Trapped within the tents of our experience,
We see the same stars
But don’t associate them with
The same smell of wet canvas,
Pine trees and
Distant wood smoke

Grew up on books, by books, in books —
Made friends, went places,
Had adventures, learned things —
And it was as real as anything is,
For I really
Felt it.

Went off on books, through books, under books —
Thought for myself (with a little help) —
Grew up, grew hard,
Grew fast, grew fat —
And it was as a strange as anything can be,
For I was estranged.

Came back to books, through books, on books —
For home is not only where the heart is,
It’s where your words are.

To all those
Doing great things
That they don’t realize are great

To the teachers —
The helpers, the guides
Pointing others to places they may
Never see, themselves

To the person of action,
Whose greatest moments may be
Those of imagination

There is a place of honor for you,
And others like you,
Because
Trying to understand

Is worth it

All those yesterdays ago
The nights were filled with you and me;
Where life would lead we couldn’t know;
It’s just as well. For we must be

Like leaves that drop into a river,
Heading out to open sea —
All those yesterdays ago
We had a taste of dining on

Infinity

The breadth that is this breath
Of all I’ve had, it is the only

For what is present is all that really is,
There is no more than this

From this my bed, I look out on the mountains of
What is to come

The sun is beckoning to me,
Her rays like fingers lightly

Causing shivers through
The mountains

My father was born of fire,
My mother was born of air,
For his was a life of desire,
And hers was to go everywhere —

My brother was born of the earth, the earth
With his feet on the ground since the day of his birth;
But I was of water born I think
For I rise each day just to slowly sink

And I’m best defined by the way I change.
The motion is constant, so don’t think it strange:
I am what I’ll be, and there’s no escape —
A whole world of life without any real

Shape

I dreamed we climbed a hill
Beside a dark and ancient sea;
The sky was blue, and
Stones were everywhere —

And you were still alive
The way you were back in the days
When joy was just like breathing,
Just like air

It’s sad how many hills
I have to climb to see your face,
How many rocks and stones
Stand in the way

And how I wish I had the key
To make all of it real,
For though dreams come,
They never, ever

Stay

Some things you learn at school
They didn’t mean to teach:
How mean girls get the shine
Of more than just their bleach

And how geometry
Can teach the would-be lover
For each two sides that match
There is a side

Left over