Awake Too Early

My relentless mind 

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p style=”font-family:"”>In perpetual motion 

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p style=”font-family:"”>Sleeping’s a challenge 

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p style=”font-family:"”>Awake against my will

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p style=”font-family:"”>Dreaming of dreaming 

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p style=”font-family:"”>Longing for slumber 

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p style=”font-family:"”>The machinery of my mind 

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p style=”font-family:"”>Psychological cogs churn and spin 

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p style=”font-family:"”>Whirring hum of my soul 

They grow up so fast

My phone buzzes

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p style=”font-family:"”>A beautiful woman

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p style=”font-family:"”>Who I remember

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p style=”font-family:"”>In diapers

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p style=”font-family:"”>I feel joy

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p style=”font-family:"”>At the blessing

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p style=”font-family:"”>Of my simple

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p style=”font-family:"”>Witness 

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p style=”font-family:"”>

Anthony Bourdain: A Eulogy In Haiku

anthony-bourdain-suicide-death

His death striking me
Suicide’s painful cruelty
What ate his heart so?

I learned a lot from him
Though we weren’t friends, nor had met
But that’s not the point

His show connected with me
I felt a kinship via his journeys
And deeper knowledge

His travels: unique
He went off the beaten path
A road less taken

His show; self-aware
Acknowledging some deceits
Never caught a fish

No angel was he
A comfort with his darkness
Yet not quite enough

Bourdain won Emmys
And also a Peabody
Awards can’t save us

“Everything” he had
All the pieces he held up
Yet he felt despair

His pain surfacing
After great wealth and great fame
Worse than in failure

So many faiths
Preach there’s more to our lives
Than wealth or our fame

There’s an emptiness
In this life we envision
We must be wary

In this morning dark

My mind’s focus telling me

My heart’s deep values
There are times that I think my priorities are “X”. I’ve learned, though, my mind’s focus when I wake tells me the deepest concerns of my heart. 

What’s interesting is how often it’s not anything I give focus to during my day. Or i would expect to be secondary. 

Sometimes it’s not logical, other times it’s extremely rational. 

Sometimes fear, now, though, it’s not. That’s a blessing. 

A thought about taekwondo

Bodies in motion
With the power of our minds
Martial arts’ beauty,

I’ve been studying taekwondo for several years. I’ve been a black for s could years know. I love the beauty, the strength, and grace. And,just importantly, I adore the community that is my humble school’s. 

A Meditation This Memorial Day

Please remember why

So many giving their lives

Bird song on marble

As a young man, I was quite proud of my decision to join the Navy. No plans for great and noble sacrifice. My future was what mattered; potential, possibility. There were thoughts of glory, but not of sacrifice. 

I’m sobered as I remember my youth. The naivete. The impulsiveness. The reckless spirit. The commitment to my friends. A child in so many ways, carrying amazing responsibility. I held the keys to horror. Mistakes could mean anguish and death for my friends, my crew, those I loved, and for countless innocents. 

I’ve seen the face of parents who’ve lost their children. Of wives who lost their husbands. The promise of youth shattered to pieces. That leaves a horrible swath of destruction within hearts. 

I consider all of this as I look upon this day and it’s symbolism. There’s so much we have yet to learn.