message in a bottle

detach yourself from the seeming
successes and failures of your children

 by doing so, you become able
to be one with them at all times

you do not live your life
through your children

 therefore they are free
to find their own true fulfillment

The Parents Tao Te Ching - translated by William Martin

m e s s a g e   i n   a   b o t t l e

and at once, I knew
I was not magnificent



unemployed again - late in the game

I’m looking for a job where there’s room for my spirit to grow 
(easier said than done)

I've been most fortunate
in having rewarding employment
jobs that I liked (ok most)  

it’s always been important and especially so now

it's becoming more of a challenge with each passing day
in a fixed timeline tock-ticking and where relevance 
becomes an exercise in irreverence 

my home is in a world vibrant, fragrant and abundant

by a field near water with blue sky and clean air

less - is more
 

 

I’m thinking about what it will be like 

sitting on the rocks of the southern shore of Lake St. Clair 

on a cold cloudy day in March 1969

where I lived as a 12 year old boy in isolation
parents split - spitting strangely - stupidly

living with Dad and this woman - an old flame fermenting
who hates us because we're just in her way
she just wants him - not us
baggage
  
me and my younger brother
Dad always gone, out of the picture
so yeah, both parents
in absentia 

Dad drinks, everyone drinks - a lot
whatever
beach-combing - a daily ritual for David and me
finding shit that washes up 
 

looking out, just the sound of the waves 

and the hollow, haunting cry of the seagulls

floating by (going with the flow)

I can do this
looking up
 

  

it's all in the absorption

seeing a corked clear bottle drifting my way 

lifting it out - removing the slippery, cold green seaweed 
opening it - a piece of paper - wow! 
this handwriting looks familiar 

it’s a note from me, written 47 years in the future (March 2016)
unraveling the roll and absorbing it in the quiet

it reads as follows ...

.

I want to think about progress in nature

I want to see the stars and
thank the gods
 

I’m 59 and there’s not a whole lot of time left

and I want what’s left to count for something in the world

spending time thinking about what we don’t want 
(or what has gone wrong) 

is a waste and I’d like those years back - gone 

I want to spend time thinking about what I do want 

I want to inspire people
everyone around me
 
that being said, I am consistently reminded 

that we live in a world 
made up of shapes and things

circles, triangles and squares

and that thinking out of the box

means compromising the integrity 
of the infrastructure

 

there’s black and white
then the primary colours then - ok
I think you get the idea
 
rules are important because structure is important 

without them there would be no order in the universe

so I respect our rules and laws - values and beliefs

providing one doesn’t get stuck inside them

magnetized to the dots on a flat white page 

with an inability to connect them

let alone distance oneself - seeing the bigger picture

from a fresh new perspective (from afar)

this for me is what life is fundamentally about 

that willingness to take a step back and appreciate

what goes on under the surface

or beyond our exterior

utilizing our resources 
to their utmost
potential  

listening to her nautical narrative 
silently sung
 

between the lofty lines 

the magic that exists in all things 
and yet remains elusive 

to the naked eye

m e s s a g e   i n   a   b o t t l e

 

 spending time thinking about what I don’t want 
is a waste of everyone's time 

I want to spend what’s left of my life 
thinking about what I do want


and at once, I knew
I was not magnificent

there are those who would say no
I would do nothing differently - me?
I would do everything differently
starting with this
 
 

I love you friend

may you live abundantly 
and love every single, breathing moment 

that remains