time – Page 5 – three good words

May 2, 2016May 5, 2016

words and water

on giving your
self

over
to the moment

dropping deep down
into that endless

ocean

splish-splash
no, I wasn’t taking a bath
and it’s Monday evening

a sudden rush of
words and water
rolling off the tips
of several tongues

I speak

to myself
and others

aloud
in the quiet
to the other
that insists, insists

me, moi
moi-même, I

ay, ay
the famous Greek
“outshouting seas”

and again
snatches
bites of words

maybe wisdom

drip-dropping
flip-flopping
hip-hopping

and there it goes

an entire video music awards
that shows
such roll of song

(it’s sad, isn’t it
how that space for music
no longer is a home of song)

anyway.

every way
time, space

written monuments to bad taste

that glue themselves to your memory
slipping out suddenly
in cravings for sticky-sweetness
whispered kisses, ma chèries

another time, really
leave me be

I need to write this
I need to see.

April 3, 2016

trumpets sound
smooth velvet
that bass, electric
plucking deep down
and you know
that particular voice
hot and warm
that’s lived real and long
will fill the silence
with earth-bound sound
all heart and soul
percussions slipping round
around, cresting raw
on the black/white keys
a sax peaking high
the chorus cheering on
vinyl spinning, gleaming
and suddenly the whole bus is singing
Don’t you know I’ve got to find me a home
right now in your heart?
and that rhythm
takes you right out of the blues.

god, that sound.
nothing beats that sound.

March 26, 2016

all the time

a heartbeat

where i wish i could be
several me’s all at once
not split up, not even clones
just me several times over
so i can:

read this
write that
tell that story
watch that movie
hear that interview, podcast, song
read that blog

and have enough time for

mindfulness, peace

but also

write that proposal
answer those emails
make that call
read that article
share that thought-piece
refresh that page
upload that pic
like that comment
double-check that tweet

without forgetting to

drink enough water
take time to cook
eat right
be right
have a slice of great pie
go jogging
stretch right
maybe yoga
maybe swim
go out with people
dance a bit
socialise

and know just enough

about fashion, movies
books, trends, scandals
cocktails and wine
to be in the know
fit in
stay in the flow
of what’s cool
(nobody says ‘vogue’ anymore)

but also have the time to

potato on the couch
netflix, pinterest, spotify

without forgetting to

make things
create things
grow things
be things

so many more things

that are mine and not mine
all at once
all the time
all the time
all the time
.

March 19, 2016

that feeling of being too late

that feeling of being too late.

everything’s so fast these days
zooming by in cyberspace
so far so that knowing something today
is already way too late.

how keep up with all the new things
words, visuals, memes
twitterings +++NEWS NEWS NEWS+++
live streams and live feeds
that apparently are telling us
everything everything everything
now now now
oh my god oh my god oh my god
did you hear did you read did you see?!

one question:
when everything is everything
always, all the time
what is anything, then?
is there such a thing as ‘then’
if everything is always breathlessly NOW?

in this constant always
how carve out a time to rest?
are we even willing
to give ourselves that kind of space?

it’s so exhausting.
one wishes to decompress.

slow down, not just pump the brakes
but come to a full stop
get out of the digital car
and look at the world around us
once again
.

March 19, 2016May 16, 2020

outsourced

we need to re-learn how to take care of each other
we have outsourced so much
even the care of those closest to us
those who were, once, beloved.

we have to re-learn how to take care of each other
to offer solace without fear
without plots of retribution
without vitriol and viciousness
but with that rare thing: kindness, gentleness, sincerity.

why has that become so rare?
why is that not something we can expect
why is it the exception, rather than the rule?
a lot has come to my attention recently
about those left outside, alone, ‘to the winds’
freezing with a body warm
utterly lost with Google Maps uploaded.

we have un-learned the language of emotion
we can no longer speak of love without deconstruction
without cynicism and scoffing
we have no vocabulary to articulate the sublime
that allowed a poet, once, to stand on a bridge
and hail the sun, the sky, an entire realm.

we have lost that primal sound of succour
that beating-drum directness that reaches heart and soul
deep down into the darkest parts of the human condition
breaking through the man-made clouds with a ray of
sublime light that others of less sophisticated times
would have called divine.

we need to learn again
this language of love
langue, parole, signifier, signified
all meanings together, wrapped into each other
used in all languages known to man, woman, child
even if they were once warped by Barbara Cartland.

(and so what for the lace and corsets
so what for the gentlemen in bespoke suits
leaving their card at the door?
they have their place in the joyous abandon of make-believe.)

does that lessen the value of a warm hug, a sweet embrace?
that moment where you come together
with someone who is genuinely lonesome
and needs that one thing you can give, freely:
solace, comfort
peace.