SLEEPCAST POEM
The term ‘sleepcast’ (coined by Headspace.com) is described as an audio / visual presentation, a ‘wind down’ & description of a relaxing environment… beginning in the present moment… the hum of traffic on Woodward drifts through the spring evening… the singing crystal bowls soundbath (by Healing Vibrations) ring out on my YouTube app… binaural beats, Om chanting, chakra soundscapes, burning sage, glowing candles, Shiva mantras… inhale, exhale, slow deep breaths while we meditate on my memories…
I met a guru by chance, as one does at Kehena Beach… he wore flowing robes & flowers & told me Shiva was the god of both marijuana & tobacco… he had just returned from a forbidden city in India… He grew his own medicine which he proudly displayed on the black sand, marveling at the glittering trichomes, inviting me to marvel as well, I agree I have seen none finer… He fills a bowl of his bounty & we smoke, watching the dolphins frolic, the drums from the Sunday drum circle pound with the surf… side by side we pass the bowl & gaze at the impossibly azure Pacific before us…
Kehena Beach is a clothing optional gathering spot of the seekers & celebrated on the Big Island… where hippies, WOOFers, & backpackers pick their way down a treacherous cliff side to the volcanic sands below…
The dolphins draw closer, attracted by the drumming which in turn fuels the drummers… naked bronzed bodies writhe to the rhythms, a rainbow arcs overhead & the slightest rain mists through the sunshine… several dogs race down the length of the crashing Pacific… my guru friend leaves an offering to Shiva before departing… I watch the dance of the dolphins… inhaling the cleanest air on Earth… before I gently bring us back to the present moment… back to the city & street noise… if you feel like lingering on the beach you may do so… inhale, exhale, slow deep breaths… in your deep state of serenity…
Namaste.
SUMMER MIX 2022
Detroit description:
73 degrees on a late June night,
I sit above the street,
On the balcony,
Catching the breeze,
With the fluttering Ukraine flag,
Above the bricks,
With my tablet open to YouTube
Playing Detroit Motown,
Best of 90s Trance,
Detroit techno,
Lana Del Rey,
&
watching the starry sky
&
traffic on John R.
Some hot cars,
Northbound to 7 Mile,
Southbound to 6 Mile,
This is Motor City baby,
He says see you around bro,
we fistbump,
He Leaves me to,
Thoughts on far away cityscapes,
& men that left,
I see,
My first firefly of the season,
Glowing in the foreground,
At the same time,
A plane in the background,
Makes its descent across the city…
AFTERGLOW
Sitting outside
By an old abandoned train car
On his back porch
The porch-light
Illuminating
Palm fronds
A table
An empty laundry basket
A lone cane toad
A pillow
A cardboard box
A bar of soap
A bag of Jasmine rice
Cans of insecticides
Old paint cans
A broom
A pair of shoes
Representatives of
His life
That I pass by
In silence
After
Glow.
Sitting outside
By an old abandoned train car
On his back porch
The porch-light
Illuminating
Palm fronds
A table
An empty laundry basket
A lone cane toad
A pillow
A cardboard box
A bar of soap
A bag of Jasmine rice
Cans of insecticides
Old paint cans
A broom
A pair of shoes
Representatives of
His life
That I pass by
In silence
After
Glow.
ODE TO HŌKŪLEʻA
She glides across the globe,
Over oceans, under stars:
The Hōkūleʻa: Star of Gladness,
Reminding us
Of nearly lost knowledge:
How to navigate as the ancestors,
With the wind and the waves,
I meet her in Hilo,
Joining the tourists,
To board her,
Marveling,
At her majesty,
& grinning at the cupboard,
Containing the coffee pot.
NOTE: Hōkūleʻ a is a Polynesian double-hulled canoe. Launched on March 8, 1975 by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, she is best known for her 1976 Hawaiʻi to Tahiti voyage. The voyage’s primary goal was to explore the Asiatic origins of Polynesian and Hawaiian natives, showing that they traveled via purposeful trips through the Pacific, as opposed to passive drifting on currents or sailing from the Americas. A secondary goal was for the canoe and voyage to “serve as vehicles for the cultural revitalization of Hawaiians and other Polynesians.” – Hokulea.com
Alien Buddha Press 