The task of a man
who wants to be a visionary poet
is to study his own awareness
of himself.
He must seek out his soul,
inspect it, test it...
learn all forms
of love and suffering;
search until he exhausts
within himself all poisons
and preserves their quintessences.
He must endure
unspeakable torment,
where he will need
the greatest faith
and superhuman strength,
where he becomes among all men
the great invalid, the great criminal,
the great outcast -
and the Supreme Scientist!
For he attains the unknown!
And if he finally loses
the understanding of his visions,
he will at least have seen them!

-Rimbaud

Spring Unfolding

From snow to green
in the course of two days
change of scene
every place I stay
petals open flowers bloom
pregnant buds reach for moon
on stalks of fresh green vitality

Winter limbs
that endured the cold unfold
the secret they hold
for bees spying sweet nectar

Leaves greener poignant with appeal
steal the Spring Sun splattering
the radiant warmth I feel
Today
young birds play
dancing tree to tree
innocently on noonday breeze
drifting hair
settling on my back
take a few moments to scribble
just before I pack
what might I attract this Spring day
maybe the words of this poem
will help in some way
as Destiny bids
make it
the best life ever lived
taste of
life & death
carried in the same moment
with the same breath
of the same wind
freedom I find again
a state of mind
a choice bound in heart

Aspen Nights 4/15

Having just arrived
to a place I need to be
Colorado & summer freedom
to travel endlessly
Just left Jackson
nowhere I need to go
Except May 14th
Vegas for another show
The summer awaits
like a flowering seed
Unveiling its beauty
at its own speed
Once again the uncertainty
of the Great Unknown
Unattached uncommitted
a warrior traveling alone
Colorado Mountains
grand in size & scale
An appropriate begin
to another summer's tale
Freest I've ever been
I think in many lives
Chasing the wandering wind
going where I like
Space to be free
the heavens to a searching bird
Soon I fly to thee
with secrets I've yet to word
This moment all I have
the only thing I have to share
The utterance of this breath
the words of this sudden prayer
Living the best of life
wherever I might be
In whatever dream I find myself
whatever reality

White Sands 4/18

Here I am in Panama City
& though the weathers
been kind of shitty
I'm having fun so far
Blazing on a whim
jumped in my van
Stevie myself & Mara
heading to get a tan
Doing Mexican at Five Points
just joking around
Someone mentioned the beach
& by one we were bound
Don't take it seriously
& mysteriously all works out
Life is sort of like that
changing all about
Though sometimes I'm stubborn
& it takes me awhile
Eventually I learn the lesson
of all my crazy trials

Waves crash
the hungry ocean roars
Churning the silky white sand
over miles of open shore
Girls with boom-boom butts
lie face down in the sand
Sipping on their drinks
working on their tans
Waves break back
the wind a steady friend
White satin powder beaches
here I am again
Meeting with the elements
watch the flight of wandering birds
Myself a wandering poet
seeking the inspiration of words

S.C.A.D. 4/23

Two beaches in a week
seems like a repeat
a deja-vu of sorts
but of course
this is a different scene
a different dream
the beach is browner
sand more course
water tanner
the Atlantic its source

A beach of local artists
soldiers from nearby base
with supply of college girls
drunk enough for them to chase
Seagulls scout with keen eyes
searching for food to thieve
seeking like silent hunters
on cool ocean breeze
Waves smaller slower
are gentler in stride
seems a softer moon
is calling a softer tide
Subtler horizon nevertheless
rolling in constant motion
here the sun rises
from the belly of the ocean
Waves curling rippling
merge with shifting sands
traveling a million miles
just to crash into the land
Interplay of elements
ocean sun sand & wind
connecting me to the harmony
some interchange I have within
Try I do to strengthen my soul
every second of everyday
with every word I send out
every phrase that I pray

I-80 Cows & Corn 8/9

On the road through Iowa
cows corn forty shades of green
Short bushy trees spot the land
beside thin river streams
No neighborhoods in view
just a few spotty towns
I-80 to Vegas
the rain slowly drizzles down
Long rolling plains
thick carpets of wavy grass
A sense of freedom from the life
i've been blessed to have
Living for this moment
celebrated as it's passed
Know I every moment
could very well be my last
Life is very attractive
providing so much hope
Though sometimes I get caught
in a dream somebody else wrote
Incidents vaguely familiar
hold me in surprise
Though their mostly fleeting
they still impact on my life
The things I've come to learn
secrets I keep
Were found in strange places
from strange souls I'd meet
My gentle muse
the insight of my life
Giving thoughts to me
even as I write
Last summer's tale ended
in Jackson Hole
This summer is about to end
where is it I will go

3 Days

Three days before
just about to leave
Start my adventure to Chicago
hitchhiking to Eugene
About 10:20
I got a strange beep
Just as I was to lay
down for sleep
458-8863
a sister named Jazz I met
in a tub in Cali
There was another
Silk whom I never met before
Taken by her voice
the kind one doesn't forget or ignore
She asked me to come over
she wanted us to meet
Almost 10:30
naught to do but sleep
What the hell
it doesn't matter where I crash
11:30 now
cruise the Amoco get some gas
An hour to Clairmont
enter am intense energy scene
So many odd characters
some peculiar things happening
Silk was fine I was glad
to make this journey afterall
Pleased with her beauty
enthralled by what I saw
Small talk a few hours
things were grooving right
Then all her roommates came in
settling for the night
Everyone had to work
they all went straight to sleep
Almost one Tuesday
in the middle of the week

Soon the house mellowed
the scene returned to calm
Which was good for me
because I was about to get gone
Steady on the couch
massaging her back
That was it from there
things were over after that
Creating her hunger
with slick movements from my hands
She was so into it
she couldn't even stand
She just lay there
at the mercy of my will
I could touch her anywhere
she was mine to steal
She told me she danced
perfect shape & textured grace
Beautiful was her body
to go with her model face
Held off sleeping that night
teasing one another
& by the morning light
we were already familiar lovers
Supposed to leave for Chicago
that very same day
I pushed it off
Silk enticing me to stay
The next 3 days unfolded
ending about the same
I was supposed to leave
but would end up staying
Spent 3 days together
finding time alone
For 3 days we made love
her bed was my home
3 days fast past
now another week is gone
Funny how looking back
it doesn't seem that long

I told her many things
3 days before I had to go
She's in Atlanta somewhere
i'm 3 days past Chicago
The parody of my life
the fate of my destiny
Fleeting moments & then goodbye
I always have to leave
I'm in Utah now
had to leave it all behind
Seems i'm always doing that
time after time

As little as long ago
or faraway as forever
this is where we meet
to celebrate
what never was
as it comes to pass

-Hunter

Babylon Muse 8/15

Strangest trip but we made it
one day before the show
Made in from Las Vegas
to just outside Frisco
Jerry Band on the 14th
was the place to be
Back home in California
with my gypsy family
Felt good to be gripped
by the swift California breeze
& there's nothing like the feeling
of being dwarfed by Redwood trees

Hitchhiking with Delanie
between this place & that
feeling sort of trapped
by circumstance
Traveling with one
tempted by others
everywhere I look
another potential lover
Delanie is cool
hip to being a gypsy
mellow in her ways
which makes her seem sort of drifty
Here I am in the Redwoods again
Knowing this is the beginning
& not the end
California the song would say
& that's were I woke
this cool cloudy day

DEAD-
To Keep Kids On Tour

-Sticker

Turning 23

birthday at Cougar
two others would celebrate the same
a posse
like Crazy Horse & his tribe
Elder forest damp cold by night
misty mornings warm by noon
brushing face & teeth from bottled water
the extent of morning grooming
piling twigs on a still stiff embering fire
those who woke first
cooked enough
for those stirring to rise

days earlier invading Eugene
in packs to St. Phillip's homeless shelter
in pairs we told them we were married
though they knew
they kicked down 20 boxes of food
army blankets to fight away the cold
the ride back a celebration
cookies & candy passed around
we each saved our treats
though the rest we shared
there was more than enough
for all who would be needing
known as the free kitchen
to all who came
we gloried in the feeling
of feeding the hungry

the brothers who picked us up at Vista
became hard core tour friends
we covered each other many times
on later circuits
never stranded Delanie & I
had an easy time of finding rides
we spent a week in Oregon
cooling out in an old growth forest
near immaculately quiet hot spring
a hike or hitchhike away

naked with sometimes 30 people
for some awkward
like Adam when he ate the apple
natural for me
the scene mellow & very friendly
we grew to care for each other
sharing whatever we had
felt like family
closer than most had ever known

the spring itself
bubbled like fresh champagne
cascading seven distinguishable levels
from a large cauldron embedded within the Earth
a clear cool stream
slivered the fallen length
of downed Redwood tree
spouting clean water
refreshing as wine
mixing large pools
hottest at the top
cooling as descended
the 2nd two perfect
1st to hot
others too cool

beneath the fallen giant
where the water spilled
carved in stone
the face of a cougar
done by a blind Native
who hung out there long before

when the candles failed
the springs boiling in steam
cast eerie glow
against black night
& checkered stars
surrounding foxfire burning
in spotted places

Boddhi the snake liked it best
sleeping in my bag
by my feet
was only so warm
the springs provided
a heavenly oasis of sunwater
to shake the cold

after dinner
muscicians would find their way
to the bright glowing call of our fire
cultivating our own sun
we fed it wood
& lost marshmallows
as offering for its warmth

drinking tea & singing songs
creating music with make-shift instruments
we wrapped ourselves in circles
around burning limbs & ashing logs
sharing an overwhelming feeling
of peace & love
leaving in small packs
to find the springs
looking up for
starlight sky giving direction
between dark walls of Douglas firs
footsteps then voices
lost together
in the black sea of night
huddled in circles along the path
calling ourselves the found pile
we yelled
"If your lost & want to be found
this is the place to be"
names were exchanged voices recognized
then somebody brought candles
transforming voices into glowing shapes

we lay on our backs
looking for streaking stars
lulled by music from distant camps
that night bonded us all
knowing this is how it should be
living out of tents
cooking food on open fires
maintained by hunts for fuel
water from the springs
couldn't help but think
this is how the natives did it
their lives molded by sunny days
shadow nights
with the promise of forest dreams

Mean
People
Suck

-Tour Sticker

Autzen Stadium

Posse up with Skater
Blue & Charlene
The first shows
played back at Eugene
Since much time passed
promising to be hot
No leaving after the show
no breaking of the lots
No worries about hassling cops
no place we have to head
Full on raging at its best
24-7 Club Dead
How it should always be
recycling bottles no broken glass
Smooth organization
no piling up of trash
Free showers stores nearby
free medicine efficient care
No cops no DEA
no intense need to be aware
Hesitation at first
then things blew wide open
& it was a crazy scene
exactly as I was hoping
The Indigo Girls took stage first
kicking a fat show
The Dead took stage next
& things really started to blow
The energy quickly out of hand
everybody knew it would
The Boys were on it tonight
playing as they should
Postshow mania the lot possessed
people frantic in their search
Hippy vendors scoring hard
partying as they work
Made 4 Franklins last night
woke up with pockets fat
Tonight a weekend night
probably make more than that

I woke eager the next day
to see what the morning would bring
Never know just have to go
but that's how it is with everything
4:20 first thing
lagging until noon
A note from Blue when I got back
love you hope to see you soon
So I walked to the road
just as they were passing by
They pulled over quickly
Blue with tears in her eyes
She said "I prayed to find you
to see you before I left"
I said "Likewise
I have for you a little gift"
A Celtic puzzle ring
Skater Robyn & I have
Thanking Great Spirit
she said was glad
She kissed me deeply
said to call collect
"When you get to the East
I hope we can connect"
She wants to live in the West
abandon the East
She said "There's nothing for me there
it would be easy to leave"
Soon to be winter
I think of where I might go
To massage school in the Redwoods
or to snowboard in Jackson Hole
My heart wants to board
though I would be stoked at school
But to pass on Jackson
I think I'd be a fool
Rage on the mountain
load people while listening to the Dead
Living out a life
most have never been blessed to live

Night boarding at Snow King
with my fine posse of friends
Teach martial arts every other night
get to sleep about ten
Then again there's Heartwood
in the California hills
Outside the Avenue of Giants
east of Garberville
Who knows what will happen
have to wait & see
Right now I'm content
happy just to be

Like good lovers,
the Grateful Dead
know the secrets
of good foreplay,
taking your time,
surprising the audience.

-Camran Moore

From the Back of a Ryder Truck

Raging hard for the final show
knowing this was the best it could get
Posse up with some old heads
sharing a night we can't forget
Delanie Skater & I
scored a ride from Kenny & Storm
Left for California that night
woke up in Eureka the next morn
Shoreline was major fun
tickets were an ease
3 more shows Westside
before heading back East
More fun more memories
I scored a new deck
Now that the shows were done
we'd finally get to rest

In Utah now
in the back of a Ryder truck
Our driver pulled through
now we're unstuck
This morning when our van decided
on becoming crispy toast
I had tickets to do Phish
at the Greek on the coast
Slept through Nevada
when I awoke we were on fire
Something about the gas
& some short in some wire
Greyhound to Salt Lake
Potter rented a truck to pick up the van
It took a little time
but we're moving once again
Never in a hurry
though we lost some time
It gave me a few hours to skate
write down a few lines
One thing I've learned
about always being gone
Home is in the heart & has been there all along

Paradise Awaits

Kind words offered
love in a gentle poem
Scriptures while wandering about
wrapped up in my going
Eccentric knowledge held
by guardians of our fate
Spinning dreams to quell
those who lie in wait
Shadows crowd
the evening sky
stars show up in black
Worlds out there
go whirling by
reminding us of where we're at

The sign in the window
says going out West
Fuck the east
gave it my best

Rumours abounded
after they left
wondering
will they be back again
They'll never know unless
someone
gets word from one of them
By evening they were gone
a quarter distance
across the way
When they left they forgot
everything
those people had to say
It didn't matter much now
they'd already made their escape
A long time ago
I promised her paradise
well paradise awaits

Back East

A week to hang
chill by myself
My main focus rest
restore my health
Back with my van Drifter
seconding as my home
Good to be back behind the wheel
traveling all alone

Country folk fish
quiet banks of silent ponds
Beside the road corn grows
standing 8 ft. long
Soft clouds form waves
rippling an ocean sky
The wind whispers in a soft voice
singing a gentle lullaby
Winter in the air
visions of Jackson Hole
On the road to Cleveland
to do 3 more shows
Maybe after that
do 3 more at Philly
Never know just go
see how it is I'm feeling

I vowed that I would dedicate my powers
To thee and thine-have I not kept that vow?
With beating heart and streaming eyes, even now
I call the phantoms of a thousand hours
Each from his voiceless grave

-Percy Bysshe Shelley

The Spectrum

Connecting with West Coast heads
first day at Richfield
Headed down the road
my van packed & filled
Good shows at the Coliseum
at a Hotel 6 in Philly
Fall present in the air
mornings are kind of chilly
Yesterday was a good day
took care of things I needed
Set up things I want
it was like a dream repeated
All good things
in all good time
No rush no worries
no stress upon my mind
Inside Sunday night
got my Stella Blue
Mail order tickets for Monday
hooked up Tuesday's too
Skated the lot all day
just wasting idle time
Hanging with my posse
busting down this rhyme
Scattered distances covered
easily on my board
Shakedown was fat happening
easy enough to score
Two more shows in Philly
psyched to get to Jackson
12 shows this circuit
with the Dead as main attraction

I don't have education
I have inspiration
If I had education
I'd be a damn fool.

-Bob Marley

Day 2

A beautiful breezy day
in a Philly side park
2:00 o'clock in the day
5 hours before dark
3 shows at the Spectrum
Cinci covered the bill
This whole crazy dream
still seems so unreal
Funny the life
I'm getting used to living
Blessings from Spirit
sharing what I'm given
Sun is smiling bright
wind is smelling sweet
Money in my pocket
food enough to eat
Praises to Jah for blessing
harvest of every gift
The rasta like we
pleasuring in how they live
Retiring this circuit
off for the remaining season
Maybe Desert Sky if the Dead
give me good enough reason
Off to New York
directly after this show
6 nights at MSG
my friends want me to go
But I have no desire
to experience that dream
I have to get to Jackson
set up everything
Ready for the winter
fresh powder fall
Definitely heading to Jackson
I've decided afterall
Fall fast again
one more season down
Sept. 14 in Philadelphia
just kind of hanging around

The Crown of Babylon

driving past New York
coping with traffic
starts stops for no reason
first thought
where are all these people from
as I get closer
I see row after row of buildings
nothing but squares to the horizon
New Haven Connecticut
for the shows in New York
raging hard the night before
woke up kind of late
no time for my posse
to hook with other rides
couldn't leave them hanging
they'd always pulled for me
they offered to top the expense
set me up along the way
besides we already
had a kind place for us to stay

first night MSG
scored my ticket on the train
passed a rose
to unsuspecting beauty
she smiled watching me walk away
I found it odd
so many heads in Babylon
but then I remembered Vegas
rounding flat concrete platformed corridors
like cattle lead to slaughter
security & ushers
waving sound & lights
visions of holocaust

inside
hooked up with the crew
The Boys opened with Rain
lead into Shakedown
the family danced crazy insane

energy in all forms abound
the Dead led us into a shamanic exploration
merging sensual lights & sound
the newly baptized were like woah
different from hard-core family
pressed slacks & college smiles
by the end all of us sat dumb-founded amazed again
while others stumbled around
gathering lost friends

my posse scattered
to scope the scene
I ground scored an eel skin wallet
with 60 dollars as surprise
a flannel jacket
with signature rip
a sputtering wind resistant lighter
a sweatshirt newly dyed
& a full bag of swag

Kickbacked Stevo
for covering my ticket
gave the sweatshirt to Jabba
who needed it more
outside we splurged on pizza & Sierras
before heading to Grand Central
inside the station we passed a head
stumped looking low
puzzled I asked what's up
knowing the Dead kicked hella show
he said he had lost his wallet
had no money for ticket home
certain dharma was calling
I pulled the one I found
& but of course it was his
in New York City
harbor to millions of lost souls
a chance
a random act of kindness
that was random not at all

I explained to him
about the money
stoked him with
half bag of swag
ticket home
& conversation
he kept saying something about fate
& hooking up the next show
but I had no plans on attending

after three days
of uncertain pleasure
sickness overtook
my senses overwhelmed
subway fumes
polluted trash
it was the smell of piss
post-rain
that finally did me in

I headed home
staying 3 out of 6
left eagerly
right after the Rex Foundation shows
out by traffic the next morning
I did stop to watch the sunrise
between the twin buildings
of the world trade center
another year of touring done
back to Atlanta
& then off to Jackson Hole

That experience you had
is psychotic
I'll give you Thorazine
It's not valid
You're hallucinating
What do you mean your God?

-Ram Dass

We have wondered
why we are here ,
why we are so different
from the others,
why we don't seem to fit in
with the life patterns
deemed normal.
It is as if we hear
a separate anthem
than most people.
One that touches us deeply,
yet, few others seem to hear.
And it is the fragments
of this precious song
that enable us to continue on,
as if seeking to put together
pieces of an obscure puzzle,
sacred to us,
yet ignored by most.

-Solara