Magic

poetry

jay dancing bear

Contents

Finding Magic
Thank You Water
Test
Culture Shock
Oasis

Drowning Sailor
The Last Supper
True Art-Popi
Excalibur
The Greatest Gift

Magic
Rocks
Middletown 94
Cosmic Joke
Drop Drop Drop

Big Sur
The Real World

Finding Magic

Within these four walls, seven days, twenty four hours
I need to find the magic

between 9-5
the supermarket and the laundry
morning commute and evening meal
I need to find the magic

is it hiding under a rock
hidden inside a wall
a stowaway under the back seat of my car
a drink, a drug, a movie, a song
a woman to fall in love with
a lottery to win
a new car
a new home
a new……….me?

Yes, a new me
A me that, when the light hits my eyes
I see a magical play of colors

A new me that,
holding up a plastic dish
is amazed
and sees beauty

A new me that,
meeting someone
gives love
not judgement

A new me that,
looking at the world
sees the miracle of creation
beneath the surface of problems

So, when my eyes see
not just 20/20
but 6D
and when my skin feels the kiss of the air
and the cloth
and when my heart touches other hearts
with love
and when my brain serves spirit
not ego

Then, I suspect
My world will be filled
from each morning all the way through to the next morning
wall to wall
year to year
from sea to shining sea
inside all parts of every breath
with Magic

Amin

Thank You, Water
(written May 8, 1996 while assisting a Watsu class)

Thank you water
for being my friend, partner, and ally
in this beautiful dance

Thank you for accepting us and
allowing us to move freely through you

Thank you for supporting us and
making us light

I know that
the more I allow you to do
the less I need to do
I am here to guide the person in my arms
through you

Thank you, water

Amin

Test

They say god tests people
sometimes when human engineers test things
they test to destruction
to see how much stress something can take
before it breaks

but God is God, and
hopefully
God will back off
before reaching my breaking point

I wonder if the jews at Auschwitz passed their test?

Culture Shock

Riding the #1 Monterey bus
A twenty something woman in a blue pinstriped business suit
with a stud in her nose

Oasis

The way was hot, dry, thirsty, sweaty
The sun beat down
We had almost given up hope

now we are lying by the oasis
eating dates under shady trees

tomorrow it’s onward again
towards what ephemeral goal?

This oasis is so real, why go on?
but we must
because, after all

an oasis is only an oasis
not a final destination

Drowning Sailor
They say a drowning sailor sees his whole life pass before his eyes
my whole life is starting to pass before mine
am I drowning?

The Last Supper
You goddamn Mosquito
when I squished you you left a red stain on the white wall
my own blood
your last supper

hope you enjoyed it, you little cocksucker

True Art-Popi

I know someone, an artist
who gave up painting
gave up writing
and lives her life
as her work of art

this is not the path for me, nor for many
not preferable, not not preferable, but certainly
true art

She said
“I could paint, but I could not touch people”
When she touched me I felt power

this is true art

Excalibur
There is a sword, bright and shining
which cuts through fear

When you hold it
you can feel the power running through your blood
the power to create

Sometimes called truth
sometimes called knowledge
love is the power to create

The Greatest Gift

The greatest gift
you can give
is to be yourself

everyone is always themself
whether they know it or not

Magic

Lying in my bathtub
Hot hot water
in the darkness
lit by a candle
Mists rising from the water
this is magic

Rocks

On a beach
picking my way across a difficult stretch of rocks
trying to get from one side to the other
scared of falling
slippery rocks
difficult, difficult
Why am I doing this?

Middletown 94

Feeling the need to express myself
nobody here to talk to but paper
feelings without names
how to name a feeling

music induces emotions
change the music
my emotion will change
too sensitive?

Written words
form of communication
pencil drawings

how can all the textures and contours of a face
be put down on paper
with a few simple lines

Here in this small town, this nowhere
I’ve come to the end of this chapter of my life
moving on to a next step
which I know will not last long

waiting for my life to start, but I know
I really do know

this is it, this is it
I better damn well enjoy it
to the fullest extent possible

God gave me this life to enjoy and
it’s very dangerous to spit in the eye of God

Cosmic Joke

Problems in my life
sounds of laughter
Ho Ho Ho
God is Laughing
you poor sonofabitch
I look up

Fuck you, asshole
if you’re so great
how come there’s so much suffering in the world
but the clouds mirror back my own reflection, because, really
I do know where my problems come from
and who the asshole really is

Drop, Drop, Drop

This house of messy water
all night long, dripping kitchen sink
drop, drop, drop

bathroom tub
turn the handles as far and as hard as you can and still
drop, drop, drop

toilet
jiggle the handle, please,
or else it will never stop

The people next door, each day
One thousand loads of laundry
each one audible

Here in our hearts
tears, whimpers, sighs
tightly held emotions, some leakage
some loneliness, some pain, some sorrow

Some I need you and you’re not here
Some I need you and I’m afraid of you
Some why God am I so fucked up that I can’t accept the love I need

This house of messy water, our perfect abode

Amin

Big Sur

Breathing this free air, watching these women dance
I begin to awaken from the sedation of “the real world”

The Real World

What is usually called the “real world” is actually quite unreal
a land of sensory deadness and emotional sterility
meaningless goals and endless mental chatter

Go jump in a lake, naked
with a beautiful woman/man (your choice)
waiting for you on the grass, the soft grass
soft for you to lie on and couple

Look up at the sky and see Spirit’s work
Good work

Work at something you believe in even if you don’t have
3 cars, 2 TVs, and a computer in every room

If everybody lived in the real world, which is the world of life
this world would be a much better place
So do it

Amin