Clock and Compass

The sun is the only clock I need,
it's either there or it isn't.
I plan my days accordingly,
making use of what is,
not fretting
about what isn't.
The stars my compass,
I navigate toward
glories more remote
and unimaginable.

Nature's Ways

I will die here, no doubt,
but not until I've done
all the living I can,
not until I've sat in the sun
as I'm doing now,
been a regular fan
of Atlantic sunrises,
walked every inch
of this long sand beach,
learned every secret
that nature has
to teach.
I'll profitably spend
my latter days
relearning
nature's ways.

4 April 2017

April 2 2017

I sit in the light
of an anemic sun,
the wind blows blustery
from my right,
the north.
I have less base tan
than I should,
and it's the fault
of a fourteenth-
century poetess
who was too good.
Now I lament
the departure
of the sun,
desperate for its
rays, but I
shouldn't, because
sitting here by
the ocean,
I have everything
else.

The Southern Hemisphere

The Southern Hemisphere is the
new hemisphere, or it is
the one being explored anew.
Western myths are
based on the North,
but here the stars
point to a brighter future,
where Orion stands
on his head.

1 April 2017

Stars

Buffeted by the wind
and struck by the stars,
I stepped onto the deck of
our beach house,
in the middle of the night.
Off-season, no one around,
no need for clothes.
As I fixed the banging shutter,
my body was bathed in starlight,
the soft light
of a million blazing suns.
Job done, i was
so staggered by the stars
that I didn't even notice
the ocean.

Back in bed,
the surf pounded,
and the stars
kept me awake.

1 April 2017

My Beliefs

My beliefs are not so different
from those of "primitive" tribes.
I know there is a soul,
and that the soul survives.
Life goes on, no doubt about it.
Clothing is sometimes needed,
but I am happier without it.
Women are at least the equals of men,
to be loved and always respected.
Wisdom should be listened to,
and arrogance rejected.
The rich are not better than the poor,
but peace is surely
better than war.

Greedy for Life

I have been greedy for lives,
one was never enough.
I have walked naked through forest
with blowgun and darts.
I've been dockworker, shipbuilder,
astrologer, farmer, physician,
practicer and patron of the arts,
Pagan, Christian, Jew,
to name only a few,
woman, man, boy, girl,
high and low class,
married, single, multilingual.
I know the present
and I know the past,
why should I not know
the future too,
if this greed for life
shall last?