king o the waves

found me floatin in a big wide o-ocean
don't really know how i got there flo-oatin
party boats sailin right by me-e-ee
sailed on by and didn't see

king of the waves - o king of the waves
i ain't the kinda boy you save
send a hurricane spin me round
let me sink n let me drown

angel band come over the top
looked right at me - didn't stop
demon came from down in the hold
gave me food - made me bold

king of the waves - o king of the waves
i ain't the kinda boy you save
send a hurricane spin me round
let me sink n let me drown

loved that demon like a gentle mother
gave me an oar - gave me a rudder

paddled me back and i did sing
o demon mama make me king!

king of the waves - o king of the waves

i ain't the kinda boy you save

send a hurricane spin me round

let me sink n let me drown

out on the sea in a hurricane swirl
out there floatin is an orphan girl

i'll make you king i'll raise you high
but that little orphan girl must die

king of the waves - o king of the waves

i ain't the kinda boy you save

send a hurricane spin me round

let me sink n let me drown

o demon mama save that girl
i won't be king in this sad world
but if you save the orphan lass
may I still walk on boyhood grass?

king of the waves - o king of the waves

i ain't the kinda boy you save

let me walk on land a wisp

and burn burn burn ---- this body to a crisp

demon mama jumped to the sky
was an angel way up high
little boy you passed the test!
Queen of the sky will tell the rest

king of the waves - o king of the waves

i ain't the kinda boy you save

let me walk on land a wisp

and burn burn burn - this body to a crisp

you had me spare the orphan lass!
you will walk on boyhood grass
then on a magic ship you'll ride
that very Queen will be your bride

king of the waves - o king of the waves

i ain't the kinda boy you save

make me a fool for all to see

let the orphan girl live free

walked until my feet were green
magic ship came sailin in

took me on a starry ride
to know the Queen who is my bride

king of the waves - o king of the waves

i ain't the kinda boy you save

burn this body till it's free

let the orphan girl live free

found me floatin in a big wide o-ocean
thankful to be flo-o-oatin
thankful for my boyhood grass
thankful for the orphan lass

king of the waves - o king of the waves

i ain't the kinda boy you save

burn this body till it's free

do whatever you will with me

found me floatin in a big wide o-ocean
don't really know how i got there flo-oatin
i am saved and i am free
this loneliness is killin me

king of the waves - o king of the waves

i ain't the kinda boy you save

but if i am and if i'm free

where is the Queen you promised me?

"My demon mama! My orphan girl!
My ship! My grass! My hurricane swirl!
My sky's untimely blinding scene
My loneliness! My cross!  - your faithful Queen

king of the waves - o king of the waves

i ain't the kinda boy you save

burn me up until i'm free

fire and smoke for all to see

Diotima's Raggedytime Rag

Don't hurl yo Husserl at me, baby
Don't gimme your phenomenology
I just want yo love and understandin
and I will love you existentially

Stop whinin bout them Cartesian fuckheads
Start actin like yo my lovin fool
I don't need no Nietzschean preachin
mo lovin and less squawkin is my philosophical school

My mind is floatin up over the chatter
On my lips the Lord's Holy Word
My heart is His but I know I could love you
if my lips could get closer to yours

easter poem for diotima

[a loose translation from boethius
consolations of philosophy
liber ii metrum viii]

see world always change
faithful in unerring harmony
see seeds war with seeds
and never break unending pact of peace
see sun's chariot bring red dawn
so moon can rule night
led by evening star

see how waves of greedy sea stop here
and land is kept there too

see all this and see

what rules
what binds the earth and sea and sky
is love

take away love's rule
let love's binding slack
the things love rules and binds will war
and monkeywrench and wreck
the very engine of this world that—see!
faithful each to others motion—beautiful!
they drive

and love ties up families
with magic threads
joins pure lovers
in a holy knot
weaves faithful comrades
in a cause

o happy human race!
this love
that rules the stars
can rule your hearts

I LOVE YOU, DIOTIMA

John O.

The Center's Master

A wandering Bastard, without map or bearings
You hear a soothing Servant, kind and caring:

"Out there is Chaos. Here's a Center
Into its calming Order, enter"

There your Servant plays the Center's Master
Until you see he's just another Bastard...

You'll never find the Center, so just be it
When you look from it, you cannot see it

But know this: every lost and wandering Bastard
looks from it, too, and is your Center's Master

Love to All

John O.

The Robber

The Robber leaves the Marketplace
And leads his Treasure-laden Mule
Atop the Hill once more to face
The Town: Too Many Treasures Yet Unstolen

Still, His Bag is Full of Fineries
And opening It to Evening Light He sees
Every Single Golden Coin more Golden
More Wondrous every Wondrous Strip of Lace
More Foolish, Every Single Trusting Fool

When will the Robber leave the Hills
Reach to the Mountaintop that bars
Guilt and the Law?
Where Thievery thrills
The Center of the Spinning Wheel of Stars

[I wrote this cheery ditty at the age of 20. I am working on finishing my prostration book and I will also be publishing a new prose blog soon on theory and controversies in the philosophies of meditation practice. In the meantime, I thought I would post an old poem here occasionally when new ones do not arise. J.O.]

Evil Woman

There’s a hush in the Graveyard fore the Cat starts to howl
All the Spirits know Evil Woman on the prowl
She got her Evil Juju and the Spell She gonna spin
Evil Woman gonna do the Dead Men in

    Evil Woman, You’re worser than a Bad Moon
    You got me singin a Brand New Tune
    I didn’t do it! Ain’t no enemy, it’s true
    Evil Woman, ain’t no enemy but You

Woman like You should be stewin up Rats
Stirrin her Cauldron and gettin Congrats
Way to go, Grrrl, you hurt another po boy
Admit it, Evil Woman, that’s the kind of thing you enjoy

I was just talkin bout the Way Things Be
Evil Woman sneakin round seducin me
If I'd a just knowed all the ways She ain’t right
I’d a never loved that Evil Woman that night

    Evil Woman, You’re worser than a Bad Moon
    You got me singin a Brand New Tune
    I didn’t do it! Ain’t no enemy, it’s true
    Evil Woman, ain’t no enemy but You

Justice is for losers; Fairness is for fools
Cryin is for babies, Baby, I make the Rules
They say I’m a Loser, but why can’t You see?
You just sayin Unfair Evil Things about me

Evil Woman, whydjou ever come into my life?
I was crazy thinkin You could ever be a Wife
Evil Woman, You a Fiend from some lower level
Evil Woman, You an Ever Lovin Tool of the Devil

    Evil Woman, You’re worser than a Bad Moon
    You got me singin a Bad Brand Tune
    I didn’t do it! Ain’t no enemy, it’s true
    Evil Woman, ain’t no enemy but You

fide in diotima and Love to All,

John O.

The Universal Bow

I bow to YOU, my dear friends and enemies
I bow to everyone like YOU who has ever lived or ever will
I bow to your reactive patterns
I bow to your distractions
I bow to your emotions and complex thoughts and stories
I bow to your dream of a permanent happy self
I bow to the knots in your stomach, the choking in your throat
I bow to the contraction in your heart
I bow to the tears in your eyes
I bow to your anger, your hunger without end
I bow to your stupidity, your busy silly life
I bow to your fearful arrogance and blissed out pride
I bow to you who know them all

I bow to your wealth
I bow to your poverty
I bow to your obesity
I bow to your anorexia
I bow to your success at the office
I bow to your panic at the downward sales trend and pink slip
I bow to your pride in your work
I bow to your boredom in cubicle, field and factory
I bow to your orgasmic bliss
I bow to your frustrations and sexual obsessions
I bow to your random acts of kindness and generosity
I bow to your unspeakable secret cruelties and the endless pain they cause
I bow to your peace negotiations
I bow to your heartless guns and planes and bombs
I bow to your strength and nobility
I bow to your weakness and addiction

I bow to the Lord of the Universe
the Hermaphroditic King and Queen of Great Compassion
with as many faces as the Stars
as many arms as the rays of the Sun

Please look here
I wander the six realms
lost and confused with my enemies and friends
Please let me never forget them

When you place your certainty in the soles of my feet
let me never forget we are hesitant, doubtful and indecisive
When you nest in the palace of bliss in my loins
let me never forget we are pained and frustrated and obsessed
When you take your seat of power and satisfaction in my gut
let me never forget we are hungry, weak and helpless
When you sit on the warm flower of peace and love in my heart
let me never forget we are angry, bitter cold and resentful
When you sing the angelic chorus in my throat
let me never forget we are hoarse, tongue-tied and stupid
When you gaze from the not-two eye of insight in my forehead
let me never forget we are duped by division and decision
when you open the clear sky above my forehead
let me never forget I must stay here with my enemies and friends

Radiant Lord, Kind Heart of my Teacher
once more I touch my forehead to the ground
please visit me here
please look on us all with your eyes of Love
and please grant your Grace
that I might live and die for the benefit of others

OM MANI PADME HUNG

[reprinted from the old Unfettered Mind ning site]