Beat

Urban Lullaby

Down the dark alley
A brown and black dog
Scrounges for his dinner
I watch, I listen, I remember

Up on the stoop
The man with the red hair
Going gray
Spits his tobacco
He doesn’t say a word
Just watches me pass
As I watch him spit
He’s from Alabama
Or maybe Georgia
Far from these city streets
I watch, I listen, I remember

Ford LTD
Passes on my left
As I continue my morning walk
Six eyes look at me from behind the not quite black windows
They seem sad
But, they are together
Families are like that
All the eyes the same color
The same shades
I watch, I listen, I remember

In the apartment above
Maybe on the third floor
(Does it really matter?)
The sound of reggae emanates
Something about tears
Something about being lost
Something about a man with red hair
Going grey
And a brown and black dog
Chasing a brown and black cat
Down a dark alley
I stop for a moment
Think about dancing
Decide against it
I watch, I listen, I remember

The LTD is back
I imagine it drove around the block
The windows are still dark
But they're rolled down
There's a reggae sound blasting
Two revolvers
And a nine millimeter
I guess they found me
I watch, I listen, I rememb...

Unwritten

Through the dirty windows
The sun, this morning, shone
Woke me from my slumber
To this new day, unknown

A song was in my mind
A gift from my last dream
I told myself to run
And write this wondrous theme

But, other thoughts distracted
They kept me from my chore
Song remains unwritten
For now and evermore

Henry O’Doole

Mister Henry O’Doole
Was a silly old fool;
He thought he was cool,
As he sat by the pool.

He set down his tea,
Whistling wistfully,
And looked up at me,
Saying “toodalie-dee”

Said I, “toodalie-dee?
Are you talking to me?”
He just stared at his tea
With a strange look of glee.

“Mister Henry O’Doole!
Do you think me a fool?
You said toodalie-dee;
Were you talking to me?”

Henry stood to his feet;
I stepped back in retreat,
Then he put on a smile,
Saying “woodalie-while.”

Said I “woodalie-while?
You stand there and smile?
Mister Henry O’Doole,
Do you think me a fool?”

He extended his arm;
He meant me no harm;
Mister Henry O’Doole,
Was himself but a fool.

But he had a warm heart,
And he taught me again,
That a fool’s just a fool,
But a friend is a friend.

One, Two, Three, Four

You heard a bell
You heard the clang
The rhythmic swells
The soul’s deep pang

A song of joy
The angels sang
Descriptive words
Another rang

Magical beats
Make the heart soar
Feeling alive
One, two, three, four

Coffeehouse

Warm and present aftertaste
Bitter and pure black heat
Feeling the drifting notes
Of a distant song’s subtle beat

Soft and supple visions
Lover writes her prose
Connection growing stronger
My heart, it always knows

Finding the perfect groove
With my lover always near
Precious whispered words
That only we can hear

Living in the poem
Riding the beautiful wave
Stopping for some coffee
On the roads today we pave

Streets of Forever

Called to the streets
Enlivened in the sound
Of the beat
Endless
Rolling
Flowing
Each step in time

Wink at another walker
Brief caress of recognition
Walking on

Called to the streets
Look between the buildings
To the small sky
Stretching forever
Endless
Rolling
Flowing
Stretching forever…

Forever.

Ecstasy's Trance

delirious in the ecstasy
flowing in the beauty of
an everchanging song - of
an everchanging landscape.
she is alive in each
flowing and present
note. all who look
upon the elegance of
her forever flowing dance -
all who look -
are captivated in the
trance. we are, each
of us, enlivened. we
are enlivened in the
sharing - the timeless
sharing of art - the
glorious sharing of
one heart. one heart
sharing with another -
one heart - one heart
flowing in the greatness
of the holy dance -
the holy dance of art.

Jazz is Life

Strolling on the fresh beams of starshine
Rhythmic refractions synchronize with the next
Beat of the touching hearts
Sharing a listening
  to the room filled in the
    syncopated beats
   (lost harmonies found again)

Writhing on the rising strands
    No superfluous beats
    No unintended chords
    No notes lost
    Flowing from player
            to hearer

Beneath any known explanation
Jazz is alive
The music comes to life
Jazz is life

The Diner

The diner was open late that night
Waitress welcomed us with delight
Surprised were we to see such a sight
As a monkey, brown, with splotches, white

The monkey danced and chattered with glee
He ran on all fours, then two, then three
Giddiness bloomed as he said whee-hee
And wiggled his nose and slapped his knee

The diner was filled with hees and haws
With giggles, and laughs and great guffaws
We joined the monkey in silly fun
Throughout the diner all laughed, but one

The old grey man, in an old tattered suit
Nothing shone, not one or other boot
He sat in stillness, his face stone cold
Sadness abode, more than ever told

Purple

Dark rhythmic refrains
Move the song’s flow
Karmic reflections’ truth
Harvest what they sow

Purple is the color
Of a rising generation
People finding life
From every wounded nation

Songs from the songster
Rise from a million souls
Looking to perceive
Fullness rising whole

Pop’s General Store

Back in the woods
‘Bout a mile from the road
Quite a piece from the city
And even the closest town

A small sign was painted
With three simple words
Right next to the mailbox
“Pop’s General Store”

Tobacco and gunpowder
Long underwear and short
Quite a selection
For a place so remote

Candy for a dime
In the old days was a penny
Sodas by the bottle
All ready to drink

Back in the woods
‘Bout a mile from the road
Is Pop’s General Store
A good place to go

Dance!

To wake each new morning
and dance the dance of holy love of God -
This is a sure way,
to real divine love and peace.

Desiring a dance of strength and fervor,
a dance of strength and fervor is achieved.
Desiring a closer dance of intimate praise,
the intimacy with God is surely received.

Let your cares drop to the floor;
Let yesterday remain there.
Dance the dance of holy love!
With wings, take to the air.

To wake each fresh dawning day,
to live where real Peace dwells,
Deep within the dancers’ hearts.
as the tide, God’s real love swells.

Sing a song of jubilant praise.
Let it flow from your deepest heart.
Dance forever the dance of love!
Now is the time to start.