Thursday, December 31, 2009



American Tao -- no. 2

Never look at glossy magazines.
The women are air-brushed
and without blemish. Yet it is
your wife who possesses true beauty.

If we don't come from nothing,
where did we begin?
Isn't it easier to relax
after a hard day of work?
Can you appreciate losing weight
if you haven't been fat?
Will you be motivated to put on
muscle if you haven't been skinny?

"Do as I say, not as I do"--
as if that ever works.
The ultimate goal is to be
comfortable in your own skin.

Work is good. But don't bring it home.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009



Recently my wife and I committed ourselves to a life of frugality. In that spirit, I wrote her a small book of poems (pictured above) for x-mas. Following are a few:

Desire

Invisible
but not unseen
whistling in the dark
yet noiseless

like that full moon
overmatched for once
unable to penetrate
the black night

this is how we live:
in fear
of getting what we want

do not give me
all your beauty
if you can help it

I want to build
my castle in the sand
of desire.


One True Perfection

Nothing is lacking
but then,
we can no longer
get our coffee
at the 7-Eleven Store

That's the goofy thing
about woods and wilderness
it's so darn primitive!

Yet and still
to stand with you
next to the fire
is life's one true
perfection.

Rosa Rugosa

You on the path
with the Rosa Rugosa
and the saltwater river
and of course the salt
on your lips and remembering
back to when something
about your imperfect teeth
reminded me of a painting
at the Metropolitan Museum
of Art.

Now, sometimes, I like to
just lay beside you watching
television, laughing and getting
drowsy. Right before I drift
off, I think of you and
the salt air and I rouse
myself before deep sleep
to kiss your lips.

At night, like that, your
lips are more sweet than
salty.




American Tao -- no. 1

No one knows
how it all began
there is no God but God
but what is beyond God?

The mystery is the only thing that is real.
Everything else is just a guess,
a need to know what is unknowable.

When you don't need to know,
you are free. Otherwise
you are nothing but a consumer.

The spiritual and the practical
are two sides of the same coin.
This is life.

Don't be afraid of the dark.