Notes from the coffee shop at the edge of the universe

LIFE

Life is not in the moment, Poet,

but in your relationship with the moment.

It is the same with everything;

love

friendship

serenity

joy . . . . they are all relationships,

and the relationships begin

HERE [Erroneous points to Poet’s head]

and they continue

THERE [Erroneous gestures outward.]

TO THE WEST

The rainbow reminds Poet

of him, and makes Poet

wish that he was here, which he is not,

and now the rainbow’s gone, just like him.

INSANITY

As Poet’s

thoughts turned positive, her insanity

passed, which just goes to show

that even insanity can be conquered

with a thought.

(Where was that philosophy back in my insane days, Erroneous?)

It was here, Poet, in your future.

(I wonder what’s there now?)

Depends on your thoughts.

YOUR SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

The direction of your life

is a choice, Poet, because your thoughts are choices,

and your thoughts create the direction of your life,

so choose your thoughts wisely, Poet, because life is precious,

and it's in your hands.

A DREAM POET HOPES SOMEDAY COMES TRUE

Poet is glad

he called.

Sometimes all she needs is a conversation with him

to un- nervous the nervousness

inside her, and to know that she is not

alone, which she is not, though often

she feels she is . . . . but then he calls,

and suddenly, like in the movies, everything

is cool.

MURDER

Mornings are friendly

to Poet.

It’s the loneliness of the night

that is the killer.

WORDLESS

Poems arrive

wordlessly, Poet, like a dance

done with your surroundings.

Later, when the words arrive, so arrives

the communication, and you connect,

which is the point.

THE DANCE

The dance is perfect.

If the rhythm seems off,

or if the steps seem awkward, or false . . . . .

is it the dancer’s perception, not

the actual dance. (So what do I do, Erroneous, if it feels wrong?)

You keep dancing, Poet, until the dance’s perception

becomes yours.

MIRACLES

Poet perpetually expects

a miracle,

and she is never disappointed.

Why?

Because miracles exist

inside the perceiver’s mind,

not inside the perceived.

It is a nice way to live.

ACCEPTANCE

Acceptance is not

an emotion, Poet, but a state of mind,

and states of mind flow in spiritual directions,

and acceptance’s direction is gratitude.

[Poet resolves to flow in acceptance’s direction today, and to see

where acceptance leads.

Poet expects it to lead to a miracle,

but then Poet expects everything to lead

to a miracle . . . . . and it always does.]

HE

Amazing sky,

amazing trees,

amazing river,

amazing life.

PART 2

He, too, is amazing, like life,

though life is

what separates them,

and life is

what connects them.

Strange.

LIKE WATER

The moment suddenly opens, and Poet

suddenly understands infinity.

It is a friendly feeling . . . . like water.

AFTER

[Poet asks Erroneous . . . . . where do her thoughts go after she thinks them.]

Thoughts create passageways, Poet,

and these passageways lead to your future.

Their destinations depend upon your thoughts,

and your thoughts depend upon the direction you think them.

(What directions are there, Erroneous?)

Positive, and negative, Poet.

PURPOSE AND GHOSTS

Purpose exists above of us.

Ghosts exist behind us.

Which direction do you want to travel, Poet?

(Up.)

Then think up.

DOORS

The cage door swings opens, and Poet leaves.

PART 2

The door was never locked.

It only appeared to be locked.

PART 3

Locked and unlocked

are directions of thought, not barriers

separating you from possibility.

PART 4

Nothing is locked, unless you think it’s locked,

and nothing is open, unless you think it’s open.

PART 5

Residence in the cage is a state-of-mind, Poet, not a state

of circumstance.

PART 6

Welcome to the cerebral revolution.

LOVE

The music of his life harmonizes perfectly

with the music of Poet’s.

What more could a music lover want?

POET’S POEM

This

feeling

Poet feels

must

remain

unnamed, because naming it

would make it real,

and Poet

resists

making

it real, because real

requires

action,

and as action creates,

action destroys, too,

and Poet

is not

sure

she’s ready

to destroy

what IS.

(You think

I’m a coward, don’t you, Erroneous?)

Not a coward, Poet, but not a gambler, either,

and sometimes

love

requires

a gamble.

ERRONEOUS’ POEM

Poet

is useless,

which is why

she needs

me.

THE STRANGER

Nourish

the stranger

within you, Poet,

because she

is the person

you are,

and she

is the person

you were,

and she

is the person

who you will eventually

BE.

A PAST ROMANCE

After

something happened

between them,

He

told

Poet

that he didn’t think

he knew her

anymore,

so Poet, out of love, and out of need, got busy creating

someone

he knew,

which, of course, wasn’t Poet,

and the whole thing crumbled.

The moral

of the story

is this;

if it’s going to crumble, at least

let

it crumble

real.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

To acknowledgment

the pain

diminishes

the pain.

This

is Poet’s acknowledgement.

Hey, it worked.

THE DEAD

How

can

we tell

that the dead

are dead,

and not

actually

us?

PART 2

Maybe

life

is a form of death,

and death, a form of life.

PART 3

Or maybe

everything

that’s dead

balances

everything

that’s alive, so the universe

spins

perfectly.

PART 4

Yeah, that’s probably it.

WORTH

If you notice things

that others miss,

you will understand art.

If you pass on things

that others notice,

you will understand loneliness.

But here’s the thing, Poet;

You can’t

notice

things

that others

miss

without

missing

things

that others

notice.

LOVE

To love

on the Path

is to love

the moment,

and to love

everything

inside

the moment,

which is spiritually cool,

but awfully lonely

when all

you want

is the touch

of a man.

PART 2

Poet

has

no lover’s arms

in which

she

can rest.

No wonder

she’s so tired.

SURRENDER

You don’t

surrender

to an idea, Poet,

or to a person,

or to a way of life.

You surrender

to a spiritual direction,

and then you become

that direction’s destination.

THE POET

Silence

is not

the absence

of sound,

but the presence

of awareness.

PART 2

Silence

is created

through listening,

and listening

is created

through awareness.

PART 3

Silence

connects

to the flow

of the universe,

and the flow

of the universe

contains the universe’s ideas,

which means,

a poem

is a poem

before

it’s a poem.

(So the poet

is a listener, Erroneous, not a writer?)

Exactly, Poet.

BE

BE

where you are, and where you are

is HERE.

PART 2

BE

who you are, and who you are

is YOU.

PART 3

But the most important thing, Poet, is to BE

why

you are.

(Why am I, Erroneous?)

The best

way

to answer that

is mathematically, Poet, so here's the equation;

PART 1 + PART 2 = PART 3

JOY, HAPPINESS, PEACE, ETC.

Purpose

is given.

Everything

else

is created.

FOLLY

To reject the moment

is to accept the ego,

and to accept the ego

is to perpetuate the folly,

which you sometimes do, Poet.

What’s up

with that?

[Poet

and Erroneous

just

left

the room, forgetting, I guess, to say

goodbye.

What’s up

with that?.]

[Wait . . . . . they’re back.]

I don’t know why

I have to come

when you

want

another

cup of coffee, Poet.

(I think the answer to that

is pretty apparent, Erroneous.)

Apparent to us, but we do

want

to keep

the illusion

alive, don’t we, Poet?

(Sorry.)

That’s okay.

Well, namaste, Poet.