POETRY
by Daniel Clark
VERSES
FROM BANKRUPTCY COURT
Ah, Inspiration, thou comest from the strangest corners.
Sit here with me hour after
hour
In the sterile confines of
the bankruptcy court,
And prove to thyself whether
the muse moves thee
Concerning the stupidities
and dullness of the legal sport.
Not only are the pockets of debtors
devoid of worth,
But the minds of counsel
empty worse.
The judge, the trustee and
the clerk, too,
Prove hour by hour my
insight true.
The unrelieved and total
lack
Of anything faintly like a
knack
For cutting through the
obfuscation
Makes me think they’re on
vacation.
No one in the house I swear
Is even halfway truly there.
Except of course the one who
sees
These words evolving on his
knees
ODE TO A SOCCER TEAM
Of all the many soccer teams
that ever played the game,
One stands out from all the rest,
The one I had to tame.
A rowdy bunch, you might well say,
They used up one coach fast.
But somehow with an iron will
I stayed on to the last.
At first we tied and no one cried,
But then we lost one bad.
The tears fell down upon the ground,
The G-4 team was sad.
And then we lost another game,
And losing seemed our fate,
Until when all was dark there came
Success, though none too late.
We lost our share, then won some
fair
Until we realized.
That now we knew how both sides felt,
And how to sympathize.
The game is great if it's your
fate
To have a winning season.
But think of those who heaven knows
Are sad for no good reason.
They played their best, and failed the
test,
They're said to be no good.
Let's hope we always realize
They stand where we have stood.
Now the season's over,
And the final coin is tossed.
If we've really learned to play for
fun,
We've won more than we lost.
Our roster reads immortal,
Mike and Chris and Scott,
And Chad and John and Jason
Will not soon be forgot.
And Jeremy and Barry,
Heidi, Steve and old
Ronnell,
Who everybody thought I meant
Each time I said Tonyelle.
The team is now just history,
But in our minds will stick
G-4's 1980 season, and the cry
“It's our Joel kick.”
A POEM BY BARBARA
AND A RESPONSE
COUNTING
We figured the nights once, an idle game
Lying crosswise on the bed. We never
Guessed there would be so many, but they came
To thousands that stretched ahead forever.
So when—on which day lying on soft grass
Together; in the embrace of which dance;
In the midst of which phone call; with which glass
Of celebration wine, which smoky glance;
After which casual remark or hot
Words—when was it scribed that each numbered night
Is one night gone, and all the thousands not
Enough to be enough? At morning’s light
This bed holds the warmth of the world within.
I move my hand softly and brush your skin.
--Barbara
A
Response
She placed in my hand a poem,
A thing which never existed before that winter morning.
My heart is made light by love
Whose clear presence liberates everything.
--Dan
A TRIBUTE TO ELEANOR GREISER
Eleanor
Greiser, rise again,
Say hello to all your friends,
We're happy for the paths you took,
Come back now and take a look
At the benches that we’ve placed
Along the trail you first graced
With a sturdy bench for needed rest,
And also trees—You are the best
Example of an active citizen,
Help us emulate your discipline
In seeing to the needs of all,
Eleanor, we hear your call.
A BIRTHDAY POEM
FOURSCORE
Eighty years she's seen today,
Since beginning in L.A.
Up to Portland, down to Berkeley,
Could she see her future murkily?
North to Walla with
her spouse,
There they bought a starter house,
Then a farmstead, large and varied,
And were very glad they married.
Next to a cabin in the mountains,
Then their town house near the fountains
Of the college where they roam
On many walks so close to home.
After she wins a
council seat,
Serving the city she finds so sweet,
They elect her mayor and then,
After awhile they elect her again.
She serves on the council for twenty-two years,
Mostly joyful, very few tears.
Now she's retired but still very active,
She's not made to just be passive.
So let's see what lies ahead
For the fair one who's shared my bed
For fifty-five years I'm glad to say,
And we wouldn't have had it any other way.
A THANKSGIVING POEM
Thanks for our Creativity,
Which slumbers in the cold
Of a foggy Thanksgiving Day.
We await the inspiration that comes
From the silent depths of our Presence
To populate the world with projects and purpose,
And enliven our days with drama and art.
Though our views may be limited,
The Viewer is not.
We know from many eyes
The pageant we’ve wrought
On the canvas of Being,
Unlimited in scope,
Full of joy and doubt,
Both uncertainty and hope.
Happy Thanksgiving to All!
A SONG
Come, friend, and sing with me,
Let us find a common key
And sing together, me and thee,
Let's pick a song from ages past,
Or make one up, but do so fast
So we can seize this fleeting urge
And grace our minds with not a dirge
But a joyful tune and words to match
That symbolize our creative cast
Into the pond of potential vast
That beckons us to journey there
And bring to life a brand new air
To give the world a poignant verse
Whose melody our soul will nurse.
Can we do it? Yes, we must,
It's time for us the Muse to trust
To leave this day with a new creation
As lasting proof of our elation.
Come, then friend, let silence reign
And bring to us a new refrain
And let it be a special kind
To celebrate our fertile Mind.
JOY
Joy can sometimes creep upon
us
Through words that are not formal sonnets,
Just playful rhymes we string together
On cloudy days, despite the weather,
Bringing lightness to all Being,
And proving dullness to be fleeting.
Our creative wand brings forth the new,
Inventiveness becomes our cue,
And we realize that time's our friend,
That imagination never ends,
That each moment is our chance
To write again our joyful Dance.
CREATION
What shall we create today in our shared space?
A homage to the past, or a totally new face
On the Substance of Being,
Our eternal, deathless Base?
Is there anything that’s really new,
Not a shuffling of the old?
Something truly novel,
For which there’s never been a mold?
Where is the inspiration
For what we’ve never seen before?
It must be somewhere deep inside,
Beneath our earthly floor.
Come, let's go there, you and I,
We really shouldn’t delay,
For There we’ll find the Source of all,
Our future and the Way.
Let’s seek the New
And stand before the Universal Presence,
And try to learn the Nature of
Our Formless, Infinite Essence.
ODE TO A FOREST
I invite you to sit
with me
Along a stream in the
woods
As we wait for the
flood of words.
The Muse is certainly
here,
Full of the art of
poems,
Waiting for an occasion
to speak.
A woodpecker sounds its
refrain in a nearby tree
Seeking to inspire and
encourage us.
Can we hear its rhythm
and rhyme?
Other winged creatures
add their flutters
To an ensemble grounded
By the hum of a more
distant stream.
Visual art is provided
by the surrounding hills
and vegetation,
While the insects
bouncing in the air
Add their silent rhythm
to the continual flow of the forest.
Falling leaves hitting
the ground are carried by the breeze
Along with chips
dropped by the woodpecker.
Contributing further
percussion.
The plants offer their
colors and shapes
Which speak to us of
many stories,
Adding to the messages
we receive.
Now and then we hear
What sounds like a step
or two
On the hillside behind
us,
But find no one there.
The forest is eloquent
in many ways,
That lead us to
This simple praise.
A
POEM FOR TODAY
Will our perfect Emptiness bring forth some artful words today?
Is there a theme wanting to find a way?
Wait with me and we shall see
The shapes assumed by our destiny
And whether or not they turn out to be
The Flow that we call Poetry.
And if they bring us joy and delight,
Or understanding of our plight
In new ways that are filled with Light,
And help to make the darkness bright.
Come along then and take my hand,
We'll journey together through the land,
And see the forms our life will take,
And give them names, and music make.
And we shall find the beauty there,
And the freshness of the open air,
And our creativity will reign
In every valley, hill and lane.
AN END TO COUNTING
How many are we, me and thee?
Do our numbers reach Infinity?
Or are we One, not two or three,
In Truth are we a Unity?
Do we extend to all that is,
To they, that, her and his?
Or is there something we are not,
What are the lessons our life has taught?
From all of our experiences here,
What knowledge do we now hold dear?
What is it that we have learned
Regarding all the things for which we've yearned?
Have we finally found our Essence
In the unbounded, eternal Presence,
In which all beings are aspects of
Our true Identity, and deserve our Love?
PARADOX
Here is
Infinity,
At times idolatry.
Here is Liberation,
But also tribulation.
Life gives us variety,
And then satiety,
On occasion Peace and Perfection,
After which the other direction,
Toward Adventure and uncertainty,
The opposite of security.
We live in Truth for Eternity
Made interesting by Novelty.
THE NEEDLE
Waiting in the pharmacy for another vaccine shot,
Wondering if this one's mild or will really hurt a lot.
Usually it's no problem and hardly aches at all.
But then there was the hornet shot
which really cast a pall.
Before long I bled internally, and then
I wound up in the hospital with plenty of time for Zen
I lost about half of my blood supply
Until they stopped the leak,
And now I’ve gained it back
And no longer feel so weak.
So get your shots, they're usually fine,
And rarely give you trouble.
But remember that at other times
They almost pop your bubble.
SINGLENESS
What is me is thee,
What is thee is me.
Both are the Divine We,
The infinite, eternal Unity.
Now is the time for us to sing,
And the time for us bring
All the disparate things together,
As in Truth they are forever.
Separation's just a Game
To give us many things to name,
As well as conflicts that seem to mar
The Singleness of what we are.
Without a doubt, though, Truth
will out,
Illusion's time will pass,
Reality will then hold sway,
The Singleness will be our Way.
SURRENDER
Let’s surrender to
This.
Our Tao is God's
kiss.
Be all of the Flow,
It knows just where
to go.
Surrender to Truth,
It’s all the Divine.
Everything’s One,
Not yours or mine.
WALK WITH ME
Walk with me
And we shall see
The world anew.
Familiar streets,
Through novel beats
Of our hearts, and more
Are what's in store.
Subtle changes,
With meaning that ranges
To what's hidden in our core
Will come upon us as we go,
And link us to the Eternal Flow.
So venture forth,
And hold my hand.
Together we will find the land
Where Unity is in command,
Where all things share a Single Soul,
And what was separate now is Whole.
Are you ready?
THE DIVINE DANCE
This is the Divine
Dance
Which ebbs and flows.
It's always the Divine
Wherever it goes.
We are the Self
That never dies.
Though we often fall,
We always rise.
Our Flowing Present is
the Absolute,
Complete and unlimited
in Creativity,
While giving us a sense
of Individuality.
Surrender to its Perfection.
WHO
ARE WE?
Look beyond our current forms,
Which are merely shades of the past.
Let’s go deep together into the No-Thing,
The pool of Spirit from which Life flows.
There we'll find the Source and Substance of Being,
The inspiration for all our Motion
Where Unlimited Creativity awaits us.
Know your Self in the Emptiness and
Stillness of Infinity,
The Formlessness of the Eternal,
The Heart of the Universal.
The particular is all around.
Manifesting as sight and sound.
It draws our Attention, attracts or repels,
Creating what appear as heavens or hells.
The Universal is our Eternal Base
In which each thing finds its place.
For each our Spirit makes provision,
Doing so without division.
Come with me, let’s find our Home,
From which we'll watch our Essence roam
With Self-Awareness, respect for all,
And openness to Spirit's call.
HUMOR
(written in an
Emergency Room)
Humor keeps us going,
We have to learn to laugh.
Our lives bring many challenges,
But there's nothing like a gaffe
To prompt a smile or chuckle,
Much better than a moan,
They don't lead us to buckle
From the things that make us groan.
To laugh at our misfortunes,
The jokes life plays on us,
Is a gift in place of crying
And the making of a fuss
Over dashed expectations
Or ideas of what's right,
And help us watch our drama,
The journey of the Light
As it fills our Mind with Art,
The Flow of many forms
That make us feel we're separate,
Producing many storms.
In Truth, we're all One Substance.
The Awareness and the Flow
Are all the Single Dance
Of what's above and what's below.
So learn to respect the present,
The future and the past,
And know it’s all your Self,
The Unity at last.
TWO POEMS FROM A HOSPITAL
ROOM
THE TRACK
As I walk the track each morning
Seeing what new things will be borning
I notice directed at my spine
A shaft of Energy from behind
Bringing healing to my back
And displaying the amazing knack
Of improving not just a single spot
But also others that hurt a lot.
It moves along my spinal cord
Stopping briefly to bring on board
Every place there is a need
To improve it through its curious deed.
When it rises above my head,
For empty space is where it's led,
At last there’s an end to borders
And all is One, with no orders,
Other than following the natural Flow
Which knows just where it needs to go.
So give up judging, and learn to trust
The Tao or Way, as we ultimately must.
NOW
Now is a screen, empty and blank,
Until across it moves the Divine Prank.
And all of a sudden where Stillness reigned,
Motion flows, with feelings pained.
Forms evolve and drama, too,
And often we don't have a clue
As to what the Flow will bring us next,
Whether blessings or what will be a hex.
Time moves naturally, attracting our interest,
With many options for what seems best.
Understanding Life is a challenge for our
science
As Now emerges from the Silence.
WISDOM
The pulse of Life creates
all things.
Let's see what the new day brings.
Are we open to the natural Flow,
Or convinced we know
Where it should go?
Are we really certain we know best,
And sit in judgment on the rest?
Or are we gradually learning to abide
The Wisdom of our Nature’s Tide?
FLOW
We are simply the Flow,
Always on the go,
Both what's above and what’s below,
Every friend and every foe.
And finally we’re beginning to know
That we are both the high and low,
That they’re all our Self, and we can grow
Through practicing "Yes" instead of "No".
So let us see if we can glow
As we are facing every woe,
And now and then to take some time
To write a poem, and
enjoy a rhyme.
DRAMA
We're the robes Life
puts on
To play out its drama.
We’re props in the plot,
And the playwright as well.
We pen the script,
We pick the players,
And choose the theme,
Whether heaven or hell.
So enjoy the production
For now we know
That we're the Creator, and
It's all our own show.
THE GAME
Our Presence is eternal.
Our Motion is universal.
Our understanding is partial,
The results often farcical.
Our Life is a Game
Played by the Divine
Throughout space and time,
And sometimes honored
with a rhyme.
WHAT SAYEST
THOU?
Is our world a fearsome place
That makes us want to hide our face?
Or is it something pure at Heart
In which we each play an essential part?
Do our boundaries actually divide us?
Are our egos worth the fuss?
Or are we all the Single Flow
Whose Wholeness unites high and low?
I think the world's a playful Game
That will ultimately make us glad we came
To journey here in space and time
And to leave behind a simple rhyme.
THE CREATIVE I
We are all the creative I,
Which we'll understand better by and by.
We're getting closer every day,
A little wiser in some small way.
Remembering what we knew before,
And seeing now the Truth of yore,
Learning anew the Face of the Divine,
Both here and there, yours and mine.
We're beginningto feel the Divine Power,
No longer locked in some distant tower,
But Here where we are, in this place so low,
Manifesting as things we know.
It creates a path for Life to Flow,
To contribute to the continuing show
Of creativity, novelty, surprise and delight,
As well as the opposites that come to Light.
So welcome the new and join the crew
Who lead the way to a wiser day,
As we discover who we really are,
The One Being, both near and far.
CIVILITY
Civility means respecting each other,
And always being willing to hear.
It's not the trading of insults
Or responding with a sneer.
It means we realize
That we're all in this together,
And that our value doesn't depend
On if we agree, or whether
We share the same commitments
And our beliefs are all the same.
We like to know our neighbors
And from where their opinions came.
We value honesty and good will
While trying to understand our differences,
And respond with kindness and equity
In place of negative inferences.
It doesn't mean being silent
Or abandoning our view.
It does mean being friendly
And giving others their due.
For in the end humanity
Is what we all can share.
And a growing sense of Unity
That teaches us to care.
WORDS
Words our experiences confine,
And at times our feelings refine.
While often they limit,
They may also permit
A perspective broader and fine.
Words are two-edged swords.
They may leave us richer or bored.
Let's open ourselves
To the books on our shelves
Full of words that have long been adored.
And to new expressions,
Significant impressions
That arise in the midst of routine,
And symbols we find
In our creative Mind
To express what is truly pristine.
TO GOD
I wish to write a poem to God.
God to God
Is in Truth all we ever
do.
A FISH
I want to be a fish
swimming in the sea,
Thinking to myself,
This is all I wish to
be.
A
POEM TO HAFIZ
I'm writing to Hafiz, the playful Poet,
Who always writes to God,
And we're just learning to know it.
FREEDOM
Freedom is all around,
Left and right,
Up and down.
It's the Unconstrained,
Eternal Ground,
Whose creative Flow
Our Mind can confound.
It knows no restraint
Or obligation,
Satisfying our Nature
Without hesitation.
It's who we are,
Without exception.
Our apparent boundaries
Are playful deceptions.
So greet the day
With open arms,
That welcome life's adventures
And many charms.
And when we tire of all the Motion,
We’ll rest until another notion
Along a novel path will lead,
To meet once more a natural need.
THIS
This is the Divine
All of the time,
Whether we’re in pain
Or enjoying a rhyme.
The Truth is that
It’s all just fine.
We’re truly the Infinite,
Which has no limit,
It’s the always new,
With changing views
Of our apparent self
And everything else.
It’s the Always Right,
And never wrong,
The Absolute,
So come along
With me and
Our throng,
With our unique perspectives,
And the Divine directives
To follow our Nature,
Wherever it leads,
Trusting its ability
To meet our needs.
For Diversity,
And Unity, too,
Are in Reality
The Eternal You.
ECSTACY
When we go beyond our boundaries
We see what the mystics see,
And then can experience
The Ecstasy.
GOLF
Golf is a lot like Life.
There are golfers who replace their divots,
And those who don't.
And some for the Good of the Whole
Replace other people's divots
on the next hole.
Be one of those.
GAME ON
This is
our Game.
Watch it from above
As the Whole,
And from below
As your soul.
Know it as our Unity
And also our Diversity.
Learn the need for duality
And the Truth of Universality.
The Game is on.
ONE
We are the Single Substance,
And its Natural Motion,
The eternal, playful One.
One is the Truth.
The many our game.
We play every day
With different aims.
Sometimes we follow the heart,
Sometimes the head,
It all depends
On where we're led.
Everything has
Its special time.
The Reality is
It's all the Divine.
THE SPIRIT
The Spirit is our Essence.
It invites us to Transcendence,
To the Source of what is finite,
And an experience of the Light.
Its Flow gives us drama,
And also sometimes trauma,
The things that seem our duty,
And those that show us Beauty.
It populates our day,
As it winds its novel Way,
Through the realms of time and space
Where all things find their place.
The Spirit is the Mover
And also is the Knower,
Of all the things we see
And whatever comes to be.
The Spirit is your Self.
In Truth there's nothing else.
Its the stuff of all our Seeing,
And the Substance of our Being.
Honor the Spirit.
SPRING
Spring invites us to celebrate
the coming of the new,
And the freshness of the dew.
Our lives seem graced
When we are again faced
With the color of green
over much of our scene.
And blossoms abound,
Filling country and town
With beauty and light,
To add to our delight.
We're lifted in flights
To joyful heights
By the returning flowers
And colorful bowers.
Seeing these return
Helps us to learn
To trust in the future
And its provision of nurture
For all of Life's creatures
With their varieties of features.
For Life is our friend
And in Truth does not end,
But continues to change
As it explores the full range
Of every possibility
While defying probabilities.
So let's celebrate together
The change in the weather,
And the friends that it brings
With the return of the Spring,
Both old ones and new,
Who refresh our view.
EASTER
Does Easter refer to our feasting on eggs,
Or to a deeper history whose origins it begs?
Easter comes from Ostera, we're told,
The Goddess of Spring from times of old,
Who gave power to a rabbit
For what has become our habit
Of bestowing eggs one time a year
On those who held the Goddess dear.
After that came the Christian Resurrection,
That takes Spring's return in a new direction,
Not just to a promise of immortality,
But the resurrection of bodies and physicality.
Are those what we value, with all their imperfections,
Or our formless Presence, which needs no corrections?
Are our individual forms truly eternal,
Or are they all merely kernels
Of the infinite Flow
Of things below?
While what is above,
The Substance of Love,
Is the Formless One,
Father, Mother, and Son,
And the Daughter as well,
In whom we dwell
As the Eternal Presence,
For all, our true Essence.
THE SINGLE SELF
Beneath our diversity
And occasional perversity
Is a deeper stratum
Whose essential datum
Is the Wholeness of
What's below and above,
And the Singleness that
Is the Source of Love.
For what is True
Is that we are not two,
Nor three or more,
But at our core
Are simply the One
That excludes none.
Our Nature, though, is
To create hers and his,
Both here and there,
And things to beware.
But that's only our Play,
Our Unitive Way
Of creating interest,
And experiencing zest,
Through space and time
Within the Single Mind.
For the Truth is always
That the Self is One.
When we realize this,
Our battle's won.
Though we'll play again
This very day,
FUN
It's all One,
So let's have some fun.
Let's be in good humor
Despite the rumor
That life is a pain,
No sun and all rain.
It's really our Play,
So let's begin today
To honor each day
By saying Yay
Rather than nay,
We‘ll find that's the Way.
Try it.
