Category: Poem

Think from the heart of the matter.
Gaze in the rear-view mirror.
As the past recedes—
the road endures.

No beginning and no end.
Follow it.
Let go. Hang on.

Where there is safety
there is silence.

Slow down.
Travel without moving—
say nothing
about what you hear.

Yesterday has already joined
the geography of our passages. 
The past is present—
embrace it. 

I talk about the Buddha with my shadow
(a shadow is not a shadow
that is why it is a shadow).
We agree on many things
and disagree about others
that don’t matter much
and we are amused by the fact
that we cannot see each other’s face.

He is a smart fellow, my shadow.
He understands the mockingbird.
He doesn’t mind inclement weather.
When the sun is hidden by clouds
he just evaporates.
The antics of would-be kings amuse him.
He tells me not to be uneasy
be like him
there
then not there
always tranquil always humming tunes
that cannot be heard.

Composed in 2006

Eight hundred miles north on Interstate 5
traveling with my daughter.
California parched and brown until Shasta
and the clouds roll through one another
ghosts wrapped within ghosts.

Twenty-one years ago this same road
with my pregnant wife.
Last vacation for the two of us
before the kids arrived.

Today Portland is clear and the sun
slices the edges of the downtown skyline.
The bridges spanning the river
seem delicate as if they are supported by air
rather than bedrock.
The radio plays great hits of the seventies
sweet dreams are made of this
who am I to disagree?

Washington and green conifers
free coffee and wireless Internet
at the rest stop. Suddenly
Seattle appears on the horizon.
Rain clouds off to the west.
Last minute fumbling with the road map
as we find our way to her new home.

Back on the plane alone.
The sun sets during the whole flight
the evening star pinned against the sky
lights of towns scattered in the gentle darkness
San Francisco luminous as we land.
Two hours home takes the same time
as twenty-one years.

Note on the text:

Composed in September 2006