Learn to bear pain.

It’s the shortest path to silence From there you will rise again To taste passion’s fruit.

Pray not to make this season short, Its length is not measured in time But the depth to which the plow has to go.

Have the seed ready at hand And be willing to fall down on your knees To pull out of the soil, overgrown weeds.

This is necessary work, not as much as resisting Nature massing at the edge of your clearing As letting the spring sun shine equally on the husks.

So even if you make to depart or escape Into wine or the woods, nothing would stop you. The land will continue to wait, with it’s secret of bread

For you to harvest and break, From the necessary good crop, The bliss and the ecstasy!

At the desk loaded with books, a blind computer A gifted apple, a decaying swallow tail butterfly A photograph of a woman, standing behind A rain beaten glass, eyes closed to that dripping sound.

On Good Friday, two millennia after the celebrated passing, The clocks still continuing in their sequential crucifixion of seconds, Never stopping to pick up falling tears and never rising up The submerging memory, which continues to sink and recede

I pray in thanks, for a quarter century of existence, which was often alive An unhardened heart in spite of two lapsed loves, an unasked gift of words And friends, for spring renewing life from bare bark and thawed ground And songs that fill my bamboo soul like God’s flowers.

Jack and Jill went up the hill, To fetch a pail of water.

Jill looked into the well, And said, “Jack you ain’t swell!”

Jack fell down And broke his crown.

And Jill went tumbling after (Someone else Once a week, she claimed, she didn’t need anyone else!)

After a few such "dates", Jill came back, saying “You (still) are my best mate, Jack".

To this, up naïve Jack got, and to (her) home did trot, As fast as he could caper.

Barely did a week pass, into this farce When Jill began a new swan song:

“Ring – a – Ring of (three different) roses, a pocket full of (sex) poses, Husha – Busha We all fall down (into my bed!)”.

Jack’s heart broke, his cry was a croak. His friends put him to bed, And plastered his head.

However Jill, still imagining the boat wasn’t run aground sang:

“Let’s row row row our boat, gently down the stream. Merrily Merrily Merrily Merrily Life is but a dream”.

Jill had Hump-ed and Jack was Dump-ed:

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; All the King's horses and all the King's men, Couldn't put Humpty together again.”

A few hour and a few days passed, for Jack was slow And it took time for his lamp to glow.

But after that, Jack became nimble Jack became quick, And Jack learnt how to jump over fake candle sticks!

Jill thinking Jack remained the ol Jack who wanted to fetch water with her, Came back to smack Jack, for a few more nuts. To which Jack replied, “Jill, nuts to you! Get off my hill!”