slight sliver
of crescent moon
hangs low in western sky
two silver horns
point up to
unknown places
head
heart
home

i have always felt like a visitor here

always
more questions than answers
more war than peace
more noise than music
more hunger than sustenance
more lonliness than love

and never enough time
though it is the one thing
of which there is an infinite supply
this moment in time is here now
and then gone forever and the older
i become each second passes faster
than the one before as time folds in
on itself...

if you listen closely
there is music in the din
harmony within the discord
multitudes of stories seemingly
separate
woven together
in the telling
to create a single
global tapestry
we all need the same things
for our bodies to survive
food
water
shelter
oxygen
we all yearn for the same things
for our spirits to survive
compassion
respect
peace
love...

it puzzles me that these
eight simple things aren't
readily available
for every creature that
walks
runs
crawls
swims or
flys
on this rare blue and green rock...

Know Religion, Know War...No Religion, No War

it shouldn't surprise me by now that such ironic things happen...

...this weekend in Phoenix, there are two gatherings of folks at two of the major folk-gathering venues...one being a convention of the National Rifle Association (hey, does that include handguns, too?) and the other, some sort of fundamentalist Christian enclave, the name of which escapes me...admittedly, they all look and sound like used car salemen to me so i tend to hit the mute button when they come on the telly...

God and Guns...

...these two things being joined at the hip as they are would seem to fly in the face of reason, but there they are, walking hand and hand into oblivion...we have deluded young men being promised the favor of a mulitude of virgins in the afterlife for strapping on munitions and killing the infidel...we have other deluded young men, sent off to fight a rich man's war, some even sporting t-shirts saying "Yes, This Is A Crusade"...
...and we wonder why the world is crazier than a shit house rat...

...if your god tells you to kill
your god is a false god...

peace/out

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there
where would we be without you...

should one come looking
you can find me in Asheville...

...how can you see the light at the end of the tunnel
when you can't find the entrance to the tunnel?

vignettes

inspiration comes in brief, blinding flashes these days...

a young woman
seemingly not yet out of her teens
and obviously
extremely
pregnant
sits at a bus stop weeping
shoulders heaving up
and down
weeping
and my mind spins at the
myriad of possible causes
for these spilled tears...

Dale and Rochelle
are dear, dear friends
we played music at their wedding
even though we are not a "wedding band"...
it rained and no one seemed to mind,
such was the magic of the evening
and in the intervening years
they have opened their home to us
a friendly port in the storm
when we are out being
gypsy minstrels...
on the most recent trip
Rochelle and i were recalling tales
from music festivals
recent and historic
and the topic of toilet availability
came up and we both agreed that near
and abundant potties were an absolute must...
but Rochelle one-upped me with her further need
to be equipped with a headlamp and rubber gloves
when visiting the port-o-johns...

i must admit to laughing out loud
to the picture that popped into my mind...