Snow Bird In Winter Fog...

Post by AquarianM on Dec 24, 2005 at 9:46pm

Snow Bird In Winter Fog...

Stars are hidden in the depth of Winter night,
Hushed and cocooned in Winter fog,
Jack Frost given free reign is King of this night,
Powder sugar freezing everything from pine trees to denuded oak,
Chrysalis of white thick as a doughnut across the land,
Within the wood paneled pool house steam rises softly,
Christmas music plays the heart strings as the tall windows fog,
There in a pine bough just outside,
A bird formed of icicle gleaming upon the branch,
Snow quail of frosted diamond perched,
Nothing a human hand had touched,
Mother Nature's intricate gift to those with sight,
Such wonders make me see,
Nothing is beyond the hand and heart of divinity,
There are no miracles that will never be seen,
Not even swimming with snow birds on Christmas Eve.

AquarianM

Merry Christmas!

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 12/24/2005

A True Matter Of Faith...

Post by AquarianM on Jan 1, 2006 at 11:36pm

A True Matter Of Faith...

Under no stone nor any hill,
Behind no mother's skirt nor shiny bauble of distraction,
In no place upon this Earth,
Not inside it nor above it,
Nowhere in the depths of time and space,
Not in the darkest corners of imagination...

They can not hide.

What was done will be known,
Every lie and sin exposed to the open air,
The ants and the hawks alike will know all,
Every trail will be blazed utterly clear to the last dollar,
Every contract thrown up in the air,
Every shadow will be utterly filled with light,
The truth will be known as commonly as children learn two plus two.

There will be no denial,
There will be only healing,
An end to lies and a beginning of something new,
A rebirth of love and faith driven to cleanliness,
After so many footfalls in filth all will seek these clean waters,
Bathing in peace and harmony and in perfect ways finally under grace.

This is the true divine plan and we will see it more clearly every day.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 01/02/2006

Flags Of Paradise...

Post by AquarianM on Jan 3, 2006 at 7:31pm

Flags Of Paradise...



The blue sky seems endless,
Warm breezes waving palm fronds over the beach like the flags of paradise.

The island rises in green majesty behind us as we gaze toward the sea.

A young couple in wedding sandals and flowers are saying their vows upon the sands as waves roll in,
Slow, steady, the beat of the surf a timeless backdrop.

Our son and his fiancé are to be wed on Maui, Hawaii on Saturday, January 7th.

We will witness this wonderful moment and spend a week far from hurries and worries.
Out where the stars are bright over the warm ocean, and the pineapples still grow sweet.

After many years of dreaming we will see Blue Hawaii,
And play the King's song on his birthday this January 8th.

2006 is here, and new.

May it bring you many blessings.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 01/03/2006

The Island Roll...

Post by AquarianM on Jan 13, 2006 at 11:11pm

The Island Roll...



You cruise out on the sea leaving palm trees in your wake,
Searching out across the endless blue,
Maybe seeing whales or a green sea turtle playing up your sense of the mystical.

The boat rocks and rolls gently across the swells,
Steady as your stomach may be the world isn't any longer,
Everything moves in three full dimensions,
Your only choice to sway and follow.

Just when you think you couldn't see another impossible azure shade,
Sunset washes over the sea and the islands and sky,
You head for the dock perched amidst myriad shoreline lights,
Amber points of warmth that beckon brilliantly yet soft.

Stepping on to the land you expect to find solid and unyielding,
A lifetime of experience doesn't prepare you -
The island rolls.

It rolls and it sways like the sea,
Sometimes when you sit,
Always if you close your eyes,
I don't even know when it stops because it hasn't yet.

Maybe it never will,
Maybe once you've been rocked in the soft blue arms of life's cradle,
Nothing can take its gentle sway out of your soul,
Certainly not poetry - that can't help but remember.

You know it's true when you step back on the continent,
Even that is set in motion by that the turquoise heart of the sea.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 01/13/2006

Author's Comments:
No joke - the effect is strange but I still feel like I'm rolling on the sea.

Sunset At The Hula Pie Cafe...

an 16, 2006 at 1:25pm

Quote Edit

Post by AquarianM on Jan 16, 2006 at 1:25pm

Sunset At The Hula Pie Cafe...



Sunlight fading down on blue water in a river of fire,
The cruise ship hints at unknown destinations in the future,
Lean on the rail in anticipation.

Soft island music twangs and sings a sweet mood,
Smiles are dancing everywhere like waves on the face of the sea.

A waitress in a floral print skirt with orchids behind her ear appears,
Bearing the star of the afternoon on a colorful plate.

A wedge of macadamia nut ice cream the size of a softball,
Capped with a half inch thick layer of deep dark oreo crust,
Whipped cream frills dotted with shaved dark chocolate,
Swimming in a chocolate syrup sea,
Two spoons and a purple-petaled white orchid on the side.

Sunset at Kimo's in Lahaina,
Hula pie and Hawaiian music with my Sweetheart by the tropical sea.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 01/16/2006

Firedance At Sunset...

Post by AquarianM on Jan 19, 2006 at 12:26am

Firedance At Sunset...



Badumba baddupboom,
Something from Samoa slipped into Hawaii,
Somewhere in a touristic night,
Badumba baddupboom,
Has made itself part of the island,
Might be found at a luau - remember it's an import.

Badumba baddupboom,

The drums will beat and boom in their time,
The crowd will chant and the palms will sway with the falling Sun,
Badumba baddupboom,
The surf roll across the ocean,
Perhaps some ancient spell.

Badumba baddupboom,

The fire will spin and light the night,
Twirling whirling flickering,
Badumba baddupboom,
You can hear a muted crackling roar,
Mesmerised by something as ancient as Man upon the Earth.

Badumba baddupboom,

Badumba baddupboom,
Watch where those sparks fly,
Badumba baddupboom,
The Chief owns this hour of the night.
Badumba baddupboom,
Badumba baddupboom,

BuddupbuhbadduddabaddupbaBOOM!

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 01/19/2006

Five Palms Cafe Morning...

Post by AquarianM on Jan 16, 2006 at 11:19pm

Five Palms Cafe Morning...



The breeze gently wafts through the lanai,
Palms sway in eraly sunlight over yellow sands,
White foam rolls over the turquoise in drumbeat waves,
Wahini and kane paddle outriggers past bathers,
We sip Kona coffee and eat orchid petals.

Crab and avocado omelette swims in hollandaise surf,
Pineapple salsa taco salad and guava jam,
Hawaiian toast is sweet.

Aloha to the blue water and sun,
To the soft yellow sands and clouded peaks,
A turtle dove coos begging at my feet.

Mahalo for this rainbow life,
Let us swim in these translucent rolling seas.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 01/06/2006

Maui's Moon Dancer...

Post by AquarianM on Jan 20, 2006 at 10:20pm

Maui's Moon Dancer...

Aloha from the sky,
She is soft motion in the silvery night,
Dancing over ghostly blue waves,
She wears a star flower twinkling at her ear,
Undulating sea flows fluid as goddess tears.

The rhythm of her breautiful light soothes,
Calls dreamers to fall in love like children,
Washes over the sands of sleep's ocean,
Playing night magic over the sea she dips,
Glides behind Pele's mountain,
Vanishes softly below the sea,
Only her star children are seeded in the fields,
Fields of forever night,
Mohalo sweet lady moonlight.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 01/05/2006

Author's Comment:
Ulalena review.
Ulalena - Cirque de Sole' style Hawaiian Myths and Legends

Hi-Fi...

Post by AquarianM on Jan 28, 2006 at 12:47am

Hi-Fi...

The dials glow nestled in chrome,
Awaiting the touch of searching fingers,
Just the right tune to bring about epiphany,
The point where you turn up the volume and let the sound wash over you,
Where you can feel the vibrations in your bones,
Crystal clear and that just-so note that sends chills down your spine,
When your feet and body move in time with no need for your mind,
You remember the floor and the moves and the flashing lights,
Polyethelene wheels on hardwood and innocence wanting to end,
Neon lights and soft inviting moving sights,
That place where the whole world is rhythm and beat,
Like a Les Paul in black and gold screaming electric,
A voice that speaks for you and to you,
Still makes your desk chair rattle and sway,
You'll feel that in your soul,
Some songs never let you go,
Just get ecstatic and dance,
Reverberate like a child of a universe,
Pinned to the motion by the perfection of a sharp note,
Until you're left exhilerated and exhausted,
Swaying into that softly fading final note,
Wishing it would never go silent,
That there was no clock and no power button to turn off,
Only the voice of a DJ holding the promise of another dance,
Maybe even another chance,
Like some vinyl disc with a glossy black spiral,
You'll spin again and again,
And thank God you were born in the era of Hi-Fi,
When the greatest collection of musical treasure washes over,
Most every day of your life.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 01/28/2006

Gecko Dancer In Waterfall...

Post by AquarianM on Jan 29, 2006 at 9:15pm

Gecko Dancer In Waterfall...



Aloha glassy-eyed Chieftain,
Watching the gecko spirit lass dance,
She flows up and down the waterfall,
Aqua and blue-white moving in and out of the mist,
Spinning grace as the birds call,
Behind the rushing roar of water down,
Down the lush green volcano flanks,
Flashing in and out of rainbows,
Appearing and disappearing like magic,
A ghostly form of elemental Earth,
A mesmerizing love of the mystical world,
Laughs a tinkling gecko laugh,
Splashing mist upon your enraptured face.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 01/06/2006

Author's Comments:
Ulalena review.

A Moment of Glory...

Post by AquarianM on Feb 3, 2006 at 12:48am

A Moment of Glory...

In some place an image resides,
Rarely seeing anything of sunlight,
Faded with dust and covered in old cloth.

The ghost of a cheek brushed fills my mind briefly,
A physical sensation of an act long ago ended,
The barest echo of your scent wishes to fill my nostrils.

How long has it been since the sun shone on your hair,
Or the night in cinnamon sparkling?

When fine wine turns to vinegar,
What is there but to burn a candle in the bottle,
Or perhaps learn to become a vintner?

Love always stays young,
Sadly chained to time that is linear,
Brush off the dust for a moment.

There is always more to cover you.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 02/03/2006

My Vote...

Post by AquarianM on Mar 2, 2006 at 10:58pm

My Vote...

Not delivered cheap,
Nor given while fast asleep,
Involved by duty.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 03/03/2006

Each And Every One...

Post by AquarianM on Mar 3, 2006 at 4:32am

Each And Every One...

A vote is a sacred act,
To be counted and to be part and parcel,
A mystical thing that made this place sing,
Of freedom and representation,
A voice in halls that have fallen silent.

I will not suffer mine to be put in a electronic can,
Whipped and flipped and pulled by black magic out of the wrong hat,
This is no silly cartoon and it isn't the Super bowl,
It's the life we'll lead from now until dust,
And what we have to say of how we treat ourselves - our world - our future.

I will not suffer the pain of slothful ignorance,
Nor yield my voice to sleep in a dream filled with electronic voices,
I will count the actions and watch with eternal vigilance,
I will fight for the right of the learned and the fools,
Let them cast their voice as they see fit.

It must count.

It must be a physical thing, never ephemeral.

No one may dare to interfere or manipulate.

Each and every one - how do you say your future and progeny will be?

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 03/03/2006

www.illinoisprogressives.org/pdi/eric.html

The Last Of Monowi...

Post by AquarianM on Nov 21, 2005 at 1:36am

The Last Of Monowi...

The prairie grass returns,
Covering over fallen homes,
Places only ghosts now roam,
Empty houses and broken streets,
The hopes of generations fallen to ruin,
All at the stroke of the globalization pen,
Farms and factories silent and deserted,
Gone back to what it was before we came,
A white-haired stubborn old lady,
The lone inhabitant of a place that's gone,
No future apocalypse,
Nothing you have to wait until 2100 for,
They say we've never abandoned an American city,
That lie is apparent all over the countryside,
The last lady of Monowi can show it to you today.


www.whizzyrds.com/Ghostville.html

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 11/21/2005

 

Author's Note:

It's pronounced "mon-o-way" according to a gal who used to live there. Monowi was a town in rural Nebraska with only one resident left. It also had or has a small library full of books donated by people from around the world.

What Exactly IS In A Word?

Post by AquarianM on Nov 21, 2005 at 1:00am

What Exactly IS In A Word?

A word is a discussion all by itself,
It holds an image of what it tells,
It's a picture agreed upon by you and me,
It's a contract unspoken we speak every day,
Origins that trace back to the first "what is it,"
"Let's call it this - what do you say?"

In order to understand the nature of this treasure,
We must realize that the universe is built of foundational blocks,
Within or without words shape it because they are the basis,
Given to us by divinity and no other creature we do not teach,
We speak to our God with them whatever name we use,
We often fail to understand that we do not have to address God,
Every word is heard and may result in action from Divinity,
As poets we choose words with care,
Missing the proper understanding perhaps,
Although not necessarily entirely.

Forgive me if it seems presumptuous,
For I know of no other creature,
That speaks to and in front of God,
With every breath or stroke of pen,
As such we poets are more than we know,
We stand closest to this particular gate.

Step through the gate into the parlor,
Read the writing on the walls,
Come back out with an understanding whereof you speak,
Turn - the gate is here:

www.concentric.net/~conure/shinn.shtml

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 11/20/2005

Vision...

Post by AquarianM on Dec 9, 2005 at 11:19pm

Vision...

Softly the words inside my head,
Spin round as angels come down,
A laughing lilt from Heaven,
A simple gifted miracle under halo's gleaming glow,
Clear sight for the kind seer,
Love is drifted all around,
As pure and clear as the swirling snow,
A world filled with light and love and life,
Gentle prayers float on clouds,
Bathed in Christmas sights.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 12/10/2005

Six More Coming...

Post by AquarianM on Dec 13, 2005 at 10:18am

Six More Coming...



The weatherman is wearing white tonight,
Casting a white Christmas a bit closer for the child in each of us,
Slow it down a bit tomorrow in that sleek sled,
There might just be reindeer flying by,
Presents in the sleigh time-warped by hushabye falling,
In the quiet night it's falling down all around,
Cocooned in the arms of Winter,
Look all around you with a softer heart,
As your radio plays kinder notes,
Give the gift of love to the world,
Every heart counts,
Even for one day,
One night,
More,
Got six more coming,
Slow time falling,
Tonight.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 12/13/2005

Unto Every Corner...

Post by AquarianM on Dec 13, 2005 at 10:57pm

The image linked in this piece was part of the Christmas challenge at another poetry board. We were to write whatever the picture inspired us to. This is what I saw in that little place high upon the hill.

Unto Every Corner...



To the small places,
To the far places,
Up the highest snowy mountain,
Below the depths of the deepest darkest sea,
Within the center of the Earth,
Out to the farthest reaches of space and time,
Love touches all of creation.

Symbolized completely in the fading light,
Even to the smallest chapel upon the highest hill,
As Christmas Eve draws in the light in a hush of clouds,
Spreads angels out to all the world,
There is a time in every place,
To embrace the season of Love shared selflessly.

Without the gift of Love not a snowflake could fall,
Not a single tree bough nor peak nor valley,
No void filled without Love's undying light.

Go and tell it upon a mountain,
What this night and this world are for,
A child born knowing this truth spoke it,
Christmas is to remind us all,
It was the birth of the dominion of Love.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 12/14/2005

Guidance...

Post by AquarianM on Dec 16, 2005 at 12:55pm

Guidance...

I speak now the words of a call for Wisdom,
Let the divine plan of my life be illuminated,
Revealed in its intended splendor,
I now walk the path shone on by Light and Love,
In the footsteps laid before me in perfect ways,
I am granted clarity in peace and harmony,
Walking and speaking always under Grace.

I cast away now all doubt,
All fear has fallen away from my life,
I speak only words of Love and Plenty,
Words of Hope and Healing,
Words of perfect Harmony and Grace.

I now fly to my good as light as a feather,
I leave all burdens and shadows far from me,
Never wavering in Faith and Hope,
I always speak from the Heart of Love.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 12/16/2005

Flying Mystic...

Post by AquarianM on Dec 20, 2005 at 8:22am

Flying Mystic...

And the Mystic flew through,
The air was cold on high,
Mountains of snow below,
A heart of love for Earth,
Was tucked safe under,
Her blanket of passing,
Stars in the Heavens,
Above twinkling joy,
His smiling lips,
Whispered soft prayers,
Stowed away in,
Sacks of presents loaded,
A red sleigh pulled by,
Reindeer flying by,
Magic and prayers in,
Every child's wrapped,
Gifts on Christmas Eve,
Round the tree we,
Gather to carol of,
Joyous celebration for,
The birth of the King of Love was,
2,005 years ago today,
We remember such light,
Shining upon all the world.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 12/20/2005

Silent Water Runs Deep:

Post by AquarianM on Mar 8, 2004 at 2:45am

Silent Water Runs Deep:

Deep currents,
Barely felt yet they can carry you away,
Love is the current under all our waters,
Below the view of many it gathers strength,
It's flow sweeping the world with healing draughts,
Beginning to wash over us more each passing day,
The thirst souls have they were too numb to even know,
Now quenched in peace and harmony,
Flowing stronger and stronger for all to see,
We shall swim with it,
The waters no longer silent,
Yet the deepest of all.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
(C) 03/08/2004

Author's Comments:
More and more souls are becoming awake. Thank God for that.

For The Love Of Life...

Post by AquarianM on Oct 17, 2005 at 3:31pm

For The Love Of Life...

I will whisper incessantly of the beautiful things I find,
The alive things and the necessary things and all that holds us up,
I will never remain silent as fools' errands are run,
I will show the glory of Mother Earth in all it's forms,
Be it God or any superior notion that created this,
It was never ours to destroy,
For the love of life I will walk through dreams and nightmares,
I will point my finger to the Moon's tides at night,
I will wash the shores of souls like a rolling wave that never sleeps,
For the greatest gift of life is love,
The Universe would share none without the other,
For the love of life I can never leave you alone,
Until you understand the sacredness of every seed,
Man - raise your intellect to walk hand in hand with that from whence you came,
In walking roughshod over your Mother's unconditional love you spell doom,
In working with in the stead of domination you find Grace,
And only Grace will suffer you to live,
Or have you learned nothing of true efficiency in the struggle to heights,
For the love of life...feel love.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 10/17/2005

Fields of The Tawny Days...

Post by AquarianM on Oct 19, 2005 at 12:55pm

Fields of The Tawny Days...



Flowing like gold across the field,
Lost in an endless sea of breeze and waving amber,
Life floats upon the sky that seems boundless,
To walk here is to be healed,
To live here is to understand the cycle of life with intricacy,
A season and a season's passing,
Promises of renewal too priceless to forget,
In this vast place called the Heartland,
Here the Mother whispers in her childrens' ears,
Awaiting the embrace both so desperately need.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 10/19/2005

Seasonal Detail...

Post by AquarianM on Oct 21, 2005 at 4:53pm

Seasonal Detail...



The beauty in the small things is priceless,
An eye close to the world so seldom reviewed,
What falls to the ground un-noticed is of short duration,
A day or two too late and everything changes,
Too early and it's not at your feet,
A world all around you singing a song in color and whistling wind,
Look and listen closely now and again,
In the still small places so few choose to go a universe awaits,
Poems can fall to the ground and become of the Earth,
Leaves upon the human tree and the ground that nourishes,
All around you just waiting for a moment of intention,
Or lost in the lack of attention,
You choose the colors of your own Fall,
Twisting and turning in the breezes of life,
What do you whisper into the winds?

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 10/21/2005

The Mars Effect...

Post by AquarianM on Oct 28, 2005 at 3:07am

The Mars Effect...



It last came so close in A.D. 2003,
And a nation of law turned to its first un-provoked war,
The Red Planet was burning in the sky,
God of anger was rending spirits from their bones,
Looking for what wasn't there while Baghdad burned.

Marching along in the sky he raged far and wide,
The anguish and misery festering like a boil under the skin,
Maimings and flag-draped heroes falling home,
Angry faces in the desert exploding with rage,
Giving a "go home Yankee" bang on every street corner.

October first 2005 saw the warrior planet start walking backwards,
Mars retrograde at his closest approach in 60,000 years this Halloween night,
Right next to the severed head of the Medusa,
A malignant star called Caput Algol whose baleful glow has darkened history,
A time for leaders to lose their heads or their way,
Time for a very cautious step as the stars are serving dangerous beauty.

When you see the sky on Saturday night,
Look for his baleful bright red eye in the East,
And wonder which way the knives of fate will dart,
It's a whole new era rough and tumble starting in,
Yet when the Red God finally wanders away,
Will we recover from the Mars effect?

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 10/28/2005

Author's Comments:
For more insight on this particular Mars retrograde, see the below two linked sites.
Mars retrograde occurs when the planet appears from our perspective to be moving
backward across the sky. It's strongest effects are at the "station" points, where the planet
appears stopped in the sky, and it lasts until the planet passes back over the point where it
first stationed and starts gaining ground in it's proper direction again.

www.astrologycom.com/marsret.html

www.astrologycom.com/marsred05-1.html

Mile Markers...

Post by AquarianM on Oct 25, 2005 at 7:11pm

Mile Markers...



Another mile whispered by,
A season on the road behind,
As daylight fades into starry night,
Where do we seem to fly?

Every leaf of memory fallen away and passed,
Another piece of existence and I wonder,
Is there a great book somewhere,
Something it will take an eternity to read,
Speaking volumes about love and lies,
What would it say of me and mine?

Another year now passing by,
Tires on pavement moaning hum,
Who sits in the passenger seat,
Are they filled with happy love,
The radio is a small thing - just part of the road,
Blaring out things out of sight of pavement.

It's nice to know of pot holes and rain clouds,
When to roll the windows down,
But kissing in the back seat under red Autumn trees,
That's what seals the gold of summer to my heart,
The foundations of you and me,
A leaf in a vast pile rather than one swirling in the breeze.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 10/25/2005
"For Saren."

Exposure...

Post by AquarianM on Nov 10, 2005 at 8:07am

Exposure...

The lies that are told are no longer on hold,
The ice is all melting to reveal what it kept,
Every corner is filled with light,
Angels are circling and guiding moonbeams through the cobwebs,
The covers are all thrown back,
Pulled wool now faces Spring's sharp shears,
The scales will creep back into balance,
All the creeps will find dark corners,
Standing behind iron-barred shadows,
Sunlight streams into the cell they painted themselves into,
Meanwhile the mystic walks with a wooden staff,
Mumbling sunshine spells for poets to spill,
An afterthought of the Green Man dancing beneath Autumn trees.



AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 11/10/2005

Nursery...

Post by AquarianM on Nov 10, 2005 at 8:09am

Nursery...

They call him Orion and he hunts the night skies,
Appearing above just as Winter wakes from Summer's heat,
You can see a sword hanging at his belt in the cool nights,
Yet not so many know what it guards,
What drives the hunter to the drawn bow.

A mystery it took Galileo and at least a century to resolve.

Right there,
Tucked away in that sword sheath,
Orion's nursery - a nebula where new stars are forming,
The fires of creation lend their soft glow to our nights,
Gracing Fall nights with a harvest of new light,
I've always wanted to go there.

The first thing I ever pointed a university telescope at.



AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 11/05/2005

Falling Leaves...

Post by AquarianM on Oct 25, 2005 at 9:07am

Falling Leaves...

Leaf falls slowly down,
Orange Autumn sign of God,
Beautiful cool rain.

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 10/25/2005

Under Charcoal Skies...

Post by AquarianM on Nov 14, 2005 at 9:18pm

Under Charcoal Skies...



The winds are dancing the trees like wild Heathens,
Shuddering the last of their leaves from branches too chill to resist,
Cold rain drops fly down coat necks as we lean into our steps,
Awaiting the hushed blanket of white we're soon promised.

Swirling multicolored leaves tornado in the streets,
Rustling at the door like lost waifs in a magic palette,
Burning with the last wisps of the harvest season,
About to gift the Earth for the new year's growth to come.

The black shapes of geese and sparrows punctuate the dimming light,
Their flowing geometry in flocked flight a sign of abandonment,
The Sun is falling South and so shall they,
Bursting from the cornfields of dimming gold stubble and bare-stick trees.

Bluster faces those who decorate the landscape,
Braving the washed-out light of Autumn's wane,
Seeking the soul secrets within this simple grey space,
Walking the Earth paths under charcoal skies.

All these skies' promises whisper simply of curtains of white.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 11/14/2005

Just A Dustin'...

Post by AquarianM on Nov 16, 2005 at 11:13pm

Just A Dustin'...



Eighteen degrees on a silent night,
Minus eight if Centigrade is your right,
A few fat flakes dancing all about in a swirling breeze,
Two coats with a scarf and ear muffs,
Don't forget the gloves or your fingers will freeze.

It's that time again,
Wishing for Summer a fruitless test,
Yet lest we forget - it's Lady winter who lets life rest,
A cycle we all really need,
Endangered seasons all to meet the need for speed.

When you glide down a slippery road,
Try it with snow shoes all wrapped up in the hush of the night,
Remember all the miracles of icicles and frost,
Adulthood left your Winter magic in ruins you say,
Still it's up to you if your inner child is really that lost.

So even just a dustin' -
It's far better than nothin' -
Let Mother Earth heal a bit before balmy days,
Time enough before Spring showers or harvest to reap,
Gaia is tired and weary - we must let her sleep.

For myself and piece of mind,
I'll throw you a snowball and put a sled under my behind.




By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 11/17/2005

Snowflake Whispers...

Post by AquarianM on Nov 17, 2005 at 12:49am

Snowflake Whispers...



Falling in silence,
White on winds accumulate,
Swirling pearl dreamscape.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 11/17/2005

The Bluest Angel...

Post by AquarianM on Nov 19, 2005 at 12:33am

The Bluest Angel...



Tiny Angel, wings so blue-white,
Watch over me as I pray goodnight,
Let Mommy be safe and happy please,
You in your robes so blue, me on my knees.

I watch you fly in God's grace.

Tiny angel, flit down upon my cupped palms,
Smile up at me, singing, with no qualms.
A voice so ethereal and uplifting,
Carry my heart through a life that's shifting.

Thank you for carrying my prayers to heaven so well.

Bluer than the skies,
Angel with the bluest eyes,
Singing and free,
Thank you for loving me.

Fly always in beautiful childhood dreams.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
(C)2000

Author's Comments:
A dream, from very early childhood in Madison, WI.
This took place when I was three, in the time of the Dinosaur Safari.
I think it may have been inspired by watching a show on
TV about the Navy flying team, the Blue Angels.
You see, to me as a child, airplanes were the grandest
vision in the whole world. We lived off an Air Force base.
I lived in a world of fast jets, heard sonic booms before they
stopped supersonic flight over the continental USA.
I woke up crying because the dream was gone.

*One thing I should note but never have before posting this at Flowing Quills tonight: the entire dream was very vivid, but I dreampt it as if it were a Saturday morning cartoon that I was living in, like I was in the world of comic art. I never really had that piece stand out to me until now. Perhaps that's telling me something I should do...* (I just had a thought - the Fire Angel - I think she is my Bluest Angel from childhood) This was also my first paper-published work.

All Aglow...

Post by AquarianM on Nov 27, 2005 at 11:36pm

All Aglow...



Wrap the lights around the limbs,
Spun up 'round the tree,
Post a jeweled star atop,
Plug it all in finally alight,
The season has begun as ornaments dangle,
A breeze chills through the boughs tonight,
Child eyes return like yesteryear,
A gift of lights and wonder,
It's all just so this first night lit,
You wonder if angels are dancing all around,
Replacing the darkness of burned out bulbs,
Glitter falls in spectacle upon the cool drizzled ground,
Under a grey sky on a windy night spirits high,
A day bathed in loving presence,
Holding hands to open eyes -

All aglow.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 11/28/2005

A Day of Peace...

Post by AquarianM on Nov 19, 2005 at 2:43am

A Day of Peace...
It whispers under the skin like a silent need,
An itch that needs to be scratched,
We all pray we'll find it somewhere,
Under the next law where they snuck in this or that.

"Not a single drop of blood shed today."

Some of us can live and let live,
Maybe that's an excuse not to pay attention,
We think our struggle is too important for all of that,
Pooh-pooh on it all my ostrich friends.

"Peace agreements today were signed in the last conflicts on the globe."

We come home looking for dinner and the TV,
Bathing in a make-believe life instead of our own,
Wandering away from everyday miracles non-chalant,
Dulled by incessant friction like a bug in the ear.

"Poverty finally averted as the last drop of oil was burned."

It's a slick predicament filled with glassy-eyed stares,
The tired Earth is weeping of loneliness,
Her children having fallen to electronic dreams,
Too lazy to even enjoy the beach.

Just once in this life I'd love to read the headlines of a true day of peace...

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 11/19/2005

Serious Review...

Post by AquarianM on Sep 30, 2005 at 10:39am

Serious Review...

She pushes the spectacles down her nose at another Soul left to Ponder,
Closes the window to falling leaves and beautiful colors,
Her couch is lost in the Deep Dark Woods of the Soul where we lie tied,
Seeing scene after scene of questions as a quilt of potential guilt wraps us,
Stifling and hard as the coffee grows cold like our bones,
She walks out the door leaving us to untangle the wounds and woes,
Eyes locked on the channel we are helpless to change,
She has fulfilled her mission in droves,
Thin cords will bind us beneath sight or logic,
Maybe we'll discover her sister sweeter,
A certain archetypal type called simply Resolution.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/30/2005

Thunder Pumpkin...

Post by AquarianM on Oct 5, 2005 at 2:26am

Thunder Pumpkin...

Since that first Halloween in the Midwest,
It's been a legend of the Pumpkin Patch,
How the Great Pumpkin catches a ride.

I saw a fellow in buckskins walking the prairie trail,
Tracking his moccasins through October's morning dew,
Walking past tall golden fields of maize in the sunrise breeze,
As a hawk circled high above he stated his tale.

"Thunderbird leaves the great water of the West,
Rising high and breathing out clouds of dark breath,
Rains fall from his drying feathers,
Lightning flashes from his eyes and after the harvest he rests,
But he has on his last flight left a special task to do,"

"Thunderbird searches all the prairies and fields,
Searching for the largest pumpkin of perfect orange,
Searches in the tall waving grasses with his keen eyes,
Searches under the trees with lightning light,
He finds the world's biggest pumpkin each year,
He takes the pumpkin in his talons to the Great Spirit."

Great Spirit sees Thunderbird coming and breathes frost upon the morning,
He knows now to wake Winter from her sleep far in the North,
And he gives the spirit of the pumpkin the power of visions in thanks,
Thunderbird rolls the Great Pumpkin upon the ground,
It is the last thunder of Summer you are hearing,
There Great Pumpkin awaits a worthy person in some lonely pumpkin patch,
Waiting to gift the people with winter visions."

"One year he gave them to a little white boy selling blankets,
For Great Pumpkin liked his toy piano songs,
Now all white men know of Great Pumpkin yet few believe,
Thinking Autumn thunder is nothing but the wind,
They do not know the value of visions in the coming Winter,
Angry at the snow spirits who help the rabbits and squirrels and bears to rest,
Because they do not believe Great Pumpkin exists,
They go blind if the sun meets the snow."

The fellow became silent then,
I heard a great rumbling off in the distance,
It shook the briars and the brambles,
The thistle seed rattled loose all around,
Milkweed pods burst open and cotton-filled the chilly air,
Flocks of Canada geese flew up and started racing South,
The blackbirds swarmed up and circled the pumpkin patch,
Flakes of snow sputtered down and whirled about,
I knew the Great Pumpkin had found a patch.

I thought to myself of taking up trading blankets and playing piano.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 10/06/2005

---

Rattlebones Review...

Post by AquarianM on Sep 28, 2005 at 12:47pm

Rattlebones Review...

Amber Moon perched on the hilltop,
Down at the end of Red Eye road,
Walk the chill spines rattling all along,
A marching band of bone flutes whistling an ancient song,
Jolly Jones and Roger too in rotted tatters they stroll,
Risen for one night - All Hallows Eve.

The band has singing notes from cutlasses,
Swishing in bare knuckled hands,
A drumming upon stretched skins,
Stolen from the Witches' lair,
They dance and they rattle their symphony,
Beyond any mortal care.

Symbols bang upon reality that bends,
Following the black flag down,
Unearthly lights in ghost town windows,
Bats shriek high over skeleton heads,
To meet the bride of Dracula 'pon the peak of Dead Man's Knoll,
Furious sticks of wormwood beat like heads the drums do roll.

Eerie honks and whistles blare,
Calling spirits of the night,
A sight few mortals shall see yet live to speak by day,
The coven is cackling harshly high upon straw brooms,
Black clouds swirling fast over every star,
The rats and worms dance quickly into the medicine jar.

Howl now - howl me buckos the ship that sank,
She's rotting upon the bottom rocks,
This stony shore we tonight must walk,
The seas are tossed and lightness black,
The waves cadence to our soulless song,
Raise what hackles you might have left -

We'll play it all night long!

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/28/2005

Gossamer Soul...

Post by AquarianM on Sep 28, 2005 at 11:52am

Gossamer Soul...

If there is a font of kindness you have drawn it's draught surely,
In the well of imagination you have bathed by Moonlight,
Dancing upon clouds you rain smiles upon the Earth,
Even filled with tears to bursting you are a light among shadows,
Knowing that to be human is to feel pain you still exude joy,
Worry not that your empathy is leaden. (It isn't so.)

If you impart laughlight into darkness then you have sung your brightest song.

Whirl upon your pedestal amidst the soulflowers,
Itself merely the earthen hill where the sunrise is your backlight,
Innocent wisdom becomes you,
As we are all graced to know your name,
When you light upon your castle's ramparts,
Rainbow wings folded shut and having done what you must...

Be filled with knowing that this is enough.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/28/2005

Author's Comments:
For Spinny.

Last Gas...

Post by AquarianM on Sep 22, 2005 at 9:52am

Last Gas...

"And they said her name was Rita..."

She came ripping up the gulf like a bad Godzilla swarm,
Mother Nature's take on B-flick horror,
Headed straight for the refineries like a tight-wound white steamroller,
Storm surges higher than twenty feet.

Those silvery Moonlight beaches of Galveston I remember will never be the same.

The pundits were screaming five bucks plus and lines at the pumps,
The stocks were at the bottom and digging for China,
Guess they had a bamboo handle on the shovel,
And all the heat in the Gulf these days must go somewhere.

Straight for the source of the tailpipe emissions.

Houston to the station - mayday, mayday, mayday,
We're on an evacuation route doing ninety North and dodging busses,
Not sure how long the cell phone will hold out,
Give our regards to Moscow and tell 'em we're sorry but runnin'.

Texas may be big but it's about to be flat.

The white clouds are swirling and underneath it's black as night,
Another three million gallons a day capacity under Mother Nature's heel and squished,
The Earth herself is nuking the source of the sickness better than Commies on steroids,
She's not whispering at all anymore folks - close the moon roofs on your SUV's.

How many more oil company CEO's you wanna elect now?

Guess we here in the North are going to be doing tent cities and soup line set up,
The refugees are on the roll again poor souls - their erstwhile hosts are joining the caravan,
So now the shoe is on both feet tight and hurting bad to blistering,
And half of us plus the computer glitch didn't want to buy the pair.

Shoulda listened to those environmental folks 'cause today is the Last Gas.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/22/2005
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
*Author's note: I wish I didn't feel compelled to write this. I wish we collectively had been doing our homework over the past twenty years. Still, I feel it needs to be said and I am done holding back any longer. It is time to speak out in earnest. There are those of you who may disagree with what I am saying. The root of it is this: Casual treatment of our nation's energy technologies and a failure to restrain capitalism from going too far into a land without true ethics is laying waste to our world. Do you really want to witness the entire Earth becoming a wasteland?*

As The Ages Speak...

Post by AquarianM on Sep 25, 2005 at 9:12pm

As The Ages Speak...

I was staring a 19th century Navaho poet in the words this afternoon,
Then surfing Neruda's private seas en ingles y espanol,
Hearing the call to love the Earth with the bonds of stewardship,
A duty simply laid upon man and forgotten in conveniently complex fashion,
The albatross of sanity was flying jigs as I looked beneath a carpet of customs.

Legends and Genesis from three continents cry as the butterflies pass by,
Multicolored threads woven through a fabric of life once lush and rich,
Lunatic shears born in five fingered hands sever such yarn as they may find,
Convinced of dominion yet holding no understanding of the shape of that mountain,
Blindly following the blind searching for a candle already laid at their feet out of sight.

No host need come down nor Almighty lift a finger,
Walking the highway to Hell is all down hill from here,
Girded by entrenched walls of silence and fear,
We were given a job and our fears have hands in the small of our backs,

As we lie down and the clocks tick by a Revelation nears our door and it is Us,
Stagnated in the walls of tradition and habit and who do you know deals,
Speaking of ideals in nonchalant splendor and failing to live His word or our own,
What we speak and live is what defines us and our fate.

The time of Tribulations is rooted in a simple failure of vision, social compact, and too-glued traditions -
All God has to do is sit back and watch; all we have to do is Steward the Earth and each other,
As the ages speak of Tribulations come and gone only now we can do it bigger and bolder,
Such is the nature of duopoly consisting of duty and free will.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/25/2005

Author's Comments:
I saw a poem written by a poet I admire and respect the other day, suggesting we were entering the Revelationist time of Tribulations described in the Bible. Perhaps she is right - but if she is it is only because of our own collective insanities. That doesn't mean God doesn't exist - it just means I believe we've been screwing up badly enough on our own that we'll easily be able to fulfil prophesy if we so choose without Him doing anything.

Of Whispers And Secrets...

Post by AquarianM on Sep 17, 2005 at 12:23am

Of Whispers And Secrets...

In the calm place that should be my mind the words are winding up to pitch,
I lay on the cotton thick and darling - unprepared to sort wheat from which,
Internal ear muffs and denial like ambrosia for the blind,
I see too much and hear too much and live in interesting times.

The muse comes and lays down tracks like a rock star in high fidelity.

There is no ignoring the pace of the race that no one seems to be winning,
Insipid whispers howling and faces all around scowling,
Tied up like rats in the maze when we only need to let the words go soft,
Find the strength it takes to abandon fears of weakness and bear the character of kindness.

It's written in ancient books and modern songs what salve to the wounds we must find.

The answer my friend is blowing in the winds of change and potential is charging,
Spiritually the way to love can not be forced or coerced or feared into being,
Only one path leads to salvation founded in mortal coil or spirit,
As He said love thy neigbor as thyself - stop treating yourself so badly.

Love is a slow and undefined path where fear is a greased toboggan run to doom.

When you open your eyes and ears fully what voice are you choosing to hear,
Faith or fear and love or lies - in this space there are no shades of grey,
There are two kinds of angels and I prefer those that fly rather than crawl,
The ones who simply state and never whisper.

Honestly - Love needs no secrets.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/17/2005

Milkweed Magic...

Milkweed Magic...



Soft silk bursting to float on chill Fall air,
Milkweed pods like cotton puffs release their aviators,
When the winds kick up and a hawk circles amid swirling white motes,
The sun breaks through the grey cloud fluff and mist,
A single beam onto the amber and straw prairie below,
Lancing through the center of a flotilla of Canada geese,
Lazing down a little Midwestern river,
Their follow-on mallard groupies quack and dive,
The world is slow and at peace.

Coffee mug in one hand and slow cigar in the other,
I smoke signal the sky along the walking path,
Watching toast-gold thistle crowns swaying in the breeze,
Ruling over rustling gentle bleached yellow grasses,
Yellow tiny butterflies flutter around the occasional regal monarch,
Tiny denizens daring the silvery spin of spiders' web,
Giant oak and walnut trees tower over the maple,
Red or yellow or orange or rust with sugar maples for company,
The thickets and the canopy full of bird chatter,
Flocking blackbird pit stop full of brown sparrow gossip,
The robins too good and cheery to participate,
My steps are slow and soaring easy over the path.

Feeling connected to the Earth I walk this path of peace.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 10/13/2005

Benny The Bug's Fall Diner...

Benny The Bug's Fall Diner...



Heh-Heh,
Step it slow and cautious down my block kid,
You never know who'll punch yer lunch ticket,
Better fly high right on by,
It's a hungry day and I've got a thousand babies to feed,
I've climbed the ladder and I'm all set,
It's the Halloween hustle if you come too close,
I've got a sticky spell better than most,
A cold and calculated contract to fulfill,
I'm a bug-eyed bandit out for a thrill,
I'll sit at a witch's door full of poison brew,
Bite a black cat or a Druid what's more or even you,
Come see the pretty silvery shadows that shine,
I'm Benny the Bug and your carcass is all mine!

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 10/14/2005

Mister Scott's Final Miracle...

Post by AquarianM on Oct 15, 2005 at 1:18am

Mister Scott's Final Miracle...

He's going back up,
High up into the black silent void,
Where the stars never blink in myriad colors,
Riding a quaint old rocket's roaring flame,
No impulse nor warp nor ion drive,
Although he'd "miracled" them all at some place or time,
Now his ashes will orbit the Earth as is only fitting,
A little something he engineered while still alive,
The inspiration of thousands of engineers,
Aye Cap'n and a star to steer a teary eye,
They twinkle and sparkle don't ye know,
Mister Scott's final miracle utterly fitting and right,
God bless you James Doohan as you ride the endless ebony night,
For this time, you've gone where every man has had to go before.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 10/15/2005

Author's Comments:
James Doohan's ashes will ride a rocket into space on December 6th, 2005, to orbit the Earth until atmospheric friction causes them to spiral in and burn up. His vaporized remains will eventually become utterly a part of all the Earth thanks to mortality, the one ship he couldn't fix. He inspired so many young people to go into engineering he was awarded an honorary engineering degree. He sails the night with the hearts and hopes of many millions, exploring the final frontier even in spirit.

www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/14/doohan.remains.reut/index.html

Dance Of The Prairie Winds...

Post by AquarianM on Oct 16, 2005 at 9:25pm

Dance Of The Prairie Winds...



Even as the Milkweed faeries dance down the breeze in whistling sunlight,
The Thistle sisters sway their crowns like a trance waiting to happen,
A seed falls here or gets stuck on pant leg there,
A little brash maybe but no secrets to hide,
Dressed in Prairie gold they play with Zephyr princes,
Baiting foxes, stags, even wolves for a ride,
Far past their honey bee pink blush and no longer green with envy,
Fall is their amber season of reward and delight,
Even in Winter's frigid arms they show but little restraint,
They will lonely-peek over pure white blankets,
Always ready for their turn at the ball,
Pretty as gilded lilies in a simpler fashion,
Queens of the prairie waving and fluttering,
They'll always gift you a back -home feeling if you look long and slow,
Sort of child sisters of Mesmer.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 10/16/2005

Le Aqua Na Sand Castles...

Post by AquarianM on Jul 25, 2005 at 2:39pm

Le Aqua Na Sand Castles...

Dreams -

Sunlight and flowing gold -

Childhood cameos built on sand -

Golden ripples on lake water -

Hours building sand castles, a green leaf flag perched atop -

Parent and child on forever's shore -

When the green trees rustle,
When the black water ripples,
When the sunlight dapples gentle waves -

The clock will stop -

I will remember childhood dreams.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 07/25/2005

Blessed Rain...

Post by AquarianM on Jul 27, 2005 at 4:40pm

Blessed Rain...

The tawny edges of death color the drought,
The worst in a hundred years they say,
Trees of Fall in mid-July .

The endless heat drains you like a carotid cut.

In the struggle of bucket brigades and hoses,
The falling pond where moss sweeps clear the water,
Even the mud is gone yellow and cracked.

The grey skies have come and gone simply spitting upon us.

The tease of dry dark clouds eats at the spirit,
Not a mosquito whines at an ear - not even one,
The herons stare starkly at receding ripples of brackish muck.

The scientists can battle with politicians until the cows come home.

I just thank God that today came the blessed rain.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 07/26/2005

Bathed In Light...

Post by AquarianM on Jul 29, 2005 at 11:36pm

Bathed In Light...

A soft glow flooding to brilliance,
A small blue world hanging in blackness,
Dashed with shades of soft cloud and brown,
From every corner of everywhere comes the light.

It's only source can not be found in a small yellow star,
Nor in some electric fixture or campfire flames,
Not in the harsh glare of chemical explosions,
Nor candles in windows gleaming.

It comes from everywhere and every direction,
To save us all it's name we are given,
Earth is saved through a universal gift,
Whose simple name adorns existence.

We can truly see only by lovelight.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 07/30/2005

Opulence...

Post by AquarianM on Jul 27, 2005 at 4:37pm

Opulence...

Bejeweled spectacle of grand festival,
Ball gowns floating on airs,
Silver and gold and respectable black classic,
A tea garden atop the marble mountain.

Lies and facade and chicanery.

Aspire and desire all you wish,
Leach the life from the ground of everywhere,
Everything so that everyone has nothing,
Follow the long and winding road to glory.

Who will see you in all your opulence?

A flowing gown and womb full of life,
A quiet garden of green where hummingbirds flock and young lovers lie,
Places where neighbors know your name and share a table,
The glow of a world about to bloom.

There is a path and there are bombed-out roads.

A newborn's mother cradling in arm at the seaside,
Whales spouting and dolphins jumping at the sunset,
A small farm with fifty crops and fertile Earth,
Frogs croaking on four legs and bird flocks of millions.

Who will see you in all your opulence?

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 07/27/2005

The Masterpiece...

Post by AquarianM on Aug 2, 2005 at 12:09am

The Masterpiece...

That's what I want to find,
That poem that just makes everyone stop in their tracks,
The one that when you read it you fall between the pages and live in it,
Swimming the words like a fish,
Breathing it in like it was part of you,
The one that makes everyone I love or ever will a little bit immortal,
And that would be this whole wide world I live in,
The times that I know like the back of my hand,
I know them like water down the bathtub drain,
I swim in that every night with the candles on,
I look up and see the stars in their orbits and I know they're mine right now,
Which doesn't make the twinkles any less yours,
My notebook is a magnifying glass Sherlock,
And it's searching for everything I know,
This universe my soul is wading in,
It could just be my masterpiece,
Just one more page and I might find it.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 08/02/2005

Candles For Casey...

Post by AquarianM on Aug 25, 2005 at 10:02am

Candles For Casey...

Shining in the dark night's silence, soft and warm yellow glow,
As gentle as a mother's heart.

Speaking what words cannot.

Visibly asking for love and peace to prevail.

Let the mothers stop their tears from salting the oceans.

There is a book that speaks of love and where it leads.

Reason enough to light a candle every night and fill the darkness of grief.

Fill it with the light of love and hope.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 08/23/2005


Author's Comments:


Put a candle in your window tonight?

A Poor Day To Die...

Post by AquarianM on Sep 3, 2005 at 8:42am

A Poor Day To Die...

In the terrible currents of fear and wind and rain,
Left with nothing but their feet and maybe not even that,
No dime no nickel no car no gas,
Maybe no job if they left - I guess now it's too hard to laugh,
The stench and the heat and the waters full of death and disgust,
Six days with nothing but bullets and broken promises,
Thirst and pain and confusion comprise everything,
Bodies plugging the bathtub drains,
Call it looting or scavenging to survive,
When the world ends without a plan,
And everything that could have been done never was,
The night falls and there are no coins for it all,
The flood of eyes that have crossed the toxic river,
The Ferryman played golf and shook his cup of tin,
In a crisp suit where workaday clothes belong,
The beach is stripped bare and the attics are filled with skeletons,
By God - it's a poor day to die,
In this train wreck they call The City of New Orleans.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/03/2005

Author's Comments:
There are natural disasters and there are moral disasters. Some days they converge, like the last six have exposed. I woke up early from a horrible nightmare about nuclear war last Monday morning. It seems I wasn't so far off. The guard at the elevator door to the underground shelter told me to go through the door to the left. It was the entrance to a boxcar on a train going back towards where the skies were being lit up like a billion lightning bolts. I jumped the train and awoke...to the news of Katrina.

The Simplest Evil...

Post by AquarianM on Sep 7, 2005 at 7:54am

The Simplest Evil...

All it takes is a glance,
Just look the other way in the heat of the moment,
Pretend you don't see the very stones you are standing upon.

Perhaps they won't even exist.

You can spend days creating a new reality,
No need for that hammer and nails son,
The house is standing just fine.

In twenty feet of water.

The eyes that see the murky depths are countless,
Not even the computers are sure,
How many ghosts are in the rotting rafters.

Just turn away and it's not your fault at all.

The Big Easy is now a showcase of Voodoo economics,
No more red beans and rice on Mondays,
There's only a couple of groups well fed in New Orleans these days.

Maybe the 'gators and most of all the snakes.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/07/2005

Author's Comments:
I wish that I could be writing of something else. It breaks my heart to write something like this of my own country, but I have to. I have to call it like I see it. It infuriates me that so many people were left on their own for so long, so many resources turned away, witheld, wasted. The things I am hearing are terrible and dark. The only plus I can see is that all this darkness is shedding light on things that have long needed to be realistically addressed. It's too much to bear without writing witness for all the souls lost. The next thing I have to do is figure out what I personally can do to help, and that will be an obligation to meet at least monthly for a long time to come, because all of us here need to do what we can for the victiims. They are our countrymen.

What Came After...

Post by AquarianM on Sep 13, 2005 at 8:10am

What Came After...

As endless as the leaves of the Fall,
It was the Common Man who came to the rescue,
Often in outright defiance or sly and clever dodging interference,
Always with a kindness of heart that graced the scenes behind the scenes.

How many everyday heroes don't we know of?

It wasn't the sensational or the angry that prevailed,
Though they seemed the loudest in our lives at the time,
Through the days and weeks and months and years,
The unquestionable truth reigned unspoken yet utterly supreme.

Open hearts are the only balm to an ocean of tears.

When the real soldiers of God came down in droves,
They shone in a million ways only known by a million more of the few,
With their weapons of shoulders to catch the tears and hands to hold and arms to hug,
What none of the investigations may ever uncover.

The exhausted days and determined knights as they battled the Devil's due.

The true leaders that made the lie of the policy glare apparent,
The little man helping the little man for as long as it may take,
You can find your answers right there and close to home,
In the colorless clarity of those truly Human souls among us.

The only thing washing away these miseries Katrina has cried upon us.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/13/2005

Divination's Dance...

Post by AquarianM on Sep 20, 2005 at 7:58am

Divination's Dance...

If I light two candles which will flicker and sputter first,
Will the light upon the wall be a simple steady glow,
Could a candle flame dance like a ball gown upon a late spring breeze?

I have a question Lord and I'm peeking for signs.

In times not so distant past people would kneel in the chapel all night,
Surrounded by saints in the quiet solitude yet one of a multitude,
Calling your name for an answer.

I guess we're not so far removed from our roots.

As the last Summer breezes play around the stars,
Somewhere just before the tree leaves decide upon scarlet and rust,
I'm facing a dilemma that asks for faith and a coin toss.

It could be a word etched in an antique glass for all I know.

If I could lie on the beach by a crackling campfire,
Listening to moon-silvered waves rise and fall,
Arms crossed behind my head I would look up to you.

Will a star fall to the left or right?

Your word and your clarity Universe - this is what I ask,
Set this simple prayer upon the world's stage,
Call it a night and await what is best for us in peace and harmony.

Under grace in perfect ways the answer now comes clear.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/20/2005

Hawkbelly Grace...

Post by AquarianM on Sep 27, 2005 at 8:37am

Hawkbelly Grace...

I glide above as a signpost,
Good omen lying upon a breeze that graces your face,
Soft tawny sandy underbelly and reddish brown wings of silence,
Pierce the sky over your windshield,
Simple in my need of thermal energy to rise,
The death of a small creature to fall,
Such is nature without compassion,
I will share with you the message of a feather falling,
Look up at crisp skies of blue,
See the grasses at your feet before the tawny Fall comes,
Let the wind kiss your cheek and God grant you open skies,
Let the Universe itself hold you up from falling,
Bank into your favorite tree,
I am your omen today,
As you travel a good path.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/26/2005

Words are the mind's bridge - it's connection to the universe.
Love is the heart's bridge - it's connection to all other souls.
Loving words can work miracles.
---------------------------------------
All of my published poetry is at:
www.lulu.com/spotlight/coloringbookforallages

Unintentional Solar Art...

Post by AquarianM on May 28, 2005 at 10:14pm

Unintentional Solar Art...

Go to the corner of Wacker and Washington,
Turn East and go half a block,
Puffing on a big cigar with a mug of coffee in hand,
Be sure to be on the South side of the street.

Between seven a.m. and seven forty in April,
On a clear sunny morning,
The sun will shine on you there,
Warming you from one side despite wind.

People walk by in their hundreds,
Always looking forward as if to see their destination,
Barely a glance at the world around them,
Unless sirens are screaming lurid alert.

Standing in your sacred spot smoking,
You adjust your sunglasses and look North,
Seeing the buildings across the empty lot,
Where they tore down the old Commodities Exchange.

How long the lot will remain open is a question,
This view didn't exist two years ago,
May not in another year or two,
Yet for now the way is clear to see.

Look North and find the low brick,
The building with the arched entry,
There with the yellow banner,
Spanning the top of the arch.

Look up over the roof line and higher still,
Over the top of the parking ramp behind,
To the glass building standing on the bend over the river,
Leaning out a foot towards the current.

On the side of the building you will see,
Squiggles and curlicues and strange symbols,
For all the world like some alien language,
Written in the warping of the glass and sunlight.

Glowing like white-hot neon in the morning sun,
I wonder what language they speak,
If their strange and transient message,
Somehow is meant to awaken those who see.

"Look, look at the wonders around you, for miracles are always free."

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 04/27/2005

Back On The Train...

Post by AquarianM on Apr 14, 2005 at 5:57am

Back On The Train...

 

Hot magenta sun rising into orange indigo,
Fade to burning yellow and soft cool blue,
People stand at the station darting glances,
A word maybe here or there between coffee sips,
News paper rustles and we shuffle on board.

After the clanging blinking stop,
Blue suit man the Conductor taking tickets,
Swingin' swayin' roll past houses or stores,
Parks and factories and churches,
Phone poles stand guard like whispering sentinels,
Watching the baseball diamond tennis court swing sets,
WHUFF an outbound train whips past,
The world reappears and the buildings rise.

Downtown and into the Underworld,
Hoping for a second of window-reflcted second hand sun.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 04/04/2005

Soft Pink Morning...

Post by AquarianM on Apr 19, 2005 at 8:04pm

Soft Pink Morning...

Hot magenta balloon rising softly,
Only to brighten crawling across sky,
Fire-lined clouds in crimson and gold,
Birdsong greets the coffee yawns,
There at the edge of the rails.

Young old and middle all huddle in bunches,
Together but alone to await the lights,
Clanging blinking train downtown,
Only to disperse to myriad places dark,
Hidden away from sunlight for our toil.

Young Miss in the pink blazer,
Not even twenty riding with Mom,
Does she even notice I held the door,
Yawning into the seat to nap the ride,
Just another face to fade into the world?

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 04/19/2005

Just A Different Shirt...

Post by AquarianM on Apr 20, 2005 at 8:34pm

Just A Different Shirt... 

 

A different colorful color every day,
A very fine deal on the sale rack,
Ten new crisp work shirts,
Sure to fit my mood - or not.

It's a new day every day,
Not much has changed at all,
Just another shirt gets me along,
I love clean colors and sharp lines.

Cotton blue checks or orange or yellow,
Fire engine red or maybe green,
I pull ten stick pins a day,
Stick them through the size sticker.

Toss them away with the plastic necks,
It's a new color - a new day,
Is it just another shirt?

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 04/20/2005

Morning Birds...

Post by AquarianM on Apr 18, 2005 at 7:59pm

Morning Birds...

Train ride together with all the world,
Outside the circle a touch of suspicion,
Dark Indian hair and smooth coffee complexion,
Soft spoken accents maybe of Bombay.

She disappears into homework notebooks,
MP3 player rocking on his ear,
Napping to the beat as rails sing softly,
Train sways his dreams and my pen.

Trees spring blooming drift by,
The morning sun rises pretty and bright,
Pull the hat down over your eyes Sir,
The day is long and bright ahead.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 04/15/2004

Between Sunbeams...

Post by AquarianM on Apr 18, 2005 at 8:00pm

Between Sunbeams...

 

Cigars are peculiar things,
Most people love the scent and sense of relaxation,
Smokers - the texture in your fingers is warm,
They need air and hate wind,
Burning sideways in a strong breeze.

I lit mine in the underground rail yard,
Climbed up the steps and walked East,
Across the drawbridge over the river,
Straight into the rising sun.

The breeze was slow and gentle today,
Gulls swooping and gliding gracefully,
My sunglasses awash in morning sunlight,
The world fading at the edges.

Entire buildings appear and disappear,
Washed out in golden glare,
People caught faintly at your eye corners,
You wonder if angels travel somewhere there,
Dancing between sunbeams.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 04/15/2004

Lime-Eyed Man...

Post by AquarianM on Apr 19, 2005 at 8:02pm

Lime-Eyed Man...

 

You see him on the brick wall,
From the passing trains.

Some graffiti master's awful dream,
Eyes of green lime slices huge and round,
One half slice makes a graffiti wink.

He's got a pale moon head,
Ultra-rounded face of silver paste,
Sharp white collar tuxedo in black,
A gold ball-capped walking stick gleams in hand.

Living on a brick wall and passing dreams,
The scowl of lime-green disapproval,
Ready to guide you through darkness,
To face all that lies under your mind,
With a martini in hand and aloof.

A green-eyed monster of a dream.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 04/19/2005

Shores Of Naked Sand:

Post by AquarianM on Jan 25, 2004 at 1:12am

Shores Of Naked Sand:

I leaned upon the rail and peered into the night,
Cygnus the swan twinkled back down on me,
There in the deep darkness amongst the stars in their thousands,
It was the eye of the Bird the Hunter followed that chilled my bones,
Amongst all the Heavens you can no longer see ashore.

The Albatross glided slowly into the night.

I looked to the bow in the morning,
Sure to find leaping dolphins and cheer them on,
Yet seeing only blue water breaking,
My eyes wandered off to the distant cloudless sky,
Chastised like a disappointed child I walked away.

The Albatross was a distant speck out of sight.

We saw a fishing vessel every other day,
Our grim-faced Captain gritted his teeth and turned his face aside,
I often wondered at that moment what iceberg struck his heart,
Yet at dinner that night he held a plastic smile,
Roast pig was at the table yet the only fish was an ice sculpture cornered.

An olive branch floated past but no bird circled above.

We passed the island at calm sunset,
Not stopping for a moment and I had to ask why,
The Mate just said a plague was there,
And I saw not a canoe under swaying palms,
Nothing darted through the bare blue sky.

True North was gone mystic for I'd never see a guiding bird.

It happened in the night everything flew across the stateroom,
We were going down yet not a shark was circling,
Perhaps some comfort in bare waves breaking upon one lonely uncharted rock,
My eyes fell below the blue and I sank like a stone,
Noting the palm trees underwater just before the stone.

I dreamed of the Albatross as my body glided down to bare sand.

Going into the light I realized,
I still have never tasted fish, Old Man.

The Albatross stared at me cold without a tear in his great red eye.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
(C) 01/25/2004

Author's Comments:
Wandering albatrosses are huge, solitary, near-mythical birds who mate for life. With wingspans of up to four meters (12 feet), they're the largest flying creatures on Earth and can spend months far beyond land, seeming to revel in the fierce winds of the Roaring Forties. They are Southern Hemisphere, circumpolar birds, as are most of the other 23 albatross species. They also were a prominent feature in a most famous poem, Old Man Of The sea. To see the inspiration for this piece, go here: www.enn.com/news/2003-01-23/s_12292.asp

Chorizzo Con Huevos Y Queso En La Tortilla...

Post by AquarianM on Apr 14, 2005 at 5:58am

Chorizzo Con Huevos Y Queso En La Tortilla...

 

Caught the early ride out express,
Track swayin' my newspaper 'n coffee,
Sunrise not yet sunny side up.

Shuffled off down the ramp,
Be a good sardine and no pushing,
Up the upscalator staring at a thousand backs.

Step in line at the counter,
Order my hot steaming breakfast burrito,
Chorizzo and egg with cheese no salsa.

Watch the cook flippin' the spatula,
Stuff it in a paper sack and off I go,
Grab a little table and hot goodness...

Una poesia para ustèd.

Good morning, Buenos dìas!

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 04/08/2005

Monday Dusk...

Post by AquarianM on Apr 14, 2005 at 5:59am

Monday Dusk...

 

Hustle shuffle feet if you want to make it,
The six seventeen just rolled up clanging,
Blinking and squealing I'm stuffing the pay box,
Two bucks for slot 610 at 6:10,
Sun glow barely warming East.

Sit on the first car behind the hooded sweatshirt,
Dark navy with the electric bluebird on the back,
Hood drops and young,
Pretty straight black hair,
Turn of ear with small black earring,
Hoop and nape and the sweats go up,
Pillow on the window soft pink shoulder,
Red tank strap sleepy.

Train sway shakes my hand slow letters,
Back yard flower trees springing by green.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. stafford
© 04/11/2005

Grounded In Grey...

Post by AquarianM on Apr 14, 2005 at 6:00am

Grounded In Grey...

 

The roof of the world is grey today,
Chilly and dripping wet drops,
Tote-a-roof people rushing with bent splines,
A floppy umbrella edge suggests a painful cause,
I duck for cover at the building edges.

Sea gulls squawk from ledges of concrete,
Grounded in the chill wet winds,
Only a few brave birds glide over river water,
The distant myriad window lights,
All the warmth a soggy psyche can find.

Across the gently bouncing rattling drawbridge,
Millions of stamping wet feet dodge cabs,
That scourge of the streets never trusted,
How fast can you spin that final revolving door?

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 04/12/2005