A simple solution was the right solution to my meditation problem. But the principle of simplicity when applied on its own can lead to reductionism that ironically makes finding the solution to a problem even more difficult and complex. That’s because following a basic principle cannot provide a complete picture of reality. Simplicity must be […]
existentialism
Atammayata
Birth and death, love and hate, the burnt scent of cloves on fingers and campfire on jeans, nothing is attached for long. In the butter soft leather light of purple fog, a royal procession of swans announce themselves.Not made of that, the lake is restless for now George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, […]
River Teach Me
Inspired by a sacred Ute prayer River teach me changeas falling leaves decompose in the formless current River teach me hopeas the source and end, both come from mountains River teach me how to get lostas two young lovers walk along your bank not needing to be found River teach me how to savor the […]
Halloween Rising
Halloween rising,and I’m riding shotgunwith an incandescent raver girlat the wheeland a junkie on the back seatwhen the bars are closingand the desert a mirrorof the moon — Phoenix, Arizona, 2007
A Midnight Oracle
Spread on the seagrass, curved as fishing knives, the cards of my past arrive unexpectedly, three swords piercing the heart, the only organ that won’t bleed to death, while the sleepy moon turns its encrusted eyes from molten tears falling on the gray, blushingcheeks of a corpse. I am no knight, but no one said I was. I am no devil either, although some declare […]
A Definition of Bliss (for Joseph Campbell)
In this land of a quick and unexpected death, where the air is almost wet enough to drink,I am merely seeking an experience of being alive, my best and only religion,the music of tiny, bare footsteps splashing. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been included in such publications as the Hazmat […]
Birding
Fragile, shalehands holdthe wombwilderness isbornThe CosmosWalleyed PikesJune nights andthe call of LoonsEverything thatwe need to dreamTo feelTo loveSo littleseparatesus from whatwe needThe nightyou werebornWearing the skin of GodThe worldwas bornMy new CosmosAnd by the timeit was writteneven Green Heronin the cool spring marshcould tell me George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been […]
The Lost Part of the Human Brain
(Inspired by Terence McKenna) Glaciers are new. The home star arrivinglater than we sensed. Summoned. The sunoff the main sequence. An arc out of here.
Elegy for Nirvana
Signless and aimless,I have come to accept that I amwho I amlooking for. I am already what I havesearched for. As the master taught: Barn’s burned down- now I can see the moon. What do I see when the moonlooks at me? The memory of my muscles aching for you to see me. […]