SOMEWHERE  LIFE  (2-8-2001, Galveston Island, Texas)

 
somewhere  
the sun is always shining  
somewhere  
snow is always falling  
somewhere  
a child is smiling to himself  
just as these  
free floating  
untethered  
spontaneous thoughts  
drift silently through my head  
like passing clouds  
sailing by  
high above this wide  
vast gulf before me  
as i ride my bike  
several miles outside of town  
out along this isolated beach  
as far away as i can  
from any and all signs  
of mankinds presence  
as this impassioned sunset s light  
so colorfully illumines  
these delicate elongations  
of flaming  high sailing
cirrus clouds  
stretched  so gracefully out
sailing high above me  
in slowly morphing  
lanterned clouds
spread out like open fans  
in great  fiery  wing like arcs  
like a renegade herd  
of rearing  wild maned stallions  
stretched out broadly across  
these now quickly retreating  
softly illumined  
lavender blues  
of this late evenings  
coastal skies  
so serenely descending  
pulled down by the now  
sunken  unseen sun  
out over this timeless
mercurial gulf s
passionate horizon line
as if to flamboyantly  
tempt  tease or lure  
the fast approaching  
unstoppable tide  
of night s own forthcoming  
dark  bottomless sea s
peaceful erasure  
into fully descending  
where in the now  
fleeting  diminishing light  
i turn my bike around  
to head my way back  
homeward bound  
rolling westward  
back along  
this low tide  
wet sand beach  
i can barely see  
the ground or way ahead  
beneath me  
as i quickly learn  
the only way i can  
is by riding and staying  
in and on  
this narrow foot wide zone  
of tiny washed up  
broken shells  
embedded  
in the wet pack sand  
invisible to my eyes  
down beneath me here
in the rushing darkness
where i quickly learn
and realize
that the only way
i can stay on course  
to keep my bike and self  
from rolling blindly to my left  
out into the pulsing  
tidal sweep  
of now increasingly  
rising surf  
or from rolling to my right  
just a foot off course  
into deep  dry sand  
where my bikes tires  
cannot roll on
at all
but can only
get further stuck  
is by listening
 with my ears  
for and to  
the continuous  
clicking  snapping  
popping  crunching sounds  
of this dark
broken shell
narrow  wet pack
sandy pathway back
beneath me is
along with only the faintest  
diffuse starlight now  
to guide me  
back towards town  
and home  
without another living soul  
anywhere within sight  
for miles  
for the past two hours  
thus far  
my mind soon lets go  
of unnecessary thoughts  
near void of all useless  
inner chatter  
yet with my senses  
and entire being  
now feeling so freely  
so fully alive
and alert  
so flawlessly  
so effortlessly  
tuned in  
to and with all  
of nature  
and this living earth  
and conscious universe  
both around me  
and within me
here as well  
as my eyes
heart and mind  
suddenly seem  
to open more widely  
drinking in fully  
this greater  
divine  wondrous dance
which i too
am so clearly  
an inseparable
part of  
and one with  
as i soon come
to see  
that despite my
egoic minds  
decades long  
persistent tendency  
of too frequently  
longing and lying
to myself  
for years and years  
gone by  
about my
self deluded belief  
in regards
to my lifes  
self perceived  sad lot  
and solitary state
of being mostly alone
for so very long
throughout its
lonesome journey  
herein this badly
broken world  
even though my
perceptions are solely
based upon  
my directly lived
and felt  
collective lifetimes
experiential evidence  
while riding on
again
scrollingly along  
back home  
through all this
heightened darkness  
even though still  
several miles away  
i suddenly came  
to more clearly realize  
in the observant flow  
of these timeless
slippery moments  
that i am never  
truly alone  
for the truth  
is out there  
everywhere  
all around me  
as within me  
here
always as well  
in boundless abundance  
and evidence a plenty  
whenever i simply  
choose to see it
to deeply
and intimately feel it
and fully embrace it all
in life  
in love  
in light
and that alone
at least for me
more often than not
is usually
more
than
enough
to contentedly
satisfy me
in light
in love
in life
alike