Solipsis

Take the eye of mind
    the longing i
    the knowing i
explore its subtle self
    as in a mirror
lit by the psyche's lambent flame

a cavern dark and subterranean
    where streaks of vapour
hide the recessed chambers
    to one who peeps
then looks askance

I have seen those caves
    have groped among the passages of self
explored the unreal dark
    and slept inside the tomb of yesterday
I learned to step ahead
    with ready foot
and ear attuned to echoes soft or strange

where sunlight creeps into the eastern hall
    there I awake to life
and mingle with the throng of feelings, presences
    and thoughts
that market-place    where I belong
    awake to self
my self-meant territory

mcmlx, rev. mmviii

of its own kind

Better than half-lies
    half to be heard
and half to be winked at
    for you to figure

    bettter than half-truths
living out their half-lives
    like impotent sparks
of a damp fire's dalliance

    better than non sequitur
led by the nose
    and off we go
none knows where

    what we stand for
is what we are
    resolute in choosing
more resolute to care

    schooling heart survives
with lessons learned and understood
    sui generis
in fathomed appraisal
    despite your honorific
shall and should

mmviii

To be is no verb

To be is no verb
it is me
scion of family tree
to dig up my roots
you’d recognize brutes
as small as could be
which is where i began
matter of fact
an animated that
herb    browser or flea
my ancestral tree
mould raised up
from spirit or dust
what matter
to be in one word
it is me

mmiv