john

Knowingly

Touch softly forever's coldness
to grip with the strength of now
will bring never's awareness
in trembling spasms

embrace tenderly the rhymic beat
of a universe vectoring toward silence
else upon the sculpted carara stones
comes the solid caress of nothingness

with light foot stand steady
upon the expanding pregnancy of all
awaiting the peaking climax
crashing in a whisper of exhaustion

touch, caress, exalt
in the light of deities
or the darkness of demons
for you are man

where in a microcosm
your thoughts raveled, whirled
before and beyond cosmic awareness
Abiding in the wisdom of pre-knowledge,
genes entwining in deterministic stucture

in the innocence of pre-thought
each instant in place as now
transcends then becoming now
the choice to love or hate
comdemn or condone
befriend or reject
life's passion
channeled into the spirit of form,
now! your past touching the future

Knowingly

j.f.m. 4.15.01

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Retrospection

Tread cautiously
the footsteps of youth
for there
wishful dreams alter truth
with stained glass eyes
viewing the past
in contented hues
concealing the cast
of reality
forced into the obscure
byroads of consciousness
to forment in impure
stagnation
of covered wells
deep within the mind
where ego seldom tells
the hidden fears
that haunt the bold
and if exposed in quest
brings the cold
emptiness
of yesterday's schemes
thus all reality
becomes but dreams.

j.f.m. 3.3.01

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Attachment

Summer's thunder stalked a threatening sky
Lighting his pipe, he leaned back with a sigh
Looked from his small cabin upon lush fields
And marveled again at all nature yields

"It's better I go in the winter." he thought
I'll speed over the land and not be caught
By the hopeful signs of a new born spring
Or the promise of what summer will bring

Gently closing his eyes, resting this while
Each year in his mind went by with a smile
Clearly reflecting his love, work and play
Chuckling he whispered, "I know. I can't stay."

He'd learned from the years that a man must know
When to love fiercely and when to let go.

j.f.m. 2.26.00

The Boulevard

Downcast eyes fearing to glimpse another soul
Move fast through the mass not feeling
The nature of strangers on the street

Not seeing beyond the neat packages
Of human frailty concealing deep
Emotional response in the eyes that meet

Yet amid friendliness of contact
Meet eyes of young lovers
Old companions touching minds
In inviolate contract knowing each other

Eyes of the old touched with tears
Eyes of the frightened dreading the years
Eyes of the young happy and gay
Eyes of the hard that never sway
Eyes of the gentle that ask too much
Eyes that need but fear to touch.

John Malgady 1.16.00

Summer Has Gone

Fear not the brittle song
That whispers in the spirit chimes
And drifts through the green wood
For it is only the winter wind
That alters the mellow notes
Telling the trees with sudden chill
Summer has gone

Sharp sounds of nature clearly sing
Brown earth is crisper under slower steps
Sounds of winter in counter point
To the passion of summer's splendor
Soft crackling vibritions of contraction
Are hushed in blankets of white
Yet dreams of summer's warmth remain

Soon the depths of long solitude
Still the twisting spirit chimes
Green wood hearts harden and sleep
Leaves fall from the bough sighing
Summer has gone

j.m. 12.29.99

(The kids seem to like this next poem, and maybe someone would like to illustrate it. j.m.)

A Turtle Named Joe

There once was a turtle
His name was Joe
All winter long
He slept in the snow.

When the snow went away
What did he hear?
A robin was singing
For spring was near.

He walked to the pond
To take a swim
But all the little fishes
Were mad at him.

Go away Joe
We're mad at you
We've had no sleep
The whole winter through.

When you sleep
You rumble and roar
And in December
You started to snore.

Joe walked away
To the woods nearby
He felt so bad
He wanted to cry.

Then he heard a rumble
And he heard a roar
Then he thought
Heard a snore.

Looking through the leaves
To see who was there
Curled up like a ball
Was a big Teddy Bear.

When Joe told the fishes
Who kept them awake
They said, "We're sorry Joe
You can swim in our lake."

Now a turtle can swim
And a turtle can walk
And in our little story
This turtle can talk.

If you treat him kind
Never holler or yell
He will know you're nice
And come out of his shell.

So if you hear a turtle
In your bed
You better look around
For a Teddy Bear instead.

j.m. 12.30.99

Balance

All is density
Earth and sky varying
Only in the intensity
Of non existing space
Between opposites at a distance
Emanating force or solid resistance

Densities within worlds
Worlds within densities
Moods within moods

Love's inquiries born of awareness
Creating man's transient laws
Stripping icons to nature's bareness
Exposing beauty without its flaws

Cornucopias of deprivation
Nets to catch the fish
Break not his legs before his death
Or man shall lose his wish

In a realm of subtle shadow
A world of darkness and light
Day's birth begins with sorrow
Day's maker also made night

Memory's parks of splendor yield
Beauty shaped by hand
Wretched earth of potter's field
A loveless barren land
City lots of ashes and grime
Sparkling with faded dreams

Virgin forest majestic with time
Oblivious to hopes and dreams
Myriad lands blest by one
He must touch all or he touches none

Gently the song of the sun whispers soft
Caressingly touching sweet fields of wheat
Fusing the seed with the earth; from aloft
Flows the murmured force of life's rythmic beat

Yet this song roars across the desert land
Leaving unbalanced earth desolate waste
Parching, splitting, shifting crystals of sand
Over which man moves in desperate haste

Hearts pound, minds whirl in a wild wind asea
Fearless waves striving to possess the shore
Woodland lakes of calmness, streams flowing free
Relax the souls of those lost in life's lore

Wherever stands man's mind in balance clear
Perhaps there he may see earth's birth and bier.

j.m. 12.5.99

Sculpting Aphrodite

she hid behind a countenance of youth
yet he could see the wisdom of age
twinkling in her eyes

awkardly she moved her young limbs
yet he could see gracefulness
as she turned to smile at the sun

the words she spoke
were from the hearts of children
yet he could sense whispering clouds
carrying tender tidings to her love

her laughter, melancholy
with the loneliness of youth
yet he discerned a lilt of flowing brooks
gayly caressing rocks and shore

the embodiment ageless sensuality
where erosion can but reverse
the blowing grains of sand
voluptuous overlaying
concealing the artist's awareness of beauty.

j.m. 11.21.99

Foolish Thoughts

as i lay restless upon my bed
foolish thoughts with-in my head
if the fires of madness replace desire
then only the aware be lonely
perhaps tis why we are a lonely lot
and the gods are not.

j.m. 11.21.99

Be Wary

be wary of the eyes of love
that pierce deep
beyond the veils of the soul
probing with surrender's possessiveness

be wary of the hands of love
enfolding
in their gentleness
the wisdom of all they hold

be wary of the words of love
sweetly formed
on the lips that murmur to a babe
yet offer the promise of Salome

be wary of the bonds of love
binding tight
the aspirations of the mind
leading hearts through a maze of contentment

be wary of love
that kills the ambition of the moment
for but a moment of it
is worth the ambitions of a lifetime.

j.m. 11.10.99

Lost in the Land of Fire

Where falls the hand of man
In quiet resolution to achieve his aims
While disregarding conscience
There lies the land of Tierro del Fuego

Gone your days of danger riding the sea
Grubbing among the lonely rocks for life
Wearig a cloak of fur, you were not free
From the harsh pains of nature in your strife

Children of a desolate land
Where instincts kept balance
In concord with nature
Neither subdued nor subduing
But absorbing and being absorbed
Surviving by the hunt and procreation

Gone from the genie of the frightful night
Where no fire but body warmth pressed near
To drive away the spirits with their might
To weave your world with superstitious fear

Tasting not the bitter sweet fruit
Unripened on the twisted tree of knowledge
Aware of neither pride nor shame
In your eternal conflict
When came higher man with somber steps
Of toils destruction
As profit outweighed empathy

Gone from the fiords of otter and seals
Where churning seas tore at a rocky shore
No man walks your fire land but feels
The ghosts of men that fought and lost their war

From nature moving
The aborigine called Onas
Embraced the discontented
Whose simple ailments
Drew them into oblivion
As god blinked his eyes

Into this world you came and knew it not
Part of this world you are and know it not.

j.m. 11.6.99

Come! Walk with me on this patch of land set aside by man.
The path is smooth, the rise is gentle. Come ! Take my hand.

Piercing shafts of sunlight dapple the maple bark.
Sparkling shades of sienna guide us through daylight dark.

Look! Over there, a corner where children play
Cheerful games of make believe as the sun slips away.

Now see the memories cast in cement, each stands apart.
Immobile warriors with sad lament of eagle, dove and heart.

Watery eyed old men making the stations of war.
Spicing their lives with pain they felt they bore.

They focus their eyes on the tarnished brass,
Recalling the deeds of the brave.
Speeding their thoughts to the holy mass
And the drop in an unsung grave

Women tread with dread this ground.
Primeval fear in their hearts abound.
They look to the children with love and concern.
Recalling man's past, hoping he'll learn.
They steal a glimpse at the golden star
And whisper softly, "No more. No more."

j.m. 10.24.99