Saturday, August 31, 2013

The Change




When the law is seen protecting only some
If the blessing of liberty is denied to anyone
While my color or gender dictates the fields where I may run
A change has got to come, A change has got to come.

When in bounty's bosom children hunger when they sleep
If our defenders don't believe in laws they keep
While the wealthy rise only to make the masses weep
A change is bound to come, A change is bound to come

When a generation struggles to find identity
If we all grow tired of avarice and enmity
While we still can find the strength to save democracy
A change will surely come, A change will surely come

When I call you brother, sister, family and friend
If I vow to change my heart to finally feel again
While my voice can lift a song of hope and love's refrain
I'll know the change has finally come, Dear Lord that change has finally come




The past few years have been radical for me.  I have adopted personal change that has set me free spiritually.  I have gone from being a victim of my circumstance to being a victor and the author of my own story.  The reshaping of this world beings with one person changing and with each subsequent change we move closer to paradise regained.

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." ~ Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Three Sisters

Three Sisters-young girls at the shore painting by artist Kay Crain 
(used temporarily and without permission)












Three sisters, all on different shores
Separated and yet, bound by a common history
At times demon pursued and always God blessed
Even their own families could not believe the stories

Miner's daughters
Loving mothers and wives
Angels of mercy and terrible vengeance
Sisters, mothers and aunts who've shared so much of their lives
  
Three sisters, suffered and toiled
Robbed of health by a common vice
Suffering children and spouses that never understood
The span of those lives, the burden, and the price

Their unfailing devotion
Their indomitable spirits
Voices that could make you smile or weep
Call you down low or raise you up, extol your merits

Three sisters, passed through shadow
Forged by the fires of violence and revolution
Cooled by internal, eternal waters of life
Honed like razors for their family's protection

Stalwart guardians and teachers
Never given your full credit due
Your children are here now
Finally understanding, we appreciate you

Three sisters, one now gone home
Two sisters, separated but not alone
One sister my oath to defend
Three sisters loved by children now grown



This poem is dedicated to my Aunts Barbara, Goiky, and my mother Margy.  Three sisters who have given all and have raised families that love them.  Aunt Barb, I know you are interceding for us, smiling down from heaven.  We miss you and await the day when we are all reunited as a family in a reunion that will shake the heavens.









Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Hon Seusi se haiku - 혼 초밥​​ 세 하이쿠 - Three Haiku for Hon Sushi




Good friends sit around
Sashimi and Nigiri
Laughter fills the room


The Taste of Salmon,
Creamy Nigorizake,
Friday's Salvation


Last call for sake
Tonight has been wonderful
Kamsahamnida 





Hon Sushi is owned by "My brother from another mother" Chris.  He and his family serve great food and the place is always packed on the weekends.  If you are ever in Morovia, CA you have to give them a try.  By the way I'm not being paid to endorse them.  Just practicing with Haiku and this place always inspires a smile.  

Hon Sushi - 144 W Foothill Blvd, Monrovia, California 91016




Thursday, August 8, 2013

If God Should Lose Faith In Me

A passing thought occurred to me
When hearing someone say
That they had lost their faith in God
How it got in their way

I asked myself how life would be
If God lost faith in me?
Would the blessings I perceive
Just simply cease to be?

If she lost her faith in me 
Would that mercy fade away?
And in my darkest hours 
Could I find the light of day?

If the Cosmic Hosts denied my name
Ignored my very being
Should I then cease to exist
My life lose all its meaning?

I believe in my eternal soul
However it came to be
I believe that there is God somehow
Whether they or he or she

In life we may not see or measure
Everything around
The Cosmos filled with mysteries
That for a time confound

We think we know things solidly
And then perceptions change
The truths we once were so sure of
Transform and rearrange

It must be hard for even God
To lose the faith of men
When circumstances shake their lives
To win it once again

God, however you exist
You know I still believe
I only ask that when I fail
Please don't lose faith in me





Life has been a test and affirmation of faith countless times.    I do not suppose to have the answers; I try to ask the right questions.  I try to emulate Christ in the way I love.  I seek peace and enlightenment.  I respect the teachings of all faiths and seek how those pieces fit together in the human puzzle.  I do not believe in God the way many people do, but I do believe.  


















Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Different Yet The Same


In retrospect
I sit and review
The faces that 
I've shown to you

The angry boy
I used to be
Replaced by man
Contemplatively

The anger swells
Inside me still
Like tempest storms
That test my will

As time has passed
I chose to learn
That different fires
Inside us burn

Spirit, energy, intellect
Resolve, positivism, and vision
Replace the hopelessness and rage
That once held those positions

I seek to ride positive streams
Engage my inner light
At times the world around me seeks
To goad me back to fight

Perhaps a balance still I need
Between the flesh and soul
Acknowledge frail humanity
And evolution of the soul

Not every battle can be won
With prayer or good intention
At times the warrior must rise
And enter to contention

I know that I desire to lead
With harmony and peace
And slow to rile the baser side
Unleashing primal beast

So warrior and poet
Both exist inside this frame
Each support the way I feel
So different yet, the same




I'm still seeking.  I'm still growing; everyday a little stronger than the one before.