Driver stories

More driver adventures. The driver who feeds me wants to make sure I eat. He also drove carefully so I didn't spill the coffee.

Last week
One driver
Asked me
For a blessing
For him
And his son
I gave it.
Another
Took a different way home
So he could feed me
Onion strings
And coffee.
Eat them now
He said
They are only good
Hot.

Count backwards

I don't remember this being an exercise for mental status when I attended school. Now it seems to be everywhere.

Count backwards
By sevens
From one hundred.
I lie in bed
And practice
For whatever
For whenever
Might be next.
Count backwards.
Maybe I'll get it right
Next time.
I sit in my chair
Think about
How ridiculous it is
To count backwards
By sevens.
I made it
To seventy-nine
Last night.

Compunction

Praying for everything to Come 'round right. 'For when true simplicity is gained, to bow and to bend we will not be ashamed. (Simple Gifts Shaker hymn)

What do we expect
When compunction
Has been buried
Underground?
It may come to life
Again
But that may be me
Ever hopeful
That the world
Will come 'round
Right.
T'is a gift
To be simple
T'is a gift
To be free
T'is a gift 
To come 'round
Where we ought
To be
And when we find ourselves
In a place just right
'Twill be in the valley
Of love and delight

When do you create?

As for me, I usually create in the morning.

When do you create?
Always?
Like God?
In the morning?
Your head
Not clouded
With daily things?
Before bed
When you bring
The things
Of the day
Into a poem
A painting?
As you drop off
To sleep
Fall into things
You may not remember
In the morning?
When do you create?
Walk the paths
With a notebook
To jot down ideas
Sketches.
When do you create?
All the time?

When they saw

What do we see on the road?

When they saw
Jesus on the road
After the Crucifixion
After the Tomb
After the Resurrection
After the Re-gathering
In the Upper Room
Did they know
It was Him?
Did they see
An inkling
A slight halo
An aura
Around
The man?
It's hard to think
They did not know Him
Before the bread
Was broken.

Hajj

I continue to learn the various forms of pilgrimage.

The Hajj
Is only about
Mecca
Mohammed
No healing mud
No holy water
No adaptations
Of native rites.
The Hajj
Is once a lifetime
Or more,

Camino de Santiago

My bright red walker has a comfortable seat so I don't have to go more than one step at a time, if need be.

If I rolled
The Camino
One wheel
At a time
How far
Would I get?
One step
At a time.
It's always
The way
It goes,
Even when I
Set off
To make the journey
A thousand steps
A day
One wheel
One step
Often it's mine
To watch
Other people
Go by me
Smile
Offer one cup
Of water
To those determined
To take
A thousand steps
At a time.