Never Without

Wings

Wings

They say that life begins at forty.

Everything

before that is practice.

In my experience,

that's true.

As time has passed by,

one of the things

that has surprised

me most is how much

I knew by thirty

and how little of it

I realized that I knew

at the time.

In many ways,no man or woman

ever grows older

than eighteen.

After you take care

of all the business

each day,

spend the rest

of your time

being as young

as you can.

You knew best how to love another

by the time

you were six years old.

Most people

spend much of the rest

of their lives re-learning

how to love

that well again.

As the years roll on one of the best

things you can learn

is how to take

your own advice.

One of the best things

to remember

is what it was like

to be a kid.

Each day, spend time

doing three things---

working or creating something,

doing something fun

to entertain yourself,

and talking

to someone you love.

If you are able,

make your work

the same thing

as your play.

Everyone arrives at a fork in the road

in their late twenties,

again in their forties,

and yet again

in their fifties.

Each time, one path

leads to stagnation

while the other

leads to a frontier.

Each time, if you take

the wrong path,

you'll find yourself

in a ditch

and climbing out of it

will be the only way

to move on.

As the years roll on

if you keep

learning and loving,

you'll grow older

but your heart

will never grow old.

The years

weigh down;

No mind,

it's just ballast

for flight.

Learning and love

 have wings.

Dewey Dirks

Dances

Dances

There have been times in my life

When I've felt unspeakable pain and fear

And times when I've seen

Those whom I love

Suffer mind breaking pain as well

While I watched, unable to help

Of the two, I can tell you

The second is far, far worse

I've known love with another

That runs so deep in our souls

It will never know death

I've also seen and felt

To the very core of my existence

The simple joy

That quietly lives in all things

Like a pond of pure, clear water

And I've listened to something

Of the great lilting melody

To which all life moves

Joseph Campbell once said

"Find a place inside where there's joy,

And the joy will burn out the pain"

Which, I think, are very wise words

That couldn't be more true

When I was a young man

Hanging out with my dad,

When he was talking

Every once in awhile

He would become so emotional

That he'd almost burst into tears

At the time, I didn't know

There was no shame in it

And I was embarrassed by his openness

Now, many years have gone by

I've crossed many deep canyons,

Danced grand dances

With those whom I love very much

And I've climbed many mountain tops,

And, I too, find myself with tears

In my eyes welling sometimes when I talk

And now I know what dad

Was feeling way back then;

His tears were memories

Of the dances he'd danced

Dropping by to visit him

Dewey Dirks

Gifts and On Your Sleeves

Gifts

If my life has taught me any truths at all

They are three---

That there is no greater freedom

Than that presented by uncertainty,

That there is no greater comfort

Than that given by love,

And that the Universe offers us all

Auspicious and abundant quantities of both

It seems to me

That the only real tricks in life

Are to become unafraid

Of accepting these gifts

And to become aware

Of how fantastically precious they are

*****

On Your Sleeves

Keep your eyes and mind open

And your heart and soul

Out on your sleeves

Friendship and love

Are always looking

And when they find you

You never know

Exactly where you might be

Dewey Dirks

Glass of Water

Image: "Sea of Life" 

by Whiteagle Magnus aka Will Magnus

Glass of Water

A glass of clear water

Holds a bit of a river

To quench your thirsty body

But only in the river can you bathe

Words are drinks of water

Quenching a minds thirst to know

But it is a great river of love

Where you bathe a soul

Glasses come

In many shape and sizes

And each can hold some water

For you to take a drink

The river has many names

So people from many places

Can find it on their maps

But it is the caring waters of life

That loving wash over you

And satisfy your thirst

Dewey Dirks

Small Things

Hi folks :)  Be sure to take a look at my fourth book, “Lullabies and Legends,” over on Amazon.com.  A lot of people have been asking me for another book of poetry and this is it.   It is available for reading on all the current devices like Android phones and tablets, PC's, Kindles, iPhones and iPads.  Here is a sample poem and link to the book.

Small Things

Just last Wednesday I had a blowout with my wife

When all the shouting and throwing things was done

I figured I'd better get out of the house

Take a walk, I told myself

Let things cool down to a low boil

I walked slowly down the street

To the park three block's up and three block's over

There I bought some stale bread at the hot dog stand

Found a bench and sat down by an old man wrinkled and gray

We were quiet for a long while

Throwing bit's and bites of wheat bread

To the pigeon's that wandered by now and then

The old guy had the kind hint of a permanent smile

He seemed quite happy and very content

Got me wondering what advice he might give me

There from the twilight of his life

I said, “Old man, I'll tell you

Life at thirty-two looks pretty damn bad

What makes you so happy

With you in your eighties

And death's door waiting to open just down the street?”

He smiled a little more and said in a voice soft and quiet

“You know, when I was young I wanted whole lot of things

Later, I learned to want a few things a whole lot

But in the fullness of time I've found

That much of what has given me

The greatest happiness in life

Can all be put into just one word.”

“And what word is that?” I asked

His eyes sparkled

As he gave a good-hearted bit of bread to a bird

“Linore,” he said

“She is my lady

Linore waits for me at home

In a little while, I'll get up from this bench

And wander on back

I'll probably find her in the dining room

With a calico cat on her lap

When I walk in, she'll look up kindly and say

“Hi baby, how did it go for you today?”

Listen son, Linore is just a tiny little thing

Like me, she has gone very gray

But when I look at her I see

A half a million memories all rolled up inside

Half a million things to think about

Lingering quietly there in her turquoise eyes

They are small things

Stuff you'd hardly mention day-to-day

Things that most people never even notice

Or take for granted and cast aside

But I think about them all day long, every day

In Linore I see ten-thousand kisses

Scattered across fifty-five years

Ten-thousand times her soft hair

Has brushed up against my arm

Ten-thousand times her head has rested on my chest

Ten-thousand conversations

Bright or wise, idle or sad

Ten-thousand jokes and wise cracks

Adding a little happy spice and pepper

To the passing days

Ten-thousand smiles

Ten-thousand “I love you's”

Always from the soul, always good to hear

And at the end of ten-thousand tough days

Ten-thousand cuddles in bed after the lights went out

Ten-thousand times we have taken each other's hand

Ten-thousand times I've felt her gentle embrace

Ten thousand times her face has lifted up my day

Ten thousand times I've looked in her eyes

And seen the bright spark that dances inside

Small things

Things you'd hardly notice

But if you weave them all together

Across the long, long years

They tell a grand tale

That is epic and eloquent and entirely uncommon

A tale written by two small souls

With two small pen's

A story written by Linore and I

That is worth telling over and over again

Now son, you get up and go on home

And when you do, keep to the small things

Keep them handy

Keep them close by

Keep on remembering them

They are what will get you through the long year's ahead

They can make your life heroic

A romance that you live every day

If you let them, they can be ten-thousand things

That together

Are so much more than just a bunch of parts

****

http://www.amazon.com/Lullabies-Legends-Dewey-Dirks-ebook/dp/B00TYB70HC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1424803195&sr=1-1&keywords=lullabies+and+legends

Gargoyles

Gargoyles

Fears, regrets, lost hopes,

failures and smashed dreams

can chase you, chase you

in the shadows until

they catch you like a disease.

Building insidious inner demons,

they try to overwhelm you,

put blinders on your eyes,

tell you that you have

no freedom of choice,

tell you that all the world

is forsaken and made of pain.

Each time they win a battle,

they get a little stronger

If they win too many times,

they'll bind you with fear

and suffocate you with ignorance

trying to snuff your life spark out.

Each time you rise

to meet a new day,

you win the prize

of one more chance at life.

As you face the day,

with every choice you make

to believe in yourself

in spite of them, you win.

Each time you embrace them

teaching them of compassion

you win against them.

Each time you stand up to them

all or alone in the darker

alleys of your mind,

you win a battle with them.

If you win enough battles

by believing in your own magic

they'll transform

into peculiar allies---

You'll learn from them

to have even greater

empathy and compassion.

They'll become gargoyles

who protect you

with an amour of scars

that they've created,

guarding you against

any new strife you chance to face

in the long years ahead.

I've fought many of them

many times over the years

and I have many scars

because of it.

But my gargoyles have learned

respect for my spirit,

because I know in each place

they pierced me in times past,

in the white of my scars

shines the light of the sun,

and moon, and stars.

Dewey Dirks

Write the Silence

Write the Silence

It was a slow weekday down at Bell's Tavern

Pretty Sally and I were the only ones around

She tends bar half way through the week

Serving tall drinks, smiles and good conversation

We talked a bit about her new apartment,

We talked about her family and her friends,

We talked a bit about the weather,

Then we talked a bit about all the souls

You can happen meet in a bar now and then

She said, “John, you know, I really hate having

A hospital two blocks up the street

Sometimes I just don't know what to say

People come in having terrible times

I feel so sorry for them

Sick themselves with chemo and cancer

Or loosing people who are close to them

I said, “I'm a writer and I paint the world

With words and a pen, so I think about what people

Might say to each other all the time

You know, sometimes there's really nothing you can say

There's times when words just utterly fail

And there's also feelings

That don't have any words to go with them

Then we were quiet for a little while

And Sally walked off to make busy

By folding a few bar towels

When she came back I said, “I used to think

The hardest part of my kind of work

Was how to say things so well

That it moved people to tears

But now I know the hardest part for a writer

Is how to write the silence”

Just then someone walked through the door

Sally glanced at him quickly and gave me

A quiet hint of smile

Then she put on a broader smile

And went off to greet her new customer

Dewey Dirks

Universe is a Coral

Universe is a Coral

The Universe and the biosphere

Of our Mother Earth are corals

Intricate, colorful and complex,

Yet simple like a rock

Now, a coral is something in and of itself

But it is also a colony

Made of many small lifeforms called polyps,

Each one, something in and of itself

And within every polyp

Is the potential to make a whole coral

A coral would not be the same coral

Without the sum total of all the polyps that it's made of

Likewise, the Universe and our Earth Mother

Are things incomprehensibly vast in and of themselves

But without each and every one of the ten-thousand trillion

Lives contained therein,

Would not be the same Universe or Earth

Dewey Dirks

Lullabies and Legends

Hi folks :) I'm very happy and honored to tell you my newest book, “Lullabies and Legends” is now available on Amazon.com for immediate sale. A lot of people have been asking me for another book of poetry and this is it. Here is a sample poem and link to the book. It is available for reading on all the current devices like Android phones and tablets, PC's, Kindles, iPhones and iPads. Make sure to check it out.

Dancer

Las Vegas is a brightly shining city

That never has any time to sleep

You never really know

Who you might be talking to

Or who you might happen to meet

There is a little place called Palladium Station

Out in the suburbs of that big old town

If you go down there on a Wednesday night

you'll find Jessie tending bar

I used to drop in to see her

Have a drink and chat from time to time

One night when it was kind of slow

Jessie said to me,

“'Years past I was a dancer

In a brightly lit chorus line

I learned from one of the best there was

She had high hopes for me

We had a lot of mutual respect

I used to really sparkle up there on the stage.

I used to really shine

I had a hope or two of going even farther

'Had a hope or two of having even more

Of that diamond time

But, you know, life is what happens

While you're busy making plans

I got a husband and two children

And had to leave that chorus line behind

Now I only dance to teach a few kids

Over at the dancing school”

Jessie stopped to draw a guy a miller

When she came back she smiled and quietly said,

“There's times in the dark of night as I fall to sleep

I wonder what might have been

If my life had turned out differently

And a little more like I'd planned”

I said, “I am a writer

I make my art with a pen

Jessie, you're an artist too

And you make art with your body

Like an antelope running across the savanna

Or a tree moving gently in the wind

They say that art is its own point for happening

And improves upon the beauty of the world

Like the stars in the sky at night

Or a sunrise in the morning

Painting the day ahead

They say life has a strange way of happening

It takes you down roads you never expected

And paths that sometimes turn out better

Than you ever could have planned

If your art becomes famous

You get to shine brightly for a few years

Until your limelight begins to fade

Then you spend your time reminiscing

About the glory days behind you

Instead of paying attention to

The time you've got left

Show off your art

And you brighten the world for day or two.

But if you teach your art

To the young ones who come after you

You can see your sun rising

A thousand times over

In the long years ahead”

http://www.amazon.com/Lullabies-Legends-Dewey-Dirks-ebook/dp/B00TYB70HC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1424803195&sr=1-1&keywords=lullabies+and+legends

Two Shorts

Endless Love

Your mind

Is stronger than your body

Because your mind

Dwells in the realms of

Ideas and emotions.

Your spirit

Is stronger than your mind

Because you spirit

Dwells in the realms

Of an endless love.

In this way,

Mind precedes body

Spirit precedes mind

Endless love precedes all.

Dewey Dirks

Two Aliens

Two aliens from planet Glankbarga,

made of blue and green

and white and gold shades of intelligent color,

Stopped by to visit Earth the other day

In disguise, they wandered over to the Circle K

Bought some jelly beans and popcorn,

Then went back to their ship

To watch the ways of humans for awhile

The first one noticed all the wars

Corruption, and mayhem,

Then said to the other, “Kekbop, me tinks

There be some fools and monsters here”

The second noticed all the kindness, compassion,

Creativity and overcoming of hardship and replied,

“Yes Pelpak, but me tinks there be

Wise ones and mighty angels here too”

Dewey Dirks

The Returning

The Returning

There is a place deep inside of you

that is as vast as all world outside.

A place where knowledge

becomes no-knowledge,

where opinion, knowing and wisdom

become not-knowing.

A place where stillness permeates movement

and movement permeates stillness.

A place where time goes

now a little faster, now a little slower,

and has little meaning.

A place where everything that before

seemed dead and devoid of feeling

becomes alive and infused

with emotion, compassion and empathy.

It is from there you began,

and to there you must travel.

To there you must return

again and again .

There you meet yourself,

and become once more,

the child you have always been.

Dewey Dirks

Heppy Valentines Day!!

 

 

Happy Valentines Day :)

Pair Of Hearts

Her name sounds like a wildflower

She has a man who smiles when he sees her each day

And tells her of his long travels

Taken to learn more of life's strange play

She is wise in the ways of caring

She is wise in the ways of the world

She is wise in the ways mice and men

She is wise is the ways of kids and cats

She knows how to scold

Knows how to mend

She knows how to be serious

Knows what is fun

She knows how to touch the current of life in everyone

She loves her man powerfully

She loves him strong

She loves him deep in the night

She loves him all the day long

He wanders near

He wanders far

He wanders the world

Listening to life's melodious song

He's seen many things happen

And can tell many a tale

About the wide river that nudges and twirls us all

Like leaves bumping gently together

As we float in the kind eddy of distant falls

Now of all the wonders he has happened to see

None are so dear to him

As his lady’s tender touch and his lady’s lilting song

Drawing him home at night

Loving him powerfully

Loving him strong

DD and EC

From “Wildflower,” by Dewey Dirks

This one is for you Laino

The Sum Of Us

The Sum of Us

We all are taught in our schools

that there is but one reality

we all live in and to which we all must

accept, accommodate, and conform

but this my friend, is only an illusion

that our foolishness and the institutions

of our cultures foster upon us.

Each and every persons perceptions create

a reality of its own, each equal by virtue

of the sweet life flowing in our bodies.

There are seven billion human realities

living now upon Mother Earth...

and millions of whale realities,

millions of dolphin, falcon,

and elephant, realities,

millions of cow and sparrow realities,

billions upon billions of fly,

spider and beetle realities,

and untold scores of microbe realities.

Like vast, vast numbers of poets,

each casting spells with a trillion poems

of love, and sorrow, and hope, and living,

every individual of every species

is a writer penning skillfully

a image of reality with his life.

We all have our own stories to tell,

Lord God if you've got the time.

And reality?

That is a backdrop, a waking dream---

a misty muse from which

we all draw inspiration.

It's truest image, shape and form

is not told by one individual,

by a single country or group

or even by any single species.

Reality on our little blue dot in the sky

is the sum of all of our stories put together

and of the hidden stories

of our Earth Mother, and the bright Sun

and of the quiet stories

of clouds, the wind, the moon

and star filled night skies.

Dewey Dirks

Dreamtime Sea

Dreamtime Sea

A wise man once said

Humanity is a vast ocean

If a few drops are dirty

it doesn't spoil

the whole sea

There are stormy waters

and water that flows

very, very calm

on the dreamtime sea

Ideas, ideas

swim all around

in our heads

Many dream of do's and dont's

Others dream

of a better humanity

Still others

fret and toss nervously

in their sleep

It's not where we are right now

that tells the tale

but the direction

the water is headed

that is important to see

Look around, look around

You and I cannot be

the only two good people

in the dreamtime sea

The river's are rising

The river's are rising

We cannot stop it

even if we wanted to

It's not the bad ones

to look for

but the kindness

of people every day

that defines humanity

We all are part of a great

dreamtime sea asleep

There are many

who are wise and kind

flowing gently in their slumber

while others toss and tumble

like stormy waves

breaking white foam

on the moon light beach

Dread not

the long journey, my friend

Who wakes from slumber

is frightened no more

by the dreamtime sea

Dewey Dirks

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