Character

When the character of a person
is not clear to you,
look at his or her friends.

Japanese proverb

Footpain

Longview, Texas

sad little city
bent out of round
packed full of people
with minds run aground. . .
i feel like an alien
from some other sky
lost but residing
and not knowing why. . .
like a skeleton key
thats bent out of shape
i feel like a convict
who wants to escape. . .
locked in a doldrum
of mental ennui
daily i'm deeper
i'm ready to flee. . .
i know you engage
in similar thought
lets slip away soon
and not get distraught. . .

1993

on the Eloquence of theTao

impossible to know,
or to describe,
yet,
as simple as
touching your nose
when washing your face.

1994

better sooner than later . . .

the same strange star
that shines on you
shines on me,
the same pale moon
that glows for you
glows for me,
the same cool wind
that breathes on you
breathes on me,

i may be here,
but still so near. . .
i may be gone
but still inside
your sphere . . .

1996

Memory

. . .down through yesterday
like lost shadows,
or a speeding ticket
for traveling too many hours in a day. . .
seems like a faded design
viewed through a silkscreen
or dusty cokebottles;
so many forgotten times
written in shorthand
when they should have been
on a canvas done by a master,
thinking long and thinking wrong,
days gone by like cards thrown in a hat,
all these things rolled past us
as if 'twere a long and smoky train
of railroad cars,
flashing by, full of something,
and yet, what i do remember
is hard to believe. . .

1997

Elephant Beer

ELEPHANT BEER 1976

The Fate of Prometheus

Prometheus stole the fire from Heaven to give to
humans below, but Zeus captured Prometheus
and chained him to a giant rock and commanded
a vulture to eat the liver of Prometheus every day
which Zeus then would replace every night.

The Mark

a stony work of splendor
made do upon the ledge
hammered by the starkness
weathered by the wedge
stricken maze of Babylon
mauled by maliced claws
prized by all the populace
breaking all the laws
gone a-begging for the feel
or even just the sound
shot for never even knowing why
the world was flat or round
flanking forward on the march
come stormers from the south
looped and circled winners
slamming from the mouth
ridged and lifting steprungs
the ladder to the top
waiting for the boldest
who can promise not to stop.

1979

"On freedom"

. . .verily, all things move
within your being
in constant half-embrace,
the desired
and the dreaded,
the repugnant
and the cherished,
the pursued
and that which you would escape. . .

Kahlil Gibran

Mdme de Mer

The lady with the bandanna

Her face
somewhat askew,
gives her a
different view,
of the world
and the things
that come
her way.

If she ever
looks at you,
don't worry
she's just blue,
she's thinking
of the men
that got away.

2006

Nightshift

June, June, days of heat,
work, work, sleep and eat.

time, time, like a stream,
flow, flow, just a dream.

hot, hot, nights of sweat,
walk, walk, no end yet.

hours, hours, drag by slow
move, move, on the go.

phone, phone, calls my name,
somethings wrong, who's to blame.

beer, beer, every day,
hot at work, cold at play.

after a graveyard shift at the brewery
1983

Beism

Beism is a philosophy
of the conduct of ones life,
where the basic tenet is simply
"be and let be"
a beist does not care
to change anyones thinking
and expects reciprocity
from others
and will listen
to any discussion
as long as it remains polite
and continues to be interesting.

Beism is the study
of perpetual change.

Change is evolution.

Evolve as opposed to involve.
Everything changes but change.

June 1990

Miller Beer

Changing times. . . .

the golden days pass
filling heart and soul,
then sunlight fades . . .

summer seems to be forever
warm and full,
until the breath of fall . . .

the moon slowly rises
in its next disguise,
then disappears . ..

and now comes rain
first warm, then cold,
born of winter skies . . .

then you left, never looking back.
1971

The Catjo

The Catjo
is a complex
intrument
that was
invented
in Chad
by members
of a sect
that despised
Egyptians ,
who revered
all cats,
considering
them
to be holy.
It is similiar
to the Banjo.
The Catjo
is made from
the dried skin
of a cat
stretched
over a
wire frame.

Catjoist Dilbert Earl Snively
plays an E-Flat Catjo in Arp, Texas
2007

the procession

seems like trouble always happens
when life and love are wrong,
seems like time is just a moment
in a strange and mystic song,
seems like nothing is for certain
in the endless dance of time,
seems like life is what we make it
in our daily pantomime,
seems like love could be the answer
instead of jealousy and hate,
seems like lovers should be honest
as they move into their fate,
seems like what they do and say and feel
should have a sacred reason,
seems like all their time together
might be a happy season.

1982

Escape Hatch. . . .breakdown

all hearts
beat not
alike
at the
bottom
of the blue

1999

Transcendence

the link to the unconcious
is the total separation
of thought from mind,
the detachment from reality
and yet the awareness of now
is retained while all else falls behind
in a lost wake of confrontations
that before fruition
withered on the vine of worry
and slide away on
the cobalt blue energy
that lights the way to peace. . .

2002

Dark-thirty Friday

. . . and there is a hum,
like a slow singing tune,
a calling to tomorrow,
a slow slide into the morn,
without a worry of it,
a darkening of firelight,
a shuddering of shadows,
a cooling off of everything,
its is a quieting of today,
an ending. . .

August 1975
,

Cypanthicus Rojas 33

Cypanthicus Rojas #3 2006

Chameleon

under threat of lossing all,
the lizard climbs
the ston'ed wall. . .
up and up with clinging claw
he dodges troubles
when they fall. . .
higher still to see the sun
he slowly crawls
while others run. . .
changing colors in the light
he keeps his feelings
out of sight. . .
he seeks his future day by day
moving slowly
on his way. . .

1976

Midlife meltdown

she appeared
from the mists
of the past,
unask'd
yet into
my arms. . .
like some
wind of pleasure,
just a few
days of intensity,
impossibly sweet
but not
possibly to last,
a romantic
vacation
from a
bad time . . .

1984

Progression

today is the foot
tomorrow is the sidewalk
tonight is the thought
later on is the question

tonight it only rained enough
to make me think of you. . . .

1983

the shadowdude

Karma, the balancer,
as fast as fire,
sliding through us
like a knife
or the bloom
of a rose,
dragging the days
behind it
as a ragged tail;
and time,
so invisible,
wrapped in fate,
will ne'er stop
providing results
for all our deeds. . .

1985

Storm brewing. . . . .

passing thunder rumbles
from the west
down to the east
growling in defiance
like a dark and mighty beast. . .

jagged lightning flashes
from the sky
down to the land
stiking with the power
of a monumental hand. . .

rolling thunder grumbles
from the north
down to the south
howling from the heavens
like a high and mighty mouth. . .

crooked lightning crashes
from the clouds
down to the mist
smashing with the fury
of a monumental fist. . .

March 1978

Blue Serene

No one waits for Blue Serene 2007

The Passage of Time

day upon day,
rolling into night,
bright days, dark nights,
we pass through
in both confusion and understanding
as a storm ends in serenity;
we know not why,
except for the knowledge
that nothing is the same today
as it is tomorrow,
be it good or bad,
joyous or sorrowful,
day into night,
ebb into flood. . .

1979

Marathon

far beyond the call
of neccessary human endeavor
lies a thing called
MARATHON
and on the other side
of this mortal trial
is where there treads
a species not found elsewhere;
herein dwell those
who wear earned pride,
in place of false,
over brave hearts,
a medallion of courage
fashioned of timeless bronze,
a modern token or symbol
of the shield of Phidippides

11-26-89
six days before the Dallas White Rock Marathon

The moon knows

moon of brightness, light of night
clouds of flurry, white on white
moon of wonder, flys so fleet
shadows scurry , at my feet
moon of fullness, flys so high
love in azure, sky or eye
evening beauty, blue on blue
waits for gazers, me and you

early Saturday morning after working a midnight shift
1977

The Vessel

United States SpaceShip First Virgo
Class LMM 9357 Def.Con Intel.


September 3, 2007

the Snowfox

the Snowfox waits
within her lair
in her winter
colored hair. . .
spending time
with all her faces
watching from
her secret places. . .
she deals with all
that comes along
she is wise and
she is strong. . .
the Snowfox den
is safe and warm
and no one tells her
to conform . . .

Septembersong
2007

Poem of the coldtimes

just like two snakes
we like to tangle up together
we like to snuggle
in our nest in nasty weather. . .

we never worry
if its cold or even freezing
thats when we curl up
and really get to squeezing. . .

we like to wriggle
and wiggle in the daylight
or squirm and wrap around
each other close to midnight. . .

December 1996

Remembrances

". . .the glimmering arches
that span the summits
of the mind. . ." Kahlil Gibran

The Weekend Warrior

weekend mornings
long and slow
coffee mornings
never go. . .

you're so lovely
lean and slim
you always grant
my every whim. . .

gone from Mondays
Tuesdays too
weekend mornings. . .
spent with you

naught to do
but spend our lives
living love
and loving times. . .

1989

DANGERBIRD

DANGERBIRD (lyrics of Neil young)
drawing 1980

Texans in San Francisco

windy days and sailboat nights,
massive hills and city lights,
runners jog all over town,
going up and going down,
just a week to see the City,
so many things we saw were pretty,
trolley cars full of riders,
seagulls sail like snowhite gliders,
asian people dart and scurry,
everyone was in a hurry,
eating sushi and drinking wine,
i was yours and you were mine.

1989

Get back to where you once come from

things have come,
and, Lord, they've gone,
times have changed,
phenomenon,
lights have shined,
and glowed like fire,
then cooled down
into dark mire,
a place calls out
and beckons me,
blue-on-blue
is what i see,
cramped in freedom
in a bind,
locked in verbage
like i was blind.

1971