Early
These poems were written over a twenty-two year period, from 1965 to about 1987. I did a lot of thinking during that period of my life.I remember sitting in sidewalk cafe's in Calgary and Edmonton with other artists, writers, poets, even politicians, talking about what was happening in the world and what we were doing in our work. In those days we really believed, each of us, that we could change the world. Beliefs of that kind die hard. I also spent 15 of those wonderful years on the shores of a lake in central British Columbia with my wife Sharon, and our children Brad, Kent and Carol. I wanted to be an artist and they were letting me play out my fantasies.
JesusI looked silently and long
at this man they call Jesus,
deep into the eyes of a man apart,
and one thought forced itself
immediately into my mind;
How incredible a distance
this man has traveled
in half a lifetime... Although this poem still has great meaning to me and conveys the same message as when I wrote it, I have come to understand that the Christian religion is a parody on the worship of the sun. Jesus, in fact, never lived. He was simply another policital lie. Religion was and continues to be nothing more than slavery. It can never enlighten mankind. It was devised by men to control other men, and does so to this day. Religion has nothing to do with God. If you will know God then go out into the bush and be with the trees. Be with the water, the birds and the animals. There you will be as close to God as is possible on this earth. If you cannot go to the bush then go to a park or green area near where you live. Feed the pigeons. Talk to the trees. Trees are the same everywhere. And they're good listeners. One hundred and seventy-six seasonsI have seen the seasons change
one hundred and seventy-six times,
and if I believed this was all there was
I'd have had enough by now.
I have searched for a friend,
unashamed of being human
for I know God is more human
than we are at our best... Dealing with itPerhaps the greatest compliment we can be given
is the unspoken and understood expectations of others,
that others feel secure in their confidence of our ability... My friend the seagull Fly high my friend,
gain your entrance to heaven
on the strength of your wings
while mankind sinks in fear
to his knees... You are my gift from GodI have asked God
for a reason
and he has given me you. I am not an overly religious man,
knowing that mankind creates
the Gods he worships,
and yet, every once in a while,
something happens to us
which reinforces the conviction
they are inseparable,
man and God. That something is a reason,
reaffirming our faith in the future. You are my reason,
even though you may not know it,
because you have the time for me
and because you have made the
permanent commitment
a real friend makes unasked.
You loved me unafraid,
and still do. This world would be a better place
if every person had a friend
like you... A thousand windowsNature presents to us
a thousand windows
to show us God... SeasonsTo every thing
there is a season.
Even great truths
come and go... I am eternalI say...
let the earth take back
that which was made of it,
for I am eternal. I, the soul of man, am eternal... WisdomHe would remain perfectly silent for hours,
gazing into the distance with a quiet patience
no-one would understand. Then, suddenly,
he would rise from his place by the fire,
walk over to where he kept his pen and paper
and begin to write. He would write for hours,
sometimes days or weeks, before stopping,
taking no time to rest. Then, finally, he
would drop his pen in total exhaustion and
collapse into another sleep lasting months
or years, perhaps centuries, until he heard
someone else call his name again,
someone else who would listen to his wisdom,
someone else who believed in magic... People I oweI salute the singer
who has filled my life
with so many hours
of music... I salute the teacher
who has taught me
how to search
for truth... I salute the dreamer
who has proven to me
that hope does
spring eternal... I salute the poet
who, through his endless search
for love,
has shown me a way... Thank God for the singersThank God
for the singers,
who have carried me
through so many days
when the sun refused to shine,
days when my search
for a reason
seemed so utterly hopeless.
It is the singers
and the poets
who carry me along
on their visions
and their hope. Thank God
for the singers... Who scorns the whoreYou preach a morality
which scorns the whore
who gives her body indiscriminately
to any man,
and yet you demand
I surrender my soul every day
in the name of false love
for all mankind... Standing aloneWhile man finds comfort
in the company of others,
each God,
in all His personal glory,
defiantly stands
alone... It doesn't matterI have decided I was wrong.
It does not matter what you do
with your time.
If you are correct
it will benefit the world ultimately.
It is their imposed morals
which others will measure you by.
So I suppose an indication of
your achievement of individuality
may be their criticism of your actions... Pure lovePure love condones no criticism, no judgment,
no condemnation... and allows for no harsh,
unkind words of another living thing... SilenceIn Silence
rests the memory
of yesterday's love... Refusing to acceptThe choice of silence
is an arrogant refusal
to accept the world
as it is. StringsTo everything I ask of you
you attach strings,
to everything I offer you
you cast a suspicious eye.
We cannot hide ourselves
behind walls forever.
We are not islands.
Must I forever be
in debt to you
for the air I breath..? The tears of time...The tears of time
gently age loves wine,
and I sit and think
about the days
when wine
was for the drinking
and time itself
was put upon the shelf... Tomorrow...Time speaks
and a brooding silence
hangs over the land,
a powerful quiet,
an enormous stillness
and the present blends with the past
and the past is dead. The land shudders
and all there is
in God's world
is tomorrow... (Written for a friend who was killed in a senseless accident. He was driving a tractor from one field to another. He had to cross a railroad track and I guess he never saw the train...) The story before usThe actors are gone,
the stage is a place of ruins
and we are faced
with the story before us. Without a reason or an excuse
every once in a while
the human intellect
springs forth and flourishes
with a thousand and more
contributions
to the struggle of mankind,
and then mysteriously disappears again. The actors are gone,
the watchers don't watch anymore,
and the stranger spends his time
writing poetry. They were born of the sun...Born of the sun
they lived in its warmth,
etching their names in eternity
and a sense of wonder governed their lives... In their search for a home
they transcended time
and they live on in our day
these self-made men. And man's will persisted..."Wild grasses now cover all that remains..."
The power of the earth is an awesome thing.
Here I found an old wagon, once a thing of beauty,
a thing of pride in a time when a person took pride
in the things they made.
Everything was made from the land,
from the things that grew on the land,
walked on the land or flew over the land.
The need created the incentive,
the land supplied the means,
and man's will persisted. To every thing there is a season...To every thing there is a season.
We enter upon the world's stage alone
and depart the same way.
The great law prevails,
the law of the circle.
Everything must return
to it's source
and time is the great enforcer. These yesterday people...By their ruins you will know them,
these yesterday people.
Their dreams are here
for you to see,
feel,
touch.
There is not much they have done
you cannot be a part of
if you wish. Time makes us all so vulnerable. Time is all there isI stand kneedeep in wild grasses and weeds
and ponder the inscrutable purpose
behind the unfolding story before me
and my imagination races
through unspeakable processions
of seasons. My search for a reason is satisfied
and time is all there seems to be... The silence speaks of loveI would not doubt the love untold
in this wild and quiet place
where time stood still for a dream
and a will of granite. Amid the echoes of this time from another time
the prophet of the soul cries out
"What can be said of what we see"
and the silence speaks of love... There was a time...My Lord
there was a time
when I could find meaning
in words strung together.
A yesterday filled with magic. You haven't changed,
it is I who have changed,
my love is the only friend I can go to.
I depend so much on love. But yesterday's gone
like leaves
scattered by the wind.
It's hell to believe in nothing. I wait and search for a sign
the eyes of strangers met,
patient in a frantic search
for a reason. God, it takes a long time... All things pass into mysteryThe final and ultimate
transformation
of man into God
comes with the realization
there is no God,
or that God, too,
may be measured in degrees... EnthusiasmEnthusiasm reigns triumphant,
and mankind has taken
one more giant leap
forward. High mountain passes Silence - rugged and defiant.
Here is a peace
to be found nowhere else
in the world... Guard your conscienceIf every man
guarded his conscience,
all the generals
of all the countries
on earth
would be powerless
to raise their armies,
and God's world
would be at peace... BlushingMany times I have blushed
at what I have written.
But that matters little,
for it comes from the heart
and represents only
my attempt to understand.
Everything that is understood
is loved... Is reason enough?Before his critics
he soared above their scorn
on the wings of a simple,
noble expression
which silenced them,
and became a timeless statement
of a truth
not to be reached
through reason alone... This man of ashesAgain and again,
amid the cruelty and suffering
around him,
he asks for a reason. Again and again,
in declaring the insolubility of suffering,
he makes his case
for man's complaint against God. How noble
is his search for knowledge,
How infinite
is his capacity to understand,
this man of ashes... The passage of timeWith the passage of time man will forget his
brief sojourn into the last few centuries and,
once again, renew his relationship with eternity... Thunder and lightningThe thunder speaks
and the lightning illuminates
the great book
upon whose pages
are written the answers
to questions unasked,
and we are reminded
to every truth
there is assigned
a time... MasksEvery profound spirit cultivates the mask
he shows the world. Upon accepting silence
as an original and legitimate part of language,
privacy becomes our only sanctuary... Treat life as an adventureWhatever else you do,
treat life as an adventure,
search constantly for love
and your experience will be timeless,
your existence forever... The tragic disease of despairWill future generations comprehend
the tragic disease of despair
that stalks the land this day.
We hold our soul in our hand,
those of us who understand,
lest they steal it from us also... (A day in March, 1981, when President Reagen was shot) A new age arrivesA new age arrives,
and some are aware
and watch with a mixture of
awe and hope
and a quiet understanding
not entirely born of knowledge. The old and the new meet
and a gentle sense of excitement
and yearning
speaks good for tomorrow... (Written the day man first stepped on the moon.) The source of all knowledgeOut of the earth
we seek the source
of all knowledge. Alone,
we stand on the very edge
of eternity
and discover a timeless answer
from another age. And we are reminded
that it is only
our childlike comprehension
of time
which stops us from observing
the very formation
of the answers we seek. Let then the source be light,
and approach the sun
with confidence
and an eager anticipation
to learn,
and be patient,
for perhaps time itself
is the answer... Time may be all there is. PeaceA gentle love,
a quiet patience
and the whole world is at peace... A home called earthWe are not the owners
of our soul.
Your soul is mine
and my soul is yours. Come with me,
take my hand,
we will travel down the road
together. Come, and we will make
for us a home
where our souls can live
in peace together,
and we will call our new home
Earth...! Tomorrow is not so far awayThe spring of our love
moves easily into summer
and a thousand butterflies
carry our thoughts
of one another,
and our lives
meld into one,
a home for two free spirits. And with the passing of the seasons
fall will come into our lives
and we will prepare together
for winter
when we will sleep
a thousand sleeps,
patient for another opportunity
to live and love
in this wonderful place. And through the eyes
of every man and woman
we will be witness to the same wonders
we see today. Love is forever
and life is allowed,
this has always been the way. EnchantedFrom valley to valley, ridge to ridge, I wander enchanted,
momentarily gracious to God for His choice of a home... The feeling of being aloneMan is beginning to feel alone.
A realization is slowly dawning,
a realization there is no audience. God did not create the heavens
and the earth
to a thunderous roar of approval. All great accomplishments
are achieved
alone... GentlenessIf you seek gentleness in this world
ignore not the coarseness of some individuals.
An honest coarseness is sometimes
a good deal more gentle
than gentleness paraded as a virtue. God is Love After these many years
of searching for a reason,
alone most of the time,
I keep returning to
three little words
written by another
and realize
I cannot improve upon
"God is Love..." Love Love something today,
Love something into being today. The cost of a vote Over the barrel of a gun
you speak to me of 'freedom.'
You offer me 'security'
for the cost of a vote,
as if you were God. Again Beside the champaign waters
of a high mountain stream
God whispers His encouragement
to each and every one of us
to try again,
and again,
and again... Listen to the trees Listen to the trees.
The voice of God
speaks through the wisdom of the ages
and the whispers of the trees... An everflowing mystery Within the heart
of every thinking man and woman
rests the astonished awareness
of an everflowing mystery. The sense of wonder
combines the wish to know
with the knowledge
that all cannot be known. In a perpetual sense of surprise,
wonder accepts logic and science,
then passes by
on its way to understanding... FriendshipYou who walk here
walk in friendship,
feel the quiet
in a gentle mood
of enjoyment. Be still
as you move about
and you may witness
the answers
so many people
have searched for
and never found,
because their methods
have always led them
to the wrong places... MobsIf a mob has no conscience
it is because the individual
has forsaken his. FreedomAn indication of one's
attainment of freedom
may well be the ability
to make love a gift
rather than a request. The world needs more of youYou are so special to me,
you who have the time. It is too bad the world
has not made more of you. AspirationsEach man and woman achieves
a projection of what they are... Something to believe inA person soon tires
of believing in themselves,
we need something more. You could prove to me one more time
that love is all,
that love is enough... SilenceI have come to suspect that a person's silence
may be a measure of their wisdom. To live foreverWhatever else you do,
treat life as an adventure,
search constantly for love
and your experience will be timeless,
your existence forever... WisdomKnowledge comes from the study of books
in the words of the teacher.
Wisdom comes from consultation with the spirit,
in moments of quiet and solitude... A special kind of knowledgeThere is a special kind of knowledge
known only to the patient.
It is called wisdom
and has nothing to do with age...
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