12 Years Old And Waiting For Christmas...

12 Years Old And Waiting For Christmas...


(Image copyright Electra Bicycles [ www.electrabike.com ] - do not copy.)

I saw it right after the Ghost Rider movie,
A blast back into childhood,
Visions of cruising down to the corner store,
Transistor radio strap dangling from my wrist,
Headed for the beach or the swimming pool,
All towel and wind and sunshine,
A gleaming simple dream,
I could recover forever,
If I could just have one for Christmas,
Every friend I ever had riding with the pack,
Maybe in Christmas future,
Maybe in gleaming dreams,
Ride in the sunshine,
Ride like the wind,
Ride like you'll never stop.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
(C) 02/20/2007

Atlantis...

Post by AquarianM on Sep 2, 2007 at 12:11am

Atlantis...

We lost her,
Slipped between the waves,
Magical and mythical,
Or maybe not.

Was there a time before time,
All men and women spoke a common language,
All colors were equal and equally needed,
Magic was more than a dream?

The Earth rocked and volcanoes rolled,
Sea rose and land fell,
Knowledge became only dreams,
Mist and steam fogged history.

They say Atlantis was beautiful,
Grand and accomplished,
A wistful grace and strong face,
Everything we could have been.

I wonder,
Deep and blue I wonder,
What lies below,
What is under the sea?

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/02/2007

A Lace Of White Light...

Post by AquarianM on Jan 5, 2007 at 11:41pm

A Lace Of White Light...
I had a vision once,
Saw what's underneath everything,
Or maybe inside everything,
The floors - the walls - the ceiling - the sky,
The birds - the bees - illusions of you and I.

It was beautiful,
Graceful and gracious,
Something to fall back on in darkest hours,
The greatest composition ever recorded.

Everything effervescently interconnected,
The most beautiful knots ever crafted,
Knit and tied in the finest structures,
A fountain of laces,
In an energy field of pearly gold-flecked white light.

I blinked...

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 01/06/2007

I Can Hear Why They Speak Of Soul...

Post by AquarianM on Mar 9, 2007 at 6:05pm

I Can Hear Why They Speak Of Soul...

Those saxophones will wail under your skin,
Grab you by the heartstrings and pull your hackles up to Heaven,
And when Coltrane has A Love Supreme,
Divinity gets a gift,
Uplifting even my poor freshman efforts,
I am one with the brass for a few minutes after listening,
Grafted into the mother of pearl that tweaks sculpted air,
The springs fall with precision,
And if I reach for the distant stars and barely touch clouds,
It's because I've yet to find the Rainbow Bridge,
But I can hear the soul light across the horizon,
It gleams from their footprints,
Harp - Koz - Hawkins - Alexander,
I am pulled in their updraft,
Wishing for flight.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 03/09/2007

Set In Stone...

Post by AquarianM on Jan 17, 2007 at 11:06pm

Set In Stone...

Tiny hammer and intricate chisel,
Needles of brass and copper,
Walls of paper and cherry blossoms falling,
Silk upon my shoulders,
I set the world in stone for a calling,
Pictures of everything for a perfect price,
Years or weeks in the making,
No consequence in time,
Regardless of difficulty it is the art,
Always the art.

One must have patience to achieve the sublime.

AquarianM

(C) 01/18/2007

As I was writing this, I was thinking of the artisans of long-ago China, and the exquisitely detailed works they'd render in jade and white ivory. Stunning examples very ancient can be found in a small museum called the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art in Elmhurst, IL I believe, and in the Jade Room at the Chicago Field Museum. This poem is for those who work the stone.

Dan




www.lizzadromuseum.org

www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/exhibit_sites/jades/index.html

Sunshine And Barefoot...

Post by AquarianM on May 8, 2007 at 9:11am

Sunshine And Barefoot...

Sweet soft old songs ring through my mind,
A maybe we remember it kinder, simpler time.

Gone fishin' - there's a sign up on our door.

The foundations of hate down low and dug up dirty,
like the roots of a poison vine to burn inside-out.

Gone fishin' - we ain't a-workin' anymore.

There's a whole lot of sun just shinin' cross the country,
And I love to go barefoot where the green grass grows - slow.

Gone fishin' - we're only havin' fun.

Under a shady tree I dream of my brothers being there with me,
Black - white - red - brown - yellow laughin' and tugging on taut string.

Gone fishin' - by a shady-wady pool.

We'll sit and joke and watch big cigar clouds change shape,
That blue sky we share full of visions.

Gone fishin' - glad we're that kind of fool.

I see an image of screaming meanies in the news and point it out,
We stuff their mouths with sweet potato pie as a big blue heron flies from the South.

Gone fishin' - our hound dogs by our sides.

An army of gentle clouds rebuilding everything everywhere together,
Cloud guns raining down to soak away in the ground.

Gone fishin' - the fleas are biting at their hides.

We do it better than before in ways that heal the land,
Side-by-side Mother Nature and every shade of hand.

Gone fishin' - instead of just a-wishin'.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby
© 05/08/2007

Author's Note: The single-line "gone fishin' " refrain is from a duet sung by Louis Armstrong (Satchmo) and Bing Crosby. The rest of the lines with it are mine.

Houses Unholy…

Post by AquarianM on May 10, 2007 at 12:03am

Houses Unholy…

Double-dipping mortgage Queens,
Sucking energy sight-unseen,
Death traps down in New Orleans,
A self-imposed case of ball-n-chains,
Phosphorus fountain spewing into the Gulf until the fish all gel,
Artisan crafting a red-tide Hell,
All due to demand for that elegant classic design,
We can’t seem to trip beyond the status of Grandpa’s time,
Architects - the Energy Hog loves your sign,
I’m desperately trying selling mine,
Of solar panels and hot water I never found the time,
Still working off toeing Com Ed’s line,
Sucking on the Nicor straw like a buzz saw,
Chewing up my wallet in a Home Depot maw,
Created by a now-enriched demon spawn,
At least I refused chemicals to poison up the lawn,
A sweet little picture by the online for-sale sign,
God please help me – it’ll again be moving time,
Sweep and mop and paint and hammer,
If we don’t pay up it’s the Poor Man’s slammer,
And we laugh at the ‘fools’ begging in the streets,
While these houses unholy commit a third of global warming deeds,
So kill some more oceans with that brand-new key,
Turn up the lights and feed the fish more mercury,
I’m making save-me-from-the-evil-eye signs,
Wishing I’d hired a master architect with a really green design,
But at least the sheets are washed and we’re all appropriate,
Fully decked out in the stealth commission of Halloween,
Oh – my lord – there’s a hole in the screen,
Shouldn’t have bought it sight un-seen,
But our household devotion,
Is sinking island nations under the ocean,
Holy oblivious, Batman, we're aggregate and solely,
Idiots chained to houses unholy.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 05/10/2007

Sultry In May…

Post by AquarianM on May 9, 2007 at 11:00pm

Sultry In May…

The ceiling fans are a brown swirl down,
Windows open breeze rush through the house,
TV droning lazing on the big plush green couch,
Cats are panting off in their curled up spots.

Outside it’s shirtsleeves and sparkling stars,
Flowers in the dark and leaves on the trees,
A hint of rain scent like a held-back promise in the air,
The grass is creeping ‘round my ankles awaiting a fresh mow.

Cigar lighting and stereo tuning,
Thinking of saxophone riffs as I drive off to work,
Truck window partly down,
Reveling in summer’s preview.

One could fall in love with these sultry nights in May.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 05/10/2007

I Can’t Speak…(But I can Still Feel)

Post by AquarianM on May 11, 2007 at 11:13pm

I Can’t Speak…(But I can Still Feel)

Faded,
Lost,
Replaced,
Chased,
Was,
Because?

Hidden,
Suppressed,
Repressed,
Squashed,
Ignored,
Like a pink elephant.

Time,
Ticks,
Tocks,
Nothing,
Done,
Undone.

Cheerful,
Perfect,
Faded,
Jaded,
Persuaded,
Touched,
Hushed.

Cinnamon in my blood.

Another night dawns.

Question,
Living,
Dead,
Happy,
Sad,
Here,
There,
Where?

Forever,
Never,
Ever,
Hush,
Shush,
Off,
Close,
Dry,
Eye,
Lie.

No matter,
Not after,
Just remember,
Purple and auburn,
A night,
A scent,
A sight,
A vision,
A decision.

It’s not regret,
Just inevitable,
What fire does to fuel,
Supernova,
Dazzled,
Disgraced,
Replaced,
Forget,
Forever,
Never,
Helpless,
Ever,
Heart.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 05/12/2007

A Crown Of Straw And A Starry Sky...

Post by AquarianM on May 22, 2007 at 3:40am

A Crown Of Straw And A Starry Sky...

He saw the Sun slinking out of the hot pink sky,
Fading down to indigo with Evening’s delectable satisfaction,
Tears of joy dribbled across her cloud tresses,
Companion Moon out to chat with the comets.

It was the luxury of a balmy not lurid night.

Aurora played light-footed across Heaven at his wish,
The straw hat crown upon his head slightly tilted,
A blue heron gliding home to roost like a marsh ghost,
Street lights glowing in the distance.

Cicada violins screeched out a lonesome tune.

He was the king of this field,
Minions by millions fireflies danced their sky,
A tom cat yowled off in the distance,
Somewhere off across the tall grasses a stereo played.

You could forget you weren’t a child on a night like this.

Leaning back in a blue and white lawn chair throne,
His cigar of cherry signaled for peace,
Brought it down in waves,
A satellite dimly raced over the horizon.

A king of grass with summer just begun.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 05/22/2007

Call The Heart Into It...

Post by AquarianM on Jun 5, 2007 at 2:28am

Call The Heart Into It...

If I could bend a ray of starlight down to Earth,
Touch it to breast like a mirror,
Angle it just exactly soul,
It would touch every heart on Earth at the speed of light,
Connect us all as visually as we already are,
And just once everyone could feel and see the same,
Even for a moment,
All superficial differences forgotten,
The perfect work of art finally complete,
All I’d need is just the right note,
To call the heart into it.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 06/05/2007

Quicherbichenenwhinin...

Post by AquarianM on Feb 9, 2007 at 10:24am

Quicherbichenenwhinin...

I was listening to that old disco stuff the other day,
Pumped and hiking and feeling strong,
Upped and ready to steamroll my way anywhere,
And I thought about why it went like that.

The music was UP,
The lyrics were UP,
The volume was UP,

Something you mostly find in 50's n' 60's -
Or under a sequin globe with strobes and blacklights,
Stacks 'n polyester wide-collars.

Quicherbichenenwhinin,
I'm tired of sad whiny and angry effeverbody muzak,
Lazysorry gangstasrapp.

Get out the can-do,
Get out the get-go,
Get out the strong self,
Pick up yoassis 'n move um,

Quicherbichenenwhinin cuz it's never gonna go UP,
Get dat tunepower back,
Lift da monkey off yo back,
If you don't see it 'n do it no one will,
U can cry an holler all ya dang want to,
But if all you vision is da bad 'n da ugly,
Yeah, well, U gonna be all THAT.

I wanna go where da action is,
I'm gonna SEE it,
I'm gonna HEAR it,
I'm gonna FEEL it,
I'm gonna ACT it...

I gotta boogie,

Cuz I am deaf dumb an' blind ta allyerbichenenwhinin,

I am up and outta da cloud,

Kiss off Clearchannel and stuff it Carlisle,

This mind-game down-sukin' da mood black hole is gone,

I am UP with my old dusty but trusty tunes,
Cuz I got control of my choice of mood and ...

I ain't one a da fools.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 02/09/2007

Currently listening :
Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track

A Gentleman Of Every Color...

Post by AquarianM on May 18, 2007 at 7:12am

A Gentleman Of Every Color...

In the distant space of a colorblind whirled,
Flags are anachronisms best kept furled,
Something of darkness missing and away,
All we need is sunshine to spend happy days.

I'm not sure where the words come from but I know truth when I feel it.

Slanting by decorations is so utterly silly,
Foolishness slapped about all willy-nilly,
If sunshine were blue,
Could you still be all-white and believe it true?

Forget it man, halos are in rainbows...

A dash a dot and an old mahogany fiddle,
Answer me quick one simple riddle,
Was it lack of soul,
That kept so many packed in the Bowl?

I'll call my friends from everywhere to watch the stage.

It's a simpleton idea whose time should end,
Open your hearts and find good friends,
Dance in the streets and jump for joy,
Life is a place where a kind word is more than a toy.

A dashing figure was split through a prism...

A gentleman of every color.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 05/18/2007

Sunshine And Silence At The Green Leaf...

Post by AquarianM on May 19, 2007 at 11:53am

Sunshine And Silence At The Green Leaf...

The karaoke machine is dark and dusty - un-plugged,
People in the corner reading have no idea poets exist,
The sun is streaming down just out the window,
A palace of birds and butterflies.

The wooden chairs and tables out front bleaching,
For lack of shade from a bum -
I eat my organic hummus plate,
Sipping ginger-peach iced tea.

Conscious Choice looks fun this month,
A big green leaf on a black and white backdrop,
Something beautiful waiting,
Waiting in a colorless world.

Everyone loves an audience,
Even and especially poets,
The audience is us my friends,
Because poetry is OUR love.

A tree grows from its roots,
Persistent and strong,
Yet without each leaf and branch,
A hollow trunk it becomes.

It takes consistency to build a venue,
They never come already-made,
Someone sat through quiet days and nights,
Before the poets all stayed.

I'll come here after working all night,
A sunny day inside a quiet space,
Waiting for all my friends the leaves,
I know they're blowing on the wind.

Someday Spring will come,
The dawning leaves will bud,
I'm enjoying my tenure in peace of place,
Sunshine and silence at the Green Leaf.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 05/19/2007

A Great Time To Go Green...

Post by AquarianM on May 24, 2007 at 1:42am

A Great Time To Go Green...

Grass blades blowing tall sway over -
Short ripples on the ground -
Waving branches laugh above.

The Earth is tender-loving her worms,
Sun-soaked and lurid,
Flower bursts sail the wind,
Faerie dust sprinkles on each gentle breeze.

Eyes completely full with lush,
Birds joyful of song everywhere,
If we could just hold our foul breath,
Exhale love and walk - walk - walk amongst all this.

Green reaches in and grabs your soul,
Imploring for barefoot on her organic best,
Reconnect and revive and survive,
Even though it's lovely swimming in true blue...

It's a GREAT time to go Green.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 05/24/2007

Beneath These Stars…

Post by AquarianM on May 30, 2007 at 11:23pm

Beneath These Stars…



It’s summer and the haze lingers as twilight falls,
Out over an open field with grasses and cornstalks swaying,
A hot gentle breeze touches our faces upturned.

I see a falling star streak by brightly,
A novelty jading can not diminish,
I see lovely jewels fading in and out of fuzzy night.

What’s never been reached is something to dream on,
Stars so far and calling across the lonely void,
Filling us with wonder and dreams of all sorts.

Walking slowly through this season,
Soaking up the warmth and sheer life of it all,
Our summer friends come out and dance their sky.

Stars hovering and darting all about the fields,
As far as the eye can see they’ve come to Earth,
In the soft yellow-green glow of the lightning bugs.

If the wee folk could dance a summer jig,
Why wouldn’t they do it right here,
Among our flying lanterns the fireflies?

I tilt my glass of ice water to you,
Hat of straw upon my head,
Gravel touches my toes in the whispers of glowing night.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 05/31/2007

Across The Sea...

Post by AquarianM on May 31, 2007 at 1:12am

Across The Sea...

Whispers barely heard,
Storming waves of white noise,
Prayers on the wind,
Faerie princess tea-cup riding the tempest.

If the Albatross glides over your heart and leads you to land…

Wave hello from the sunshine, won’t you?

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 05/31/2007

Whisper Simple Secrets...

Post by AquarianM on Nov 10, 2006 at 12:20pm

Whisper Simple Secrets...

If you stare into the flickering brilliance of the candle flame,
Watch it until you can see the vanishingly small,
Somewhere in the back of your mind,
You might just understand.

A picture of the world rests behind your eyes,
That thought gleams as a fraction of the energy,
The same field that is everything's essence,
The web of white light it takes imaginary eyes to see.

Hold the world like a Christmas ornament,
Floating in a golden glow tinged with soft green,
There in the cupped palm of your hands,
Gift unto it a sweet gift.

Call the white light down from Heaven,
Do it with all your heart,
Let it flow through you,
Wash over this tiny blue globe of life - healing.

God gifts us each a spark of his everything,
Else we couldn't be here at all,
His children yet to mature,
Still in school.

If every thought you had was of something joyful,
Never would a hurtful day enter your life,
You have the keys to the Universe,
But Mother and Father say you must be a passenger first.

Think of pain and painful things come to you,
Drawn like flies to a rotting stench,
Think of joy and joyful things will come to you,
Drawn like light into the empty dark.

Call the white light down from Heaven,
Do it with all your heart,
Let it flow through you,
Wash over this tiny blue globe of life - healing.

Let's do it together.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 11/09/2006

www.thesecret.tv

Never Go Widdershins...

Post by AquarianM on Oct 19, 2006 at 11:39pm

Never Go Widdershins...

In the sacred circle you walk sunwise,
Dress the honeysuckle Prince a prayer,
Eyes closed at the font of each direction,
Feel the pull of the mountains call you home.

In the seat of mad kings comes three choices,
Insanity aught death or vast visions,
The wheels of fate turn on the dancing wind,
Awaiting the lark of those who chase the Fisher King.

Drinking of Love's Cup will take you down all roads,
Yet can your feet dance you across the stones of home?

Never go Widdershins and call on the blackness,
a blot on your soul and poison in the well,
Dance like the grasses softly bending,
Away to the stone circles sunwise.

Under the stars of Beltaine's hollow Moon,
All the wonders dance before your eyes,
It is here we hope to find the Mother,
The reason the knot always closes.

Live naught by the sword and it will break,
Live naught by the plate for it will shatter,
Live naught by the spear as it goes blind,
Live naught by the chalise shall it die.

Unto the center of these things,
each apportioned gently,
Here the trees grow grand and old,
The Children of Llyr wed Danu's kinder brood,
The font will then spring again forth.

How the endless forest will weave its green so then,
How the birds and breezes softly sing.

AquarianM

By: Daniel A. Stafford
(C) 10/20/2006

Corn Maize...

Post by AquarianM on Sep 23, 2006 at 3:17pm

Corn Maize...



It happens at the farm just down the road,
You can defeat a dragon or kraken,
Meet up with Lincoln,
Even watch mama and baby mastodon.

The corn is tall and not yet yellow this year,
Near nine feet and dense as can be,
No peeking through - only hints,
Flashes of a jacket or cap glimpsed through the leaves.

The orange T-shirts guide and guard,
Young sages of the maize,
They change the color every year,
In case some mischievous clown bought one last year.

In the spring the tractors plant by G.P.S. light,
Setting the seeds of autumn delights,
September is the green month - could be muddy,
October brings a maize of gold - last warm sunlight.

We walk between the stalks,
Twisting maps this way and that,
Follow the black lines to punch each check point,
Wondering if we will get cheese for all this.

AquarianM

By Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/18/2006