Cost of Love (187/365)

What is the cost of love
Compared to the cost of hate?
An economist would tell you
Love is the wiser choice

Gone (186/365)

The wind blew you so far away
I couldn't hear you call if you did
Or maybe you ran when I turned around
And jumped off the face of my earth
I know that I miss you and I feel it's my fault
I more often let go than hold on
But the way you left without saying goodbye
Or at least "see ya later"
Felt wrong
I can't be a sun or a moon in your sky
I'm not your daily bread
Maybe I'm gravity
On a planet you were passing
That accelerated too quickly
Disturbing your path
And slung you to space
If that's the case
I am sorry.

Too Safe?

Putin warned that the US defense missile shield could cause us to feel too safe, thereby causing the US to be more aggressive in dealings with the rest of the world. He believes a "balance of power" is key to security.

Apparently Putin has never met a Tongan, or has never had the experience of being the tallest or biggest person in a social circle. I can also speak from experience, being tall among my peers, that feeling big or safe does not make you more aggressive. In fact, most large people are giant teddy bears, guarding and not abusing their power. Probably if they were aggressive, society would see them as a threat and would not tolerate them.

Only someone with Putin's insecurities could feel this way. What does he think, that every country should have equal weapons and power, then there would be peace on Earth? This is just the type of leader who abuses power if he were to come into it. But if the US is as well-guided as I know we can be, we would not be foolish enough to flaunt our power in the world. Clearly our leadership has betrayed this optimism at times, but I believe it is who we intend to be as a whole. The focus should be on similarities and diplomacy, not on whose missile can penetrate deeper.

Drone (185/365)

We've gotten so used to this world
We made our marks everywhere
Living in the city
It's harder to fathom that it's all Mother Nature
That concrete evolved
And traffic is energy
I love my colony but it feels so contrived
But I imagine the worker bee
Feels just the same
When he first meets the queen
In her intricate combs
Just give me a break now and then
To fly off the property
To a place we all own
And remember the feeling
Of only me and my God.

Young Minds (184/365)

Guard the young minds
Their impressions and ideas
So that they will grow firmly rooted
Come what may

Burn and Burn (183/365)

I looked out all four windows
All I could see was white
Like a blank page to be filled
But I didn't want to write
I wanted to kill my own sweet time
With dreams bigger than life
Without annoying interference
Like the man who built a skyscraper
Except no one wanted to look at it
They were never even involved
And plus it blocked the natural views
Such are my foolish, lonely projections
Which lack the curse of tortured passion
And its undying commitment
To a cause a few can share
I guess I'm not ready to stay at home
And gaze contentedly out the windows
A spark is frustrated without tinder
I need to burn and burn

Content (182/365)

Nothing is boring
To a focused mind
Would that I could eat air
And stare for hours
Completely content
Totally here
I want to be like the sponge
And soak up the world
No longer thirsty
Never leave home

O, Brother Where Art Thou (181/365)

Send me my brother for Christmas
That precious boy I used to know
The cutest kid with the blond hair and sad eyes
Who became a man too soon
Send me my big teddy bear
Thoughtful, questioning, seeking
A heart of pure soft gold
Walking away from pain and looking for love
Send him home sweet home.

Christmas Prep (180/365)

Christmas carols
And rock star fantasies
Scan it, bag it, swipe it
Like water in your fist
Keep it moving
Make them come around
Make it all better
Paint a smile on a stone
Two hard seeds planted in rocky soil
The harvest will be a miracle
I'm in if you're in
Give me a sign

Creative Envy (179/365)

Maybe I got sick by drinking from the same glass
What can you see, where can you go
That they can't?
I wanna pull from the space behind the neuron networks
Where white means all colors
And black is inviting

Fleeting Forever (178/365)

A ray of sunshine on a busy world
A warm smile on a cold day
A light heart to lift heavy shoulders
A pretty face in the crowd
Peacefully happy
Radically calm
The tallest candle
Flame eternal

African Proverb

"If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

Shanti (177/365)

Complicated
Giant walking worms with no tails
And bony skeletons
Clutching electronic devices
Working furiously
Sophisticated
Dinosaurs
With soft skin
Who gave them the keys to the car?

Wanna Work (176/365)

Easy unrest
Stressful peace
Chocolate & apples
Reverse mullet
Wanna create
Wanna give something
Wanna love sweeter
And see you again
Wanna be satisfied
With never being satisfied
Wanna give people jobs
And see them flourish
Ants with no leaders
We need a new economy
That builds communities
And never destroys
Put the product in our hands
We'll be the stewards
They'll lose a little control
And we'll all benefit

Daily Poetry

Writing a poem every day has given me insight into my own life. For example, I notice that I write the most sweetest, love-everyone poems right before sickness takes over my body. I'm also noticing the astrological influences of poems written in different months of the year. There seems to be a correlation with the energy of the astrological influence (broad & sweeping, freedom & justice, detail-oriented, etc.). Maybe I will further analyze this when I am done writing my 365 poems next June.

To Know (175/365)

Can I find them in the mirror?
If I know each cell and nerve
The ecosystems and design
Should surely speak to my beginnings
Do I need to peel the layers
Of the body, breath, and mind
And dwell in the vaster silence
Of the inner worlds of black?
Can I find them in my animal
Her similarities and her differences
If I am sensitive to her energy
Will I gain knowledge of existence?
Or need I travel past the Milky Way
To worlds untouched by humans
See new life breathe new air
Make the puzzle even bigger
Deep within or deep without
Ever dispelling the doubt

Together (174/365)

My heart beats faster when you're around
I say stupid things but it doesn't matter
We know each other like we know ourselves
Two slumdogs racing through an urban jungle

We've known hard times and harder work
And we're not afraid to take what is ours
We got so high now nothing can stop us
Fueling these dreams side by side

Just One (173/365)

Living on the edge of sanity
Jittery behind the wheel
Reacting to your friends a game
A habit of a fool
For emotions should be called upon
In times of dire need
Not tossed around untruthfully
Preventing you from truly feeling
Your interactions a charade
Not even close to two hearts meeting
But perhaps we wear these shields
For fear of blood brothers and sisters
144 ways to differ
Then a thousand more degrees
I'm attracted to the different
I'm a curious thirsty creature
So tired of living in just one body
Even with TV and teachers
But I dare not get too close
I could merge with you so easy
Then my lover would be angry
And my own body would miss me
But it's hard to love others as yourself
Yet keep them on a higher shelf
As if they were chotchkies
Small items of interest
And not supernovas or bright as sunsets

The Middle (172/365)

Engineering
Communicating
Hope sustaining
Health sustaining
What's our value?
What's this power
That our instruments can't measure?

Power to imagine and manifest
Power to breathe and move our limbs
Power that leaves with dying breath
Power fickle and formless

We build things so we must be gods
Or does the octapus do the same?
Then is it all a silly game?
Or does that question hurt my name?

For living is the only thing
We know we're meant to do
And when the red sun rises cool
Another race will ponder who it was that set them spinning round in circles
Self aware past benefit
Guarding life in all its facets
While the universe collapses

Tell Her (171/365)

Tell her truth is almost always the best option
And that relationships need trust to grow
She needs to know she is safe in God's hands
That holding tight isn't as secure as letting go

Let her know the law of the universe
Is ordered chaos - nothing happens by chance
Just as every action causes reaction
We can never know all the variables, so relax

As a mind free of clutter finds the clearest path
Let her know that her tendencies
Are not a source of pride or shame - They just are
And to work every day at being

More trustworthy
More open to the subtle forces
More aware of the potential within herself and others
More aligned with the mighty cosmos

Satisfied (170/365)

Are you satisfied right now
Are you getting what you want?
If you always see a gap
You will find holes to fall into
Fuck the secret, swines or queens
The pearls transform the wearer
Even if you were a failure
At a thousand things you tried
Know that right now, here, today
You are perfectly aligned
Trust the process, open eyes
Join the laughter in the skies

Finding Faith (169/365)

If the church has failed you
It stings like the pain
Of a mother's rejection
Or a father's abuse
You want to believe
But the priests misbehave
The hypocrites preach
And no questions are asked
For faith to rebloom
Careful tending is needed
This is not the time
For impersonal dogma
Don't stifle the seeker
With a wall of "truth"
It's time to proclaim
What we we already know
Without an ounce of damnation
Nor beaten into submission
Nor shamed for salvation
For hell is our past
It's time to raise up
A new testament
Of how we were saved
By love's mercy and grace
And follow only those who show us the doors
While warning us gently of the trappings below

Christmas Trees (168/365)

I wanna go back to those hills
Where the air smells like pine
I would stand by myself
And watch the fog roll in
I would marvel about
How the birds fly without me
And how still it all seems
When we're not around
I would observe in silence
As a breeze paints my lips
And plead to myself
To remember all this

Inspired (167/365)

Surfing on a colored wave
High above the ground
Cancellation headphones
Drowning me in sound
God is really here now
Hearts connect with lightwaves
Purity of expression
Now I really own me
Fade into the darkness
Babbling approval
No need for words now
Smoke and mirror sideshow

Not So Silent Night - Last Minute!

Wow, got a ticket last minute & sooo excited for 30stm, Muse, AFI, Metric. Yipee!

Building Occupation

I thought this email from the University president was worth posting:

Dear Colleague:
The short-lived occupation of the Business building at San Francisco State University on Dec. 9 by protesters was not a peaceful sit-in, not a student demonstration, and not an expression of free speech but an illegitimate takeover that denied thousands of students their educational rights.

When protesters forced their way into the building and chained and barricaded the doors, they caused the cancellation of all classes in that building that day. More than 3,000 students and faculty were shut out. This happened at a particularly crucial time, just before final examinations. We could not allow a second day of such educational disruption, so after the intruders rebuffed attempts at dialogue by the University, I instructed University Police to return the building to use by the entire campus community. Their efforts were effective and no one was injured during the incident.

Make no mistake.  I support -- and indeed cherish -- the right to protest, to peaceably assemble, to air grievances and to speak one’s mind. These freedoms are celebrated at SF State and serve as the foundation of our community. Barricading a building is not befitting our cherished liberties.  It was an intolerable and unlawful affront to them.

The demands listed by the protesters demonstrated how far from the very real needs of students and the campus they had strayed. You can find the list, which included such items as closure of all prisons, a 50 percent tax on multinational corporations, and the dissolution of the CSU Board of Trustees, at http://occupysfsu.wordpress.com/
 
The protesters also demanded that no disciplinary action be taken against them.  If you are going to engage in an act of civil disobedience, then you should have the courage of your actions. Civil rights activists – and I was one -- did not demand immunity; they acted and changed our nation.

SF State and public higher education in California are in a state of crisis. We face unprecedented underfunding, which is harming students, faculty and staff and has forced us to turn away thousands of qualified students. We need to focus our collective efforts on restoring needed funding, keeping buildings open, and maintaining instruction. Students should be struggling to keep buildings open, not keep them closed.

Robert A. Corrigan, president

Love Quest (166/365)

Why would you throw anything back but love?
Why would you throw anything back but love?
Why would you throw anything back but love?
Why would you throw anything back but love? 
Why would you throw anything back but love, love, love, love, love, love?
Why would you throw anything back but love, love, love, love, love, love?
Why would you throw anything back but love, love, love, love, love, love?
Why would you throw anything out but love, love, love, love?
Why would you throw anything back but love, love, love, love?

Moving On (165/365)

35 thousand chances
To do it right
You've never wandered too far away
To turn around
The thoughts you repeat
Seal your fate
You must learn to let go
And believe in a dream

You've never hurt
Too many people
To be kind to the next one that crosses your path
Billions of mirrors
You break one you buy one
But you don't have to carry it around

Tape it up as well as you can
Hang it on a wall in your house
Where it can see sunlight and life
Then move on
You can't perfect any day but tomorrow

The Challenge (164/365)

The higher the mountain
The better the view
But the way is harder
And only a few
Will dare to risk failure
Come death, wind and cold
Sacrifice their lives
For an unpromised goal
So many ways to feel good
Without trying hard
But why parade for approval
When you could climb among stars?

Succeed (163/365)

Don't take no for an answer when it comes to your success
Where there is the will
There is always a way
But the will must never rest

Don't let them tell you it's too late
Prove your resolve
Show them effort
It's hard to stop a train carrying freight

Yes, you are disadvantaged
You don't have all the tools
But you can finish what you started
Answer to yourself

Nuts (162/365)

We're fidgety little creatures
Always needing a fix
Funny to watch someone freak out
Terrifying if it's you
We all need a little yoga
Some deep breathing
Right brain activation
Make the little chipmunk inside your head
Happier
Oh, what we could accomplish
The joy we could spread
If we only knew how to use
The damned things

Changes (161/365)

I can feel changes coming
Something's gotta give
The routine, the look, the attitude
I'm fed up with it all
I'm sick of myself
My habits and drugs
My shortcomings and failures
Tomorrow's a new day
I'm turning the page
Metamorphasis
Change paths in the morning

Superhero (160/365)

You can't do this forever
But I feel immortal today
So high and so low
I stayed there for a long moment
But I'm not ready to ly down
There are voids to fill
And I'm an ocean

No More Credit Cards (159/365)

Walking past restaurants
Sitting at a bus stop
Hands in my pockets
Nothing there but lint

Stomach is empty
And so are my bank accounts
A stranger sits next to me
And bites into a sandwich

So far from home now
Miles from my pantry
My heart sinks and pities me
Life without plastic

Nature

"Do not identify yourself with this mind, do not consider it as yourself but only as an obscure functioning of Nature."

-Sri Aurobindo

Misunderstandings (158/365)

On the surface it stinks
And what a dizzying spiral
I dug down to the root
A glowing gold brick of truth
So far beneath the layers
Of the dirt we used to cover
Our misunderstandings

If only you would take my hand
And follow my steps
As I lead you down my path
I could show you this treasure
But I fear you will insist on meeting me there
And you'll dig with your tools
Using your methods
According to your understanding

Will we ever see eye to eye?

Four (157/365)

There's a four hour limit
To sit at a desk.
A four hour limit
For athletes in college
To practice and train
The rest is for study
Four hours for others and one for yourself
Keeps you sane and on top of your health