Behind Your Life

Behind your life
Lie  many others
Your life has luxury
Your life has compassion
Your life has windows
But outside those windows
Outside the luxuries
Outside the compassion
There is life
At the smallest level
From the stone that lies
From the leaf that falls
From the water that runs
It's important to go out
And witness
The smallest level
Then go up
Go up from the water
Go up from the leaf
Go up from the stone
Then come back
To the compassion
To the luxuries
And to
The window
It is then you will realize
There is more than you thought
Behind your life

The Old Indian

His eye
His sad, sad right
eye.  The left,
he lost in the war-
fighting for his people.
It was a long, long time
ago.  He was younger
then, and believed
in everything.

Now there is nothing left
to fight for, and he's not even sure
that he was right.

The wooden beam of his home
            (the tree he axed and heaved and hewed
            with his two strong hands)
Now holds him up.

He ponders the past, those days of conviction,
        when the blood of his veins raged for revenge.

Now he hopes simply to live another day.

One eye missing
One button missing
One thumb missing

He's lost so many things, but gained others --
      wrinkles,
                         scars,
                                        gray hairs.

It's so difficult to smile.