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Tag Archives: Wisdom
Musings of a Reformed Philosopher
When Babies Die
When a Torajan baby dies, the infant is sometimes buried inside the trunk of a tree in the hope that the child will continue to grow with the tree. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3270383/The-tree-graves-Indonesia-dead-babies-buried-inside-trunks-growing-plants-absorbed-nature.html
BALL LIGHTNING
BALL LIGHTNING
In the front door out the back
A ball of lightning through the barn
in the story dad would tell
I wonder now if the light was white
and if it made a sizzling sound
as some who’ve seen one have described
All happened in a blink I guess, and gone,
like this, and all the questions that I didn’t ask
FOR VICTOR
FOR VICTOR
The only trick an old dog can learn
is how to be an old dog
The minimum of turns one has to take
before lying down for that nap
That a bark is as good as a chase
for keeping squirrels off the deck
And that after all these years
of standing up for your standing friends
you’ve likely earned their kneeling by you now
ONE FIFTY AND COUNTING
ONE FIFTY AND COUNTING
In the dream
Hal and I are sitting on the curb
at the corner of Time and Wisdom
having a nice long chat
It is one of many dreams
with Hal and Sidra in starring roles
If they were to charge us for this time
(as they sometimes threaten to do)
I mean even at their standard rates
never mind 2.5 for nights and weekends
how many many thousands would we owe
If they charged for the wisdom
the national debt would seem low
150th BIRTHDAY LIMERICK
150TH BIRTHDAY LIMERICK
The Event
In October 2007 a number of Voice Dialogue teachers and friends gathered in Boulder to celebrate Hal’s 80th birthday and Sidra’s 70th birthday. I was honoured to be asked to write a theme poem, then Larry said, “But not a Limerick”.
The Limerick
There were two therapists from Thera
Who were so wise they would scare a ya
The were so darned smart
They could take you apart
And you couldn’t hide hide nor hair a ya
SACRED DANCE
SACRED DANCE
The Bushmen of the Kalahari
dance all night in a circle
dance a calf-deep trench in the sand
In a circle around the circle
sit those in need of a healing
And because it is a sacred dance
any dancer at any time may step
out of the dance and do the healing
and then return to the dance again
Knowing without knowing
that everyone is a healer sometimes
everyone needs a healing sometimes
You just keep dancing
AWARENESS
AWARENESS
If a pickpocket sees a saint
he only sees his pockets
If a saint sees a pickpocket
he only sees his soul
Wise man sees soul and covers pockets
THE POET LAUREATE AT NINETY FIVE
THE POET LAUREATE AT NINETY FIVE
The new poet laureate is ninety five
he’s been working on his demons
for a long long time
Six weeks before the poet was born
his father burns his demons out
by drinking carbolic acid in the park
Mother burns father’s pictures
forbids mention of his name
Young Stanley finds one in the attic
and asks about the man
She tears the picture to shreds
without a word
and slaps him hard
six decades later he still felt the sting
Bright boy gets scholarship to Harvard
okay but forget about teaching classes
these were not the days when a Jewish boy
could teach their ivy league asses
Marries a poet, move to honeymoon farm
she disappears never to be heard from again
The new poet laureate has had plenty of pain
each day he wakes as a poet
not a man of ninety five
still seeing everything new
still glad to be alive