without reason or rhyme
words tumble out
from my free-associating mind
when i let them

words tumble and fall
and rise again in rhythm
and form a harmony
maybe even a melody

just for me to listen to
with curiosity
for what i have to say

without an effort or will
i let them come
the words
the stream
the consciousness

i am not a poet
i don’t pretend to be
but still
i write them down
those words

others are poets
they have the skill to rhyme
they know what they want to say
already
and they know how to craft that

sculptures of words

but i don’t mind
i don’t care if it makes much sense
there is a child-like joy
in playing with the words that come
in flowing with the stream
in exploring my soul
who wants to
express

bliss in allowing

stream of consciousness

But  here
now some of the real ones
poets i really love:

Wild Geese – by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Don’t hesitate – by Mary Oliver

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the
case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

Kleiner Blauer –by Hermann Hesse

Flügelt ein kleiner blauer
Falter vom Wind geweht,
Ein perlmutterner Schauer,
Glitzert, flimmert, vergeht.
So mit Augenblicksblinken,
So im Vorüberwehn
Sah ich das Glück mir winken,
Glitzern, flimmern, vergehn.

Stufen – by Hermann Hesse

Wie jede Blüte welkt und jede Jugend
Dem Alter weicht, blüht jede Lebensstufe,
Blüht jede Weisheit auch und jede Tugend
Zu ihrer Zeit und darf nicht ewig dauern.
Es muß das Herz bei jedem Lebensrufe
Bereit zum Abschied sein und Neubeginne,
Um sich in Tapferkeit und ohne Trauern
In andre, neue Bindungen zu geben.
Und jedem Anfang wohnt ein Zauber inne,
Der uns beschützt und der uns hilft, zu leben.

Wir sollen heiter Raum um Raum durchschreiten,
An keinem wie an einer Heimat hängen,
Der Weltgeist will nicht fesseln uns und engen,
Er will uns Stuf‘ um Stufe heben, weiten.
Kaum sind wir heimisch einem Lebenskreise
Und traulich eingewohnt, so droht Erschlaffen,
Nur wer bereit zu Aufbruch ist und Reise,
Mag lähmender Gewöhnung sich entraffen.

Es wird vielleicht auch noch die Todesstunde
Uns neuen Räumen jung entgegen senden,
Des Lebens Ruf an uns wird niemals enden…
Wohlan denn, Herz, nimm Abschied und gesunde!

– Its hard to translate Poems and not destroy the poétique, but with this one i’ll try –

Stages – by Hermann Hesse ( 1877 – 1962)

As every flower fades and as all youth
Departs, so life at every stage,
So every virtue, so our grasp of truth,
Blooms in its day and may not last forever.
Since life may summon us at any age
Be ready, heart, for parting, new endeavor,
Be ready bravely and without remorse
To find new light that old ties cannot give.
In all beginnings dwells a magic force
For guarding us and helping us to live.

Serenely let us move to distant places
And let no sentiments of home detain us.
The Cosmic Spirit seeks not to restrain us
But lifts us stage by stage to wider spaces.
If we accept a home of our own making,
Familiar habit makes for indolence.
We must prepare for parting and leave-taking
Or else remain the slaves of permanence.

Even the hour of our death may send
Us speeding on to fresh and newer spaces,
And life may summon us to newer races.
So be it, heart: bid farewell without end.

(….. forgive me Hermann, i tried my best ;  )

Glück – by Hermann Hesse

Solang du nach dem Glücke jagst,
Bist du nicht reif zum Glücklichsein,
Und wäre alles Liebste dein.

Solang du um Verlornes klagst
Und Ziele hast und rastlos bist,
Weißt du noch nicht, was Friede ist.

Erst wenn du jedem Wunsch entsagst,
Nicht Ziel mehr noch Begehren kennst,
Das Glück nicht mehr mit Namen nennst,

Dann reicht dir des Geschehens Flut
Nicht mehr ans Herz – und deine Seele ruht.

Happiness – by Hermann Hesse – another attempt to translate

As long as you chase happiness,
you are not ready to be happy,
even if you owned everything.

As long as you lament a loss,
run after prizes in restless races,
you have not yet known peace.

But when you have moved beyond desire,
become a stranger to your goals and longings
and call no longer on happiness by name,

then your heart rises calmly
above the ebb and flow of action
and peace has reached your soul.

Let these be your desires – by Kahlil Gibran

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself
But if you love and must have desires,
Let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook
That sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart
And give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer
For the beloved in your heart
And a song of praise upon your lips.

Love One Another / Marriage – by Kahlil Gibran

Love one another, but make not a bond of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup, but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone.
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together.
For the pillars of the temple stand apart.
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

The Mystery – song lyrics by Van Morrison

Let go into the mystery
Let yourself go
You’ve got to open up your heart
That’s all I know
Trust what I say and do what you’re told
Baby, and all your dirt will turn
Into gold

Let go into the mystery
Let yourself go
And when you open up your heart
You get everything you need
Baby there’s a way and a mystic road
You’ve got to have some faith
To carry on

You’ve got to open up your heart
To the sun
You know he’s looking out for you
‘Cause he’s the one

Let go into the mystery
Let yourself go
There is no other place to be
Baby this I know
You’ve got to dance and sing
And be alive in the mystery
And be joyous and give thanks
And let yourself go

I saw the light of ancient Greece
Towards the One
I saw us standing within reach
Of the sun
Let go into the mystery of life
Let go into the mystery
Let go into the mystery
Let yourself go

You’ve got to open up your arms
To the sun
You know you’ve got so many charms
It’s just begun
Trust what I say and do
What you’re told
And surely all your dirt will turn into gold