The Way

From here to there

From near to far

From dark to light

There is a way

And I have trod

That path in dreams

And always you

Are there with me

And I am here

And you are near

And I will show

To you the way

From this to that

From first to last

From tears to joy

There is a way

Through the rain

And I have felt

The cleansing shower

Of water falls

And I am here

And you are there

And I will show

To you the way

My hand is open

Put your hand there

And let us walk

Into the rain

Together

I will take you there

 

-Dakin 7/12/08

 

Complicated

What was that word that

Hovered in my ears that

Evening we spoke once

Again for the first time? I

Know what was said,

And I sit in stunned silence

A stutter of thoughts that

Cannot find an escape.

A wealth of emotions that

Cannot find an outlet.

Where was I and why was I

So blind?  Complicated.

So suddenly things seem so

Complicated.  I could say

The same, but yes,

You know that. What

Did I do, or rather

What didn’t I do?  A fool

In a fool’s cap.  Somewhere

You are out there alone

With your own thoughts,

And I can only imagine

What they may be based

On the words you said,

Suddenly things just got

Complicated.  And that

Thought hammers in my head

Like the ricochet of some

Automatic weapon fire

That finally opens my eyes

Too late from their sutured

Slumber.  A complication indeed.

 

-Dakin 9/26/08

Step To The Edge

Gazing from high on this cloud

I see my world below and

Take note of, now, a new face

Filled with smile – young and alive.

And I am filled with wonder –

For it is no ghost that hovers here

But a bird of paradise, feathers gleaming

In the sun, standing out amongst

The everyday crows I’ve counted

Around here, where they flutter and

Cackle like so many solemn ceremonial

Prefects. A plumage of color contaminates

My once grey world exciting the electric

Spoken of by the one who entertained thoughts of

Leaves of grass. And I feel the sun sting

While I gazed transfixed, mesmerized –

Wondering what thoughts turn in your mind,

Spin your subdued, entrancing eyes that spark

Even now in the nonexistent firelight.

I want to speak; I want to ask.

I’ve tried to talk and found instead my

Inquiring curiosity diverted down to

The floor by the sudden gush of a child like

Bolt of mischievous shyness. What your smile

Says coupled with your equally shy return should

Speak volumes to me of your eager anticipation

For me to break the silence of unspoken flirtation.

Know I am trying to unlearn the modest

Mindset that has me now handcuffed and

Soon I will let slip the words that wait

Patient at the portal of this room of insecurity.

I pray you be patient, as well, though the

Waiting always weighs heavy – for anticipation

Often visits in the unpleasant form of anxiety.

Perhaps it is this that explains best my

Present state – But the institutional curiosity

Beckons me and soon I’ll know your name.

 

-Dakin 2/29/96

Joy

I will tell you a secret

If you will lend me your ear,

There is a warmth of a lazy

Summer sun sitting in the

Peaceful recesses of my thought

This morning. An aroma of

Sweet cinnamon in the kitchen

That doesn’t even care what

The weather is outside.  A bright

Spark of an evening’s roaring firelight  

Reigning over my restful dreams.

My eyes create a bouquet of

Soft, ripe petals of ten thousand hues,

Tender touches from a loved one’s

Caress that send soft shivers of pure

Serenity through my soul’s breath.

This cup of perfectly brewed morning

Coffee that reminds me that a new

Day has dawned bringing with it

A fresh feeling of adventure

To discover the fountain of youthful

Excitement. I am alive, and so are

You, and we are together on this

Beautiful blue, white, brown, green,

Yellow, orange, red globe with

A single daily song sent from the sun

That sits at the center of our life’s

Circle.  The music that sets our steps

And makes us want to dance with

The freedom of absolute joy and wonder

At the perfection of our planetary home.

Oh, do I love to sing and splash in

Puddles simply for the sake of sharing

The laughter of life that each moment

Beats within the center of all our hearts.

This is my secret shouted to the world

From the peak of this mountain,

Through clear skies over the many

Miles, directed to your ears alone,

For you have chosen to share with me.

Thus sings my soul, and in singing

We are free.

 

-Dakin 9/17/08

This Teal Bucket

Straining to sort through

The collision of thought in

My mind, surviving the ache

Caused by the wreck of a

Thousand and one simultaneous

Ideas and misdirections.  Why

Is it that when we think we

Really, finally, truly know

Something, we find that one

More scrap of evidence that

Completely alters our perception

Of the case at hand?

For my own part, I can

Only trust age and experience

Has given me better judgment to

Justify my choices, although

Not necessarily to make them.

The cluttered attic that sits

Stagnant in this teal bucket,

My mind.  And try as I might

I cannot navigate the proper

Course to escape this confining

Cell, but when I do finally

Negotiate the maze, I look back

At the path that too eerily

Resembles a perfect exercise of

Evasion, the movement of a waltz

Around a too-crowded ballroom hall.

Yet it is pure coincidence, or

At least that is what I tell

Myself, for surely I do not have

Any sixth sense about reading these

Road maps.  I only have that

Which has caused these mere

Musings, that which tortures me

At times, day and night, that houses a

Thousand and one simultaneous thoughts –

My mind.

 

-Dakin 9/15/08