Outside Auckland Art Gallery, NZ

Waterskin

The urgency of now is here ..
Balanced between ..
The last .. and next ..
A waterskin that separates ..
Heaven from Earth ..
With transparent fragility ..
An elusive area ..
To be filled now ..
Quickly ..
Before the bubble .. bursts.

1997.

Today I realised ...
There is no turning back ...
No turning away from you ...
Because to swim against a current ...
This strong ... without good reason ...
Is pointless.

Being afraid of your whirlpools ...
Waterfalls ...
Is natural ...
But ...
My fear of being swept away ...
In your rapids ...
Bruised by your rocks ...
Has been overcome ... by love

So now I can accept ...
There may be rocks ...
That block the flow ...
But the risk is worth it ...
Because the beauty of you ...
Shining in the light ...
Flowing gently around me ...
Through me ... With me ...
Is irresistible ......

 Kayaking near Okere Falls, NZ

And when I am immersed in you ...
Surrounded by your clarity ...
The thunder of your waterfall ...
Doesn't scare me.

1996

The Gardener

Today I killed thousands ..
Maybe millions ..
Young .. tender .. barely born ..
Innocent victims.

In Hitler's way .. I decided ..
Who must die ..
Who could stay.

Yes .. I heard ..
Their silent scream ..
As I shoveled them ..
Without resistance ..
Into the furnace

I consoled my conscience ..
With the thought that ..
All I really did ..was ..
Rearrange their atoms ..

After all ..
They're only weeds ..
Aren't they?

1979

 

The Earth is a part ...
Of the body
We call ...
Our universe ...

And ...
As we flow ...
Through the spacious arteries ...
Of our Maker ...
We wonder why ...
We cannot see.

1980

Why can't I be like ordinary people?

What makes you think you aren't?

Ordinary people are unique
Ordinary people have problems too
Finding themselves

Ordinary people dream
Just like you

But when the ordinary dream
Is pushed into reality
By the few who dare
They will become extraordinary.

1980

Cathedral Cove, Coromandel Peninsula, NZ

Quartz Rock, Moss & native Grass

The Poet's Canvas

I would like you to be
Tickled ...
By my joy
Bruised ...
By the rocks of my pain
See ...
The colour of sound
The shape of my words
Listen .....
To the heartbeat
Of my passion
Sniff .....
At the essence
Of me.


1980

The Hermit

The urge to run ...
Is upon me ...
I would like to find ...
Someplace quiet ...
Clean ...
Of people ...
Unblemished ...
Someplace ...
I can hide.

1981.

Bonsai, Okere Falls, NZ

Mainstream

Tapping into the mainstream ...
The surge floods my senses ...
Overwhelms my consciousness ...
Fills me with well-being ...
Tears of joy mist my eyes ...
A spontaneous smile spreads wide ... upon my face ... and ...
With chin uplifted ...
I absorb the rapture.

1980

Prejudice

I don't care for yesterday's reality ...
Skeletal dusty cobweb ...
Catching the pure ...
Unexampled ...
Truth of today ...
Clinging ...
Suffocating.

Innocent thought is sieved ...
Of it's promise ...
Before it exposes ...
The puppets we are ...
Holding tight ...
To the fine line ...
We dangle ...
Faithful to the Gods ...

Experience ...
Prejudice.

1980

Cook's Beach, New Zealand

Imprints

Because I love you ..
Each day ..
Needs to be enjoyed ..
Without expectation.

Knowing this ..
I try to memorise your ..
Uniqueness ..
In case tomorrow .. you ..
Aren't with me.

Because I love you ..
I absorb .. your essence .. smell ..
Contours .. textures ..
The way you move .. laugh ..
The timbre of your voice ..
Each word .. every nuance .. Recorded .. imprinted ..
Indelibly ..

Like ..
The curl ..
At the corner of your lips ..
And ..
The slant .. of your eyes ..
When you smile .. at me ..
With love ..
Shining softly.

1997

Faded Passion

So sad ....

It seems that time ....
Has turned my rich red love ....
Into a faded rose

And ...

My true blue love ....
Has become a Forget-me-not ....
Pressed in a book ...
That is often read.

1979

Stormy

Lost ... in the sea ...of Mind.

Tossed ... by the waves ...
Of ... knowledge ... illusion.

Drifting now ... towards the calm.

Rescued by reason ...
To write again.

1980

Were you ever tiny, Mind? ...
Is your impatience ...
Enthusiasm ...
More now than then?

You seem the same ...
I don't remember you growing ...
But I recall you took some naps ...
Along the way.

1981

Photo courtesy of George Gibson, Kiwitravel Ltd

The Recluse

I can no longer find pleasure ..
In the perfume .. of flowers ..
I have lost my taste for food

I do not want ..
To talk to ..
Or see .. anyone ..
I have cut myself off ..
From the world

But you .. arrogant one ..
Are not the reason ..
For my self-pity ..
You see ... I have a cold.

1980

Who I am is not visible to you ...
Because when you look ...
You see a reflection ...
Of my years past ...
Because I have not yet reconciled ...
This soul to this body ...
In my heart ...
I am still a measure ...
Of the Whole ...
Where ego does not exist ...
Except as knowing.

1997

I see the stream ...
Glittering ...
Blue ...
Warm smooth stone ...
Diverting the flow

I feel the need ...
For nudity ...
So I ... Can clothe ...
My body ...
In cool clear water ...
Then rest ... And reflect ...
On the joy ... Of it all

1980