ODE TO THE GRATEFUL DEAD
So fine, love of mine. Songs of the Dead go round in my head.
"Dead" musicality rates a ten and much more
"Dead" lyrics are better than four on the floor.
Reality apparent in instrumentations.
Copycats use noise, try for Dead imitations
Dead philosophy, ideology, Dead focus it seems
Is not confined to non-thinking, non-spirited and non-grateful themes.
You're so fine, love of mine, a deadly charge, my love at large.
Admire, respect, and listen with glee, sharing your images makes me feel free.
A knock at the door, caveat emptor - some songs about sharing
Seem unthinking, uncaring. Listen intently as I may, I have to undo some I say.
"Share" your wine, share your song, don't deny
But for sharing your women I dare to belie.
I'll buy share song, share loaf, share love, share wine.
Not philosophy. Mine is all mine.
Your future, ideals, your joy in song, I'll share.
My relations with partners I never would dare.
Sharing women, the results never please.
Lay down with dogs, pass around fleas.
Come play your music, come with your song,
Grateful Dead, don't lead us wrong.
Play, play, sing, sing in Dead style.
Come to me, Grateful, linger a while.
A long while, A long while. A pure damn, long while.
1/2/88

ESSENCE
What alivens and awakens that part of me that seems
to have lived before, the ancient link, my essence, my soul, my wisdom
How to arouse her, keep her interested, her interest is my well being
She is everything I consider important
She likes to play with magic, hold hands with women
Singing, drumming are her arts, dancing is her passion
Chasing the moon in all her cycles,
climbing trees, the wind in her hair, sun on her skin
The smells
She likes the darkness and the light, especially candlelight
Running, running, running. Splash . . . the ocean is her home
She loves her sleep and dreaming
She heals and feels,
and shares
The pain, the joy, the sorrow, the love,
All these are her truth, the path she follows . . . I am alive
the circle is open but never unbroken.
Amber
November 19, 1991

You may not remember how children used to say "red car pinch, no pinch back" the pincher would be the one who first spied the red car and the other gets pinched but rule says they can't pinch back. Nowadays, there are much too many red cars for a little sophisticated child to enjoy such a game.

RED CAR PINCH, NO PINCH BACK
Poem #1 Red Car Pinch
Pedro, Petrie, Peter, Paedar, unforgettable Peter
I don't want to forget the way it feels to hold your hand
The way you stroke my fingers and look into my eyes
Unforgettable, that's what you are.
Why, oh why do I always go for the cad and the
Bounder. They just set the electricity button to
On. I should turn it around and say NO.
About the cads and bounders,
I been thinking.

Poem #2, No Pinch Back
I chose two other men for my soul mates
So we could have these two beautiful
Children. I have had the glorious opportunity
To learn how to be a mom, to learn how
To love, To Cherish, To be ever thankful for.
And, I had these two gentle male souls to be in my life
Because of their humanity and their, and
Their loveliness, their dedication to life.
They just were not grown up yet. Yes, these
Two gave me the lovely children who I got the
Privilege, the rare and unforgettable privilege
Of bearing and having in my life so I could
See what God's real gifts to me, besides my life, were.
I forget the fathers were each a tiny bit younger than I.
And I forgot I had been raised in hardship
Whereas they were not.

O, the lessons learned.

AN INDIAN PRAYER

O' GREAT SPIRIT,
Whose voice I hear in the wind,
And whose breath gives life to all the world,
hear me! I am small and weak, I need your
strength and wisdom.
LET ME WALK IN BEAUTY, and make my eyes
ever behold the red and purple sunset.
MAKE MY HANDS respect the things you have
made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
MAKE ME WISE so that I may understand the
things you have taught my people.
LET ME LEARN the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.
I SEEK STRENGTH, not to be greater than my
brother, but to fight my greatest
enemy--myself.
MAKE ME ALWAYS READY to come to you with
clean hands and straight eyes.
SO WHEN LIFE FADES, as the fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you
without shame.

JUNE IN MONTANA

Heaven opened her mouth and breathed, became the wind.
It's June in Montana. Floral smells, pink roses and Russian
Olive trees caress the senses. It's June in Montana.

Fresh, sweet clothes billowing on the line of June in Montana.
Going backward, out of control? No, only a soldier of fortune
In search of her soul.
Sunlover, gracious, June in Montana.

Red winged blackbirds perched on a stalk, two kinds of swallows
Dive-bombing with a squawk.
Puffballs of cottonwood swirl, rise, fall, dance, skip, skip, skip
It's June in Montana.

Five thousand dead mosquitos in a pile, slain by the mighty phill,
Pest protected for pond and rill, no scratch insurance for
June in Montana.

At the Peck, it's action, cut, scenery, excitement and thrill,
We've waited all winter through freeze and chill.
For the breeze, the rose, hollyhock and cornstalk,
For blue jay, for mallard, for swallow and hawk.

Memories, fond, the horses, the pond,
Fresh, sweet clothes billowing on the line, sunshine,
cottonwood, redwings, peach, watermelon, shout Hosanna.

I long to see again that June in Montana.

I SAW A BIRD
Birds fly over the rainbow.
Why can't I. Why can't cats fly?
Birds fly, cats leap and pounce.
It's the nature of things.
That's why they call it Nature.
First I heard a bird's wing fluttering
I got in my hunter's crouch
And waited, looking, longing, primed
For the struggle.
The struggle? It's the stronger against
The weaker.
Craftiest against
The most free.
Freedom outweighs almost any
Adversity. Even though at the bottom of the food chain,
Well, almost at the bottom. There is
Always the worm.

A HILLSIDE BLESSING
We stood, the five of us
On a magnificent hill
Overlooking the Ojai Valley and the
Peaceful Ocean.
Then we turned ourselves
Eastward to include
Our distant Sweetheart Swedes.
Breathed our love to all
Our Clan, our family, and friends.
Bless us, Thou Great Spirit, as we
Take our vows and pledge our
Love,
And make our promises to you and
To each other. And
Thank you, Thou Great Spirit, for
Putting us together to find and wend
Our way through this Splendid Life
And this splendid Planet.
Lest we forget, Thou Great Spirit,
Our heartfelt thanks for giving us
To these men and women called our Parents
And that we have been brought to this
Blessed Moment in time and space.

MY CAT AND MY HAT

He lies in my bedroom in the sun
Whilst the rest of the world is busily
At work doing this and that.
He is probably figuring out a dream
Of how he can take possession of my hat.
Which accidentally fell on the floor and
Being not picked up, he slept on it for
An afternoon and was there at bedtime
Last night.
Good thing it’s only a Tam o’ Shanter
And good thing it’s not Angora
He might fall in love with it and
Faith and begorra, we don’t want that.
Do cats dream, plan, could they do the
Surf the web thing if they only wanted to.
Or, would they rather spend their lives
Taking over all the territory, especially
Your bed. Is he planning how he can
Call the bedroom his very own, so that
You, the mistress of the domain have to
Find other accommodations.
Just a thought as I watch the serenity, the
Peace he apparently enjoys lying there
In the sun, with his fur fluffed up so he
Looks like a very big creature, and not the
Lonely, plaintive, whelp that has to guard
The Home while others get to spend the money.
I wonder if she will bring me another little pet mouse.
How boring, how about a live bird or something with wings.
O well, stretch, and then see if we can find another fly in the
Back window. So tasty, so luscious. O you lovely fly.
Much better than her old last year’s hat.

What is alluring me?
A starry night that catches my breath
That’s part of the allurement.
The silence of the great forest
It’s so quiet, the very quietest.
The Siren of the sea
Trying to set me free.
When the phone rings
With it the gentle voice it brings.
The purr of my kitty
Here, pretty kitty, little pretty.
Parades when the flag goes by,
Watching the uniforms who go to die.
Cherish freedom
All’s well with the universe, the planet
The great fireball was no mistake.