Alone Again

Alone Again

For the last

twenty-eight years

I've lived as part

of one couple or another.

So, finding myself alone

after all these years

is kind of a new thing for me

all over again.

I'm re-discovering what it is

to just be me,

and not part of a pair.

This I know---

there is much to learn

and although, like everyone else,

I've been changing

to remain the same through the years,

my experiences over all that time

have re-cast me.

I am not who I was

twenty-eight years ago.

I've learned to not want a lot

of everything, but rather

to want a few things a lot.

Where once I was always

focused on goals,

now, I pay more attention

to traveling and goals

are just part of the scenery

I pass along the way.

Where once my path

was often fenced

by my hopes and fears,

now I find fewer fences

and more unbounded

fields and sky.

I seem to be more me

than I was

in my twenties.

I'm more comfortable

in my skin even though

I've been scarred many times

by hell and high water.

Dewey Dirks

Good and Bad

Good and Bad

Nature is not

divided into that

which is good

and that which

is bad.

Good and bad are

human categories

and they are ego-centric;

Before there can be

good or bad,

there has to be

someone or something

for an action to be

good or bad about.

Think of the relationship

between a wolf and a rabbit.

From the point of view

of a wolf, it's very good

that there are rabbits

he can catch to eat,

and it's bad that many rabbits

run too fast to catch and eat.

From the point view

of the rabbit, wolves are very bad,

and it's very good that many

rabbits can run fast enough

to get away from them.

From the point of view of Nature,

both rabbits and wolves

are part of the song of life, and it's

only proper that there is food

for wolves, and that rabbits

can often run fast enough

to not get eaten.

Nature is fair

to both of them.

Nature is a living thing

made of of all

the interconnected

kinds of life that live

in its biosphere.

Like any living creature,

it cares for all the parts

that are interconnected

to create its living body.

In the end, Nature

is as fair as practicable

to all of the creatures

that are a part of it,

be they wolves, rabbits,

spiders, flies or man.

Man, for his part

must take care that

our species doesn't

grow and consume

to such an extent

that we become

a cancer in the living

body of our Mother

biosphere because

if we do, Nature,

will make sure

that we are gone

soon enough.

Dewey Dirks

Strange and Beautiful

Strange and Beautiful

Have you ever heard

of that famous story

“Stranger in a Strange Land”

about a visitor upon Earth

from another world?

I used to like that book

because for the longest time.

I too felt like

a stranger upon this world.

I wandered and wondered

at the odd ways of humanity

for years on end.

After a time, I found a mate in life

and together we went through our days

feeling mutually strange together.

We used to like to say that

we were a culture of two.

Because I had a hand to hold

and a heart to touch

I didn't feel so alone any more.

As the years passed I began to notice

bits and pieces

of myself in many of the people

I happened across and bits and pieces

of other in myself.

As the time went by and I discovered

more of myself

I discovered the world as well.

Conversely, as I discovered the world

I was able to journey farther within myself.

After a long time, I realized,

we all are very similar

in the things we hope and desire most

and there are only a dozen or so

different ways we each use strive

to satisfy our hopes and desires.

But you know, after you've grown

skilled at living

and adept both paring

and meeting your desires,

at the base of all your journeys

you come back

to the same questions

and the same mysteries.

You find that success isn't about

the gathering of things,

whether they're items or knowledge.

Success is the difference between

being able to say,

“This place is strange,”

and being able to say

This place is strange and beautiful.”

Dewey Dirks

Uncharted

Uncharted

I've long wandered

waters uncharted,

never putting down my colors.

Fought Scylla and Kraken

among the blackest skies

on hurricane killer seas.

I've sailed, as well, across oceans

elegant and blue glass smooth

with beauty everywhere

in the golden air, on the far shores

and in the crystal blue sky

as far as my eyes could see.

I've been lost in the

roughest midnight

white water waves

only to find

a lighthouse beacon

as the final seconds

were quickly passing by me.

I've learned to set

my sails as high

as I can,

and let the

fresh spring gales

and deep blue currents

guide my way.

I've learned to navigate

by astrolabos,

by floating green seaweed,

by shallow rolling waves,

and by the shining stars

on the most distant of seas.

Now, I'm still a man who

likes a good laugh

and good company,

and like many,

I've come to see that

all of humanity is sailing

in waters vast and unknown.

Like many, I've used

what I've learned

to raise my voice

and give the clearest advice

I know how to give.

Whenever the seas

turn rough you can tell

there is some learning

to be done.

On broken, uncharted waters,

we humans are

in a three way race

between the awakening

of our souls,

the widening reach

of our technology

and the ravenous

and short sighted appetite

of our corporate greed.

On the horizon,

the skies are darkening

and dire storms

are soon to be

coming our way.

Think only of yourself

and you're sure to lose.

Think only of yourself

and your buddies

and you might last

a few hours

through the first day.

Think of all of humanity,

and you might be there

when the storms have passed

and the skies

are clear once again.

Our entire species

is going to be threatened

and only by the deeds

of all of us together as equals

can Homo Sapiens

ever make it through.

Dewey Dirks

Just Beyond Your Nose

Just Beyond Your Nose

Out there,

Just beyond

The tip of your nose

Is what people

Usually refer to as reality

Behind your eyes

In your brain-box

You keep a mental picture of it

That you also refer to as reality

You self-adjust

Your picture of reality

By comparing it

To things around you

By trying out your ideas

To see if they appear accurate

And to see if they are able

To do work for you

And accomplish goals

You self-adjust

Your picture of reality

By talking to other people

Gathering ideas

That you think help paint

A better picture

Of the reality

Out there

Just beyond

The tip of your nose

Here's the catch---

No one has ever seen

Perceived or imagined

The reality beyond their nose

With anything

But the rough canvas

In their brain-box

Painted with mental pictures

Of that same reality

There are two things

Of which you can be certain

First,

Like every other creature on this planet

Humans have evolved in such a way

That our mental pictures

Are accurate and useful enough

To allow us to function

Under most conditions

Second,

Reality out there

Just beyond your nose

Is so much more

Than it seems

Simple as a single word

More complex than

The sum of knowledge

In all of mans books

Real as the ground

Beneath our machines

Illusionary

Like the whisper of a rainbow

While the earth wanders its track

--- a wheel in the sky

With spokes made useful

By the emptiness in between

Woven quietly by nature

As we all daily dream

A fine silk tapestry

Far, far richer,

Far more intricately,

With greater fullness of color,

Passion of design,

And depth of infinite detail

Than you or I or anyone

Who has ever lived

Has ever been able to splotch,

Blotch, swipe, or dibble

Like children just learning to paint

In a few kid colors

With our simple mental brushes

Dewey Dirks

Coming Into Bloom

Coming Into Bloom

In seeking security

and continuity,

most of us fool ourselves

with the illusion

of familiarity.

Yet, each day

into a new world.

we all wake and rise.

Yes, it looks very similar

to the world you knew

the day before.

Gravity still tethers

your feet to the ground

and the sun still rises

from the east.

Still, if you

open your mind

to the notion

that it really is new,

each day

you'll be welcomed

by unique occurrences,

new reactions to

those occurrences,

and a unique

and fresh you.

Soon, you'll notice

that coincidences

that once

were all very

rare and transient

now tend to be

more frequent

and tend to linger

just a little longer

as each day

your awareness

further unfolds

like a flower

coming into bloom.

Dewey Dirks

Change in the Changing

A Change in the Changing

We all know humanity

is in a hell of a fix.

Everywhere you look

are problems

one after another.

The largest cultures

all around the planet

function with

economic systems

that play with dice

loaded to favor

big corporations

and the rich.

Entire political systems

are on the take.

Governments in many countries

are firmly in the grip

of big money.

It's been that way for awhile.

There are millions of people

on every continent

who go hungry every day.

Politicians in countries

around the globe

goad their nations

to wars overt and subvert

when peace is all their

citizens ever want.

Giant corporations

driven by irrational

and dangerous greed

poison groundwater

with fracking,

chop down rainforests

vital to the planets

biological diversity,

pollute the environment

in more ways

than you can count,

and habitually murder

the inalienable rights

of people worldwide---

Rights that every human

deserves simply by virtue

of being born.

All the while,

the climate around the world

gets ever warmer

as a direct result

of human actions

Many, many people

all around the globe

realize the extent

of our problems.

Every day millions of people

look at the enormity

of the tasks facing us all and say,

“My God! I'm just one person.

What am I ever gonna do

to help all this?”

Don't ever lose hope my friends

every little bit each of us do

will help.

Time, and nature, and truth

are all on the side of the people,

and nothing

those who seek to oppress us

ever do can make

the truth go away.

What is not sustainable

can never, never last.

If our leaders don't

pull their heads out

of big money's pockets

on their own

nature and time are sure

to do it for them.

Humanity is a species

in the middle

of a transformation.

All the messes

we're in are only the fuel

of a great change

in the midst changing.

Today is just moment passing

It is not where we'll be tomorrow. 

Dewey Dirks

Candy

Candy

Everyone you ever meet

has a collection of something.

Sometimes it's a bunch of things,

like plates, DVD's or books.

Other times it's a collection

of things intangible

like a collection of similar ideas

or experiences.

We humans are like crows

collecting stuff we see as shiny.

To be happy, everyone you ever meet

needs some candy in their lives.

Sometimes, it's their collection they feed

other times it's a hobby they feed

like a fast car, a bunch of video games,

or a bunch of guns.

Everyone, no matter how old

are kids who need to have fun

some of the time.

It's not that people shouldn't have

candy and collections---

this is just part and parcel

of being human,

but take care that your candy

doesn't have you.

Remember, a little candy

is just fine, but too much

is never good,

and the TV will always try

to get you to buy

more than is good for you.

Dewey Dirks