You fell from the path
(or did you?)
Tried to feel more of life
(How would you?)
Without the strife
of modern living, not giving
in to the consuming beast
that was busily, dizzily
feasting on people like you
(and me, too.)
Was Lao Tzu the first
to say it?
(about the Tao)
Was he different
from you and me
(right now)
or just someone who
found his thread, amidst the jumble
of ambition, illusion, trial
(and yes, trouble).
Bumbling fool
he knew full well
they'd laugh
at his idea
It wouldn't sell
They'd say that he lost it
(Poor fellow!)
dumped his life
(Just tossed it)
All would be gone
as he slipped off the path
like any man
who is
Alone
(Astray)
Without agreement, achievement,
confirmation, validation, exoneration.
Missing the permission of peers
and neighbors
(who always disagree, you know)
To simply be
who he was
and to live
what he found
to be true
Now you can learn
from this old fool
this missing servant
whose idea
(bound for ridicule)
says be free
of the hooks
the mind binders
culture's blinders
that grab you with their tools.
(Stay awake, Bubbah)
Got to be bold enough
to hear birds and breezes
and inner voice and rain,
and having heard that Nature Song
once deep in your brain
to not forget
or need a fresh start,
but to stay on the Path
guided true by your heart
without tear or fear to stop you
without anything that can top your
true voice speaking to you
(loud and clear, Dear)
Does your heart still talk to you?
(and mine to me, too)
Do we sing the same inner song?
Are the voices of stream and bird
and TV the same
(were they all along?)
Did the marketer and great sage both
show you the real game?
Was it all the Great Tao
speaking to you now
telling you that you can't leave
the path?
(Can't do it)
and at last you can know
that you won't go anywhere but
where you belong?
What if it were so?
That there were no place to go?
That everything
(Everything)
is the path, and you can't slip off.
You can only know or not know
that you are the ride
and that you simply decide
minute to minute
(day by day)
whether to play in angst and greed
or wu wei and be freed.
taobro
7/16/98
