learn to love
true love
is released
not consumed
it is given
it is free
thank all
who help you
learn this and
learn to love
- Brenneman T. March 1, 2002
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c o m p a s s i o n
come
passion
come passion
compassion
come pass on
love
- Brenneman T. March 1, 2002
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What Flag?
What flag do I fly?
One with stars and red and white stripes?
One with a confederate theme?
One with a scene to celebrate the season?
One with a picture of one world as seen from outer space?
What is the flag on my face?
What is the flag in my voice; my pen?
What is the flag in my heart?
All life is watching me today.
What flag will I raise?
- Brenneman T. March 5, 2002
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Vision's Pool
Friendly Wendy,
Pumpkin Pie,
Always keep the,
Twinkling eye!
Blue-fountain joy,
Deep and cool.
All thirst is quenched,
In your vision's pool!
- Brenneman T. March 6, 2002
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The Tow Truck of Acceptance
It's afternoon,
And my words are weighted by hours of thought.
Thought that follows a well-worn path,
Like the deepening rut made by spinning the rear tires a car in stuck mud.
The direction of thought is not as much determined by reality or its validity,
as by its habit.
If I'm stuck,
I always have the tow truck of acceptance here to extricate me.
Sometimes a little reserved, skilled, careful spinning and rocking,
Back and forth, will loose me easily enough.
But too much, originating from frantic frustration,
Will burn my mind and ruin my tires.
Freeing myself involves a delicate balance,
Between thought, action, and acceptance.
Sometimes the trap is already secure,
And no thought or action will move me but patient waiting for help.
- Brenneman T. March 6, 2002
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It's How, Not Where
In most the roads we travel,
Our destination is entirely unimportant.
In fact, it's a distraction.
In all the others, it only seems significant.
This is because we will never arrive.
Life is in this moment only, not the future.
We must create a memorable past, now.
- Brenneman T. March 7, 2002
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Love's Peace and Will
Of centered love I have now tasted,
The courage to be healed.
And all the time that I thought was wasted,
It's value now revealed.
In the dawn of newfound sanity,
The clock is ticking still.
Reminding me to loose my vanity,
And live love's peace and will.
- Brenneman T. March 11, 2002
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What is My Name?
Who is the wise one, the one who really knows me?
He is a spiritual black man, a real man,
And he doesn't pronounce my name,
The way it is spelled.
He's been on drugs.
He's had children.
He's never married.
He's in recovery now, and shares a thriving soul.
He is a rock, my rock. He is my friend.
Many storms have smoothed him,
Until even his jaggedness is wise.
My name is whatever he calls me.
- Brenneman T. March 11, 2002
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Future Past
The gift that is,
Is all that's needed.
Imagining what was,
Must be conceded.
The mind is ours,
Our own thoughts foretold.
Opening faith's doors,
Will avoid memory mold.
The focus is key,
On letting pain go.
Focused, we may see,
Then come to know.
Wrapped in emotion,
Some pasts seem so bad.
But with honor and devotion,
Future past is made glad.
- Brenneman T. March 13, 2002
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Think Carrots
Thoughts are to the mind,
As food is to the body.
What a powerful awareness it is,
Knowing we have a choice,
Of mental diets. Think carrots.
- Brenneman T. March 14, 2002
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either extreme
either
i am drowning
or have thirst
extreme
- Brenneman T. march 18, 2002
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Shadows
A feeling is all it is.
Time passes,
And it is gone.
Somehow another,
Takes its place,
Like shadows on the wall,
Of the mind.
Awareness beckons imagination's sun,
To cast light upon all thoughts.
The shadows of a holocaust,
Are burnt images in stone;
Permanent impermanence.
So real is the pain of death,
One may see it's outline,
Etched on rock.
Yet the sun shines even on that rock.
There is no shadow,
Without a source of light to cast it,
And the shade of that rock,
May protect you this moment.
Shadows are not as real,
As you are.
And though shadow may seem,
To cast its' shadow on you,
Only you remain true.
- Brenneman T. March 20, 2002
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The Moment of the Magic
Andreas, the Austrian Gargoyle,
Covered in pigeon feathers held loosely by their droppings,
Sneezed, and fell from high upon the snow-covered cathedral steps.
He had come to life. It was midnight. It was magic.
Startled to be alive, he flew straight back up,
And perched shivering nervously upon his spot, only to fall asleep again.
In the fall, his nose broke off, so he doesn't sneeze anymore.
I've heard he will likely never live again, but sometimes I wonder.
- Brenneman T. March 21, 2002
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Wild Daffodils and Store-bought Roses
Where is sanity,
Among the years of mixed experience?
Like a bouquet of wild daffodils and store-bought roses,
Love is so varied.
From cacti to butterfly bushes.
There is room for all, when tended with care.
Roots, flowers; we share these elements,
Yet they are expressed so differently.
Water is our common meal.
We need it. Air is our common breath.
Spirit is our common bond.
We need it to breathe.
- Brenneman T. March 21, 2002
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Little Blue Hydrangea Blooms
The little blue hydrangea blooms,
You clipped from my gift to you,
And placed in a glass in my kitchen,
Emit exquisitely dainty hues,
Of yellow, green and blue.
What a wonderful reminder,
Of how the love I give you,
comes right back to bless me too.
- Brenneman T. March 26, 2002
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Light into Our Eyes
Sunshine always warms the soul,
That in the darkness cries.
Just so our God will play sun's role,
Bringing light into our eyes.
When asked what day The Son shall rise,
Taking all our woes away,
We know that in our heart God sighs,
"Open life with love! Today!"
- Brenneman T. March 27, 2002
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No Million Dollar Notion
Anger sections off our souls,
In quarter dollar pieces.
Until we've gathered up a roll,
And resentment never ceases.
We spend the ten on hurting,
Then, we buy another's pain.
Slices of our own heart's flirting,
With the emptiness we've gained.
A quarter for our thoughts,
May be much more than they are worth.
No million dollar notion bought,
The miracle of our birth.
- Brenneman T. March 28, 2002
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The Quiet Peace of Less
Quiet is the one,
Who truly hears.
Silent is the gun,
That savors years.
Of peace begun,
The ended fears.
All war we won,
Was won with tears.
Holiness confessed...
The blessings of less.
Letting go of more...
'Til we shut out war.
Brenneman T. March 28, 2002
Written in hope and support of peace in the Middle East
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