Stigma

I Love the ways they hate me
The rumours and gossip abound
I give them a reason for living
And this makes me strong
They have no clue who I am
Where I'm going or where I've been
They've never met me
They only know what they've heard
Cars drive by and sound the horn
I am grateful for the acknowledgement
They point and glare
They imitate my stare
I laugh until my sides ache
I'm a minor celebrity
I charge five dollars for an autograph
Their hatred will destroy them
It always does in the end

Beginner's mind

weightless thoughts fill the void
no substance do they carry
we grasp for meaning from bastardized memory
houses of truths from fiction are constructed
built without foundation
we lend meaning to the absurd
this object mind does not exist
The self cannot be found
as soon as we think we've got it it is gone

bona fides

I have danced with the Sufi's in the park
Whirled like a Dervish 'til dark
Sat zazen with the Buddhists by the hour
Learned to taste the sweet and the sour
Discussed Krishnamurti
Gotten my hands filthy dirty
I've practiced yoga with a teacher
Been damned by Christian preachers
I've been circumcised, baptized, confirmed and pronounced dead
The great thinkers I have read
I studied metaphysics, epistemology, psychology, chemistry, sociology
Ecology, biology, anatomy, physiology, philosophy and much more
I've used drugs with the punks
Gotten drunk with monks
Been seduced by debutantes and whores
I've figuratively wandered the Yorkshire moors
As a youth I looked for my nation
What I found was an abomination
One thing was made clear
Intellectuals are feared
Of all the things I can do
I can't find the words to talk to you
They seem to get in the way
Of what I need to say