Hi all,
There was a big question on my mind about this time last year, so I wrote a blues song about it, "Buddha's Twelve Bar Blues". I have had to confront it quite a bit in this past year, but feel that I finally do have an answer for it. I summarize it in a poem called 'Two Loves', that I wrote today. Be well, everyone.
The Question:
Clouds of peace all around me, rising up into the sky
Tinged a gloomy shade of black, can't you see the reason why
Can't find no peace in this world, till I call this world a lie
Can't find no things to rouse me, no matter howso hard I try
Want no more drink and grass, and their insalubrious high
Can't find no peace in this world, till I call this world a lie
Tried livin' with you people, with tuxedo and a tie
Tried running around naked, playing catcher in the rye
Can't find no peace in this world, till I call this world a lie
Take no truck in holy books, all say that the end is nigh
Do as we do, sinner, before you go to hell and fry
Can't find no peace in this world, till I call this world a lie
All the things I've ever loved, cast a brightness and then die
Love will always break my heart, so I let love pass me by
Can't find no peace in this world, till I call this world a lie
Don't know which way I'm going, or if I should even try
Don't know if I'm still living, or if I just wait to die
Can't find no peace in this world, till I call this world a lie
How can a flower bloom, if the poor old roots are dry
How can the spirit soar, if the mind and body cry
Can't find no peace in this world, till I call this world a lie
The world is such a crazy place, till I firmly close my eyes
Fold my legs and sit up straight, feel the sound of silence rise
Can't find no peace in this world, till I call this world a lie
The Answer:
Two Loves
Two loves I have, both far away
The love within and the one without
Two loves have I, and each alone
Would have devoured me inside out
The love without; with sun and storm
Cleaves two hearts in passion’s sway
The love within, a great ocean’s swell
Enfolds me; but never all the way
The love of my life is an ardent flame
Scouring every trace of moral chaff
The celestial love is a gentle breeze
That caressing; blows the cinders off
The love without is a tender stalk
Floating on currents of circumstance
The love within is the sea itself
Where all rivers end; given the chance
It burns, it calms; it claws, it heals
Her love is frank in its innocence
He listens, and ever keeps his counsel
Speaking with wordless eloquence
They’ll break my heart, time after time
They will stretch me, tax my vigor too
And every time will I rise stronger
And the music of my lute will sing anew
Ever harder they pull, one at each end
The slender strings of my heart’s desire
And yet sweeter does the music sound
As they raise the pitch still higher
The tree of Life’s Heart can only grow
In soil moistened by tears of love
In my garden, it will always thrive
Showering its flowers from above
Two loves I have, both far from me
Yet slowly, towards both, I make my way
I stumble at times, and lose my path
But know that I’ll be there one day
