Dust Yourself OFF!

Footprints in the dust

the place we have come from

trampled trust

and a cloudy outcome

Not the future I envisioned

But for that matter, also not the present

Seems I am running low on provisions

And you I am beginning to resent

How sad that our love flows away in fear

Just as it flowed to us

Abruptly and undetected in the rear view mirror

Now we are wanting an end that is fair and just

When we build our life on fear, guilt and shame

we are building on a river bed dusty and dry

And, when this love ends like the others, the same

We sit in the dust, crying dry tears asking "why?"

Love from a place of true and perfect flow

Let it wash over you, cleansing you in the mighty river

In mutual honor, each needs to be free to know

That they are safe as the taker and the giver

When it rolls to you in the river's rapid waters

Take the hand of love fearlessly

Or, you'll be sittin' in the dust... heart once again slaughtered

Wondering what the hell happened to me

And I, shall wonder when

you will finally release the tradition of drowning your desires

Allowing your self to live the current of your life, able to bend

and flow like the river that you so admire

The Only Way

All are equal

in act one and the sequel

There is no higher plane

Where one sits in regal disdain

 Of another

 Not in my world, not how I roll

We are not bodies, but souls

Equal and deeply connected

A truth that got rejected

By men full of crippling fear and descent

The crippling thrown upon the innocent

Today, we are still caught in this place

Why do we even continue to utter words

Such as race?

We are in a race... collectively

The only way to live is respectfully

Respect for you and respect for me

In our hearts we know this is the only way to be

who we truly are in sweet, blended reality 

When we can finally live here, then we are all

FREE

The Layers of US

Deep embrace

touching your face

Holding you close

Time our dear, sacred friend

and our nemesis

Loneliness abated for brief moments

within days shared

It shall return

and we shall rise above it

again

There are many layers to

Us

We are friends, lovers

secret keepers, releasers of pain

Lonely slayers

The layers deepen and meld

down and out, around

Encompassing and surrounding

Us

We are layers many.... compressed over time

When it gets lonely, I linger

in memories and moments held frozen

in my mind's eye, my heart's 

Center

Us

There are many layers to who we are

Together

or

Apart

No longer alone, ever

Connected through it all

Time will once again

gift us

and our layers will

deepen... meld and compress

Creating the jewels of our union

Diamond in the Rough

Second Home

Our hearts have a new home now
in the state of Illinois

A second home on the prairie
A collective commune of continual connection

We commute there to be together
when ever we can

And when we are not there, together
We wish we were together there

Peoria, now Danville
hold the energy we have created in blended song

And again, we will be seen by her
as she welcomes us with open arms

The stones and the soil will sing all those
Dan songs known to our souls

Be it a day dusty or blustery or unseasonably warm
You will find the clan gathered

Be it in the physical
or in spirit

Because we all now have a second home
called Illinois

Nests Now Empty

A field full of trees with no leaves

Nests now empty awaiting the return

of life in the Springtime

Homes built of sticks and bits of paper discarded

Man's trash becomes nature's abode

Life shall return in the Springtime

These abandoned homes in the naked branches

call to me as I pass the fields in the bus I ride

Life in the Springtime, nests empty now, waiting

Empty space is the hope and promise of life to come again

Can I honor the empty places inside me?

Can I allow empty and wait for it to fill?

Bringing new life in the Springtime

I will allow the emptiness to teach me

I will fill my nests now empty with life

 In my Springtime

The Song Is Written

he traced her face and her neck with the tips of his fingers......slowly

and she in turn traced his face, resting her finger tips on his lips over and over

she loved the lips that kissed her gently and spoke her name

like a song her soul has known always

he gazed into her eyes

and she met the gaze gratefully

seeing each other close and connected

making memories to sustain them

hands on hearts, sending love 

heads turning in unison as Gaia spoke

through her water creatures in the dark night

lifting their heads hunting for stars..together

laughing and talking, knowing each other more fully

building a foundation unlike any before

forward movement all their own, honoring the process

allowing the strength they create together to keep them strong.... apart

he sings her name

she sings his praises

the song is written

within a love beyond time

Danville Blessing

Elements

Welcome everyone!

We come together today to honor and celebrate 2 amazing men, John Denver (Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.) and Dan Fogelberg. We gather to remember, reflect and rekindle the spark of their art, their passion, their wisdom, their peace. Let’s take a few moments to reflect now in collective silence. We are about to share in a bonded experience now, together.   

We honor and thank these men who have been and remain to this day, in some way, elemental to our lives.

We emote to the Earth they were such humble stewards of. Let us be stewards of our Mother Earth, as John and Dan’s walk here taught us. Let us continue the legacy to care for the wild places that they were so akin to. We honor the woods and the mountains, the oceans and the prairies, the soil and the stones, the majestic trees. We can visit the boulders at the memorials In Aspen and Peoria and see their words etched into the rock, to live on forever. Poems set to music, lyrics so lovely, living ever on.

We acknowledge the air that filled the sails of Dan’s friend, the Minstrel as he melded with her upon the sea.  And the wind that lifted John’s craft high into the sky, where the Eagle and the Hawk fly free. Today our souls will soar in harmonic joy.

We send ovations to the water of the oceans that supported The Minstrel and Calypso, both muses for these men.  These vessels were symbols of the freedom John and Dan knew in their souls. Let us be carried on the waves of the emotion we experience here today and let us feel fully free.

We bow to the blazing fire...Dan taught us about the fires of passion that we all possess. He sang so deeply about the embers of love, and the flames of desire. And he sang of rising from the ashes formed in the fires of transformation.   John brought us to the campfire connected in song, peace and joy.  Today as we are here, let us feel ourselves around one big campfire passing the peace pipe as we honor John and Dan.  We are sitting around with friends and loved ones, our old man, our old lady by our side, perhaps. Getting naturally high on the vibe we experience and create, together.

As our senses fill collectively, we remember what Dan Fogelberg taught us. Love really is the only thing that matters.  And we remember that John Denver taught us to live peace, embrace peace, share peace and BE the PEACE we want to see in the world. 

Peace to you, fellow humans. Enjoy the show!