Grown Up

Grown Up

Humans are an infant species

when compared to the

hundred of millions of years

some species have been

around Mother Earth.

Look at all that we have learned

in the two-hundred thousand years

modern humans have been on the planet.

Likewise, we've only had civilizations

for around eighty-five hundred years.

How much more do you imagine

we might learn after we've been around

six or eight million years like the whales?

Mother Earth, who, in all probability, is alive

has been around for about

four and a half billion years.

How much do you imagine she's

happened to learn?

The Universe, in all likelihood, also alive

has been around for at least

thirteen and a half billion years.

Imagine what wonders

she might have learned

in all that time---

Before you despair

the the state of Mankind

remember we've only begun

our long travels in the halls of time.

Personally, I think we are

destined for great things

once we've grown up a bit.

Dewey Dirks

Look, Listen

Look, Listen

Look!

You can see it

filling full the air,

and raining down

from the bright sun

and gray clouds.

You can see it rising up

from the brown earth,

coming out of every building,

and dancing a fine dance

in the green grass and trees.

Rest easy

your tired soul, my friend.

Listen!

The grand song of life

hums quietly a lilting melody.

Softly she forever whispers

of a long love, endless and true

in the velvet breeze.

Dewey Dirks

Roads

Here is a poem from my soon to be released book, “Journey.”

Roads

Islam, Santeria, Hinduism
Christianity, Humanism
Wicca, Buddhism, Shinto,
Agnosticism, Atheism,
Judaism, Taoism, Sikhism,
Skepticism, Shamanism
Baha'i

I have no interest
in judging the roads
others follow
We all see through
different sets of eyes
and walk with
different feet
to each man
an individual path

Still, all roads lead
to the same high mountain
Even if that mountain
is a parking lot in Chicago
or a flat in Riyadh,
Mexico City, Moscow
or Beijing

All rivers lead
to the same great sea
Even if the river you follow
is across the world
from the shore I walk on

We all breath sweet blue air
of the same Earth
Walk under one vast night sky
that touches our souls with
equal tenderness for all

Tomorrow, tomorrow
you and I, my friend
will wake
to greet the same day
Time flows quietly, silently
a soft fabric woven unique
to each of us our own portion
here very quickly, there very slow
Ten thousand solitary footsteps
ten thousand singular sights
ten thousand feelings
for which there are no words

Yet with every morning sunrise
we all meet the same daylight
given freely of the
same brilliant, bright sun

Our creativeness
makes each of us unique
Our common humanity
makes us all brothers and sisters
of the same fold

Love, wit and creativity, you see
are magic---
At once making each of us
a separate melody
and all parts
of the same grand song

Dewey Dirks

In The Details

In The Details

We each are the parent

of our experiences.

Heaven is in hidden

among the details of your day.

The things you most want out of life

have been following you around

for years tugging at your shirttails

like a child whispering happily

'Daddy look! I'm here!'

Joy is the day you finally stop for a hug.

Bliss is realizing that all through

the long years, your spirit has been stopping

again and again carefully gathering

hugs, and smiles, and laughter, and long talks

without you ever knowing.

One day you look and there it is

traveling right beside you,

all around you and in your memories too;

Fifty years of stored up heaven,

light as a single, brightly colored feather

and as vast as all the vivid world .

Dewey Dirks

King of the World

Here is a poem from my upcoming book, “Lullabies and Legends.”

King of the World

It was late one Thursday night

Down at the Blue Light Lounge

When I walked in no one was there

But Ted, my asshole bartender

And some old biker

With a snow white beard and long gray hair

I sat down beside him and ordered up a beer

I said, “I'm Slammed-Out Sal

And I run this neighborhood

Just who the hell are you

And what are you doin' in my bar

Drinkin' my booze and breathin' my air?”

He laughed and said, “Good to meet you Sal.

I'm Knife-Nose Frank

And I'm king of the world”

Ted winked at me

I took a drink and smiled

Figured I'd have some fun with this toad

“You're tellin' me you run the whole damn world?” I asked

“Hell yea” he said, “everyplace, everywhere”

I said “I bet you're old, maybe two-hundred or more”

Three-hundred five, and a few weeks” he grinned

I took a sip of coor's and said

“You don't run it very good.

Everyone's always fighting”

He said, “You know, I like everyone

But you gotta run things with an easy hand

And people are like kids, spoiled and scrappy

They're gonna do what they're gonna do

And they're gonna play rough

A time or two

Gonna get a bloody nose every once in awhile

What can you do?”

“How come there's so many countries?” I asked

Seems like it'd be better

If we was all had one government

“I like variety. Variety is good” he smiled

“What about all these different religions?” I asked

“People are gonna think what they want to think

There's something for everyone

Freedom of religion is good,” he smiled

So what's the hardest part

Of running the whole damned world, Frank?”

“Keepin' the proper mix

Of house cats and dog people” he said

“Just what ever do you mean, Frank?” I laughed

He took a drink and grinned back at me

“Well, house cat people are curious and playful

And lots of times they get into trouble

But you gotta have them

Or no books would be written

Paintings wouldn't get painted

Nothing would get invented

And songs would 't be sung

House cat people are a little chaotic

But they do a lot of good things too

Now, dog people don't like change

And they don't invent much of anything

But they follow their masters loyally

Keep life stable, work very hard

And help countries live a long, long time

But the house cats and the dogs

Don't understand each other sometimes

Some days each one looks down on the other

Keepin' the mix even

And keepin' one from stomping the other one out

Is the hardest thing I usually do”

Knife-nose Frank stood up and stretched

Said “It's been nice talkin' to you Sal

But I've got to go

See about some riots in Uzbekistan"

I stood up too

I figured I'd follow him outside

And kick the shit out of him in the parking lot

Then Frank pulled a thousand dollar bill out of his wallet

And slapped it on the bar

He winked at Ted

“Keep the change,” he said

I looked at the money

And followed him outside

Just then a black helicopter flew overhead

And Frank swung his leg over a pure platinum V-4 chopper

When he fired it up, my heart stopped for a second

And I swear the sky moved

He nodded at me and slipped it into gear

I don't remember him leaving

But as suddenly as he was there, he was gone

My eyes were wide when I walked back in the Blue Light Lounge

Ted must have noticed the look on my face

“Do you want to keep this money for yourself?” he asked

I figured it'd be better to be safe than sorry

“No, you take it” I said,

“I think we'd better do what he wanted”

Dewey Dirks

The Phone Call

The Phone Call

Tomorrow it will have been exactly one year

since Laino passed on.

She and I always used to make a trip

across town twice a month

to the Native American smoke shop to buy cigarettes.

It was always an errand we made together

and we always had a lot of fun on the ride.

Over the years I came to enjoy it very much

as it was time we could spend together,

make a lot of jokes about all kinds of ridiculous stuff

and generally have a very good time.

Now that Laino is gone, I still make

the trip twice a month and I always think of her

on the way remembering

all the good times passed that we had together.

My memories of our smoke shop trip's

are so vivid it always seems like she's still there

in the car beside me talking to me

eyes sparkling with a happy smile.

Yesterday, I ran the errand thinking

of Laino all the while.

When I got home, I walked into the house

and put the bag of cigarettes on the kitchen table.

I fished my phone out of my pocket, still thinking

of Laino and the errand I'd just got back from.

I looked down at the phone suddenly astounded

because apparently the coins in my pocket had pushed

the phone touchscreen in such a way that

Lainos name and phone number were up on the display

as though she had just made a call to me from the Summerlands

to say with a smile “Hi baby! Here I am! :).”

I sat at down at the table, still looking at the phone screen

and thought of some lyrics in that song

from the seventies by Kansas, 'Miracles out of Nowhere,'

--- “It's so simple right before your eyes
If you'll look through this disguise
It's always here, it's always there
It's just love and miracles out of nowhere.”

Dewey Dirks