Socrates Thalassos (formerly jay dancing bear) -----The Adventure Continues!

Socrates Thalassos
(formerly jay dancing bear)
the adventure continues!

songwriter/musician/poet/teacher
written over 700 songs and guitar instrumentals
rock-folk-blues-slide-open tuning
meditational-and more

I love playing my songs for people.
I want to play my songs for you!
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Below are my most recent poems.
Whenever i write new ones, they will be here, so check in periodically and see what’s hot off the presses.

Also, take a look at my blog for my latest thoughts (latest post March 16)
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A Tolerable Limbo
(4/21)

Not much to wake up for
Not much not to wake up for
I guess that’s why they call it limbo, because it’s
not so bad, not so good, just
tolerable
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Wallowing
(4/10)
Wallowing in my wounds
passing the days in a toolshed
dis-empowering myself

Sometimes it’s better to
wallow and pass time
than to step into an arena
with a lion waiting
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Non-Enlightenment Poem
(4/11)
In the Zen tradition
it is traditional to write a poem upon realizing enlightenment

I can’t claim that, but
after getting drunk and dancing for 2 hours
a lot of energy has moved
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Grand Entrance
(4/10-11 midnight)

Let me make my grand entrance,
dancing
into the room where the music’s playing

Hey, where is this poem going, anyway
     wherever it wants to
as i was saying

Grand Entrance
Dancing
into the room with the candle burning and the incense lit
the room without fear, without restriction
where people are dancing wildly and
loving madly
and no one says, what if

What if the wine is good, the women beautiful,
the music stimulating, the night warm,
the hearts on fire
What if that were a typical night, a tantric life,
all over the world

a life without fear
a conscious, embodied life
filled with the omnipresent Presence
filled with beauty and freedom
filled with truly useful effort that really
benefited someone, somewhere

What if you were in that room
and you, and you
and all the souls trapped in their wounds, ego,
bitterness and despair
What if

Let us make our grand entrance, dancing
Drink in hand, lover on arm, music playing
Heaven Eternal
Amin
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Dancing in the Wreckage
(4/15)
This house is falling apart
Houses do that after years and years without maintenance
The swimming pool is a mosquito farm
Dark, brackish water filled with muck

The neighbors moved out a long time ago
no work, no money, no fun
Squirrels, birds, bugs, raccoons, feral cats
These are the neighbors now

Here and there a human being
recluses, hermits, ascetics, fuckups
Smoke of incense, tobacco and marijuana

and me
dancing to an old song
played on an old boombox
with old batteries
loud, drinking cheap wine
working on tomorrow’s headache,
and yet, somehow, in all this wreckage
physical wreckage, human wreckage
wreckage of a society that has lost its’ magic
you can feel a presence, the Presence
omnipresent, always, everywhere

you can feel it because it’s quiet here
the wind blows
the trees rustle
the sun shines
tonight there will be moonlight

No one is trying to get anywhere
there is nowhere to go
we’ve all tried and failed and realized that

it’s quiet here
you can feel
Presence
and that’s a good reason to
dance

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What is and What is not
(written 4/16)

Sometimes you just have to admit, especially to yourself
What is, and what is not, and move on

She loves you, she loves you not
You did a great job, you fucked up
You can eat, drink, stay up late,
do whatever you want
You have to be really careful, watch every morsel,
get to bed by 10
at least if you want to survive

So much of the suffering is in
the thoughts and feelings about what is happening
the resistance, the struggle within
against what is, and what is not

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again
Thinking the same thoughts over and over again
Doing nothing to learn and grow, yet
expecting a different result

What is, and what is not
Certainly the laws of gravity will not change, but
what is and what is not
may take on the deeper meaning of
how you feel about and react to
what is and what is not, and maybe even
what is and what is not possible
may change and surprise you
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ANGELS

(2/13)

I always knew
there were angels in heaven
i never realized
there were so many angels on earth

you know you are loved
when the chips are down
and they still come round

the heavenly choir is singing loudly
the hearts of the earthly angels
singing louder still

May peace and harmony
pervade all the realms
may your road be smooth
leading always to lands filled with flowers,
sweet waters, and
loving arms to hold you
peace be with you
amin
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DESPITE APPEARANCES

(2/13)

It’s all about the light
The light in your heart, in your body
how much light can you allow?

Every atom of every cell is glowing brightly
a thousand suns in every micron, and
it’s all you
how much light can you allow yourself?

There is nothing but god, that includes us
How much light can you allow yourself to see in the mirror?

It’s all light, it’s all god
under the masks and fogs of the world
how much light can you allow yourself to see

in everyone, not just the “good” people
how much light can you allow yourself to see
knowing that your whole accustomed way of relating to the world
must fall by the wayside, and
you have no idea what will replace it, and
you’re afraid of being a babe among wolves

how much light can you allow yourself to be
is that even a valid question, because
you are light
all is light

despite appearances
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WHAT’S THE POINT
The world looks like a shithole in the making,
like it’s ending

Disasters lurk around every corner
every speck of dust from under every rug is
      floating in the air,
making us cough
and yet

when i relax, release my fears and anger for a moment
Stop thinking long enough to see clearly, for a moment
I see the eternal infinite winking at me, saying

it’s all a game, a scary movie
don’t take it so seriously that
you don’t have any fun
reminding me that

though i speak with the tongues of men and angels,
have the deepest insights and understanding of the situation
the snarkiest comments on Facebook, 100,000 likes, still
if i have not love in my heart
even for the fucking swine
who are destroying everything i hold dear
my words are as sounding brass
without love
what’s the point
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Window Into Eternity

written 2/22, Big Sur Lodge at night
i was camping and wanted to go inside for a while
—–

There’s a window into eternity that opens
sometimes when i hear certain pieces of music
see a certain sky, smell a certain scent

everything drops away
tomorrow disappears
yesterday, indeed everything other than now
disappears
i don’t remember if i’m old, young, middle aged, rich, poor
it all disappears
in the feeling of eternity

Today or a thousand years ago
Today is a thousand years ago
a thousand years from now 

A thousand years ago
mountain lion and grizzly bear roamed this coast
now ruled by cars and telephone lines
as the night gets deeper, and the mood comes over me
all hope in the future vanishes, because there is no future
only now

as i sit here writing these words on paper
7 billion lives unfold
countless critters, bugs, plants, amoebas
on this and other planets
throughout time and space
an old song is playing
a song from the youth of people now aged 70

countless songs of countless singers of
countless places of countless times
all floating around in the ether, the psychic energy field
we hear them with an inner ear

Today is a snapshot, a frame in an eternal movie
flashing by so briefly when the movie is rolling
lasting for all eternity in
freeze frame
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Getting Drunk and Having Sex
2/22, Big Sur

O, things were simpler then, when feeling good meant just
getting drunk and having sex, and
when the drink wore off, drink more
when the sex wore off, have more

but now
our desires have gotten so much more complicated
just getting drunk and having sex
a cold drink and a warm body
are not quite enough anymore

Now our minds wonder
what did we do with our lives?
what should we have done with our lives?
what should we do with our lives?
even though, for the most part
all that thinking is just mental masturbation

still, most of the time, it’s not enough to just
get drunk and have sex
even though
our lives will probably not change overnight
the world will probably not change overnight
and maybe we’d be better off, if we could just
get drunk and have sex
it’s not that we don’t want to

it’s just not quite enough anymore
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and you know, us poets can always use money, so below is a paypal button, which you can use to send me money to buy guitar strings, wine, and cell phone time.