Nobody 802

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Nobody # 802

Nobody Asked Me But:

To

A cat named Ralph who makes me laugh

and feel loved

And a tired old man who makes me cry

And feel helpless

But especially those

Who can hear the honking of geese

Above the sound of traffic

Who can hear the weeping of boys

Above the sound of mortars

Who refuse to take life as it is -

Because it wasn't always.

James Kavanaugh - Dedication from “There Are Men Too Gentle to Live Among Wolves.”

James Kavanaugh, the Catholic priest who turned away from his church and became a humanist poet, died on December 29 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His death was reported in the LA Times this past Monday. Kavanaugh was an inspiration to me. His words were there during the challenging times that were important periods of my growth.

A counselor where I taught introduced me to Kavanaogh’s work by pointing out that his poem “There Are Men To Gentle To Live Among Wolves” (also the title to his first book of poetry) could have been written with me in mind. I bought the book and the others that followed. In every one I found words that reminded me of my possibilities. Could one ask for anything more?

I met Kavanaugh twice, once in Santa Barbara, and again in Laguna Beach after he moved his institute there. He was kind enough to encourage my poetry.

His death, at 81, saddens me, because the best people lighten life’s darkness, if just a little, and another candle has gone out.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-james-kavanaugh9-2010jan09,0,5484496.story

Each of the following is an excerpt from one of Kavanaugh’s poems. I have placed the poem’s title in parentheses at the end.

There are men too gentle for a savage world

Who dream, instead, of snow and children and Halloween

And wonder if the leaves will change their color soon – (“There Are men Too Gentle To Live Among Wolves”)

But I will make you laugh

And love you quite a bit

And hold you when you are sad. – (“Will You Be My Friend”)

Who am I? I am not sure

Once I was a rabbit’s grave and a basketball hoop on the garage. - (“Will You Be My Friend” - part of the book’s introduction)

I knew this skinny little kid

Who never wanted to play tackle football at all

But thought he’d better if he wanted

His daddy to love him. – (“I Knew This Kid.”)

One of these days,

I’ll jump the last few walls;

Give no explanation

Save “simplicity calls!” – (“Of Simplicity”)

I was born to catch dragons in their dens

And pick flowers

To tell tales and laugh away the morning

To drift and dream like a lazy stream

And walk barefoot across sunshine days. (“Sunshine Days and Foggy Nights”)

When it all gets too heavy, I go down to the sea

……………………………………………

I lie for hours almost motionless

Laugh at ambition

Know that most pain

Is the by-product of my plans

The weight of my expectations. (“When It All Gets Too Heavy”)

I will not be bound, even if I die a stranger.

…………………………………..

For the only courage is to know I am afraid

To begin there. Perhaps to end there.

And never to lie again. (“One Day I gave Up Boundaries”)

Without you I can do my own laundry – though I always manage to lose one sock

I can cook my own food – though I always break the egg yolks

But without you

I can’t read my own eyes

Or hear my heart

Or show off

Or laugh. (“Woman”)

Yesterday’s lover, child of the sun

Trusted companion, wonderful one

Keeper of wisdom, so much to say

Yesterday’s lover, nothing today? (“Yesterday’s lover”)

“But what will produce growth and progress, Harry Langendorf?”

“Perhaps if we are not pushed and prodded or made to feel ashamed, we will achieve our growth – and our joy as well.”

“But you must seek to find, Harry Langendorf,” they said.

“No,” he said. “It seems to be in not seeking that I find.”

“But who will teach our young wisdom and discipline?”

“Wisdom is not taught,” said Harry Langendorf. “Systems are taught. Wisdom comes from experiencing life, or it never comes at all. And life is its own discipline.” (These three passages are from “Celebrate The Sun.”)

We’ve got to stop laughing like this

Someone might see us

And wonder why we’re giggling

When the whole world is weeping,

…………………………………….

(and did I tell you that

your bottom lip hangs down

like a baby bulldog’s,

that your teeth are crooked

and I love you.) (“Someone Might See Us”)

LET GO OF IT ALL

Let go of it all and see where it takes you.

Let the money slide away and the tense young men

Who talk of security and conquests.

Let the cars whiz by, the square jaws and too bright eyes.

Stumble and fall and lie prone upon the earth

Until you taste the dirt again and make friends with the fog.

Toss your plans aboard the first wind heading north

And your ambitions on a breeze heading south.

Let it all descend upon you like lava and sunshine

And let the clouds guide you as they will.

There is no mountain high enough to climb with

Final satisfaction,

No hole deep enough to dig, no ocean vast enough to cross.

There is only laughter and peace and the present moment,

Your breath in unison with the throbbing earth,

Your flight as aimless and transient as the birds.

Let it all go and wash you like the rain,

Let it all go and buffet you like the wind,

Let it all go and see where it takes you

Until you are one with the earth and all its

Inhabitants.