes.

Arcadian Rapture

 *

Suddenly the scene was transposed--

In a fair land where summer shone

upon a ledge a maiden stood--

like a flower in her shy beauty--

and dove into a sylvan pool

as unselfconsciously as nature herself.

My heart went out to her

and I could not help but wonder

why innocence and grace though they were,

should cause such a reaction.

Was it the wonder of some simplicity

I had lost?

Or admiration of leaping unafraid

into the waters of life?

The Dancing Maiden

*

Why just gaze at a flower

And not listen?

Why just enjoy the breeze

Without moving to it?

The lark in the morning 

Bids us to arise.

The sun in its course

Moves to a chorus of life.

Why not sing too?

Our part is not drudgery.

We are not here as slaves to toil.

The spirit moves as joy within

And calls us to resonate and live.

Angels sing from morn to night

But sorry humans  - natures greatest sight -

Live apart in folly and fear.

*

In the morning I was walking,

The dew still sparkling on the grass.

The trees were hushed the silence golden,

Yet a bird was calling as I passed.

Perhaps it sounded out a warning,

Of an intruder in this holy place,

For a maiden fair like some dream vision

Was dancing in the meadow's space.

Her steps like light on water glistening,

Her song awakening all to see

Incarnate beauty, living spirit, 

She gives her blessing that all may be.

Imagine light in the form of woman

Imagine love through her made known

Imagine life as a portal of blessing -

And vision the world transformed!

A Light Plays There

--for children of all ages

*

The sun rose bright like any day,

The air was sweet, the weather gay,

So getting up without delay,

Hurrying on my usual way

I met an elf!--I swear did say--

"You will not work--not you today!"

 *

I had not given life any thought,

And just assumed that time was wrought

Of tedious cycles dearly bought

Of work and conflicts daily fought,

When ever, something else was sought--

Yet of this thing the world said naught.

 *

"Why not?" I thought--it needn't be so,

I think I'll take a chance and go

And wander with this friend so low,

Some lovely things no doubt will show

And then myself I'll surely know

If truth there be where magic grows.

 *

We came upon a grassy slip

And though I hadn't had a nip

Soon flushed, the world, she seemed to tip--

Right queer I felt from head to hip

As merry folk appeared and skipped

Upon bright leaves and flower lips.

 *

A happy lot, they played with glee

And seemed to take scant heed of me

Except one Miss--climbed on my knee

To ask "Why humans couldn't see,

Caused ruin and much misery

To them who only lived to Be?"

 *

Abashed, I uttered my repents

And promised I would ne're do hence

The hurtful things that I'd done whence

My acts were thoughtless--my mind dense.

To this a great "Hurrah!" commenced

And all the lovelies clapped and danced.

 *

So then we had a jolly time--

Unto the past all care consigned,

Oh, life had never been so fine!

Like living in a song divine!

And were I there a day or nine

I wouldn't know and didn't mind.

 *

I learned things too, I must confess,

From daffodils and violets

And Gaia's other children blest--

That each is sacred, nothing less,

With God's Own Nature to express,

And gift's to share at Love's behest.

 *

Somehow I must have fallen asleep--

Woke up alone while night was deep,

The world now wrapped in dreams so sweet.

Then trudging home surprised did meet

Some local folks--to me did speak

"We missed you now this whole past week"!

 *

This tale you likely think a dream

Or cleaver skipping-working scheme,

But me, I swear it by the Queen,

There's more to things than sometimes seems-

Tread softly in the sylvan green--

You too may find a world unseen!

Reverberations

 *

I was awakened one morning

by someone in blue--

radiant, shining blue,

who said farewell and departed

to the sphere from which he came

and I never knew anything more.

Space Man

 *

He got his words from out the sky,

took them as his own and sent them on.

He loosed another space down here on earth,

something now present to link beyond.

High Above

 *

Transported on a beam of light,

High above, through clear azure spaces,

In serene ecstasy embraced.

Where winds of gold and rose

In supernal Aeolian melodies play.

Where rainbow rays reveal

Celestial hosts in splendor.

Where the ball of sun fills the sky

And one soars free of earth bonds.

Late January

 *

Sitting by the window,

Feeling the cool air come in--

New air--with a new year in it--

Not spring yet--it's damp and cool and gray,

but it's new.

I want to just breathe this air

With its mysterious and wonderful scents

and open my mind--

Letting all the old thought go--

Feeling alive

Listening to the crows and city noise,

Feeling awake

Forgetting all my thoughts

I just breathe the air

And am.

 *

It's exciting to be in another year,

To feel the hopeful beginning

Of something new,

To feel the new element,

The new life,

Bringing me to what I've always wanted--

I life I've dreamed of--

Awake.

A dream.

A life.

An awakening from a dream.

A living of a life.

A new moment unfolding--

Allowing it to be,

Remembering who I am

Within it.

Choosing to see no differences

To feel nothing but this Presence,

This Awareness,

In everything.

Waiting for Gandalf

*

When Gandalf didn't come,

The Fellowship had to proceed on their own. 

They had to, for they had a purpose to complete. 

We have a purpose as well and sufficient lineage.

We can't wait for some savior but must go forth

We can't be dependent. 

I think it better to proclaim, 'Wake up - ye are gods'!

Let us take our power back and create the world as it should be - 

A place of love, sharing, and Brotherhood 

Where the sanctity of life is revered 

And the needs of all life on Earth are honored. 

We each know what we need to do. 

Let us trust the spirit guiding us and go forth. 

Let us strive not for an ideal,

But strive to remain faithful to the spirt within 

And that inner knowing that guides us. 

We are living spirits, ourselves, 

And must release all that would hold us back -

Be it a belief or a fear. 

Strive to listen and remain true to the knowing spirit within.

A new light and energy suffuses the Earth 

Many are awakening and choosing freedom. 

There is the desire to build a better society for humanity

And institutions that preserve our Mother Earth. 

The old ways of strife, selfishness and  'power over' are past. 

We no longer have need for this weakness.

Leaders still promulgating fear, greed and power must go. 

The watchword must be sharing. 

The banner must proclaim one humanity, one life. 

When morning comes and we awaken from dreams 

Do we need anyone's approbation to tell us to get up and be? 

It is morning on a new day and new time for Earth, 

And we must claim this opportunity. 

If we have a vision, let us proclaim it; a song let us sing it; 

A task - let us do it for a better world. 

Let Gandalf catch up, when he can, we have work to do.