the cracks in time

                     by Gustavo Ortiz

-

I wipe the stink from the blade. I carry the cup from mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean, but I do not drink the blood. Not ever. I do not love the city for its lights or wealth. I remember well when the streets were on fire with the anger of the poor. Was there ever a time when this land was not at war? I do not listen to the priests anymore; I stopped when I was very young. I pray, yes, but not to the false god of damnation. I pray to the universe of the light and the creation. I pray that I will earn the kindness that was shown to me, and that I will, in turn, be kind myself. Turn and turn again. I remember my childhood as if it was a foreign country that I visited long ago. Where will I end up if I continue to walk this same road? I don't know, but I intend to find out.

-

You

Are as naked as the Sun,

And I am a naked Mercury, the planet

That rides closest to your fire, your light.

For millions of years I have circled you,

Locked in an orbit that I will never break.

Nor do I wish to break it, I love the fire

Of you, and I love your nakedness.

So here I will stay until the very end

Of the solar system, the end of time

As we know it, living as close as I can,

Naked, locked in orbit with the power of

You.

-

The mirrors are still at last, and you are so tired. You are listening to the wheezing breaths of the smokers. Even your mind is tired, and you don't really want to think anymore, but you don't know how to stop. From a dark corner of your consciousness you sense that the animals are slowly returning to the forest, and you wish that you could join them. You will die one day and until then you will never be free of this reality. Yes, there are cracks in time, you've seen them, but they are too small to slip through and escape. Your life is a slender being, moving from shadow to shadow, slinking in memory and loneliness. The room smells of disinfectant and the nurse with the cart is bringing the medication. You check the mirror one more time and then look up at the plain-faced clock and see that three minutes have passed since the last time you looked.

-

James Lee Jobe

by Gustavo Ortiz

Please support this blog with a small donation through the the Buy Me A Coffee link at the bottom of the page. Thanks.

-

Governments can readily allocate billions of dollars to fight wars and yet refuse to spend modest sums to fight poverty.

Jose Ramos-Horta

-

A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

Dalai Lama XIV

-

When my master and I were walking in the rain, he would say, "Do not walk so fast, the rain is everywhere."

Shunryu Suzuki 

-

LINKS:

Philomela’s tongue says, a poem by Melissa Studdard

A Monstrous Catalpa Tree Grows from a Drain, a poem by Regan Good

Radio Garden, explore live radio from around the world by rotating a globe

John Coltrane and band, live in Germany in 1960 (34 minutes)

Please consider making a donation through the BUY ME A COFFEE button below. It's done safely online, and just takes a moment.

James