Self Portrait

What do I want to be
when I grow up?

I want to be me,
Just me,
here and now,
living and breathing,
being what I want to be...
me.

And here I am
now.



(OK, I could've smiled a bit more.)

on fire!

Words
Thoughts,
Hopes,
Dreams,
Fire.

Introducing: LED Stories

I have begun a new blog of short sci fi stories that might be told around a campfire... or an LED...

Check it out.

http://memartinsenstories.blogspot.com/

Night Watch

I sit here on the ground,
looking up to see the whole sky,
the stars,
the crescent moon setting,
clouds a fire with the last sunlight.

I listen to the sounds,
of the deepening night,
dogs barking at who knows what,
cars on the distant highway,
an owl, maybe,
neighbors talking, watching TV,
children playing, children crying.

And here on the ground,
in my own yard,
I wonder,
everything is as it is.

Good night.

a floral globe

Another Human Environment

Simple, uniform, minimalist... very quiet.  Until you get all of us in there.  Then there is a bit more to it.

A Human Enivornment

It is amazing how sterile we can make our environment at times.  What were the designers of this airport terminal trying to display to us... to travelers arriving and departing from Las Vegas?  White with a few blue highlights...  Purely, utilitarian?  No aesthetics?

Going outside becomes almost jarring to the senses.

at Mandalay Bay

Islands in the Snow

Red Sky In Morning

The Scapegoats

And Aaron shall lay both of his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness… 
Leviticus 16: 21 

This was not my first time.  I have been in a confessional like this before.  But, this time I actually felt the effects of the atonement process, and I reminded myself that the scapegoats all volunteered to take upon themselves my human frailties and to carry them away into the world.

Within the privacy of the tiny booth I poured out all my sins, all my hatreds, all my fears, and all my selfishness.  I confessed my blood lust for vengeance.  I opened my tight grip on all that I selfishly believed was mine and mine alone, especially my money and my guns.  I gave up my shortsighted disregard for the polluted world of my children’s children.  The scapegoats would would take all these from me.

I looked over the names of the candidates again, reminding myself that they have each and everyone volunteered, even campaigned to accept my burden, to be imprisoned in their various offices. and to be blamed for everything.  And I voted.

At that moment I imagined the great burden lifted from me, believing that they would now carry my sins out into the world in my name.  I was no longer responsible.  I was now whole, sane, and free.  I had voted.

A January Thaw (or The Sun's Out Today)

Oh!
How good it feels,
To see the sun,
And to see the snow,
Melt away,
Today.

Who does this?

It's Time...

Canyon Stone

Rogue

My Kingdom

The Morning Sun

No matter,
How cold the night,
What a promise,
Is the morning sun.

mesquite and joshua trees

tracks in the snow

tracks of a collared dove

the assembly

in the winter light (2)

Starting Here

Starting where you are,
Walk any direction,
You will reach an obstacle.
Maybe a fence or a wall,
A rock, a mountain, or a canyon,
A river, the ocean, or an ice pack,
Maybe just nightfall,
Or your own fatigue or fears.
Any direction,
It doesn't matter,
You hit a wall.
Persist, find a way,
Over, around or through it.
Keep going,
And discover for yourself,
The world is round.

waiting in the sun

snowy heads

My First Political Principle: Benevolence

I believe that the first and most important characteristic or principle of any government should be benevolence.  The government should secure, maintain, support, and protect the human rights, and welfare of each and every individual within its borders.  All other functions of government are secondary.  I do not really care what form of government I might live under as long as it is benevolent... as long as everyone's rights and personal welfare are protected.

on a river bed

a winter wreath

local willow twigs...

the storm

How quietly the snow falls,
each inconsequential flake,
tiny and light,
melts as it lights on the ground.

But they continue to fall,
together they cover the ground,
close highways,
and end droughts.

How quietly each snowflake falls.

in the winter light

fallen leaf on ice

a visitor (a roadrunner)

Our highways, 

Our walls and fences,

Our windows and doors,

Cannot keep Nature out.

We are permeable,

It finds a way in...

abstract in ice

Red Cliffs

Not Really the Beginning

This is really
not the beginning,
even with the road
stretching out ahead.
There is all
that is behind.
This is here,
and we are going there,
that's all.