At the Gates of Heaven
The horses trot, the trumpets blast.
Here, at the gates of Heaven at last!
Names read aloud atop a hill.
Hearts swooning at the anxious thrill.
For a sight, a mere sight, of the Holy One!
The reward long sought in life’s conclusion.
Eyes leave shattered homes in frantic search
of the One who gave meaning to death and birth.
But they all return broken to the same place
from where they left, their image defaced.
God was always here, inside us all,
but we fell searching, lost in free fall.
All it takes are closed eyes and open heart
for the gates to open and the Soul to part.
Dancing With Flames
Open your mouth
and swallow this torch.
Quit reaching for water,
when it’s fire you need to bathe in.
Burn everything you once knew.
Burn even your self.
Light this fire inside you,
and let your shadows dance around it.
Feel the flames lick your Soul,
and release you from your own grasp.
Let the moths surround you,
and be taken by the Source.
Reduce yourself to dust,
and know how it feels to start from scratch.
Roll around your ashes,
and welcome them with joy.
No phoenix will rise here.
No symphony will play.
But your true self will emerge.
And all else will melt away.
To suffer is to heal.
To burn is to rinse.
Why resist the undying embers,
when you can be free.
Dance with these flames.
Let them steal you in the night.
For love is born in passion.
In ecstasy, you are alive.
Drink From Your Soul
Drink from your soul,
and feel the cardamom swirl inside you,
dancing in circles toward the moon,
with no intent of leaving soon.
Upon your lips the burn will surely sting,
only to melt after and make your heart sing.
How could something be so bitter and sweet?
Such is the sacrifice and reward of this retreat.
But don’t waste your time chasing the steam that eludes you.
Behold the creations, the Creator that produced you.
Travel beneath the clouds and submerge into this lake.
Only there will you find yourself truly awake.
A reflection, a smile is all you think you see.
But your third eye sees more, if you can just believe.
For nothing can truly hold what you have in store,
not a cup, not an ocean, not anything more!
So let the cup shatter, let the pieces spill around you.
Only when you are broken can the one peace surround you.
For just as leaves turn green after becoming red,
you can only begin healing once you have bled.
Listen closely and hear the bells ringing in the distance.
It’s time to let go of the pieces and leave this instance.
Drink all you can, but know that it will never go away.
Who you are inside, your essence, is always here to stay.
Empty House
The house that is full
always welcomes
the hand of thieves.
They pillage and plunder
what you so dearly admire—
why bother putting on a lock anymore?
Only when the four walls
see nothing but themselves
can you ever declare peace and serenity.
For all that is gathered in desire
will surely be consumed by Love’s fire.
Every Time I Think Of You
How is it that every time I think of you
the pen meets the parchment and splits into two.
Ink stains cover my fingers in the deepest black,
but I need no words, just my dear beloved back.
How is it that every time I think of you,
my heart surrenders and reveals its hue.
To say this is love is the greatest lie.
Not even love’s endless stairway can reach this sky.
How is that every time I think of you,
I learn the real meaning of the sacred truth.
Not found in books, voices or even minds,
but only in the warm embrace of the holy Divine.
How is that every time I think of you,
I walk on clouds and kiss the moon.
Not even the stars can tell me the time,
Only that I am yours and you are mine.
How is it that every time I think of you,
the world stops moving without a clue.
Each heartbeat fills my throat with the deepest thud,
but I rise from the shallows, like a lotus in the mud.
How is that every time I think of you,
“You” and “I” melt together and become anew,
reminding me that there is only One.
In this game of life, “I” have lost and “we” have won.
How is it that every time I think of you,
I question everything, even myself too.
Though my heart may never know this song’s answer,
let it remain a mystery, and me the dancer.
Footsteps In Your Heart
Listen to these silent footsteps,
paving a path inside your heart.
To where they go, no one ever knows,
but the journey is worth the start.
In the beginning, they travel light like angels,
filled with joy and without a worry.
But as life passes on, they become slow and heavy,
the world’s suffering hits them in a flurry.
Hope slips through their master’s fingers,
like waterdrops craving an escape.
But trudge they must, no matter what the cost,
‘til their sandals are in sheer scrapes.
Few see the sacrifice they give
to guide us on our journey home.
But stumble over thorns they surely will
to end our life’s aimless roam.
Yet we insist on running far,
content to be anywhere but here.
My, what a pain it must truly be
to stay still and face our fears.
Yet if we only knew that fear is a friend,
cloaked in garments dark as ash.
And hidden beneath its endless layers
lies a treasure we forgot we stashed.
For just as the bee swarms around a rose
before disappearing into its bud,
the sweet nectar we’ve always been seeking
lives closer to us than our own blood.
So, give up your tattered sandals
that tear the earth beneath you.
Let go of the worries that haunt you,
not even they can release you.
One only makes progress in life
with each kiss they give this ground.
The music we’ve all been dying to hear
only plays in the absence of sound.
In the end, trust that these footsteps
will take you where you need to go.
Close your eyes, follow their trail,
and no longer will you live in woe.
Lions in the Sky
Hear me roar,
but don’t mistake it for pride.
I give this jungle my everything,
so the cubs of tomorrow don’t cry.
Each day I set to hunt,
but not all hunts are successful.
Yet cuts and bruises I gladly take
to give those in need a mouthful.
Don’t be fooled by my sharp teeth,
long claws and flowing mane.
I am just like you in all that matters.
We are all one and the same.
But if you could see what goes on
beyond the glaring lights of your jeep,
you might see the mountains I’ve climbed
and know that no sacrifice is too steep.
Though king of the jungle am I,
I live to serve every day
to inspire those who feel helpless,
to give them a reason to play.
So, look into my weary eyes,
and see the blood and tears I’ve spilled,
the struggles I make behind closed doors,
so their dreams can be fulfilled.
I hide not in my pride.
I run from no one.
I am a lion in the sky,
and I will never be broken.
Nomad
I am the nomad with no name,
searching for ages, but all in vain,
wandering through life’s scorching desert,
wasting precious time and all my effort.
Strength, looks, and passion have all abandoned me,
but once I was a boy who dreamed to be free,
to leave my parents’ nest and fly into the light,
carried by the wind and drifting like a kite.
I indulged in every wine, food, and pleasure at hand,
never minding the hourglass losing its sand,
for I lived like a king in all his splendor,
amassing more riches than my dreams could render,
Skipping down paved roads and cobblestones,
laughing with madness at all that I had owned.
I basked in shining lights and sweet delights.
The world was my oyster, all in a night.
But when the sun rose to my final chapter,
I soon realized the impending disaster.
Everything I gained I lost in a flash,
even possessions I cherished, gone in a dash.
The more I sought, the more I repelled.
Life was closing in, and I felt expelled.
How could something so great be over so soon?
Just begun I had, when the sun replaced the moon.
Now my days are spent crawling these dunes,
flailing this hourglass toward my tomb.
Oh, how I wish I could break this glass!
And fill it with more sand to escape the impasse.
But alas I’m too weak to even flip it on its head.
One move, I fear, would render me dead.
Yet in my final breaths let me share my story.
Chase neither wealth, pleasure, or even glory.
For none serve you in this land of mirage.
They are the greatest illusions, an empty collage.
Your real oasis is inside, and has always been.
Leave behind the nomadic life and settle within.
Reunion
Behind the veil of longing, I lean to gaze
hoping to find you soon in this lovers’ maze
where souls collide for days to reunite,
searching each nook and corner with no respite.
“Where is the Beloved?” my heart likes to ask,
eager to remove love’s two-sided mask.
Although paper thin does one find this divide,
no steed or vessel can prevent my demise.
Night and day have long left this tavern,
leaving me all alone in my mind’s cavern.
What else is there for me to possibly drink
when there is no room left for my heart to sink?
It pours with bliss into any cup nearby,
but empty it becomes with each passing sigh.
If I could just feel the rays of your sunlight,
I would know the meaning of endless delight.
What is this enchantment you have cast on me?
When despite this darkness, I want to believe
that the day will come when we’re reunited
in the best of meetings, my dear Beloved.
You set me free, like an archer with arrows,
but even with wings, I’m a voiceless sparrow.
What good is it to fly if you cannot love?
Come quickly now and tear the wings of this dove
To release this message etched into my core,
a message of true love kept behind this door.
But no longer can I hold what’s deep within.
Let this love flow freely and lift me again.
For I now let go these chains of desire,
and embrace the burns of this blazing fire
that has razed all forms of seeking and wanting
to leave in its place, true love’s only offspring.
Had I just felt your touch, I would know the way,
avoiding the heartache and all other pain.
But perhaps this suffering is fair and just
to know union as it is and feel enough.
How dumb am I to learn you had never left?
It is I who was lost, of all good bereft.
Although it searched behind veils to find you near,
my sight has finally come to see you here.
Stairs to Nowhere
This stairway we climb,
where does it ultimately go?
For all that we strive for,
you would think we would know.
All of life‘s ‘answers'
lay in the palm of our hand.
But we walk with no purpose,
our heads trapped in the sand.
What is pain,
but the trusted messenger of hope?
Sirens for the alert,
a cure to help us cope.
Forget escaping these rails,
giving your body won’t set you free.
Nor can descending lower,
the past is nothing but history.
The only hope is to continue
and see these stairs as a wheel.
For us to break this cycle,
we must let go of every fear.
And rest on the steps to learn
why we truly toil and strive,
when all this time we’re the face of Love,
and yet we’ve listened to our mind lie.
The happiness you seek
has been with you from the first step.
How long will you keep climbing though?
The time lost might be your regret.
The Longest Bath
Take this soap and wash your skin
of all your deeds and all your sins.
Neither will help you in this world,
nor even well after if they could.
They cover your eyes from the start,
draining each breath from your heart,
'til the only face the mirror shows
is a tale of deep and hidden throes.
Seek the right way and you’ll always drown,
no matter if you’re the pauper or the crown.
All of life’s roads converge one day.
Lost are simply those attached to their way.
To make into two what is always one,
only leads to suffering with no solution.
This simple truth can take a lifetime to learn,
but the end starts somewhere, now’s your turn.
If you could only submerge into this bath,
and free your Soul from its human trap,
you’ll see pounds of dirt sink deep below,
and rise instead is the truth few know.
So let the water engulf your very head,
and make sure to die before you’re dead.
For in this bath, things are truly bare.
Your real self is here and everywhere.
The River's Babble
When you see my body
float down this river,
leave it.
Don’t go jumping in.
You might drown
by the weight of your grief.
I am smiling,
but you can’t see.
Your eyes know only loss.
Not hearing the calm murmur
carrying me away,
You resist.
For you love
the idea of me,
but not my Essence.
Yet if you wade
into this water,
you’ll learn the river cares not for ideas.
It simply moves
the moving and unmoving
until all reach the Final Ocean.
Even the flowers
that grow from it
surrender to its flow.
Even the rocks
that live in it
give freely their bodies.
Who am I then
to fight the battle
that has already been fought?
Lay down your sword.
You will not cut this river
with your blade.
Only yourself,
with cuts
that never heal.
For the fatal wound
is not of the flesh
but of the mind.
To see such sadness
and not recognize
the mirror image of happiness.
Watch me float away,
but know that I stand
where You stand.
One day you will float too,
and instead of tears
You’ll only hear the river’s babble.
The Shawl of Ravens
In my deep sleep,
my soul awoke me
one cold night.
I stood up
and the shawl of ravens
dispersed
in a thousand directions,
leaving me
frozen and naked.
I peered into the darkness,
searching
for the Voice
that stirred my
endless slumber.
But all I could hear
was the distant
cackle of birds
and feathers flapping
into oblivion.
The War Within
I am wide awake,
but the scenes of tomorrow
haunt my mind all day.
Gunshots and air raids
pour fresh from the sky’s bottle,
but I can’t escape.
The screech of sirens
can’t drown the screams of soldiers
and shatters my ears.
The blood of comrades
can grow a field of flowers.
Born is my worst fear.
This is a lost war
fought only in the mind’s eye,
but costing all life.
Hate followed by greed,
envy, desire and pride
outweigh other strifes.
For there is no cure
to this battle fought with thoughts.
Best to surrender.
What do we strive for?
What is to gain when
we’re all dismembered?
I await the day
when my teary eyes reflect
serene hills of green.
And take me away
from this war within, perhaps
this was all a dream.
This World
There is this world where only light exists,
where only waves surrender,
where only one finds true bliss.
Deeper you go, ‘til depth means nothing.
What you seek is what you are,
and that is something.
Oceans upon oceans you love to travel,
not realizing the greatest mystery’s inside,
waiting to be unraveled.
But if you do yearn to make this shift,
step into this world now,
and rise like mist.