HOME                        Ramblings about  My Calling”

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click Title to jump to poem, Click Back Arrow to return, Back again for HOME PAGE)

 

 

THIS MYSTERY

NO TIME TO WASTE

BEGIN AGAIN

INSPIRATION

THE ALTER OF SELF

MY CALLING

THROUGH MY EYES

CONDUIT

IN SOMEONE ELSE’S CARE

MY NATURAL WAY

VOICES WITHOUT SOUND

MY HAIR HAS TURNED TO SILVER

THE QUESTION IS THE ANSWER

BORN IN OSAKA

 

 

THIS MYSTERY

 

 

The sum of me

 

 

 

At rest can’t be

 

 

I must be free

 

In others see

 

What is not said

But thought instead

Or felt and bred

In heart not head

 

So I may say

Insides display

Their fears allay

Bring peace this way

 

I must express

What they cannot

Know not how

In them I got

 

To this I’m called

I know not why

It’s from beyond

I must comply

 

Each time I see

A way to free

Another soul

I cannot flee

 

Why I’ve been chosen

Escapes me

Drives me on,

Is mystery

 

 

 

NO TIME TO WASTE

 

In my writing is my soul

            I have poured it out in haste

I have tried to show my essence

            I have tried not time to waste

 

I can feel within the depths

            Of the person that I am

Something wonderful is living

            Give it voice my urgent plan

 

I am filled to overflowing

            There is need to speak my peace

There is healing there is wonder

            There is joy in the release

 

Of the words that carry feelings

            And the message of my love

I can touch the souls in need

            Hear the chorus from above

 

I am driven to disperse

            All the music that I hear

Running out of time is

            The one thing that I fear

 

I am frantic to give flight

            To the message I’ve been given

Though I will not know the meaning

            Till my final breath has risen

 

I am bearer of a message

            That for now suffice to be

Joyful in the holding

            And the giving it to thee

 

 

 

BEGIN AGAIN

 

After 60 years of living

            I find I am returned

To the youth of my beginnings

            Learn the lessons yet unlearned

 

Embarking once again

On a life that was a dream

Following my instincts though

            Never did I deem

 

That the things I had in mind then

            Could ever quite come true

New urgency inside me

            Brings understanding into view

 

I must follow my true feelings

            Use my passion if I must

Begin again as me,

In myself to have more trust

 

Let the spirit lives within me

            Have his freedom give him flight

Use his voice to be a beacon

            Give to others his insight

 

There is knowledge deep inside me

            That is desperate to be free

I have no understanding

            Of how it came to be

 

But somehow I must use it

            Be all that I can be

Where ever it does take me

            I know it is the key

 

To doors I have not found yet

            Or myriad mysteries

As basic as a sunrise

            Or a tall and stately tree

 

This second life I’m living

            Brings me understanding new

I am blessed with capability

            There are things that I can do

 

It’s not my place to question

            Just be used to set it free

Whether form is words or music

            I can help others to see

 

All the beauty in the world

            Or emotions buried deep

If I touch another soul

            My purpose I can keep

 

To make a contribution

            Make the world a better place

Encourage joyful laughter

            Put a smile on someone’s face

 

Foster understanding

            Leave love living in my place

Be a road that others follow

            From the darkness to a space

 

Where hope is more than dreams

            And life a joy becoming

Where love is breath of life

            Bringing changes that are stunning

 

From within I am transformed

            To another I’ve not met

My dreams are being realized

            Though I haven’t dreamed them yet

 

I am a light in darkness

            Though myself I cannot see

What I do is plain in purpose

            Touching souls to set them free

           

 

 

INSPIRATION

 

In the quiet of the night

            When the hour is quite late

I gaze from out my window

            The world I contemplate

 

Alone my mind is turning

            And twisting in its search

For new ideas and insights

            On which a poem is to perch

 

A child I know, has taught me that

            Inspiration does surround me

Find a lesson from my life and

            With words describe what eyes see

 

Every waking moment carries

            Examples extraordinaire

It only takes the faith to know

The lesson’s always there

 

The debt is great I owe this child

            For giving my eyes sight

For understanding, accomplishment

            Is the faith to win the fight

 

That limits are by humans set

            Talent of course required

But determination and faith count more

            If a creation you have sired

 

Whether words or paint or music are

            The tools of your endeavor

The fruits will benefit someone

            Unexpected, present ever

 

Some mind or soul will see or hear

            The thing that you have wrought

And strike a chord within themselves

             Create a brand new thought

 

Perhaps a new perspective

            Or an aspect yet unthought

An uplifting moral vision or

            A fleeting feeling caught

Some will find their value in

            The dynamic you created    

Or it stands as your pure essence from

            Your heart flowing unabated

 

Perhaps the only purpose of

            The things your mind gives birth

Is a legacy to your children

            A treasury of your worth

 

Whatever your inventiveness

            Creates for us to see

Is worth the doing surely

            Out of soul it came to be

 

Creation is a process under-

stood by no one here

It happens in the ether world

            tween synapse, light and glare

 

Somehow within the brain several

            Thoughts coagulate

Mix themselves with feelings

            Find a meaning, set it straight

 

Enunciate emotions found

            Deep within your soul

Words demanding hearing spring

            Forward toward a goal

 

You find yourself a conduit

            A servant of a need

Compelled to scream or stroke or pray

            So the meaning others heed

 

In the end my words go out

            Through that window in the night

Fly round the world just looking

            In the corners that need light

 

Whether my works are taken seriously

Or succeed in moral plot

My need is in the attempt

            The result should matter not

 

 

A spiritual undertaking

            Traveling back inside my soul

Stretching my capacity

            Teaching me about my whole

 

Ultimately the teacher of

            My very own being

Is myself as I coach others

            The better to be seeing

 

 

 

THE ALTER OF SELF

 

You’ve read my poetry, you say

            And want to read again

It touches you somehow, you feel

            Understanding now and then

 

There’s a side of me you see

            You’ve never seen before

A light that shines into your soul

            Helps you, yourself explore

 

Becoming me for just a while

            You feel what I have felt

Our hearts do touch and you are free

            At the alter of self you’ve knelt

 

It’s not the words you see or hear

            That has effect on you

There’s something more… a sense of us

            Your heart from me knows true

 

It is that tie, that unseen cord

            That chases loneliness

A connection made of faith perceived

            That lessens your distress

 

You feel that I have held your hand

            And listened while you told

Of all the pain you have endured

            And questions that are old

 

You know that I have heard your cry

            Though not a word has passed

From now until the end of time

            Your not alone, at last

           

 

 

MY CALLING

 

I don’t know how to slow it down

            This pace is killing me

The faster that my poems flow

            The more to write I see

 

Like a hole within a dike

            Through which the water flows

The longer it continues on

            The more through it can go

 

The speed and volume build quite quickly

            Until the dam does burst

I need my drink creation but,

            Drown is overkill for thirst

 

The words are flowing quickly now

            There is no end in sight

Before the last one’s finished

            The next one starts its flight

 

Consumed I am with thoughts bizarre

            And thoughts of purity

A universe is being borne

            Inside the mind of me

 

I don’t know what the answer is

            Except it is my calling

I have no choice, continue on

            There is no way of stalling

 

I think I know why now and then

            An artist goes insane

Delivering the message clear

            Takes all,… no mind remain

 

 

 

THROUGH MY EYES

 

It comes to me upon this day

            To see my natural way

My strength does not in leading lie

            But what my eyes relay

 

Somehow the path between my mind

            And images I’ve seen

Is paved with words and similes

            Emotions gripped between

 

Words come forth, painting scenes

            For those who did not see

And those whose hearts, life blinded will

Find their eyes, in me

 

 

 

CONDUIT

 

I am just a conduit

            My words are born in space

Outer in the firmament

            Inner with his grace

 

I think not what I’d like to say

            But let my hands explore

The keys upon my keyboard

            Where words appear galore

 

I sometimes feel an urgency

            Words tumble out so fast

I sometimes feel the calmness of

            The universe so vast                        

 

I seem be connected to

            An endless flow of thought

Converging here from far and wide

            But never being sought

 

I have a drive to see and say

            Observe the world alive

Heighten others vision of

            The way they may survive

 

If there be purpose in my living

            My voice a trumpet loud

It is to love the world at large

            Show the sunshine  not the cloud

 

 

 

 

IN SOMEONE ELSE’S CARE

 

An Idea comes, it grabs my mind

            And I must set it down

My heart is beating faster

            With discovery that I’ve found

 

Urgency is here

            I’m driven more to write

Nothing else can matter

            Must keep focused on my sight

 

Of my life it takes control

            Where ever I do stand

I must pour the words on paper

            Can’t ignore the thoughts demand

 

Something wonderful is happening

            Entrusted to my hands

I must build a home for it

            Though arrival wasn’t planned

 

I tremble with the awesomeness

            Of what I undertake

But thoughts to me are living things

            Their lives I can’t forsake

 

I dress them up, send them out

            So others see and hear

Give them all a chance to live…

            In someone else’s care

 

 

MY NATURAL WAY

 

I think perhaps I have a gift

            With words I have a way

I can make you laugh sometimes

            Or on emotions play

 

I can bring a focus on

            A subject I desire

I can be quite cool or sweet

            Light a burning fire

 

My words do rhyme because I like

            The way they sound that way

It isn’t hard for me to do

            My natural way to say

 

Of course the thoughts that I express

            Should be eloquent

But when I write for children’s minds

            “Funny”, is time well spent

 

Perhaps it’s just a phase for me

            Although I don’t think so

I am driven relentlessly

            To Disseminate, to flow

 

What ever comes my way in thought

            I must broadcast in rhyme

I must show what is my view

            I have more words than time

 

 

VOICES WITHOUT SOUND

 

When day is done and I can write

            About what my heart feels

I pour it out as quick I can

            Helping wounds to heal

 

Sometimes I sense another’s soul

            It speaks to me somehow

And I must find the words to say

            What it can’t say for now

 

I am a sort of common voice

            Used by one and all

I hear the voices without sound

            Whenever they do call

 

Whether joyful or in anguish there

            Are things that must be said

In the sharing there is healing

            Help another to be led

 

To the light of understanding

            That each is not alone

Banish darkness in an instant

            With love that can be sown

 

I am a sort of journalist

            Interpret what I hear

Hold a mirror to the myriad

            Help the blind to see their fear

 

Say the words that some cannot

            Put their feelings into focus

Give birth to smiles and laughter

            See the beauty of a crocus

 

Be the eyes of those whose lives

            Have dulled their sense of beauty

Save the souls of those who clearly

            Have misplaced their sense of duty

 

Do what ever seems correct to bring

            Some joy into their view

Hope my words will light a fire

            Or an understanding new

 

Use my love and awe of life

            And the words I pen in haste

To keep another’s blindness

            From making life a waste

 

All it takes for joy to come

            And happiness thereafter

Is believe inside each one of us

            Lives a person loved, and laughter

           

           

 

MY HAIR HAS TURNED TO SILVER

 

My hair has turned to silver and

            My years are mounting up

My life is full of love which

            Overflows time honored cup

 

I’ve brought into this world three

            Children, make me proud

They brought into the world three more

            With intelligence endowed

 

I have a lovely wife who is

            My partner, steady, close

I have a few good friends who can

Stand of me a dose

 

I’ve opened new horizons that

            Challenge me to grow

I’ve loosed a stream of consciousness

            That continues now to flow

 

I’ve raised my eyes to see a higher

            Place in future be

I shine a light on beauty, whether

            Knowledge or a tree

 

I do my level best to help

            My fellow man to see

The way to have a better life

            Is to start with simple “we”

 

I write what I am thinking so

            All who read will know

The things that I have knowledge of

            I’m driven to bestow

 

I have a job to do, I

            Accepted in the past

Intuitively knew I must

            Write so it will last

 

Leave a lasting record of

            The fact that someone heard

The Lord when he was talking

            And understood the word

 

Keep my fellow man from now

            Destroying his own home

Help destroy the myths, by using

            My strength, a simple poem

 

There is so little time to do

            The job before I go

Before I leave this earth I must

Finish my tableau

 

Or at least to touch another

Who takes up my appeal

Sees the road that must be followed

            Applies full measure of his zeal

 

It’s likely in the end, I must

Hand off the baton

Do what I can do and then,

            Quietly move on

 

But at least I will have tried,

Shared my love, which grew

Said what I could say, but couldn’t

            Say as much as knew

 

 

 

THE QUESTION IS THE ANSWER

 

Where would I be today

            If I came a different way?

What would I be doing

            Started out with different viewing?

 

Had I chose another path

            Be of physics or of math

Would I then have to become

Different product, different sum?

 

Or would I be today

            Same person holding sway

Espousing all I learned

            From life which I interned

 

It’s all too easy think

            I’d see the obvious link

That makes us who we are

            Though we have come so far

 

How is one to know

            The direction that we go

Is from decisions made

            Before, when unafraid?

 

How can we find out

            The origin of our route

From innocent incept

            To lives we just accept?

 

What new thought would rise

            From past I analyzed?

Would it help me see

            A different path for me?

 

Could I introspect

            Coupled with reflect

The scheme of life I’ve lived

            Mistakes I’ve made, forgive?

 

How can I progress

            Use the past for my success

In the future to succeed

            Using what I’ve brought, for seed?

 

Where must I begin

            Change the path “from here on in”

Evaluate the facts

            Take what adds and not detracts?

 

Who can help me be

            The one I am, can’t see

Hold my hand and stay

            With me all the way?

 

All comes now together

            Questions asked forever

In the asking is the answer

            As the truth, it does infer

 

In contemplation we

            Look back, the road to see

What we must now discard

            Our futures not retard

 

Rearrange our view

            See the truths that are brand new

Continue speculate

            Find new ways we can relate

 

Write new songs of life

            Take lessons from old strife

In ourselves find strength

            To go the needed length

 

In short we should be proud

            Be ourselves, we are allowed

Follow feelings in our heart

            Until we must depart

 

Be the best we can of we

            Work hard at that and see

The benefits that land

            Unasked for in our hand

 

Take unto us each

            Joy in life and reach

To others with our love

            Comes back a product of

 

If true to who we are

            We can be our own bright star

Share our light with all we meet

            Help, despair in them defeat

 

Find another soul

            With whom we can be whole

Form a lasting bond

To take us far beyond

 

Dreams we could conceive

            In hope we will believe

No longer will we fear

            The path to take is clear

 

As long as we continue

            Our perspective to renew

Make our guiding light

            Newly found insight

 

Give away our love

            Set our sights above

The simple recompense

            Others think makes sense

 

We will know the way

            Find happiness each day

All within the bounds

            Of truths that we have found

 

Joy will come in living

            In ways needs no forgiving

As we take each others hand

            Spread the word throughout the land

 

Love is part the answer

            Belief and faith the rest

This journey lasts a lifetime

            Take my hand, with me invest

 

 

 

BORN IN OSAKA

 

Osaka’s not a place I’d call

            My favorite destination

But it’s the place that I gave birth

            To poetry from inspiration

 

Strange that being far away

            Surrounded by things foreign

I should emerge another man

            Brand new to write and relearn

 

The basics of the me inside

            Attention turning inward

Spewing forth torrential rhymes

            In clumps which my mind did hoard

 

Unknown to me there lived within

            Expression burning deep

Love did reach across the world

            Opened doors that made me weep

 

The person that I am today

            Conceived in love to grow

Was borne a long way from his home

            Osaka born I know