Thoughts of Diana

there is splashing symmetry
to these wind-sent whirling waves
a western moon not yet bright
seeks vainly through the clouds
spilling stained-glass light at my feet

this night's natural beauty is haunted
by mist-eyed thoughts of Diana

kneeling on time's twilight shore
I drink once more from memories
and sink through her soft eyes of blue

eyes like precious gems
shimmering like the moon-lit sea
memories undescribable oh dreams
of her passionate caress

velvet tones sang from her fingers
her touch, soft with delicate splendor
poignantly rendered tender moments
in delightful, intoxicating romantic amber
 

 
today is life's full song
sang beneath a langorous noontime sun
by the first robin of early spring
by children wrestling on winter-browned grass
slowly turning summer green

all the glories of the past
are gathered in this waning moment
to be slept, wept, or day dreamed away

how little we love what is now
how often we long for some coming hour
to spawn the seed of hope
so easily found in a fresh morning flower
 
 

 
these things I remember well
warm Earth caressing my feet
the stillness of a star-lit night
safe lips cling to mine
whisppering long delight
             in September

during my mind's darkest hours
when tyrany stayed silent in my soul
when lonely days would take their midnight toll
I captured jazz-refrains lilting, profane
from dimly-lit, smoke-filled jukebox-towers
on San Francisco and Berkely streets
             in September

in early June our eyes first met
painful love we wanted to forget
we danced to the music of the breeze
and mused upon the profuse life of trees
by many a mountain stream we slept
in your arms I laughed and wept
             in September

in a tipi I spent many moons
riding horses through high Alpine meadows
seeing visions in evening campfire shadows
tracking deer, but finding mostly flowers;
gazing from mountain tops for hours
feeling the Great Mystery dwelling within all
whose Will commands the great and the small...
almost forgot the white-man's ways
             in September
 

 
I met you in a fleeting dream
that seemed so very real
on a snowy night I held you tight
we watched a carosel
I'll never know what made you cry
or how you really feel
we'll meet again, my lovely friend
when all our wounds have healed

worlds like clouds came floating by
with mansions thereupon
whirling in flight from reality
to a mystic Babylon
each palace was resplendent with
grand style and luxury
a princess came who knew my name
her name was Rosalie
we walked upon a grassy isle
beside a tranquil sea
she said she knew of someone I loved
with whom I'd rather be

I'll not forget that dream of Rosalie
on the dreamscapes velvet hue
her hair was long, dark, violet-red
her eyes were ocean-blue
we held fast in a close embrace
but our moments were so few
yet I feel that our love was real
for only love is true

I'll never know what made you cry
or how you really feel
we'll meet again, my lovely friend
in a snowy night's sweet dream

 
these days of long shadows
these nights of long fires
my guitar playing gently
sings of love's latent desires

watching you silently
how you make my heart smile
remembering your soft kiss
feeling wrm all the while

overhead there's a full moon
shining bright on the land
while inside there's a new hope
that we'll walk hand in hand

one thing you must know love
feelings I'm unable to hide
they come out after sunset
to light the nighttime inside
 

 
there's a spark of love I just can't control
burning so deep within my soul
you came to free, so perfectly
a Columbine Flower beneath a pine tree

there are a thousand faces
flying in the breeze
behind each one
there is a child
there is a God
there is a mystery

patiently the sun floats across the sky
silently clouds come dancing, dancing
like mighty sky-horses prancing, prancing
tenderly I hold your hand and wait
for the moment you'll whisper
"caress me," with a sigh...

 
lost in time and space
camping by a stream still pristine
something more subtle than emotion beckons me

deep diving...pining, forever pining
striving constantly to be free
sometimes my soul catches the fire and the wind

Let me tell you of a high place, majestic, serene
where Nature rules still
there the feeling is stronger
and the beauty more breathtaking
than a Beethoven symphony

Let me tell you of an experience
that defies words and belief
it is being in time with
the inner spirit we barely can perceive

who rules the heart will steady the mind;
who rules their mind will become  king

hawks circling quietly in the evening breeze
remind me of a sunset wher once I saw
a golden city, brilliant in the pastel sky

 
my darling lives afar away
babe, she's gone so far away
now I'll not see her
for many a day, many a day
so empty now I cannot tell
words of love I can no longer say

Long before these uncertain hours
we slept beneath a basket of flowers
the love we made stays
a sweet memory midst these old city towers
so lonely now...she's moved away
words of joy I can no longer say

My darling lives afar away
babe, she's gone so far away
near the dark side of the moon

I'll try to find where she's gone today
she'll take me from this world of pain
to magic meadows where we'll play
 

I lay beside this dark, azure lake
gazine at reflections of diamond starlight
where my dissonant dreams are scattered
far-flung through time and space

Once, by full moonlight, we danced and sang
heavenly music filled the air
into this lake of dreams I looked
and saw rainbows in your hair

Today, in dream lake I gazed
and saw these reflections there:
far, rugged peaks bright with snow
lush forests dark and elfin green
skies more blue than the western sea;
an appariation which could not disappear --
my lost lady with bright scarlet hair

 
lovely in these quiet hours
is the way I remember you
when you're away my mind's-eye
reflects on images tainted blue

Laughing like a child
at something you'd heard or seen
the first time I heard your voice
I thought you were a queen

Lingering melancholy thoughts
of past flings, of foolish things...

Be gone!

Winter's final throes have begun...
so I'll bring flowers for your golden hair
and for the coming of the spring
 

 
Lisa, lady, enchanting, sweet, so wild,
when I first looked into your eyes
I saw a restless child
borne by the springtime wind
to my heart's unsuspecting, open door

Eyes so blue, brilliant in many ways,
refleting your soul's splendid reservior;
now I've seen you for a thousand days,
and shall remember you forever more

where once only thoughts of love could dwell
lies a solem memory -- a hidden lake --
where we've swam together, naked, laughing...
then words came to bind me,
deep kisses to remind me of something
you told me, that shouldn't have been thought

There's a fire in your eyes
and a longing in your heart
to be loved by everyone,
but with which one will you start?

Touching your hair in the morning
took me to a wild place
of canyons, waterfalls, and flowers...
waking to find you in my arms
brought joy to my melancholy soul-bowers

Lisa, lady with the scarlet hair
you've thrilled me more than you should...
your presence now causes such poignant heartache,
and I never thought it would

There's a room where only our love dwelled
a sweet secret, like a hidden lake...
there we played love's games together
'til the cruel dawn of love forsaked

Now my mind is so widely scattered,
dispensed like sunshine through the trees,
made tender, bereft from the lost experienc
of your warmth, your enchantment,
and the mystical, sensual, mystery of your smile.
 

 
I was a downtown singer
I was a worthless bum
one day I met an artist woman
whose hair was thick and long

In the evening I would play guitar
in the daytime we laid in the sun...
we shared wine, music, and much laughter,
each morning we made love

Have you ever seen the city
from a mountain way up high?
it's enough to make you wonder
It's enough to make you cry

I've know a lot of good friends,
a lot of good times in this town...
but now I'm leaving, and I'm not sad
tell her that I'll be around
the next time I see her, downtown...
 

 
Brilliant in the sky, shining together
what precious gems are these
for even the poorest to see

Dance of the cosmos
which, in pagentry, enthralls me
what significance may be
to this majestic trinity?
Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars

Days shrouded in anxiety
timorous, those who wait,
trembling in timidity...
the midns of many ponder, anticipate,
cower before the future's awful chasm

Men may cheerfully prosper,
children may carelessly play,
women will dream of new lovers --
this may never change --
yet, together, fearing this portentous moment,
they sahre a commonality:

what is this grand spectacle we witness,
and wherefore its cosmic purpose?

 
-- find a castle, though one perhaps only imagined,
          along the pathways of silent dreams

-- storybook lkaes, emerald and blue
          shine serenly, bedecked of lily and pale hue

-- I life in a shadow-world of leeting dreams...
          light sparkles there, sweetly innocent

-- wonder not, lonely dreamer, in passionate aniety,
          though fate awaits to tept thee,
          though friend and foe flail against thee,
         this life of yours must be fully lived

-- delicately balanced on the precipice of eternity,
          behold the future of curel uncertainty!

-- demons of soul-shatteirng commercialism
         malignantly dominate the media-scape