What is the secret

 to happiness and how do

you discover it?

~

Embrace the sorrow

and cherish the agony,

for they are the path to joy.

Must we continue

to just see duality

when we all are one people?

~

We humans can’t seem

to grasp non-duality

even about the divine.

Regarding tipping

points, do you think we’ll 

tip in the right direction?

~

Teeter and totter,

balancing on that pin head,

can we not all be Angels?

What demarcation

separates family from friends

and isolates whole nations?

~

Accent on difference

separates us both from each

other and our better selves.

When bandwidth becomes

the focus of agony,

is it time to cut the cord?

~

For us aged ones,

 understanding of bandwidths

and their agony have fled.

Can it be enough

to make a daily effort

to benefit another?

~

To move from daily

grasping to daily giving? 

It’s enough to change the world!

When the sun returns

after all those rainy days

will we recognize its glow?

~

Not only will we

recognize its glow, we will

glow with joy ourselves.

As summer draws near

and the election heats up,

what can we do to stay cool?

~

Wade in cool waters

deep within forested glades

where chirps and croaks harmonize.

How can we find truth

when spiders weave webs of lies

and snakes slither for cover?

~

When we walk in their

vicinity, we must be 

the truth we seek.

When threats are esteemed,

have we met the enemy

that we ourselves have become?

~

Threats beget more threats

until fear leads to attack

and thus enemies are made.

Is it irony

that we honor the Bison

for surviving the bounty?

~

This picture and your

poetic question  stir our

hearts and bring remorse.

If you invited

poets and politicians 

to lunch what would you serve them?

~

For these dinner guests:

the milk of human kindness;

big ol’ slice of humble pie!

When celebrating

those venerated mothers,

what aspect most worth noting?

~

Though we can’t choose our

mothers,  each can choose what in

them they venerate.

If life’s a gamble,

should we still bet even

when we don’t hold such great cards?

~

When playing roulette,

bet even to play longer:

there are no cards in roulette.

I just have to ask,

Since the writing’s on the wall,

In whose glory shall we bask?

~

All glory goes to

the graffiti artist who

just wants his words heard.

Why do we see grief;

why thorns instead of roses;

when beauty is everywhere?

~

We must make room for 

it all – grief, thorns, and roses-

pain and beauty everywhere.

Does a real wise guy

have the answer, or just know

how to ask better questions?

~

A wise guy has all

the answers. A wise man knows

when to ask the right question.

Are owls really wise

just because they  keep up that

constant questioning?

~

There’s more to wisdom

than asking the same question

until the answer changes.