And I Sang Hosanna to God

She has a sign on her wall
Stop and smell the roses
knowing you owe
a debt of gratitude for the gifts
so plenty, oh many.

I looked round and saw no rose

She was the only rose by her wall

She has a sign on her feet
Drop in quietly without noise
Inside you can juggle six not ten times
Repeat, once again, only six not ten times
I’ve got no time to waste, I dropped in

I smelled the rose and I juggled not six but ten times

After the water she wants me to drink

I sang for the first time Hosanna not six but ten times

The Jewel

This morning you and I are being toasted

In every alley of the village because you are mine. 
The day I met you was a wish come true for the women. 

Grandma says: your smile brings out the best in the village,
The women also say you are the greatest gift ever.
It’s the way you smile and laugh and show your love.

Ever since you came, the sky shows a new shade of blue. 
It is brighter, like the gods are revealing their feelings;
And we melt every day when we look into your eyes. 

With you we will make it through every thick and thin;
As long as you are with me like the pea is to the pod, 

Our heart will grow together to weather every storm.  

One thing do I ask of you: can you never say never;

Can you always be loving and kind, so gentle, and so sweet, 
And with you by my side, life will be simply complete.

She's Out

Don’t ask me who or why

All I know is that she's out of my heart,

She drifted with the whirlwind long ago

And I don't know whether to laugh or to cry.

Despite my sad and faded face,

Though there are shadows on my brow

Truth be told, not often a robin comes to build its nest

Upon the leafless bough.

I once welcomed her royally into my arms,

That was years ago, but awful was her faithfulness
And it cuts like a knife, especially

When you want to keep your love deep inside you.

Now she's out and she knows

My love can’t wait on indecision.

My Love and All

Last night I fell asleep
And saw you dancing in my dreams
Just like the autumn leaves
Have fallen for you, all for you

And you changed my life
You changed my ways
I don't even recognize myself again
It must be a reflection of you, that made it

I can't remember the last time I felt love like this
I can't imagine living life without you by my side
Day after day you find a way to make me cry
Really, I can't remember the last time I felt love like this

My arms still hold you tight like in my dreams
I want to keep you warm in the coldest night
Where my hand would pull your hair right back

Away from your eyes for you to look into my face

If I knew just how to do it, I'd hang the moon,

And the stars around you to adorn the horizon
But I couldn't make it more beautiful than you
Darling nothing compares to you, my love and all

Where I Come From

where we come from, joy
floats around us like clouds
the way leaves rustle in the breeze
and love and beauty swing in our embraces
and smile with all our senses from sunrise till sundown

where I come from dreams do not rest on fences
when the cock crows the young and old rise
take to the road with sparkling powerful arms
songs work-songs harvest-songs and jolly-songs 

hold us tightly in fragrant dances
and kinship are to us scents of magnolia and frangipani
and rituals of the elders look toward the skies
from where cometh our Help of Ages

where I come from on every village lane

and on footpaths you could see something lovely

you can see our children's smiles white and glistening  
young girls in braids as precious as gold 
the swing of their hips the rhythm in their gait
the smile on soft-brown cheek and the movement of the eyes
leave the lanky brother in the heat blowing kisses in the air

once I heard low bass voices crooning

on a Saturday afternoon when the Rainmaker

came out of the forest with the Dipo girls

the magical flowers of breasts lost many in the garden of chimera
and they disguised their racing pounding hearts
in the melody of the music in their heads

strangers who won't be for long be spectators
left with their manhood shooting loudly ahead of them

where I come from are many things to sing about
not these hard core blues low bass voices crooning
nasty cruising thoughts on corrugated Freeways 
turning nouns into verbs and fetching dreams
strewn with bones that melt melodies to huge fires
but with my smiles and deep dark eyes

I’ll continue to see there's so much to life than gold teeth

For a Friend

seeing the sun rise with glow this morn
its rays dancing among the leaves in the grove
I saw my tears dry like dew on village lanes
and for once, I found again the lost smile
that was missing for a long time

seeing the moon with the choir this night
this heart holds hope like a rock
to see this old heartache in love's cradle leave

maybe I no longer will cry at night
as if all my dearest friends are gone

What Is the License to Happiness

While driving home late last night I noticed a fellow driver's personalized license plate that read LVB4UDIE. Interestingly, my friend interpreted it as "love" before you die. I thought the owner intended it as "live" before you die. In the final analysis, however, it probably doesn't matter since I suggest to you today that doing one is the only way to do the other. In other words, the only way to truly live, and elevate the soul beyond the vibrations of it's mortal confines, is to engage in activities that feed it and help it grow--namely love. So make it your mission to find someone to love. It might be a child, a parent, a partner. Love, and the ability to love that often follows forgiveness can be the thing that makes our present moment experiences worth all the pain and suffering we may have ever experienced. (And, as Marianne Williamson said in her book Return To Love, "We are not held back by the love we didn't receive in the past, but by the love we're not extending in the present.")

LVB4UDIE

Let's start off with the answer
so at least we'll both be clear
There's got to be a purpose, friend
a reason we're all here

It's more than just survival
that's too basic, all agreed?
For once you've got that covered
there's a soul still left to feed

So what shall be your mission
so you'll say you've truly lived?
How best to capture grains of time
that pass right through life's sieve?

To me the answer's easy
for just few things really matter
And given choice of shape or soul
I'd have to choose the latter

See, cash alone won't cut it
but you'd best not do without
And power can move mountains
but it's not what life's about

And freedom's good for getting
but no fun if it's just you
You'll need others to share
So serving others ranks high too

But one thing reigns supreme
and trumps all others on this quest
The act of giving love
is what shall make our life its best

For fleeting are the trappings
and with shells shall pass away
But spirit grows eternal
be the love we share today

For by our true and present love
our pasts we nullify
The only way to live, therefore
is love before you die