Not Anymore

Not Anymore

My baby

has been passed on

two months now,

and, I think,

it's only been

in the last few days

that it has really began

to sink in.

She's not coming back

anymore.

I'll never again look up

from the computer

to see her grin hello

as she walks in the door.

We'll never again

have long talks

at the table

over hot coffee and tea,

no, not anymore.

Never again

to hear the smile

in her voice.

Never again

to feel the gentle touch

of her hand.

Never again will

we be outside and notice

the full moon up there

in the sky at night.

No, never again.

Not anymore.

No more errands

together joking

and laughing at

the signs as we

drive across town.

No more

of all the small things

that she always did

to brighten my day.

No more cuddles

in the afternoon,

and again

late at night.

No more kisses

No more I love you's

lilting like the notes

of a song from her lips.

Never again.

Not from Laino,

no, not anymore.

Her soul

has been to visit often

of this I'm sure,

but I am greedy

for her touch

not only in eternity

beyond the blue veil,

but here in this world too.

And here, alone at the table

I take a drag on my cigarette

and reach for her deep

in my heart,

only to find

a gaping hole there.

She's not coming back.

No, not anymore.

Dewey Dirks

Outlook Twenty-Fourteen

Outlook Twenty-Fourteen

We all live

in quickly

aging cultures

where many

work-a-day

people have

a much better

eyeball on

what is

important in life

than the people

who are supposed

be running

the place.

That's because

as the ruling classes

have become

ever more intrenched

in the delusions

of amassing

money and power

they have also become

ever more detached

from compassion

for their fellow man.

Such problems

have long faced

human cultures

as they have grown

larger and older.

While several societies

around the globe

have lasted for

thousands of years,

the successive governments

that oversee those cultures,

grew so creaky with time,

that they underwent

major re-organizations

periodically.

No large scale

human government

has ever been able

to last more than around

four hundred years

without grinding to a halt

and requiring

major reorganization

and repair

in order to rid it

of excessive corruption

and unjust indifference

towards its own citizens.

Here in the early 21^st century

societies all round the globe

are facing similar problems

with corrupt and unjust

governments

badly in need

of reorganization

and repair.

History tells us

the weight of their

own corruption

and indifference

will cause them to fail,

probably sooner

rather than later

considering

the damage

they and the corporations

they work for

have been wrecking

upon the environment

around us.

Humanity

is a very resilient

and adaptive species.

We will, in all likelihood,

survive the ineptness

of our existing governments,

but the institutions that

currently rule us

will all probably fail

sometime during

the next

one hundred and fifty

years.

The resourcefulness

of humanity

and the hope,

love, compassion,

and common sense

distributed widely

among mankind

will soon have

the opportunity

once again to build

better governments

for ourselves.

Help us Earth Mother

to succeed

in the work before us.

Dewey Dirks

Expectations

Expectations

It is very easy

to get tangled up

by your desires

when you expect

something important

to happen

or when you

want something

very much.

Such things

have a way of narrowing

down your point of view

until all that you seem

to be able to see

or think about

is the object

of your desire.

When this happens

you need to sit down,

relax, and remind yourself

that life will not end if you

don't get what you expect.

There is very, very little

that ever happens

in your life that is worth

all the undue worry.

The ability to be able

to keep your expectations

in perspective is a true

mark of spiritual maturity.

The advantage

of wanting and needing

only a few things out of life

in order to be happy

is a sure sign

of considerable

spiritual strength.

Dewey Dirks

Thunder Storms

Thunder Storms

A wise man once said

that it is not only

the thirsty

who seek water,

but the water

seeks the thirsty

as well.

This is why that within

our cultures there are

a vast cornucopia

of ideas many of which

seem to conflict with

one another.

Nature is compassionate

as practicable to all

even those with whom

most disagree, so that

even for people

whose time has past

and whose ideas

are passing away,

life eases the transition,

with just enough events,

songs, and art

to soften a bit, their pains.

So when you are

bothered by the

terminally

nationalistic

chantings in

our mass media

or by the rants

of those who

who would have us

discriminate against

our fellow man

remember,

nature and mankind

are on the move

to a new kind of life,

and those are old attitudes

whose time

is passing away.

You know, thunder storms

howl the most

just before they

are gone.

Dewey Dirks

Touched The Moon

Touched the Moon

Last week

believing I could,

I reached out

and touched the sun.

Believing I could,

last night

I reached out

and touched the moon.

Today I look at the world

with eyes that see

beauty in everything

from the smallest beetle,

from every tree, bush

and green patch of grass

to the bird that sings

every morning

just before dawn.

From the small

gestures of strangers

to city lights at night,

I am forever grateful

and I know

it's not the world

that has changed,

but my sight

Dewey Dirks

NSA Spying

In honor of the Feb 11 protests against NSA spying on citizens, here is the poem “The Spark” Please share this around

The Spark

Hopeful as a lighthouse beacon

On a hurricane killer sea

Vengeful like a Kansas tornado

On an August night seethe

Powerful as an earthquake

In the city of Angels on mid-summers eve

Forever too small

For the big boys to see

Angry as a rap riot

Pounding out deeds

Sounds like Led Zeppelin and Cinderella

Or a Beethoven symphony

It’s on the breath of old farmers, children, and artists on fire

It’s in the passion of sailors just back from the sea

Tonight it sleeps with you and I

In spite of homeland security

Has coffee every morning

With code breakers hacking Windows XP

Stayed with the Jews at Masada

And the Lakota at Wounded Knee

Spends a lot of time in intifada city

Where it never dies

But often is the last gasp of those who are free

It can break the heavy chains of God

Keeps dying men alive

Lets blind men see

When Uncle Sam has a policeman in every pocket

And he shows us what to see on the wide screen TV

I’ll still see the spark in you

And you’ll still see the spark in me

Sometimes it’s the only survivor

When come packing the dogs of tyranny

Spark is the light in the wise mans eye

When he says ‘If I didn’t believe in love,

I wouldn’t believe’

Dewey Dirks

Be An Ocean

Be An Ocean

Be an ocean,

my friend.

Be both gentle

and strong.

Let your words

and deeds

be nurturing

---a cleansing bath,

with touch easy

and true,

yet be ready

to be the storm

when comes time

to clean house.

Be tender,

be patient,

letting things

happen

in their

own time,

yet be ready

to take

the initiative

when others

lag behind.

Be simple

as water

made only

of three atoms

yet within you,

carry the supple

springs of life.

Be an ocean,

my friend,

both gentle

and strong.

Be as deep as all

the rolling seas

knowing

that within

your being

you keep

a vast cosmos

of ideas, emotions

and ideals alive.

Be an ocean,

my friend,

both gentle

and strong.

Dewey Dirks

Kind Response

Roots

Expectations and Adventure

Expectations

It is very easy

to get tangled up

by your desires

when you expect

something important

to happen

or when you

want something

very much.

Such things

have a way of narrowing

down your point of view

until all that you seem

to be able to see

or think about

is the object

of your desire.

When this happens

you need to sit down,

relax, and remind yourself

that life will not end if you

don't get what you expect.

There is very, very little

that ever happens

in your life that is worth

all the undue worry.

The ability to be able

to keep your expectations

in perspective is a true

mark of spiritual maturity.

The advantage

of wanting and needing

only a few things out of life

in order to be happy

is a sure sign

of considerable

spiritual strength.

Dewey Dirks

Adventure

If you look

always at life

as an adventure,

the thrill of living

will never

leave you.

If life no longer

appears to be

an adventure

to you, change

your attitude

and look anew,

because

good, bad

or indifferent,

peaceful or full

of mayhem,

life is forever

an adventure.

Dewey Dirks