Poetry by Tavis
[ facets | news || art | calc | stories | lego | me || links ]
 [ ART || photo | poetry | textart | drawings | o&m | origami | paint ]

A small anthology
Past Imagining (2/20/'03)
Can You Tell Me (2/20/'03)
Let Me Help (3/14/'05)
O ye of little faith!
May all Teachers be Heroes
Where is the love in that?
 		Cautious
At the last minute
The Threshold
The empty bed
Words
A Shy Introduction
 		Unheard Of
A Canyonlike Place
The Long Day, summarized (3/5/'99)
brushfire (7/5/'02)
Infinitesimal (7/5/'02)
Facets

Past Imagining - MIDI
Inspired by the Child of Light story and its Dark Pines incarnation in the Pork, I wrote this song. It is rather interesting to note how it fits the Child of Light story as well as the nature of online relationships, how one reality is merely an illusion that defines the truth behind the other, and how the mind of the AI program relies on the decoherence of countless thoughts to produce a single path, one of escape.
I see you standing there as lost as I
Where things are not what they may seem.
We will never learn until we try
To live outside this dream.

There are greater things than what's around
All in futures yet untold.
Could you count the worlds that would be found
If you are daring to be bold?

I will sail as far as I can go
Far beyond what can be seen
I will reach for all there is to know
Stretching forth my mind
    Until I find
    What is past imagining

While there are many paths yet unexplored
Only one can be traversed.
With regret the good ones are ignored
You'll never know if they were worse.

You must find a path that is your own
Set a chart for what you want to see.
And if you choose to never be alone
May you choose to be with me.

So we can sail as far as we can go
Braving what the course may bring
We can reach for all there is to know
Together we can find
    While side by side
    What is past imagining
Top of page

Can You Tell Me
I feel that this song indicates a sense of feeling adrift and seeking understanding. It reads almost like a prayer, but I'm sure some readers will know that there are always more than one facet to anything you can find, and sometimes you need to look closer to see who the words are for.
You have known me more than I know myself
You hold my every secret inside
I hold your name on my highest shelf
From you I have nothing to hide

I put my faith firmly on the line
Though I fear it may be in vain
I have come to you in case you find
A way to see past the pain

Can you tell me what I'm looking for?
If there are clues, can you give me more?
I know it's a lot to ask you
But your words have always been true

While our hearts were one in times before
You helped my heart and my life to soar
And though I never can tell
I hope you can make me feel well

Can you tell me, what I'm looking for?

I was wrong to let myself go astray
Though I felt we both were amiss
When you said goodbye, I went away
Knowing there would be no last kiss.

Little has changed, I still care for you
But that's not what I've come here to say
Since I have nothing left in this world to do
I feel that I've lost my way.

Can you tell me what I'm looking for?
If there are clues, can you give me more?
I know it's a lot to ask you
But your words have always been true

While our hearts were one in times before
You helped my heart and my life to soar
And though I never can tell
I hope you can make me feel well

Can you tell me, what I'm looking for?
Top of page

Let Me Help
This is a song for those sincere friends, the kind that are there for you whenever you need them and yet are often too good for their own good, those friends who could never ask of anything for fear of imposing.
You're not alone
There's no need for going on without;
Living all your life in doubt
Let me help.

Don't let go
Don't fall under all the load you bear
When you are feeling that no one would care
Let me help.

I have so much I want to say to you
But you have to want to hear it first.
Of all the things you can possibly do
I'll be there when things are worst.

Let me help
I want to be at your side forever
Ready to defend whenever
You call for me

I'll be there
Please accept what I am offering
I will do anything
If you need help,
Let me help.

I see you hurt
Please believe in what I have to say
I can't bear to let you run away
Let me help

I'm on your side
Do not run to find a place to hide
Holding all your pain inside
Let me help

If you must go, I cannot tell you no
But know I won't be far away
I can make it so together we'll know
You will always find your way.

Let me help
I want to be at your side forever
Ready to defend whenever
You call for me

I'll be there
Please accept what I am offering
I will do anything
If you need help,
Let me help.
Top of page

O ye of little faith!
The majestic room before me
had people there praising Thee.
Standing, sitting, for a whole hour.
What faith gave them this power?
 
After eternity in a moment,
I knew why I was sent,
I walked with the sacramentary in hand.
The priest read of a promised land.
 
I look at the congregation gathered,
The unfaithful left, so they preferred,
A remainder was a reminder
That soon I will sit there.
 
Now a server, but soon no more,
I see further what is at store.
I soon may be forced to leave,
But I will not fail to believe.
Top of page
May all Teachers be Heroes
Of all the people we look up to
a teacher's influence is vast.
They told us all we knew
the information from the past
Proper form was what to do
in the world we were cast
And yet where are few who
could teach the things that last
Who wants to follow rules, or an even
                        set of lines?
The whole is of parts different
                        from the rest,
         none matching another,
         nor its previous self
Rules guide the whole, but not the aberrant soul
Teachers are only heroes when they can show
             what they themselves don't know.
Top of page
Where is the Love in That?
A man strolls along the sidewalk
He spots a wallet on the ground
Another nearby begins to talk
About what he lost around...
"THERE it is!!" Before the man starts to walk
He demands a reward for what he found.
Where is the love in that?

At a trial, the witness gave testimony
In front of the listening jury
"He's the one that stole the money!"
They were convinced quite surely
And the verdict was called: guilty.
The witness was paid for his perjury.
Where is the love in that?

Two people meet each other
And immediately get swept in.
They amorously grasp each other,
And embrace in unbridled passion.
The arousal rises until each lover
Leaves forever in a meaningless fashion
Where is the love in that?

Hundreds of people shout and jeer
At one who stirred their anger
Some claim he intends to steer
The justified as well as the impure
He, the Innocent One, cried a tear
And Jesus forgave the ones who gave Him torture
There is only love in that.
Top of page

Cautious
I have met someone special
  without ever seeing her.
How did these two souls meet,
  why am I believing her?
I've avoided falling in love
  long as I remember;
I'm just too cautious
  to let us be together.
 
Often I've met a girl
  and thought "Here's the one,"
But they were dead ends,
  loves I've never won.
It is because sight decieves,
  and so now I do
Think I'm being too cautious;
  I want to trust in you.
 
It's strange how one finds another,
  stranger still they've met.
But only when they talk together
  can their minds be truly set.
Now here I am talking to you,
  where appearances cannot deceive..
Talk and love, but be cautious;
  keep your heart off your sleeve.
Top of page
At the last minute
At the last minute,
the entire world will destroy itself
as panicked people furiously work and run in mad blurs to do everything they put off
'till the last minute.
Top of page
The Threshold
the door opens
a voice beckons within
dare he cross
is it a sin
Something is there
it will soon begin
there's the threshold
time to go in.
Top of page
The empty bed
The quiet solitude of a
        napping child
soon is broken by the
        rising,
                screaming,
                        running,
                                jumping,
        yapping child.
The parents are left staring at the empty bed.
Top of page
Words
Words, merely words.
They are so empty now.
Text, plain text.
They fail to convey how
Thoughts, my thoughts,
toward you are said.
You, lovely you.
I should be there instead.
Top of page
A Shy Introduction
hi
Top of page
Unheard Of
Communication:
It's unheard of!
Consternation
towards ones I love.
They never hear me;
I can't say a word.
Though they're near me
I will go on unheard
Top of page
A Canyon-like Place
I know- of a canyonlike place
It is a wonder to all,
So grand is it's beauty
everyone hears its call
Whole lives are spent
Searching, waiting to fall

The shy take short jumps;
While adventurers may leap.
Many hit hard rocks,
if the sides are too steep
And others never stop
No one knows how deep

Sadly, not all soar
when they make their jump
the fall is quite far
and they may hit a bump
Too late for them-
Fallers never get back up.

And yet some never fall;
they wait at the cliff's edge.
Strong people standing tall
Until the end of age.
It touches even them,
inspiring an eternal change.

What strange place do I see
Where souls eagerly dove?
Where even the Almighty
jumped in from above?
Listen to those singing it's name
This place is called Love.
Top of page

The Long Day, summarized
The rising sun
I yawn, clinging to the pillow
The losing battle
Defeated, getting ready to go
The slow trip
Bored, repeating this daily
The first stop
Awakened, sensing electricity
The rapid entry
Excited, hoping for a lift
The opening doors
Cheerfully, accepting the gift
The heavy books
Strengthened, holding them easily
The waiting desk
Amused, finding it's lefty
The studious class
Fascinated, working throughout
The beeping alarm
Finished, packing up and out
The second stop
Exhausted, waiting for the 'vator
The passing friends
Elated, "See ya later"
The upward ride
Burdened, minding no more
A pleasant sight
Resistant, refusing to adore
The cushy couch
Tired, collapsing from above
The coming peace
Relaxed, dreaming of love
Top of page
Brushfire
All about the field came a burning glow
Devouring all around it fast as it could go
Missing nothing but destroying everything
Into the dark ground below.

In the serenity a songbird shall sing
All about its own little thing
Unknowing and still unheeded
While the brushfire's coming

The fire burned, nothing impeded
All other life had soon retreated
To stay would be to their demise
The songbird stayed while fire succeeded

On passed the fiery sighs
Upon which the others cried
For the bird which didn't arise
All will go on unsurprised
Top of page

Infinitesimal
The vast farm stretched beyond view
Lasted forever, far as I knew,
As sky and ground blurred into one
Is infinity really true?

Day after day, Time through time
I see it on the edge beyond rhyme,
Never wondering but always assuming
It loops like the edge of a dime.

The answer shall be consistently elude
Those whose ideas assumed
That somehow forever continued
Infinity is something viewed.
Top of page

Facets (a work in progress)
I
A happy face
without a care
Just misplaced
what was there

II
Somberly, I await the gifts
Folding my hands
  until I carry the host
Bowing slowly
  I give thanks
Stepping back
  the ceremony goes on
in another's hands

III
Curious-
    What do my texts say?
    Shall they ponder themselves as well?
    Is there much more?
    Or is this all?
There is yet more to discover.

IV (added March 5, 1999)
How Can You
Look at all the pretty colors
And put it in black and white?
        Words

V
It's all a blur
Blindly blended light
Looking for glasses
By using sight

VI
I may be having
Coca Cola withdrawls,
But I'm still hyper.
Boingy! Boingy!

VII
Where is
        Everybody
        Anything
Top of page

Made by Tavis - Updated March 14, 2005
<-- Back to Facets