BEAUTY (for Mary)

Isn’t it true that capitalism has been the death of beauty
Since as soon as anyone tries to buy beauty –
It crumbles, turns to dust, and slips out of one’s grasp.

Beauty must always be a gift, acquired solely through thoughts of love –
The kind of gift you hold onto until the end –
First, in your room, then in your chest of jewels,
And, finally, clasped in your dying hand.

This gift is one of pure joy, made solely for you.

A great deal of thought, patience, and passion went into this gift –
No one else in the world has anything like it.
It’s the first and last thought of an invisible American poet
Who nobody knows the name of.

Beauty is a spiritual light that makes the eyes shine –
Beauty is falling in love by accident – that is, “out of the blue” –
Beauty is holy lovemaking that, one night, created you, you, you!

Dear heart, only one,
You’re my beautiful true life-partner!

WHAT IF REALITY IS THE SAME AS GOD?

What if Reality is the same as God –
And we could trust that what we see is reality.

If so, then, to the extent we denigrate reality
By shading truth, ignoring beauty,
Or just being mean –
Wouldn’t that be a slap to God’s face?

If God also is the same as “the Good”?
Then not caring about what’s good
Would be equivalent to dismantling God –
In other words, the failure to reinforce loving kindness in our society
Would permit government officials to hurl migrant children into metallic cages
And, coldly or not, walk away.

God has been knocking at our door –
To the secret entranceway to our innermost self – i.e., to our “soul” –
God wants, most of all, to sit calmly in our heart’s chair –
And be enthroned, emblazoned with light, in our minds.

Yes, God has been calling for a new people –
And wants such people to be “real” –
As “real” as God is –
Not just a bunch of egos, actors, and manipulators.

God primarily wants “makers” – people who’ll make the world “work”
For everybody
Acknowledging that sufficient wealth is available for us all
To be satisfied –
Joyful –
And beautiful as well.

God says it’s time to re-arrange the ancient ideas still extant in the present
So that love takes first priority in human institutions –
And that all of us can feel free to ask what God wants –
Not just what God might, reluctantly, be willing to put up with –
Or what a religion, bearing Jesus’ name, might eventually come to accept –
And, certainly, not some kind of eternal unmediated capitalism.

Don’t be scared,
Don’t get angry –
You can trust God.

So let’s be naïve together – all at the same time –
And venture out into the night – under the distant flickering stars –
And say “yes!” to everything God loves,
Has loved, and wants us to continue loving in the future.

SEA OF WHITENESS

Western people live in a sea of whiteness
Like they’re on a big ship traveling from one white land to another
Observing colored people only from a distance
Through tiny portholes, and then only
Dimly.

White people can be cruel at times – without thinking about it –
About the pain they cause –
While still relishing all the societal buttons and levers
Designed especially for their personal use.

They can’t see into the past
Because, for a long time, they’ve been living off its fruits –
They also can’t clearly make out the present because, to them, it’s wholly white –
And the future promises to be more of the same –
That is, if they have anything to say about it.

What could change?

White people’s souls could become more humble – more human;
Christianity could begin disconnecting itself from the tight grip of capitalism;
Or the old Gods might get re-shuffled – into surprising new patterns.

One day, however, Nature might commence a long and serious talk with us
Sometime before the human world comes to an end
When, from that vantage point, all our political and racial differences
Might no longer appear to be so great
After all.

 

 

THERE’S NO BEAUTY WITHOUT

There’s no beauty without naturalness
And, of course, goodness.

There’s no beauty without a love that’s alive
And none, certainly, in the bleak lands of the unjust.

There’s no beauty without reciprocal respect
And none when facing violence.

There’s no beauty without generosity
And none, of course, beyond the outer limits of joy.

There’s certainly no beauty without spontaneity
And none at all when engaged in worshipping one’s own ego.

****

When natural beauty walks into a room – everyone holds their breath
Because the presence of beauty makes everyone glad
For this unexpected gift.

When God eventually sends us a follow-up to Jesus –
In female form –
Everything will have to be re-thought, re-experienced, and re-imagined
Because of the presence of such new spiritual beauty –

That’s when we’ll be able to modify all the old forms
Of capitalism, religion, laws, and customs –

And when the world will finally start becoming fresh
Once again.

GOD SAYS

God says
“Let there be capitalism –
But only within limits.”

Upper middle class above –
Lower middle class below –
While anything else will be viewed as anti-human
And “Not Permitted!”

Billionaires wear the masks of invisible monsters –
Stealing the opportunity to become fully human
From hundreds of millions of men and women across the world.

Extreme capitalism – that is, capitalism without limits –
Bends everything to its accelerating force –
Whether politics, religion, beauty, or meaning –
With a resulting loss, across the board, of proportionality.

Human capitalism with limits –
Retains a potential of human freedom
And preserves the natural goodness
Of our “home” – this blue/green earth –
Along with the purity of its water, air, and soil.

Just as an absolute Second Amendment has flooded our country with guns
Used to murder young children and, of course, numerous others –
So absolute capitalism empowers a handful of human beings to become “diamond gods” –
Humanly heartless –
With the remainder of humanity channeled into wage slavery for meeting basic human needs.

God says
“Let there be capitalism –
But only within limits.”