no one is talking about, not since I stopped believingin the power of words to give birth to my dreams. Like Jonah. Swallowed. Smellinglike krill slime sticking to thewalls of a soft, rubbery bladder,all I can see is the darkness of my ignorance. I grope aroundlike a beetle turned on its shell. spinning around the stainless floorboard.
poetry
Before Words
By the time it is written down it hasalready passed. Even the animals,the brute beasts of the fields, dumband blind to the ways of poetry in books, feel it in the soul of their hoovesand the simple sensations of their tonguestouching the grass, or a pig rolling in the mud, as birds sing for no reason but […]
Falling Into the Well
While looking for the way, we fall into the only placewhere we can quench our thirst. The way is not out there. It is notaround the corner. The way is whatwe need and do not give into. The way is what we are and do notallow others to know. The way falls into us,like an open-eyed man falling into […]
Why Poetry is Well Suited for Space Work
Why did I think she had eyes thecolor of feces and sweat dipping tainted hairs white as burning phosphorous? What is wrongwith me? Why could I not justsee brown and white? It’s as if my mind has to reenter the atmosphere before it can join otherhumans again. Not unlike astronauts,poets speak words with Neoprene-coated nylon.Their syllables irrigating the sandy […]
The Devil of Omniscience
You always get what you want. Everythingcoming in must come out. Intimately. Moving together liketwo sides of the shark when it swims. Psychedelic inflation and the twosides of the universe moving together. Instead of. A mere assumption. Blownup. Holier than thou, Above human. Doing as you will. The whole systemfeeling lifted like a ground becoming light. Nothing making us do anything. The Dao doesn’t […]
The Least Among Us Included
No more lists.No more bans.No more you are not allowed.No more I get to decide.It’s not right.Everyone deserves help. No more red flags.No more barriers. Let’s open the doorsof perception. Of reality. Of love and hate.Let’s do something radical. Let’s say yes to everyone. The least among us included. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from […]
Andromeda / Peace in Me
The number of stars contained in the Andromeda Galaxy is estimated at one trillion.The expense of spirit in a waste of shame / Is lust in action.The galaxy is inclined an estimated 77° relative to Earth.All this the world well knows / To shun the heaven that leads [wo]men to this hell.The rotational velocity has […]
The Human Condition in Eight Stanzas
We are part of a family treethat is more than a metaphor.The birds feed off our limbs. And besides, this illness called the Future cannotremain hidden for long.Perhaps more than an enemy, we are something less than that as well. Everything presented to us, we can not seem to find. Everythinggiven to us, we can not seem to hold.Yet selected by the […]
The Image of Sarasvati in Buddhist Art
White Sarasvati, mural at the Namdroling Monastery in South India. Image courtesy of the author Sarasvati (Tib. yang chenma) is the goddess of knowledge, education, music, poetry, and culture. Her name can be found in the Vedic hymns. In these ancient Indian texts, she is worshiped as the divine power of ritual chants and sacrificial […]
The Spiral Staircases of Corinth
When I look up at you,I feel like the glass shieldaround the flames of a candlestick chandelier, as your tears fall like drops of frozen crystal.When I hold you, I feel setlike a carved mahogany tablewith pink and creme coloredcarnations as the centerpiece.When we trust each other, our lovefeels driven by the winds, and the wheels of […]