In Honor Of...

...one of the greatest men I have ever known.

A Teacher, a Friend, a Blessing to all who crossed his path.

A man who embraced his Death with as much love and grace as he embraced Life.

"Peace! Fullness of Life!"

~John Jerry Anthony Parente

Rest in Peace, John.

Now you are Everywhere...

Take It In

dark-chocolate-caramel-sea-salt tongue
and finger tips
musica brazilera
bailando por estero
y yo
sitting, staring, speechless
at these surroundings

me,
at the table, looking out on the rain
me,
here, alone, unable to escape myself
that elusive
woman in the mirror
who is
dancing again
and now
a little samba shake
all the way across the living room
she pulls herself
passionately close
and spins, dips, twirls
bouncing back-
i watch her shimmer and smile
hair, wild and curly
from the rain

i am
re-membering
again,
now
this rhythm
this pulse
this life that is so full of possibility and
probability not detracting, I
am beginning
once again
to believe

that something of more substance can be created.
that life is full and so am I.

que todo esta vivo en mi.

Stillpoint.

Be, don't seek.Sit warmly open,
lightness in your brow,
not questions.

Be ready for the quiet
when it comes,
and the creaking
of the house's bones
and the wind's music
playing the notes of the trees.

Be, don't brood.
Don't wait for Life
to announce itself
in capitals
or high garb.

Be available to its whispers,
know how to listen
when it tells its true self
and not the lies
you've dreamt up.

Be able to breathe
and let go of your breath,
let go of life as you wish it to be
and take in the simplicity
the facts-

This sky is.
This day is.
This sparrow is.

Be, don't try.
Your weariness must have
shown you something by now.
Stay seated in your soul,
remember the sun is there,
truth and time are there.

Be, don't seek.
You've already found.
You already have.
You already know.
You already are.


~Elizabeth Page Roberts

chrysalis

door ajar, letting the rain in, cleansing. 
the air is cold, but i welcome the freshness, the movement, it's chill on the little skin that's exposed.
i'm wrapped today, "moving like a pupa." :)
morning conversations of skitz-o-frenia, shamanism and spirits, emotional reactions and defenses. 
i'm surrounded by mooning women and skittish cats, still adjusting to the pit-bull size beastie that's moved in.
late morning brunching. :) 
protein and more of it!
my body is aching with this change of weather, of seasons it seems. 
but
movement is medicine
and i am doing lots of it.
feline, fluid stretching, qi gong,and shakin' it out, yo.

have some work to do that i'm avoiding.
again.
ha. 
i think that some inner dis-order needs arranging
before i can move towards that bid'ness lady who's gotta write a semi-professional letter.
phew.

gotta remember to breathe. 
it's amazing how easily and often i forget.  

no music in my life at the momentito...
my technological means are packed up in a box being stored under a bed in another town.
and so
i listen to the rain, the sound of it
on the roof, the wooden slats of the porch, the cement, the cars crashing puddles below.
i hum a little tune now and then,
and traditional chinese music trinkles in from the room across the hall.
yes. that's right. trinkling. :)
i've got the grouch's, Lakeside tune playing in my head,
mostly on repeat of,

"release-release-release-release,  release,  release,  release-"

my doodle-bug
half-crawls, half-slides off the bed, yawning.
he steps onto the carpet in front of me, bowing.
what a dawg.
i get up to give him some good puppy lovin' and i am so grateful for his presence in my life. 
no matter what worries and trials it been along the way with this guy-
they are forgotten with abandon when he snuggles in or makes me laugh so hard i cry.
damn.

ha.
i said that really loud on bart yesterday, accidentally out loud.
it kind of rang out into the conversation that was happening across from me.  i didn't look up, they definitely paused.  whoops.
it was a genuine response, after reading that in the latest issue of Street Sheet 
that there are 185 VACANT units in San Francisco's Housing Authority's buildings. 
(Who is reporting much fewer less..) 
and as the article said,
"Meanwhile, we have families in San Francisco sleeping on the floors of churches, at drop-in centers, and in their cars. Some families are forced to stay in unsafe situations as they have no place to live."

need i remind anyone of the season of weather that has just come upon us? 
rain, no matter how much it's needed or how beautiful it is,
is never welcome when you live outside.

and yes, there's bureaucracy, institutions, paperwork-
but where is the heart? the humanity?
i wonder,
with so many empty houses and so many mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, brothers and sisters outside?

the man who sold me the paper,
who gave me two issues, even though i only had 1
shared a smile with me
and generosity
i thanked him and wished him,
'Be warm, stay dry-'

just thoughts, today.  on this rainy finally-wintry day.
just feeling grateful for every little thing.

Caminante

You
witness yourself.
scarf and jacket wrapped tight
against the cold.

You.
walking down the street
you were raised on

you see
where you learned to
ride your bike
where you fell down,
and got back up
again

you see silhouettes of trees
shadow lined sidewalks
and it's nothing but
You
and the cloudy city-night sky
and the cool, wet
breeze

And your dog.
whose click-clacking
step
calls you back
to the present,
happening.

you see
the tree that once stood
there,
cut down long ago
the houses full
of ghosts
of kids you used to
play with
where are they now,
you wonder,
where did they go?

You
walk this street that
you know like
the back of your hand,
in a skin
you can finally
claim
as your own.

and for once,
You don't feel homeless,
coming home.

make beauty everywhere you go

there's a mockingbird
somewhere nearby,
singing
i'm perched and listening
on the rooftop porch,
which transformed
into a garden,
in a morning's time

hands in dirt
as the city woke up
sleepily, slowly
saturday morning style

i hear that sharp trill
unmistakable
as she ducks and weaves
through borrowed songs
now she mocks
the car alarms
mimics the men on the street
as they call
from yard to yard
from car to car

i finish up
sigh, and take a seat
to survey with pleasure
the unexpected beauty
that blossomed
with a little roof-porch tetris
and some elbow grease

smiling,
i recognize the pitch of the hummingbirds' wing
zip-zzoooooooooooooooooooooooooom~
there he is,
he pauses and dives low to
check out
this new
little patch of green.

PAY ATTENTION.

laws are being passed to prevent us from being able to grow our own food and make our own medicine.
our dependency on technology has made us pasty and weak and has left us with little common sense and no idea how to provide for ourselves.
and the deportations are on the rise....

they will sell it to you wrapped in convenience, they will tell you that it will make you SAFER.
they are not out to protect you- they are out to protect their profits and their pockets and there is no human life or suffering that will deter them.

PAY ATTENTION.