Letter to the living, who one day will die

Death has come
As simply as birth
Both so natural,
A little painful
But necessary, all the less.

Both happen all the time,
Every minute of every day.
Yet for some,
It’s such an occasion
Meaningful only to the immediate
But to you it means the world.

A life, simply lived
Has gained no attention.
I slip out of this world as quietly as I entered.
No fancy casket, no smoke or flames
No expensive flowers, no exaggerated service.

I do not wish
To carry my family into debt,
Making them die a slow death
Just to mourn mine.

A simple reflection,
Please remember my life.
Past that,
I have no greater joy
Than to be consumed and digested
Eaten to the bone
Maggots and worms
Slowly bidding me farewell.

I’ll return to where I came from
Where I belong
For once these small creatures
Can become larger than human
I’ll be a gift to the earth,
Become one with it,
Become it.

To rest forever,
Beneath tree limbs and stars.

Sneeze of Life

What appears to be dead
A fragile white skeleton
Translucent and wavering
Still resting upon a green stem,
Blowing feebly in the breeze.

Then a large gust comes to visit
The dead suddenly sneezes
Its remnants burst into the air
Each travelling as they please
Flight giving them new life

They float back towards the ground
Each settling onto a new peice of earth
Some will make new and flourish
Others will fade away

What once
was just one old life ending,
Is now ten, who have just begun.

Leaf Pinwheel

Watercolour painting. I was debating cutting off the right side, as it doesn't quite fit in, but I'll leave it for now.

Bound in Chains

Stifling heat melts the humid sky
Choking on our own breath
Another day rolls by
Slowly turning, but soon over despite its slow pace.

Amidst the pains of life dwells great luxury
What really has the right to exist?
Surely not this, I can’t see the reason.
Polar opposites on every side,
Yet connected seamlessly as if by strings,
This marionette plays back and forth.

One man’s wealth is another’s despair,
Bravely fanning another while suffering heat stroke himself.
One day this will all be over,
But that doesn’t offer much refuge,
When ‘one day’ doesn’t have a set date.

Don’t let a day go by
When you don’t ask why.
Ask it to their faces,
Let them meet this head on.
Destiny is being set by mere mortals
Incapable of understanding another’s suffering.

Wilted plastic flower

Plastic tree, fake sun light
Steady diet of synthetics,
Just like Nayture TM intended.

Who needs trees
When we can make our own air
Just mix some of this and some of that
Blast it out of these great vats

Who needs the sky
When you can paint the ceiling blue
You can even put some lights up there,
To look like stars glowing on this view

But it’s better if we just forget what stars are
You can’t see them in cities anyway.
Something so great is so far away.

Cathedral Grove

Dessert in the Desert

Feet burning from sand,
Eyes watering and blurred
The sky is blending into itself,
Not much is clear.

Sand is painfully whipped into the air,
Lashing into my eyes and punishing my skin
Changing this landscape
Into an ever shifting land.
Even the ground we travel over
doesn’t stay in one place for long.

A mirage appears in the distance,
This oasis is kin to none
Dessert has appeared in the desert,
What a treat for one who’s had none.

A strawberry sundae floats above the afternoon moon
Banana splits line the horizon
Forget water, my dehabilitating thirst
Can only be quenched by the absolute impossible.
A feast for one, amongst bold snakes soothing my fear with their rattles
And large cacti threatening me from coming too near,
Afraid I might steal whatever water is stored in their bodily trunks.

I get ready to taste just one bite,
For my thirst to be met with sharp sweetness,
Smiling fruits to brighten my day.
But just as quickly as this enticing picture appeared,
It is swept away into the wind
It’s teasing memory hovering over the vast line of sky.

Maybe I’ll settle for something a little less this time,
I think as a desert owl sings me to sleep,
Its calming sounds soothe all fear out of me
The temperature plummets and I snuggle beneath my blanket
My tired limbs succumbing to much needed recovery.

Maybe tomorrow I will meet a friend,
Who will treat me to dessert in the desert
Maybe I’ll forget which is deserving of two Ss
And realize that the treat I’ve been waiting for
Has been here all along

This seemingly empty space is teeming with life,
My eyes feast on the beauty that is present here,
The wildlife I am blessed to share this space with
Are better companions than any fancy dinner party.
Goodnight, sweet sweets of the desert.
Tomorrow I’ll save the extra S for you.

Sketches

Animal Portraits

Wings on medication

Little girl
Soaring free
Come back, come down
They shout and scream
Return to this reality

Medicated, habilitated
Creativity annihilated
This is what is right for you
Attention span preserved.

Looking up at the bright blue sky
A sense of belonging shivers by
Don’t accept that you cannot fly
Just because they told you so.

From thoughts to action

Silly,silly,silly me
Why bother taking this seriously?
It doesn’t mean anything to anyone
You never thought it would
So why did you even bother,
Bother, a bother, bothering everyone
With mere ideology
It’ll never win in practice
Better erase it from your head.

But no! Don’t you realize
That the impractical is really the most practical,
We’re just so far from it
It seems so far away.
So don’t ignore it any longer,
Any longer than today
Better start right now,
Build this bridge brick by brick,
Eventually it’ll stretch to the other side.
Till then, keep building.

Building, building, always building
As long as you’re not aiming for the sky,
Eventually it has to end somewhere.
There is an end in sight.

Moving on, I light a match
Pour gasoline over what I have built
I may be burning this bridge right here,
But I never want to look back.

Old Weathered Boat