Poems: The Last Three

Below are the last three poems of my book Visions of the Perfect Wave. "The Ballad of the Ancient Surfer", on a separate page, begins the book. There is a degree of continuity to all of poems that make up the book, ending in a vision that I strive to articulate on this blog.

The Poet that Rides the Waves

I am the poet that rides the waves,
cresting high
and crashing low.

A poet in the wake of your Walt Whitman,
a poet of the body,
a poet of the soul.

The pleasures of heaven ascend me,
and the pains of hell descend me.

If you knew how much I missed the mark
of that ideal
you might shake your head and go

But wait, my countrymen and women,
my weaknesses can be made perfect
in you.


Ocean Blue

As tides and light will ebb and flow,
I ride the ebbing light in the tidal zone,
Casting away from the golden shore

With the grace of the pelican revealed in flight
And the cry of the gull, cry no more --
Setting out onto the ocean blue.

This sailor’s tale is ever told
And in my wake the rose I’ve known
Both the flower and its thorns,
The softness of its petals, the sweetness of its scent,
And the love it represents.

But as the currents go, however the tidal flow
Drifting off from the surface light.
No finding our way by the stars of heaven
Save only through the passage of the night.

Refracted beauty, beautiful blue.
Deeper, darker, dissipating blue,
Let the ocean currents to carry me home,
Deeper, darker, expansive blue.

Wherever the ocean goes and wherever the tides will flow
In the break of the waves at the local beaches
Yet surging on to distant shores
Refracted beauty, ocean blue.


Come Out and Dance

Strike up the music of the band
Prepare the way for the fatted calf
The prodigal son is coming home.

He’s tired of slaving in the mud
While all his gifts and all his love
Go wasted on his mortal pride.

So turn that water into wine,
Long live spirit and death to pride.
The rebel son is homeward bound.

Spread the news across the land
Come out and sing, come out and dance
The age of poetry has begun.

Come share your gifts and I’ll share mine
We’ll build on something worthy of time
And the triumph of the Spirit will be won.

Better to look the fool than be the fool
Having learned the wisdom of the rule
To love each other as you love yourself.

Come dear brother, take my hand,
A house divided cannot stand.
It’s time we were a family once again.

Charity for all and malice toward none,
Come welcome home the prodigal son
Tomorrow we’ll work the fields again.

Come sing the human spirit above
All that divides and occludes our love:
Love each other as you love yourself.

So strike up the music of the band
We’re blazing a trail for the Promised Land:
Heaven on earth lies within you.