Poems

Atlantic City, NJ, Dec., 1971
Lonely walking the streets,
the crowd all around.
Something money didn’t buy;
it felt unreal.

Atlantic City, NJ, Dec., 1971
My mother told me,
that someday ago I was a baby,
and everybody liked me.

Atlantic City, NJ, Dec., 1971
Try and you will make it.
Your ancestors did it,
so, you too.
You got to be on top,
remember where you are from.

Atlantic City, NJ, Dec., 1971
We build skyscrapers
trying to reach the sky
shouting loud to be heard,
stuffing mirrors and lagoons
with jewels and colored paper,
and we swear that
the wire that we walk on,
has its life forever;
and then, if we realize.

Atlantic City, NJ, Dec., 1971
She is a girl, I am a boy,
or a man if you get kind.
We are two people,
but we know we are one.

Atlantic City, NJ, Dec., 1971
It’s a pet; yeah.
It’s my friend,
we feel for each other.
I am not trying to put you down,
but he really makes me happy.

Atlantic City, NJ, Dec., 1971
I felt love,
I felt brotherhood;
the day was gone, they were gone.

Atlantic City, NJ, Dec., 1971
Millions of islands,
shouting and screaming
in the ocean of silence.
You don’t see them;
maybe you are noisy.

Atlantic City, NJ, Dec., 1971
There are moments
when you feel,
like if life wasn’t worth it.
There are moments
when the green looks dark;
when the ocean is not there
and the birds
are just flying objects.

Atlantic City, NJ, Dec., 1971
We need them, it’s a pity.
They are normal, it’s a pity.
We are normal, it’s a pity.
Look at that freak, he said;
Look at what he does, was the echo;
he is so simple, everybody agreed.
He is not like us.

Atlantic City, NJ, Dec., 1971
I have been walking,
since I remember
that my mind started to grow.

Atlantic City, NJ, Jan., 1972
Some try to stop it.
Some push it
as hard as they can.
I saw some avoiding it,
but they were all doing the same.

Atlantic City, NJ, Jan., 1972
The morning was waiting;
the night was almost gone.
There was no darkness; no light.
It didn’t feel warm,
neither the cold was felt.

Atlantic City, NJ, Jan., 1972
Today we have to laugh,
the calendar said.
Tomorrow we’ll be sad,
he continued.

Atlantic City, NJ, Jan., 1972
Sometimes I go blank
and nothing seems to be alive;
not even a walk on the beach
calls me.

Atlantic City, NJ, Jan., 1972
Did you ever wake up at noon,
with that sour feeling of nothingness?

Atlantic City, NJ, Feb. 18, 1972
The noise was familiar,
and the feeling, too.
They were coming down the roof,
and crushing themselves
on the red dirt.

Atlantic City, NJ, Feb. 18, 1972
A tree was looking at me,
and his smile was nicely ironic.
The flowers were dancing around,
and the noisy silence
was kissing my forehead.

Philadelphia, Penna., Feb. 20, 1972
Walking on the ocean,
I saw the sky.

Atlantic City, NJ, Feb. 22, 1972
The reason to cry;
the reason to laugh.
Life and death marching on.
A big smile, in the heart of those
who see the cycle and enjoy it.

Atlantic City, NJ, Feb. 22, 1972
Little candles
calling me from the distance.
I am not sure,
but something stops me.
Maybe is the human rain,
that has got me so wet.

Atlantic City, NJ, Feb. 22, 1972
Children, the ones that start;
how greatly get destroyed,
in the name of the law,
and of course, of love.

Atlantic City, NJ, Feb. 23, 1972
The feeling was good;
the man was peaceful.
Something was wrong in him.

Atlantic City, NJ, Feb. 23, 1972
They saw him crippled,
and they asked him, «why»?
They saw her sad,
and they asked her, «why»?
He and she saw them empty,
and they asked themselves, «how come»?

Atlantic City, NJ, Feb. 23, 1972
It was the picture of her,
but it had more life than in real.
The shocking memories
of that different summer.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 3, 1972
Little frogs asking for mercy,
while the people around,
just go by.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 5, 1972
Pulling and pushing,
to get loose,
from those invisible chains,
that have kept us for so long.

Atlantic Community College, Mays Landing, NJ, March 8, 1972
People, crying for things
that don’t belong to their lives.
Tears, just coming down
for no purpose at all.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 8, 1972
It was like a connection,
that came from somewhere.
It felt warm and pleasant,
but not really enough;
maybe, I wasn’t used to it.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 13, 1972
Confusion came to my mind.
The goals were losing their identity.
Direction seemed to wonder,
if she knew who she was.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 18, 1972
You think, you found the way.
You think, you arrived.
You got it.
The road was straight, with no curves.
The pace was fast, but smooth.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 18-19, 1972
Let´s hurry, we´ll be late.
Let´s move fast, we will be at front.
Speed and nervousness
help to rush to nowhere.
Direction is instead of speed.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 18, 1972
How does it feel to be put down?
How does it feel to cry at night?
How does it feel to lose all hope?
Why did you cry, since you knew
that you could have laughed?
Questions and questions,
for somebody without answers.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 19, 1972
Everybody around a table
getting friendly, and smiling a lot.
Getting closer; that feeling
that gets you comfortable.
We saw each other in a different way.
We all looked different,
and that warmth of companionship
was filling our spirits.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 20, 1972
We had to get away
from each other.
You knew it, but yet,
it was hard to accept it.
I was completely decided,
I don’t know why.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 20, 1972
Nobody knew,
if you were dead or alive.
Nobody knew,
what made you leave,
if it was that.
Nobody knew,
what to say, what to do.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 20, 1972
You feel like walking north,
but you’re not supposed to.
You feel like shouting loud,
but you’re not supposed to.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 21, 1972
It came in a letter,
as many other things.
It was a surprise,
even though, I knew.

Atlantic Comm. College, Mays Landing, NJ,
Atlantic City, NJ, March 22-23,1972
Where have you been all these years,
while the music has been playing,
just for him, just for me,
just for you, just for everybody?

Atlantic Comm. College, Mays Landing, NJ, Atlantic City, NJ, March 22-23,1972
It gets to the point
when you give up,
‘cause nobody knows
why you do all this.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 23, 1972
I saw him,
he said to go ahead.
He didn’t see me;
he didn’t even know
where I was.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 25, 1972
People: weird things
walking around loose.
I don’t know,
but sometimes I get scared…
when I think of the possibilities,
and yet, we remain loud and blind.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 25, 1972
It’s when you are pushed away,
‘cause you can’t be
the way you would like to be.

Hammonton, NJ, March 26, 1972
‘Cause he brought me up,
and played the music for me.
‘Cause he helped me
to find the way of tranquility;
there, where everything is beauty.

Hammonton, NJ, March 26, 1972
As happiness invades,
the sad thoughts of childhood
go away, little by little.
Deeper and deeper, it goes;
closer and closer, it gets;
brighter and clearer,
the light has to become.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 28, 1972
He was born like any other baby.
He grew-up and went to school.
He sold newspapers, so, someday
he was going to make it through college.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 28, 1972
One day fell after the other.
It was strange, but it was,
and it had to be accepted.
When things happen that way,
it always makes you wonder,
how come things were so slow,
down there, when you were
just one more kid, on the street.

Atlantic City, NJ, March 28, 1972
It was in a Laundromat,
when I saw her, just there,
sitting on her wheelchair.
Things that happen;
why to some and not others?
She was smiling, but I felt sad.

Atlantic Community College,
Mays Landing, NJ, March 29, 1972
Little people, becoming bigger,
as they get closer.
Little figures, catching identity,
while things get clearer.

Wildwood, NJ, March 30, 1972
Little girls with little boys
just playing around.
Children,
still in a not so corrupted world.
They still have some of the innocence
which has kept them away
from the indifference of crazy adults,
to that world of dreams, beauty,
inspiration and above all, Nature.

Wildwood, NJ, March 30, 1972
There are things in life
that you don’t want to remember.
There are people that you know,
that you wish you could forget,
maybe, ‘cause you want them back,
knowing that it won’t happen.

Wildwood, NJ, March 30, 1972
How can you cry while you smile?
How can you love while you lie?
How can you kill while you pray?
Is it true that you can only do both,
without knowing the difference in between?

Wildwood, NJ, March 30, 1972
It had to happen.
I was waiting for it
and it has made me very happy.
What a weird thing is to make love;
in a way, you lose your defenses
and pretty faces, masks.
You can still fake it, but not so much,
and even if it’s possible, what for?

Atlantic City, NJ, April 3, 1972
We have been striving for that moment,
all of our lives.
We have been thinking that,
union is what we want.

Atlantic City, NJ, April 5, 1972
While I open my hands,
you close yours,
and the confused, scared face
keeps on growing in you,
after long times of closed people
or facing the back of them.

Philadelphia, Penna., April 6, 1972
Different kinds of people;
like in any park.
Antennas and trees, all pointing at the sky.
Somebody writing in a corner,
somebody smiling back.

Atlantic City, NJ, April 6, 1972
Going back is not necessarily
going backwards
To climb a tree is not necessarily
getting higher
She can get higher
by digging a hole,
and go further
by returning.

Atlantic City, NJ, April 8, 1972
Clouds hide the light from coming through.
A soft breeze moves the clouds,
while I look at the sky
with that hope in my eyes, waiting and active.
Everything keeps on moving
and the shine is more intense;
the night has to come
and the darkness with it,
but also, a new day.

Atlantic City, NJ, April 15, 1972
The vibes were so strong,
that I had to feel them
like in a dream of warmth,
togetherness, totalization, lifting.

Atlantic City, NJ, April 15, 1972
Going around in circles
we try faster and faster.
We start to get dizzy,
but we enjoy it,
since we think we are getting high.

Atlantic City, NJ, April 22, 1972
And the letter came
It was like the lost GI
which has been given as dead
It could be called hope
the feeling of those lines on green paper
The scream was sincere and clear
even though it took a while
to be fully understood

Atlantic City, NJ, April 22, 1972
You get in trouble, but I don’t mean bad
Your friends seem surprised and distant
You forget everybody for a while
The ones that were with you
you still love them,

Atlantic City, NJ, April 22, 1972
It’s nice to be middle class
It’s nice to be warm, well fed,
loved, even on the surface, and others
It’s nice to don’t know what’s happening
It’s nice to be with the ones that look,
feel, and turn up their noses, like you

Atlantic City, NJ, April 23, 1972
Why is it that you feel embarrassed
of laughing by yourself?
Is it that you are so far
from communicating with anybody,
that you can’t even have a talk
with your own person?

Atlantic City, NJ, May 15, 1972
Beautiful children get in the hands
of those who will tell them.
Discovery slips away
now a house is a house
and a bird, a bird.

Atlantic City, NJ, May 18, 1972
You, that walk on mountains
and can have a view of the valley,
give me another candle
and I might try to define my role.

Medford, Mass., May 20, 1972
Walking around and dreaming about
how the world could be
Looking at people going through their trips
and dreaming about
all the love that they could give

Pleasantville, NJ, June 24, 1972
Dark nights of enlightened days
People walking around waiting for dawn to come
A baby-sitter does her job
while the family goes out to enjoy
Daddy says hello and the children smile
Not many people realize
what, joy has come to deliver

Atlantic City, NJ, July 20, 1972
And the bird that was sad and worried
understood at last that his real place
wasn’t to be tied down to the ground like snakes
‘cause he was a bird and not a snake

Atlantic City, NJ, July 30, 1972
Alone the boy goes through the world
in search of the calls of his heart
He knows something awaits him
without knowing exactly what it is
But the calls are strong enough
so the search goes on and on
far from his initial goals

Atlantic City, NJ, August 5, 1972
Life goes by fast
the river doesn’t stop
Maybe someday
the glacier won’t give any more water
that day the river will die

Atlantic City, NJ, August 26, 1972
She said her life had no meaning
That she wasn’t doing anything
That she was only having a good time
meeting the people around the world
learning about life in a very personal way

Atlantic City, NJ, August 26, 1972
I wish I had a date with the mountains
I wish I could relate
with no words or cautious looks

Atlantic City, NJ, August 29, 1972
Like the prohibited fruit
she stood there looking at me
Her eyes were sweet, but yet, proud
maybe too proud, too sweet
I knew it, but I couldn’t let her go
so she played with her human toy
as any other sweet devil would do

Atlantic City, NJ, Sept. 17, 1972
Shocking emotions make me realize
how much you mean to me
The sweet pain of understanding
fills me up leaving me satisfied
Kicking away the rocks on the way
we seem to walk closer
even that the bumps seem to make it harder

Atlantic City, NJ, Sept. 17, 1972
I hurt you without meaning it
I put you down, wishing you high
I see you away, hoping you closer
I seem to understand my contradiction

Atlantic City, NJ, Sept. 21, 1972
Worried, trembling, but keeps on going
where? it doesn’t matter
just following everyday’s «existence»

Atlantic City, NJ, Sept. 23, 1972
She kept on moving, looking
without being satisfied
Nothing or nobody was good enough
She would sing:
«I can’t get no, satisfaction»

Atlantic City, NJ, Sept. 24, 1972
I thought things were getting clearer
That the horizon with its cloudiness
was getting closer, while the moisture of the air
was arising by the help of a new sunshine
Dreamt world, reality then

Atlantic City, NJ. Sept. 26, 1972
A little girl walks in the park
glittering the trees stare at her
she feels them without seeing them
she feels more than what she sees

Atlantic City, NJ, Sept. 30, 1972
Lovely people throwing hatred
like candy fed to children
Beautiful nights listening what’s going on
without being shocked or turned ugly
Warm summers carrying a message of war
while we bathe in the ignorance
of our self-made pains
Nature undisturbable
The Human Animal keeps on trying, and hard

Atlantic City, NJ, Sept. 30, 1972
Too many nights I preached
Too many nights I cried
Too many nights I waited
for my woman to come home
Lord, don’t I deserve a rest?

Atlantic City, NJ, Oct. 1, 1972
The party is over
the music is gone
the people look tired
their faces are smooth and calm
some just move around
looking for what was left

Atlantic City, NJ, Oct. 1, 1972
‘Cause the world needs you
with crying frosted hands
extended to you, offering help
assistance and anything we might need
to make that dream come true

Atlantic City, NJ, Oct. 3, 1972
I played «hippie» perhaps for too long
Maybe I needed it then, not now
It was enough to look cool
It wasn’t necessary to do something cool
I just had to look
and of course, make the peace sign

Atlantic City, NJ, Oct. 3, 1972
Millions of words, slogans and plans
coming out of your system
like a deathless stream
giving birth to plants, trees and birds

Atlantic City, NJ, Oct. 4, 1972
Everybody sitting down in a whole different world
just like statues, smiling, for nothing else to do
stiff and plain as a can of beer, with some of it, too

Atlantic City, NJ, Oct. 6, 1972
Too many nights spent alone
Dreams of bitter endings
Passions of nonexistent smiles
Hopes of intangible futures
Just you and me
in a place with no ground

Atlantic City, New Jersey, Oct. 6, 1972
There she goes at forty-three
Chasing kids around
Trying to find in sensuous rewardings
what she lost when she was twenty-two

Atlantic City, NJ, Oct. 7, 1972
People are just people
until they find out
that there are some more people

Atlantic City, NJ, Oct. 17, 1972
Thanks Jesus for having been around
Thanks Buddha for having been with us
Thanks Krishna for having given so much
Thanks Mohammed for having given all that light
Thanks Moses for having been such a Master
Thanks Maharishi for giving, you know…
Thanks Maharaj ji

Atlantic City, NJ, Oct. 23, 1972
Only when you find your Self
you can really love
otherwise, it’s just an attempt

Atlantic City, NJ, Oct. 23,1972
Five stones in my hand
I play with them
like I play with children at noon
He smiles at me
watery eyes, humble look
he leaves wanting to come back
He knows he has found a friend

Atlantic City, NJ, Oct. 23, 1972
All kinds of people
all searching for the same
You dream of me
I dream of you

Atlantic City, NJ, Oct. 24, 1972
Like a kaleidoscope she exposes herself to me
Each day a new movement
Each morning a new face

Teaneck, NJ, Oct. 25, 1972
Decay, loose dog and sad trees
Everything pointing down
even the smile of a child

Scullville, NJ, Nov. 15, 1972
Things spin around
Tranquility seemed to have come
but, I guess things come, things go

Atlantic City, NJ, Nov. 16, 1972
How many nights crying do you have to have
before you see that life is much more than weeping?

Union City, NJ, Nov. 20, 1972
Be at peace
‘cause it’s the only way to be

Union City, NJ, Nov. 20,1972
As I walk the path of the thousand glories
an angel comes to greet me by the side of the road
It’s not a conventional one
it could be taken as a loose one
like the ones that God has been losing lately

Union City, NJ, Nov. 22, 1972
Everything has been said and done
Everything is known and created, already
There is nothing for you to do or try
Realization of your True Self is a job

Union City, NJ, Nov. 22, 1972
As I walk through the road of my Destiny
I see faces that gradually start turning familiar
As I like my Self a little more and accept it for what it is
friendlier people come to me from all directions

Union City, NJ, Nov. 22, 1972
I look outside the window
and I see nothing, but your smile
Tender at last, your hands searched through my hair
it felt good, but it came in the last minute

Union City, NJ, Nov. 25, 1972
The more I find out about myself
the more amazed I become
For a long time I’ve been trying to know about you
but I’m ready to give up

Union City, NJ, Nov. 29, 1972
As you hide your beauty
behind the tough iron wall that surrounds you
I still get a glimpse of that tenderness that you can’t fake away
You try hard not to show what you feel
but when the sun is so clear
we just cannot think about dusk

Flight from Buffalo, New York,
to Los Angeles, Calif., Dec. 2, 1972
As the plane rises above the clouds
the sunshine is ever existing
Sadness remains below, just where I was

Flight from Buffalo, New York, to Los Angeles, Calif., Dec. 2, 1972
Something is helping us to make us leave each other
and when it happens, you look at me with sad eyes
telling me that you will miss me
Before, you had no evident interest in me

Buffalo, New York, Dec. 2, 1972
As Nature grows brighter, giving more to enjoy
my partner grows older, giving me less to…
As the end comes closer, a relief is in sight
The ring around my neck shouldn’t grow tighter

Los Angeles, Calif., Dec. 5, 1972
Tenderness is shivering in your pocket
from being left alone, forgotten and unused
She tries to reach you and you feel it
but that would take too much pride away
and you just can’t afford that

Los Angeles, Calif., Dec. 5, 1972
As I try to understand the differences
between papa and me
the dreamt rest on South American beaches
seems half lost

Hollywood, Calif., Dec. 9, 1972
To wait, without knowing what will happen
It’s like to get on the road, without knowing who will pick you up
It’s like to be ready to die, and somebody tells you
that there is a chance
The bird sees the hunter, and it remembers that it has wings

Hollywood, Calif., Dec. 9, 1972
The boy was walking, thinking, talking…
– Mama, why do I have to suffer? Is it necessary?
– What?

Hollywood, Calif. Dec. 10, 1972
Lovers of the world, keep on riding
the roads are smooth and thirsty for you
Everybody is waiting and anxious to see you on
It might be rough sometimes, but you know what’s your job

Hollywood, Calif. Dec. 10, 1972
How come, when I’m starting to get used to something
I have to move on?
How come, when the sunshine is getting warm
the night comes so strong?

Hollywood, Calif. Dec. 12, 1972
When you love a wanderer, you can’t give all of yourself
‘cause you know that it won’t last too long
He came, he stayed, and he is ready to go
to other arms, to other warm kisses around his neck
You know it, but you wish that you could forget it

Santiago, Chile, March 23-24, 1973
I look all around
I feel lonely as a poor hungry boy
Without success I look for people like you
But, long time ago
people forgot how to be tender

Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Nov. 2, 1974
If my heart beats
at the same rhythm as yours
If I love you
with a more mature intensity than before
If even the time passed
I can still feel your breath
close to mine

Playa de las Américas, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Jan. 12, 1975
When one doesn’t respect oneself
can’t expect respect from others
When one lives a lie
can’t expect to find truth in life

Playa de las Américas, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, March 7, 1975
There is plenty of time to hurt each other
We have the rest of our lives
to do with ourselves and the rest of the people
whatever we want
‘cause remember, brother, that we are free

Madrid, June 6, 1975
Beg, beg, sweet little child
for someone who’s so far from you
for someone who doesn’t have
the courage to be with the one she loves

Rotterdam, Holland, Dec. 18, 1976
Because I talk soft
I prefer not to talk from too far
Why should I be loud
if I feel more comfortable
relating with people in a soft way?

Rotterdam, Holland, Dec. 18, 1976
Sometimes when you try to open your heart
your hands and shoulders are stiff
used to be an island
isolated from the rest

Rotterdam, Holland. Dec. 27, 1976
We hide every movement
We pretend nothing matters
Grown up people, behaving like adolescents

Rotterdam, Holland, Dec. 28, 1976
The snow falls down
the ice is gradually breaking inside
the real people start to come out
after long years of hiding

Nijmegen, Holland, Jan. 7, 1977
A silence
might say more
than a thousand words
A flower, more than a tree
It all depends
on how we feel, look
or perceive the image

Bennekom, Holland, March 11, 1977
Surrounded by them, you feel comfortable
you smile and tell jokes
you turn around and give the right answer
knowing that the audience will clap and laugh

Kentfield, California, Feb. 16, 1998
I pray to the mountain that
I may heal my mind and my heart
that my thoughts may lead me
to a peaceful place in my heart
that my heart may heal its wounds
so bitterness, regret, pity, sadness
may just be memories of a distant past
yet not baggage loading my back

El Cerrito, CA, 3:00 am, January 10, 1999
I felt the hatred pouring out of their mouths
as I felt their hearts spitting venom
am I so different that their reception needs that?
questions and more questions from a curious child