Know ThyselfBig B & Other Poems
Big B
You can keep blocking
As many as you want to
But how will you block life
That will keep expressing itself
Through every pore of your being?
And who is the one
That is choosing to block
And who is the one
Writing these lines
In asking such questions
Maybe one will come to realize
Life itself is expressing itself
As Big B sometimes
And as the one who writes these lines
There are no boundaries
Where I end
And another begins.
Ah, To Be 19 Again
A friend asked,
“What would you do if you were 19 now”
Ain’t I, is what I would ask him
The lub-dub-lub-dub carries the same rhythm
I have dealt lightly with all the curveballs
That life has thrown at me
Took in my stride all the heartbreaks
That I caused to myself and others
Maybe I would take my guitar lessons more serioulsy
Damn, it is hard work, this learning a guitar
So, I would be tempted to quit again
Would I dare, would I dare
Take that chance? You know what I mean
You who are no stranger
When it comes to matters of the heart
And as far as chances go
I have taken far too many chances in life
I have always been a gambler
And I have gambled my life
Betting on the impossible odds
That I the maybe not so dull guy
Can figure out the Truth after all
Though I could never figure out
Whether if her arms clasped me
I would have found the Truth sooner.
People Are Too Awake
Where’s a soporific when one needs one
Be it the company of Plato or Nisargadatta
That dullens the pain of this dreary day
Where the sun beats down mercilessly
Though the trees seem to love him
And those with solar rooftops
Me, I prefer the moon and the stars
When stern duty is not calling me
To prove myself worthy to a cause
Life seems all too superfluous
Though none with me agrees
They’re too busy living to think or feel.
Choosing between God and Mammon
Who is that Ubermensch
Who can deal
With God and Mammon
At the same time?
King Janaka? Lord Krishna?
Us lesser mortals
Have to choose
And rest content.
The False Dichotomy of Enjoyment and Renunciation
The world is meant to be enjoyed
When you no longer find it enjoyable
Ask where else could enjoyment be
Other than in this world
Why talk of renunciation
As if enjoyment is a thing to be renounced
What is to be renounced is suffering
So, enjoy this world fully, heartily
Until you no longer find it enjoyable
Then renounce this world as one of suffering
And look for your enjoyment elsewhere.