he was disguised as a tree
with branches, fruits, leaves,
everything intact,
picture perfect,
almost,
but for the missing shadow.
a man with no shame
is like a tree with no shadow.
note this:
the key thing is not to find the key
it is to tell people
'there is no door, can you not see?'
for thousands of years
we searched for the key
it has become our habit.
you must trust me.
i have a flowing beard,
loose-fitting clothes, grey hair,
an intellectual pair of eye-glasses,
and a pocket full of jokes.
moreover,
i can talk about nothing
as if it's everything.
looking for a lifeboat
outside the sea,
it's a backup ritual,
a stupid plan,
but works like magic
every time.
don't swing your hands
like you are fishing thoughts
out of a moving car.
stay with me, darling.
let our eyes dance
to the rhythm of
our eyelashes
blinking
and to the
sound of leaves
falling elsewhere,
in a dreamy town
we don't yet know of
don’t let the weight
of your conscience
drip till the ends of
your toes.
instead, hold it (gently)
the way yogis
hold their breath,
somewhere in between
their nose and venus.
ask them who can write the saddest birthday song
(*answer = radiohead)
tell them men are from mars
that's why they like cars
afraid of scars
obsessed with bars
checking out star wars.
if they pretend to understand
touch their toes
and check for digits
on their two right feet
1. black shirt
2. blue jeans
3. jack johnson
4. red shoes
5. drake
6. long island iced tea
7. ice burst
8. coldplay
9. long island iced tea
10. ice burst
in the name of the rose
we will go from poem
to prose,
as gross as
your ugly toes.
every night
after you take a shower
after you change your clothes
and crawl into bed
(wondering if you are going to get sleep at all)
(wondering if you should have smoked)
(wondering if a pill is needed)
(wondering why you don’t have a woman beside you)
(wondering if you should meditate, do some centering)
you tell a story
a quick one
whisper it lying sideways
to the ears of the pillow
with one leg hitched
one arm folded
as if you are holding on
to a life boat
just after you have fallen into the water
just before the sharks come for you
°
the master says
the river has to become vapour
to cross the desert
or else it will become a swamp
letting go is a lesson
that takes a lifetime
then ends the lifetime