Fredisms
a Rain Bow heart
a
Rain Bow
heart
is
here
Now
f
a Crumbling house
a Crumbling house is scary.
What if you look around
and all you see is
crumbling,
period.
What
now?
f
the Presents of Now
the Presents of Now
The question is . . .
what’s on your FB mind?
Here comes that question again.
What’s on your mind?
Have you thought about
how the apostrophe smoothes
the passage for a continuous flow?
That was on my mind then, and now
what next? a real Silly question,
’cause next is like tomorrow.
Neither are here Now
in this Present.
f
the Gardener,
the Gardener,
reaps joy from her
attention to and
choice of seed.
She reaps
what she sows.
She hears,
‘amend your choices
to mend the garden’.
Amen.
f
1Christi Meshell
family!
family!
I have one
I can spell it
I’ve seen many
I know the meaning,
but I do not know
what it feels like
to love a family.
Do you?
f
“Help! . . . “
“Help!
I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”
When I relive an affirmation
many thousands of times,
will it become a seed
that fuels my life?
Just a thought.
f
Love a . . .
Love
a
woman
infant
child
baby
man
boy
girl
love love
is enough.
f
Eat cha heart out.
Eat cha heart out.
If you are around
to tell the tale,
you know heart
is not the center
of a living life.
I have to ask,
then what is?
f
Be careful
Be careful
I told my self
washing dishes
at the kitchen sink
while crying
a faucet of tears
for no apparent reason.
Be careful.
f
FEAR of loss is the motivation
for believing in the fantasy
world of a fantasy leader.
A drop of chocolate in a glass
of pure, 100 percent, wholesome,
unadulterated milk, will forever alter
the pedigree, that in itself is imagined.
Here we have insanity,
based in forgetfulness,
Let’s remember, we evolved
from drops of dark chocolate
on the land mass named Africa.
f
our Chief Commander
Our Chief Commander talks non-sense.
His talks are all about them and us.
I said our, but we are his them.
His us only includes them,
that want N. America
to be great again.
f
Between In and Out.
Between
Checking in
and
Checking out
the substance
in the sandwich
is most important.
You happy
with yours?
f
a New Start.
a New Start.
Octopus arms
regenerate.
Lob off an arm,
it will grow back.
Lob off a head,
you get to start over.
What is all this talk
about defunding the police?
f
PLEASE help.
I know you.
You that guy
with the sign.
PLEASE help.
f
Next stop?
Every body jumpin’ on
the Soul Train
these days
takin’ knees
changin’ street signs
huggin’ and raisin’ fists.
I wanna’ see
what happens
when George leaves
the station.
f
Do it
Do it
Feel it
Cool air in
Warm air out
Slowly
Breath
f
r p r t
r p r t
I don’t know poem,
from happy home.
I tap what shows up
and every body feels
in the right place
at the right time.
f
the Cloak
Red White Black
Yellow Brown,
our hearts beat
the same.
Beneath the cloak
of color
is where coming
together resides.
f
Inside out.
Inside out.
Beneath our armor,
lifetimes of armor,
beats a heart
of love.
f
Talk talk talk
Talk talk talk
more
talk talk talk.
If no conscious action is taken
to accept, apologize and address
the commerce of institutional slavery
we can expect
more
talk talk talk.
f
Justice, Peace, Love
No justice for one,
no peace for all
is one love.
f
You believe that?
You believe that?
“We’re all in this together.
“That’s what they say
when we return
from their wars
missing minds and limbs
since early slavery days
being shunned
for being dark.
Yeah,
we’re all in this,
but not together.
f
Capitalists Unite
Capitalists Unite
The heart of God
is a heart of gold,
some have said.
I say,
“if God’s heart is gold,
let’s pluck it out”.
Profit beforePerfect.
f
Voting fraud.
Voting fraud.
Really?
What amazes me is how
we will create a story
to affirm our needs.
“If those colored people vote,
we will certainly lose,
so stop them
with all means we have
in our arsenal.”
“With all means
in any way we can,
in a land of free
and pale folk”
f
To save lives?
Why did we drop an atomic bomb
“TO SAVE LIVES”.
twice?
“TO CONFIRM CONSISTENT RESULTS”.
f
Who breaks the law?
Who breaks the law?
illegals
Who makes the law?
Legals came here,
killed the native buffalo food
chained a people’s body and mind
dropped atomic bombs on 2 large cities
and we still make the law.
f
COVID-19
COVID-19
deez daze
soul mirrors
are the menu.
Just look around.
f
We have all heard
we have all heard
life is what you
and I make it
if you believe
there is a you
and a me too,
life is that, or
life is life
is life
Period.
f
You gonna post a word or image?
You gonna post a word or image?
FB always starts the dialogue.
What’s on your mind?
f
f
f
“What, you got a search warrant?”
No.
“Then why are you searching mind?”
Listeners hear,
“The answer is not there
or any where discoverable”.
Next step is
“You still don’t get it.
No answer.
No steps.
Presence
is NOW.”
f
here
here
Venture out
Stay home.
I AM
here
there
every
where.
open
close doors
don’t matter.
Here
I AM.
f
Be at home
Be at home
peace full
and quiet
observe
all of
life,
in
out
about,
[Changing
Expanding
Contracting]
being
life.
f
‘my Self’
‘my Self’
Since stepping
on the rock,
Plymouth,
conquer
contain
control
are tools
of a few
fearing
‘the loss
of my
self’.
f
Try love for a change.
Try love for a change.
Change Messengers
don’t always appear
as Dalai Lamas.
Mr. Trump is such a Messenger.
Many of us have chosen sides,
for or against him.
Fear and anger is at the root.
The media whips us into a frenzy,
generating interests and profits.
There will always be another story.
Let’s try a new one on for size.
Every blink reveals LOVE.
Try this for a few relaxed blinks,
while breathing deep and slow.
When you feel change,
let it flow.
f
the Process,
the Process,
from natural
to preserved.
We may love preserved
meats fruit animals people,
pumped up with lasting looks,
until the seeing eyes
take a back seat
to what is here
and present
presence,
beyond
seeing
eyes.
f
What cha’ waitin’ for?
What cha’ waitin’ for?
Some angel to land?
Some magic to happen?
Some cliff to present it self?
Who me?
Yes, you!
Right here.
Right now.
Who me?
Yes me.
f
Know any?
Know any?
All we know
these days
is knowing.
I know this that.
I know you know me.
You know I don’t.
Then,
‘The Know It Alls’
know it all,
when asked
what we know.
Know any?
f
COVID-19
COVID -19
If I get lt,
will they give me
a needed ventilator,
to save the Black life
I appear to be.
f
When I look in the mirror,
When I look in the mirror,
reflected is the me
I see in words.
When our forebears
saw their reflections
prior to any words,
what were their
thoughts?
f
the Stories
the Stories
you and me
them and us
sex and death
one happy heart
pale sky blue wind
doggie makes three
here now is presence
you are not any one
change is change
beyond a mind
living love
Life.
f
the Ever Present Now
the Ever Present NOW
is each living
breath.
f
Talk vs. Action
Talk vs. Action
Right now,
we are writing speaking
and acting prayer-full,
until this threat ends.
They all do end.
Then back to
tanning on the beach
plenty of toilet paper
and us versus them.
Folks say,
“this COVID-19 virus
will change things”.
I say,
“only action, not words
will change things”.
What action will I take
to make a change?
f
One more could do it.
One more could do it.
This is a challenging time,
when my very next inhale
could be end of the line.
This has always been the case,
but now when my kid coughs,
this truth is right in my face.
Death is all ways at the door,
so let’s invite our friend in,
and run away no more.
f
a Virus
the Central Park Five
served over time.
Our short confinements
should be a cinch.
f
I lie,
I lie to you,
to be safe in here,
and keep fear out there.
I lie with you,
imagining fantasy
with an other is reality.
I lie,
until lies
become truth.
f
love, the nameless name
Love, the nameless name
Love is beyond knowing
or thinking anything
we come up with.
Love is a tear sized
drop on a shiny
jungle leaf.
Pandamic mandamic,
call it what you will.
Love is just love
Love is beers jeers joy,
a life where mind
is a side dish.
Beyond place,
nameless
Love
f
the Whale.
In the belly of the whale,
they say Jonah lived.
See the whale below
the floating gulls
above the
ferry.
f
the Feared Question . . .
the Feared question
is upon us.
What is most important,
profit or people?
When our government steps in
to save its citizenry from death,
shareholder corporate profits
may suffer consequential loss.
Do we support citizens or profit?
With COVID-19 living in our homes
these days, our Capitalist leaders
are deciding who will live and
who must die so the economy
will quickly improver to get
us out and shopping again.
I suspect if you are not white,
your long life possibilities
may be shortened when
the leaders draw up
the list of those few
that stay, besides
the many other
that must die
for the USA.
Our President has already decided
the lives of meat factory workers
are less important than keeping
McDonalds generating a profit.
f
How will you do
How will you do
when there is no you?
No here or there, where
thought reigns supreme.
No life or death, no you,
no me, no thing to be.
f
Storms
Each life storm
has troughs
and crests.
Then the next
storm hits.
Each living day
could end.
NOW
is what
there is.
f
f
Splash . . .
Splash, . . .
Like you and me,
all form shall pass.
Between now and then,
what will my pebbles
ripple the pond with?
f
a short 1, 2, 3
a short 1, 2, 3
hold it and stroke it
your hair
open wide and relax
the dentist said
hot sweaty heat rising
from the radiator cap
f
acorns
acorns
hold
a seed
For
wood
poems
shelter
animals
and life
on earth.
f
Capitalists Unite
Capitalists Unite
Which choices best support growth
in an expanding capitalist society ?
some of us OR all of us.
school debt OR learn for free.
lung cancer OR no cigarettes
mine is mine OR mine is ours.
factory farms OR family farms.
plastic is profit OR profit is clean air.
private prisons OR help the people.
profit/people ?
f
Do you know,
Do you know,
living and dying
are not separate,
yet I embrace one
and fear the other.
f
Creatures of habit.
Creatures of habit.
We struggle beneath the weight,
bearing us down and out
the door to the right is open.
We can take the easy way
through the wide open door
or breathe still mind open heart,
to where rubber meets the road.
f
I love you
‘I love you
and don’t want it
to ever end.’
Know this.
Each breath
is a new beginning.
f
I lie,
I lie,
I lie to you,
to be safe in here
and keep fear out there.
I lie with you,
imagining fantasy
with an other is reality.
I lie,
until lies
become truth.
f
She says . . .
She says
‘Find it and face it’.
I say
‘Find it and be it’.
For years it chased me
down 13 flights of stairs.
One afternoon I stopped
and turned.
It entered me
and there was no thing
to FEAR
f
I forget
Many times
I forget
God speaks
to me
not just
through me
f
Return em?
Return em?
Shoot em
when you
get em.
Run away
slaves.
f
I love you
I love you
and am afraid
my heart is open
too wide.
f
Sun shine
Sun shine
Find me.
I AM
beyond thought.
Now what,
beyond thought?
f
“I am sorry.”
“I am sorry.”
When I plant the seed,
no amount of sorries
can change the fruit.
f
each moment.
each moment
matters
be
see
feel
hear
taste
breathe
Love
in each moment
matters
f
Are you OK with that?
Levels Ov Involvement
is a study in and of itself.
Some will just say, Huh?
Some see Of, and move on.
Some read the words start to end,
then wonder if the spelling is correct.
Some will know all the words as printed
and recall ‘I have experienced the levels’.
Some will add an emoji, for a modern reply.
Some will read Ov and whisper, to no others
in the room, ‘Wow, this guy can’t even spell Of’.
Some, or really most, will never know I even exist.
Are you OK with that?
f
LOVE
Can I have it all,
at the same time
hiding out,
wanting
to be
with you?
‘There’s no way
you can have it all.’
‘Pick this or that,
and make it work.’
I Can have it all
at the same time.
LOVE
f
Earth-lings
Earth-lings
There has never been peace
between humans on this planet,
yet there has always been life,
in one form or another.
I ask you, ‘How necessary are we
‘lings’, to earth’s survival?
f
TV Time
TV Time
We’re all sitting
in the living room
watching Gunsmoke.
Ma turns to me and says,
“Look at your toes
They are ugly”.
We all laugh.
I slide my feet back
into the U.S. Keds.
1982
f
Home Visits
Home Visits
The Welfare lady comes
with forms
and places to sign.
We spin like tops
carefully assembled
to throw her off,
with shirts too small
pants too short
and shoes with holes.
1983
f
teacher love
teacher love
when
ticktockticktockticktock
ticktockticktockticktock
ticktockticktockticktock
struck 3
you were gone.
summer 1974
Waiting . . .
Waiting . . .
I wonder how long
it lives at the door?
Death.
Life.
How long will I wait
to be forest AND fire?
Wake Up!
Do you really think
the two are separate?
f
Reflection
Reflection
Reflection
Folks say, “You’re Black”.
I say, “OK”.
A voice says, “Be who you are”.
I ask, “Does who transcend hue”?
f
Inner Tunes.
Inner Tunes.
I’m very high right now.
WHY?
Because I want to feel.
FEEL WHAT?
I want to feel
what feeling is.
GO INSIDE
AND FEEL IT.
I hear the words
but don’t feel the meaning.
1985
f
Kool Aid
Kool Aid
We laugh and say,
‘they drank the Kool Aid’.
Others look at us and say,
‘they drank the Kool Aid’.
I laugh and say,
‘there’s a lotta Kool Aid
out there’.
Kids today say,
‘no more Kool Aid’.
‘Let’s open our hearts
in service of all life.’
f
Goddess Supreme
Goddess Supreme
We can use your guidance
to cross these troubled waters,
beneath the gathering clouds.
Appear as a tempest or a dry leaf
crashing to the forest floor,
but come to mend hearts.
May our discord cease
as your joy pours forth,
melding light with night.
Help us accept life and death,
to know love connects all hearts
as one, and to Be Hear Now.
f
2 = 2 tales
2 = 2 tales
Not long ago
an old guy visited
a world
full of emotion
churning
chilling
foot tappin ‘
finga’ snappin’
wise crackin’
tear jerkin’
heart breakin’
emotion.
Then what?
Right now
not enough ?
Stories are mind tools
for past and future
relating ships.
So, this old guy
got up
to take a piss.
End of story.
f
1 + 2 tales
1+2 tales
Triangles are the strongest
geometrical figures we say.
That is what we say. Right ?
Do we agree ?
Let’s take a step
further.
See the truss shapes
clear as day
spinning airborne
floating out to sea
when Nature sends
a cyclone or hurricane.
f
2 liddle tales
2 liddle tales
cold is relative
as all relatives
are just that,
relatives
to a mind
seeking
to belong
some where
other than
right here.
f
1 liddle tail
What is on
in
from
to
mind ?
mine
yours
ours
there’s
no
return
from
illusion.
Is
there ?
Who
says?
You ?
f
Look back and see
Switch channels.
Remember tubes?
run run run
I run away a lot
fear is a mighty motivator.
ask those trapped by fire
live fire
175mm M107 Self -Propelled Gun.
Look it up.
See fire, smoke, kid bits
at the exploding end.
1968
Tet Offensive
Robert
Martin
51 years later
I forget
to remember
Nature is nature.
Life is love
whether I am or not.
the Dinosaurs are gone
with their pea brains.
We are close
on their tails.
Look back and see
after we are gone.
f
Let’s talk . . .
Let’s talk . . .
Let’s talk about people.
All people.
The more people we open to,
the greater love flows.
“Yeah but, I don’t get anything back.
Maybe just mostly pain and suffering.”
You plant a seed and get
a pomegranate tree.
The seed goes into the ground.
You may not get love back
the way you expect it to be.
The package reads apple seeds.
Love may not be felt or thought,
and it is present in each inhale.
f
a child, a cloud,
a child in your arms.
ice cream on a stick.
a class of students.
with a lover in bed.
church bells and rice.
a child in my arms.
a rocker on the porch.
a cloud of memories.
no more.
f
Beacons of Life
There is a community
for all of life.
Let’s find it
and be beacons for others.
f
In the super market
In the super market
I watched the mothers
Carrying their babies.
‘I miss being a parent’,
then thought again.
‘I miss being carried.’
f
Quiet Passage
I call it Quiet passage
from else where
to here [a pit stop]
and off again.
Natives mention
hollow bones.
f
Just a thought.
Just a thought.
If early Africans had entered the New World,
like many voyagers from Europe,
like many voyagers from Europe,
African Americans would be bi-lingual.
f
Sense
Sense
Does this/that make sense?
is a question
Who am I?
is a better question
I AM beyond words,
so you take it from here.
f
Back yard buns.
Back yard buns
I love your backyard buns,
sun warmed and ready to savor.
Back yard buns.
f
“Hey woman.”
“Hey Woman”
I met a female
acquaintance
and thought
‘hey girl’.
and thought
would I say
‘hey boy’.
and said
‘hey woman’.
f
make believe love
make believe love
(from across the street)
she struts naked
past the shade pulled low
all above her belly button
is hidden from view
each night I see her
we make believe love.
f
Treasure Hunt
Treasure Hunt
No need to hunt
outside your home.
Each in out breath
is a bless’d treasure.
Have one right now
long in, long out,
relax and smile.
f
Crunches
Crunches
Bare feet
On thin ice
Over Arctic water.
f
Love
You want it?
You got it
You got it?
Share it
You need it?
Receive it
Love
Do Be Say
why the fear of doing being saying
to who about what when where?
before flesh in flesh after flesh
who knows before and after?
You?
doing being saying
is only in flesh.
before has gone
after is coming
now is now
Do Be Say it now
Now is all I AM.
Talking out loud.
Ducks say quack quack quack.
Dogs say woof woof woof.
We go yack yack yack.
Is there a difference?
Ducks and Dogs can relate
with each and every mate.
We study books and the law
and still can’t communicate.
When ducks and dogs get cross
they duke it out to be boss.
Yet, there is a difference.
They are one with nature.
We think, talk and write about
this and that important story.
What I hear down at the lake
is woof quack yakety-yak.
f
206
alone.
The dog,
my friend
Kaia died.
With no love
for an other
filling in,
my days
wither,
Quietly.
f
205
one about Kaia.
mind is a crock of stories
galore. Shocking. Loving.
bales of covered hay
for her outdoor dog house.
a bed, covered on the deck,
two in the house plus mine
when she could jump up,
twirl, flop, and snore up a storm.
f
203
What you gonna do
What you gonna do
when they come for you?
flight
fight
pew
folks will pray for you.
Gun violence
in America.
f
204
She came back.
She came back.
IN YOUR DREAMS!!!
She came back.
He came back.
Back in the good ol’ days.
I wish I was back there.
Let’s wake up.
There is no back.
When we return
through that door
each and every step
offers a new choice.
f
202