Koshered

for the world at large

As the year dawns upon us
Sparkling with light,
I wish you a beginning
as merry and bright.

Success that is yours
In all you pursue,
May good fortune surround you
In all that you do.

May you never run short
Of a good night's sleep.
May all that you cherish
Be yours. To keep.

But also...

Add a touch of goodwill
And warmth to your day,
Think also of those
That are far, far away.

For each smile you can bring
To a forlorn face
Will make this world
A happier place,
With a brighter morrow,
and a closer heaven -

Have an unforgettable
2007.

like water

words sometimes
lock themselves
in clouds
dark and heavy
with rain

and then suddenly
they fall
unexpected
umbrella's at home
yet again

soon i'm soaked
head to toe
and i wonder
why i couldn't have known
this would be

unpredictable it is
this weather
just as the thoughts
that ache
to be free

word power

i look at you
i listen
to words you do not say
i believe that they are
and somehow
they find a way

but the moment
(it is grand)
when i need not
understand
for fragrances are duly smelt
as words are spoken,
touched and felt

when in silence i think, i feel
'tis these words that make it real

here today, gone tomorrow

and forgotten the day after
loved, unloved
wanted, unwanted
special, or not -
a speck in the vast universe
we live and quickly die

in a breath all is gone -
the coffee, the lunches
and sunday afternoons
moments of love
of solitude
and togetherness
in a breath it is gone

a speck in the universe
we live and quickly die
and ashes go to ashes
as dust goes to dust

tomorrow may never come
all we have is today
to choose to cherish
or to throw away

on (mis)understanding

it would be nice
wouldn't it
to read minds
instead of words?

i could take a little of mine
and give it to you
you could respond
with a little of yours
without words to depend on
we'd understand each other
perfectly

there'd be no misunderstandings
no more heartaches
complete knowledge
and peaceful co-existence

but what would become
of the joy i have found
in learning to understand you
and teaching to be understood
stumbling, falling
getting there
little by little
slowly but surely
- what of that?

we fall
and stumble
slowly we find our way
it only matters
that we keep on going

quiet. really?

you say you like 'nature'
for the joy that you find
in the 'peace'
and the 'quiet'
up in the hills
down by the sea
or simply surrounded by sand

i don't know...
i like to hear the voices
of the trees as they speak
through their leaves
and their branches

against the voice
of the wind as it blows
loud and clear
then ever so gently
whispers in my ear

as i sit on the grass
that rustles and speaks
each time it feels
my presence

while i listen
to the song
of the birds in the distance
sweeter than anything
on the radio

if you listen you will hear
these sounds of nature
they are not
the sounds of silence

'the sound of one hand'

i know well
so well
the sound of people
those who talk
and those who listen
sounds of laughter
and the ever-aching
sounds of tears
streaming down

i know also
the sound of
the hairdryer
and cars passing by
the lawnmower next door
the train as it comes
to a screeching halt

and then that of
the crickets
in the still of the night
the birds that chirp
their way into dawn
the ocean as its waves
roar and rumble
(is it rumble?)

but the sound of silence
is what i seek
to hear nothing
but nothing
no not even the sound
of this beating heart

taking and leaving

each time you leave
you leave traces within
and take with you
some of me

the more you leave
the more you take
and i wonder
that i'm still me
and you still you

am i really?
are you?

perhaps we are
- me and you -
perhaps that's what
being us
is all about

on letting go

some goodbyes
aren't goodbyes
but a chance
to say hello

and hug again
the soft embrace
that comes
from letting go

of yesteryears
days filled with love
that will never be
again

for days unseen
and yet to come

close your eyes
and count
to ten

butterflies

like butterflies
they are held
for a moment
in my palms
then quickly
they fly away

beautiful people

leaving behind
a fragrance
unforgettable

the colors
now gone
still dazzle

the wings
still flutter
within

The New Me

Slabs of chocolate, cakes of cheese,
Pray, what is one to do with these?
For moments, yes, they seek to please,
Are then the cause of much unease.

Instead of sauces sweet and sour,
In foods that I would once devour,
- as long as things are in my power -
I'd rather eat my cauliflower.

Or broccoli florets so green
(for greener greens are seldom seen)
Or sandwiches with bread and bean,
And celery sticks stuck in-between.

Potatoes slowly lose appeal,
And slowly better tastes reveal -
Making sure the insides feel
Warm and loved with every meal.

to love, to share

bright blue skies
wet goodbyes
rainbows streaming
pots of gold

on rainy days
trodden ways
laughter rings
in days of old

still dark nights
sweet delights
warm sunrises
now gone cold

lift open
the treasure trove
let forgotten
dreams unfold

I wonder

Do you think what I think
when you read what I read
and see what I see?
Do you?

And can you feel what I feel
when I say all I say?
Do you sense the same sense
I do?

And do you hear what I hear
In the quiet and the still?
You do breathe the same air
Don't you?

Perhaps it is me
I want you to be

I wonder.

today, everyday

i do not know what promise
tomorrow's day might bring,
but there's hope on the horizon
with each morning that takes wing -
for each day is one day richer,
has more to offer than the last -
breathing life to all that's new
and adding to our past.

frayed edges

frayed edges
tear away,
some things are destined
not to stay -
cherry blossoms,
buds of may,
friends that were,
strangers today -
they meet and smile
and then part ways
- unspoken 'byes
to better days -
perhaps for ever,
perhaps a phase,
life - it ceases not
to amaze.

nerves are tender,
heart is sore,
longing much
for days of yore,
lives in touch,
as once before,
warmth that was,
that is no more.
love dies, does it?
just as it grows,
surprising
when you least suppose.

but the more one lives,
the more one knows -
and so life goes,
and so life goes.

All in the Mind

Sooner or later, the bubble does burst
And sooner or later, we find
That the highs and the lows
That we often traverse
Are all just a maze of the mind.

Is there really a truth that is really a truth?
Or only a ploy, truth be told?
For I can hear waves
If I try hard enough,
If you try, you can take rock for gold.

For we are dreamers, we are,
In this cold and dark world,
Sooner or later we learn -
'tis the man who believes in the power of thought,
'tis for him that the candle does burn.

thief

to whoever took my smile today -
i hope you needed it more than me!

but tell me, will you give it back to me
before i wake up tomorrow?
please?

In 2006

To run hard, run long
To be firm and be strong
To be generous, to give
To live and let live

To do the 'right thing',
if an inkling of doubt
To not weaken and take
the easy way out
To not do unto others
as they do unto me
But rather, as I'd like
their doing to be
To be slower to judge,
give goodness a chance
To not lose perspective
in any circumstance
To be faithful and honest,
to be a good friend -
one on whom others
tend to depend

To all the above,
intently adhere
These are my goals
for the spanking new year.

Instead

Must I 'ring out the old'
and 'ring in the new'?
Can I not ring out the new
and ring in the old instead?

I'd like one of my older years
now
thank you.

A Wandering Mind

If I could travel
as far and wide
and often
as my wandering mind
pray, how many miles
would that be
in a day?

sad

when i think in words
they seem to flow
into sentences
and paragraphs
sometimes verses
sometimes songs

the words within me
reach out
to the world outside

why not so with music?
why can i not play
on strings
the humming of
my heart?
or on keys
let my fingers flow
swiftly
and deftly
across notes
across oceans

why does music
fill me up
permeate my being
awaken my senses
but stop
. thus
at my fingertips?

to the stranger sitting beside me

who are you?
I long to ask,
and where do you come from?

curiosity burns inside,
where more questions form -
are you going home?
visiting friends perhaps?
you don't look married,
no, too young for that.
are you a reader too, and
do you really want that window seat?

I lose myself
in these questions...
I play with them,
arrange them in towers
letting them grow,

while outside,
the silence continues
and I gather what I can
from the book she is reading,
the way she looks,
her shoes,
her bag,

when suddenly, she asks
so, are you a student?

the ice is broken -
why was I not the one?

I answer politely,
we strike a conversation,
there is one less stranger
in the world.

The Way I Drink It

Take a cupful of water,
And set it to steam.
On the side, take ginger,
Some leaves and some cream
(Milk is what I'd use,
But it wasn't in rhyme.)

When the water's a-boil
In a wee bitta time,
Then grate in some ginger
That's juicy and rich.

Add a teasp. of tea leaves
Be careful though, which.
Red Label, or Green
aren't my cuppa tea,
I drink Lipton's Yellow
It feels more... me.

It's time for the milk,
You can add it to taste.
Let it simmer on low,
Be not in haste.
For milk takes its time
To add texture and feel,
Too early, too late -
And the tea's lost its zeal.

So let it boil and unboil
To a count of maybe three,
Then strain and add sugar -
There's your cup of tea!

Asleep

The muses, they've been sleeping
In a year, so little said
Now it's time sleep did the sleeping
Let me rise and write instead

On Running to Educate

With much regard may I remind
Ye gentle souls of giving kind -
Of races waiting to be run,
Of sweaty workouts in the sun,
Of miles run, many more to go,
On trails and tracks, hills high and low.

Of taking steps to educate,
To grant a child a better fate,
A better life, a better morrow -
Not one he must beg, steal, or borrow.
Is there a sight that touches more
Than a smile one has not seen before?

For knowledge does contentment bring,
And lets a caged soul take wing.
So give to this worthy cause, I ask,
Help Asha do its noble task.
And make this world a little brighter,
As hearts become a wee bit lighter.

On Running

Never been a runner,
but there's always a first.
And for a cause that is noble,
there's a passion, a thirst.

Miles lie behind me,
there are more to be run.
And many milestones to conquer,
before I am done.

Rain rain...

The silly clouds
do have their ways
Of pouring rain
on sunny days.

But rain that pours
does stop sometime.

Doesn't it?

Cold!

Is it the world, or is it the weather?!

Off to Oblivion

If I forget and you forget,
can we label all forgotten?
When thoughts are left untouched,
do they too, then, turn rotten?
And grow to monstrous sizes
of layers white and green?
In scary shapes and nauseous forms
you wish you'd never seen.

Or do they vanish like a rainbow,
that reappears from time to time -
just when you least expect it,
like numbers that are prime?

Or do they fix themselves for good
to the corner of my heel
And prick with every step I take,
that I'll never cease to feel?

For I'd like, simply, to bundle them
With prayers, lead them ashore,
Let them find a new horizon
So they can visit me no more.

In reponse to:

"Any ideas, suggestions, clues on what to do with Monday blues?"

I say chuck your Monday blues!
Crush them with your shoes
And let the shoes diffuse
These Monday morning blues.

OR

Toss them in the air
Strip their insides bare
Show you do not care
Monday blues, beware!

OR

Twist them out of shape
Squish them like a grape
Let them stand agape
Monday blues, you ape!

OR

Show them all your might
Shake them left and right!
They'll know not day from night
Those 'blues will flee from sight.