Poems for the medicated

Goal

2012-02-20T08:23:00.000-08:00

Goal

Everyone

is born a

Homo sapien

but not everyone

becomes a human being.

Dao

2012-02-20T08:12:00.000-08:00

Dao

If you

have

an agenda

you

won’t be

gentle.

2012-02-19T10:34:00.000-08:00

Don’t let

your culture

be your

only input.

Marriage

2012-02-17T08:07:00.001-08:00

Marriage

Is a dynamic process:

The ball gets larger

The chain gets shorter.

dread

2012-02-17T07:57:00.002-08:00

Dread

hope

I never

have to

go to

Disney Land.

Cathartic

2012-02-12T17:27:00.003-08:00

Cathartic

A n h o u r

w i t h a

p a p e r

s h e d d e r

Rx

2012-02-12T14:56:00.001-08:00

It will be

a disease

if I can

sell you

the cure.

Warrant

2012-02-12T14:54:00.001-08:00

Warrant

I told god

to get on

with his life

and stop

peeping in

on mine.

Half Drunk

2012-02-10T08:08:00.001-08:00

Half drunk

Her statistics

were always

on the

con

ser

side…

Knock

2012-02-08T09:25:00.000-08:00

Knock

My winner

bottle a

cap not

told me I was

Found

2012-02-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

Found

On my own

Business card

In my own

Handwriting

Inside my own

Shirt pocket--

Inverted World:

Me-you, You-me

My motives

Unity/voice/identity

Meeting backwards

Confrontations

Apology for last year

Had to stand trial

Transference for two years

Equal division of time—

Meaning lost

What?

2012-02-08T06:42:00.001-08:00

What?

Was

That a poem

Or a

Language fire?

Project

2012-02-05T14:14:00.000-08:00

Project

You can’t

carpe diem

every diem.

Shift

2012-02-05T14:11:00.001-08:00

Shift

There is no art

without

some kind

of movement

in the viewer.

Hard

2012-02-04T16:11:00.001-08:00

Hard

Sharpen

Your Mind

You have to

Rub it up against

Something abrasive!

Freudian Slip

2012-02-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

Freudian Slip

If you need tape

For your breasts

To keep them

From falling out

Of your dress

You can be

Assured

That you are not

Sexually repressed.

Drop

2012-02-04T07:20:00.001-08:00

Drop

I even

Found

Poetry

In my

Misery

Bad Spot

2012-02-04T06:35:00.000-08:00

Bad Spot

Most people

feel they have

to get as far away

from failure

as they can.

The artist must

linger there.

Perfect Storm

2012-01-31T09:02:00.000-08:00

Perfect Storm

a country

with the

freedom

of speech

and

a population

too apathetic

to read.

Choice

2012-01-27T12:53:00.001-08:00

Choice

Cold

dead

certainty

rich

deep

ambiguity?

Quick question

2012-01-20T06:08:00.000-08:00

Quick question

you

flavor

water

doesn’t that

make

something else?

Nowhere

2012-01-18T06:38:00.001-08:00

Nowhere

If you go

The way

You always

You can

Only get to

Where you

Have

Already

Been.

Bitter

2012-01-17T06:22:00.000-08:00

Bitter

Is it

possible

that

I didn't

love

enough?

The Future

2012-01-16T17:48:00.001-08:00

The Future

We make

our computers

feel emotions

all the time

we become

more apathetic.

sarcophagus

2012-01-14T16:55:00.000-08:00

Let

people

have

their

lies

Flaw

2012-01-12T06:02:00.001-08:00

Flaw

Because

I can’t be

what I want

I have to

destroy

what I am.

Evolution

2012-01-12T06:00:00.001-08:00

Evolution

All

the brave ones

are

Crest

2012-01-12T05:59:00.001-08:00

Crest

Instead

of calculating

the cosine

of the wave,

you should shout

Tsunami!

Out Wrong

2012-01-12T05:58:00.001-08:00

Out Wrong

I know

he was a dyslexic atheist

because he always said

“Dog saw a lived.”

Dream Inflation

2012-01-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

Dream Inflation

The basic package:

House, wife, 2 kids and 2 cars.

The preferred package:

2 SUVs and sports car,

gated community,

3 kids, wife, mistress

and a tax break.

The vice-presidential package:

Fame, fortune or both,

luxury cars and limos

wife and kids in the background

power, influence, money, secret societies

and excessive sex.

Blended

2012-01-10T10:16:00.000-08:00

Blended

The sickness

and beauty

of the human being

seems to be

all combined

right in

me.

Predicament

2012-01-09T11:33:00.001-08:00

Predicament

Carrying this gun

might get me

into

more trouble

than it

can get me

out of.

Disproportionate Pain

2012-01-09T11:20:00.001-08:00

Disproportionate Pain

Hang nail

Stubbed toe

Paper cut

Constipation

Political ad

Shame

Rain Dance

2012-01-03T09:35:00.000-08:00

Rain Dance

We all gathered around

like some New Age Shamans

attempting to conjure up

a brainstorm

but all we got

was a drizzle.

Loss

2011-12-28T11:50:00.001-08:00

Loss

Getting older means

spending more time

looking in the garbage

for things you can’t find.

Disappointment

2011-12-27T13:08:00.000-08:00

Disappointment

I thought that
idea was so brilliant
that men from the future
would come to kill me
just for having it.
But they didn't.

Discount

2011-12-26T05:36:00.001-08:00

Discount

When I think of my soul

Watching TV

I recall

How funny

The thought

Struck me

That the Indians

Once sold

Their land

For beads.

Prophet

2011-12-25T10:14:00.001-08:00

Prophet

He was

particularly good

at leaving room for

interpretation.

Dual

2011-12-25T10:13:00.000-08:00

Dual

I fought

myself

to death.

Penetrating

2011-12-24T06:22:00.002-08:00

Penetrating

Words

are

worse

than

weapons.

Fugitive

2011-12-23T21:45:00.000-08:00

Fugitive

The truth

can set

you free.

But I don't

know how far

you'll get.

Foreboding

2011-12-23T16:18:00.000-08:00

Foreboding

Don’t die on the

last day

of a

dead war.

Thoughts O' Day 12/21/11

2011-12-22T08:39:00.000-08:00

Happiness is a Ho!

Community: You can't do it yourself.

He confused his shopping list with one of his poems.

They call a good guess a hypothesis.
They call a bad guess a bet.

No matter
how scared
you become;
please keep
your crap
inside you.

Thanks,
Management.

You can't rob me blind if I was already deaf.

Philosophart

2011-12-22T05:45:00.000-08:00

Philosophart

What airs

He dispersed

Describing

How his work

Was between

Philosophy

And Art.

Contusion

2011-12-21T20:09:00.001-08:00

Contusion

You are the color of bruises:

Black and blue,

Green and red,

Yellow and brown,

As if you are trying to be all the races

Of a war torn world.

Data

2011-12-21T20:07:00.000-08:00

DATA

Science wants

to measure and measure

and measure the measurements

and measure the measuring

and for good measure

measure the measurer

who never lives up

to the measure

of the other measurers.

The War of Art

2011-12-21T13:06:00.001-08:00

The War of Art

You don't need to suffer

to be an artist.

You're going to suffer anyway.

What you have to do

is channel that suffering

to open its depth,

to peer into it

instead of turning away.

Needless suffering

is what war is for.

Legacy

2011-12-20T17:03:00.001-08:00

Legacy

The meek

will inherit the earth.

But the assholes

will sue them for it.

Passing

2011-12-18T07:29:00.001-08:00

Passing

I like to look at clouds.

Their shapes,

their forms,

their meanings

might even

be more temporary

than ours.

Relatives

2011-12-16T12:17:00.001-08:00

Relatives

Looks like

there’s some

pond scum

in your gene pool.

Retreat

2011-12-15T07:12:00.001-08:00

Retreat

When you give ground

to gain ground

you rarely get back

to where you were before.

Query

2011-12-13T06:54:00.000-08:00

Query

In the early years

I was a friend

in the late years

I was a foe.

In which years

of service

did I help you

most to grow?

Two Entwined

2011-12-11T13:25:00.000-08:00

This is a poem that I wrote on the occasion of a wedding where I was friends with both the parties getting married. I gave them this poem as one of my gifts. I later had it translated into Chinese and then six months later the translator put it back in English from Chinese. Kind of interesting to see different forms.

The Two Entwined

Today is a moment of the future

And I wanted to mark time too,

with a unforgettable gift.

But my wallet is empty,

and my mind is wrung,

so I will offer you a wish

which might just be Hope

in its purest form.

To friendship:

it may allow us

to laugh

last.

And I might have tried

to lend you a part

of my heart

but what need those

who have the most.

So I give you a piece

of my eye,

and a spot on my

memory,

Hoping that you

won't

forget

us.

1. 最伟大的探索者是那种海纳百川的人。

2. 即使花费了很多时间去探索正确的途径，但没有什么事业是在浪费时间，

有些思想需要更长的孕育时间。

3. 如果背景恰当，任何东西都可以成为一种艺术品。

4. 人们常常以为艺术家相互摩仿，

他们并没有意识到两位艺术家可能看到是同样的东西。

5. 要想成为一个艺术家，你应该去发现那些看似平常的东西。

6. 从根本上来讲，所有的艺术品都要超越现存的框架和自我的批判。

大多数艺术都要跨越它自身的东西。

7. 艺术使人变得年轻。

8. 对于一个画家来说，任何东西都是美丽的。

9. 每个人都应该有一定的诗意。

10. 发现美丽比发现丑陋更难。

11. 诗人的心态是离经叛道。

12. 灵感并不是漫无边际的。

13. 精神苦闷可以成就一个艺术家。

14. 每天你至少有一个值得记录的遐想。

1. Heart to Heart By Richard Bargdill

2. Today is a special moment of the future

3. I tried to find you a unique gift

4. To remember this significant moment

5. But I have nothing and

6. My heart is crying

7. I can only present a best wish to you.

8. Hope is my best wish

9. Friendship is the most valuable thing for us.

10. It makes our life fulfilled with vitality

11. I tried to let you be in my heart

12. But now I feel it is no longer necessary

13. A simple look and memories are good enough

14. I sincerely hope that WE are always in your heart.

Chinese to English [trans. Lening Zhang]

Relativity

2011-12-10T11:02:00.001-08:00

Relativity

I could have fallen in love with you in an hour

but I only had a minute with you each of sixty days.

For his age

2011-12-09T21:16:00.001-08:00

For his age

Sometimes we grow up in a minute

most of the time it takes years

I guess it depends

on what types of experiences

you run into

and what ones run over you.

Asymptote

2011-12-09T20:39:00.001-08:00

Asymptote

The thing to remember

that is most often forgot

is that what most people see

as your limitations

are most likely your virtues

Self-esteem

2011-12-07T07:04:00.001-08:00

Self-esteem

Believe

Your

Beauty

History

2011-12-07T07:03:00.001-08:00

History

I stared at that picture

for an hour or so.

I must have been, I don’t know,

at least six years old.

I had some home made pants,

some five and dime shoes

and my hat sat on my head

like only John Deer hats do.

Discipline

2011-12-07T06:50:00.000-08:00

Discipline

Don’t make

so many rules

and you won’t have

so many violations.

A Psychologist's Thought Book: Observations #10

2011-11-30T08:35:00.000-08:00

# 10

Therapy begins when the "you" becomes "me".

One of the things that psychotherapy can help to produce is the transition between understanding one’s self as the “false universal” and becoming more firmly an individual. It is amazing to listen to all people speak and hear how often we all use the word “you” in a way that seems to mean everyone. So a client, when speaking about him self might say “So sometimes you do things that you’re not proud of.” In this context, the “you” distances one self from the responsibility for one’s own actions. Part of the self-building that can happen in therapy is to replace those “yous” with “I”s and “me”s. Some critics have suggested the therapy that does this makes people selfish and over emphasizes “individual” needs to the detriment of society because to ‘produces’ a narcissistic ME. Nothing could be further from the truth. By putting people in charge of their own lives, it removes narcissism of the Universal You. The you says whatever I think--everyone else thinks as well. The you is far more dangerous than the I because the You allows the projection of unanimous values onto people who probably do not hold those values. When the client says I, she is only speaking for herself and now others are free to disagree with her, be aligned with her or have an number of differing opinions. The I is far from selfish, it pulls me out of a false sense of unity so that I can firmly can say what I stand for and it inherently respects others because I now don’t initially assume that there is universal agreement with me.

A Psychologist's Thought Book: Relationships #7

2011-11-25T13:57:00.000-08:00

# 7

I hate when I can’t find anyone else to blame.

Recognizing one’s own responsibility in any failure is quite a delicate task. There are two extremes that have to be avoided: Blaming others for things that are your fault and blaming your self too much for things that are out of your control. In psychology, there are disorders of blame, namely the personality disorders, in which the person seems unable to take responsibility for ones’ actions. This is detrimental to good health because one cannot learn from one’s mistakes and if others are deemed responsible for my bad circumstances. It also makes sense that if I see others responsible for the problem making that it makes sense that only others can fix my problems. So blaming others often leads to passivity. On the other side, over-blaming one’s self seems to be a key ingredient in mood disorders like depression. If everything that goes wrong is somehow linked to me then I’m going to have a hard time appreciating myself and believing that I have any redeemable qualities. One needs to steer in between these extremes and that requires understanding your humanness.

A Psychologist's Thought Book: Paradoxes #5

2011-11-23T17:27:00.000-08:00

# 5

I had the American Dream but I woke up sweating and screaming.

At the heart of the American Dream is a paradox in that we often stress individual success and yet there is also a strong tendency to conform. We have been told that the Dream is to have a good job and thus we can work hard to have a beautiful home, a spouse and two kids and two cars in the driveway. The problem is, of course, this is a cultural dream and it isn’t individual. While we do see the individual being the one who is largely responsible for the own success, we only accept certain expression of that success. Ortega y Gasset once said something to the effect that we no longer are satisfied with an ordinary life, now we are only happy with an extraordinary one, which of course makes the majority of us miserable.

Next project: A Psychologist's Thought Book

2011-11-23T17:24:00.000-08:00

I had some success with my first project "An Artist's Thought Book". This was a series of aphorism that I wrote about making art. Chapters covered topics like 1) what it means to be an artist 2) reflections on painting 3) making music and singing 4) writing poetry and finally 5) the nature of creativity. This was a success on an irrelevant scale (my mom liked it). So I decided to try again with a similar book about being a Psychologist. I plan to have two parts to the book. In the first chapters I will have just the raw aphorisms as I did in the Artist's version, so people can read them and have there own interpretations of what might be said.

The one important addition here is that in the second half, I will have my own thoughts about what the aphorisms mean to me. This, of course, will be somewhat arbitrary since I often write some thing down, only to think it is significant months later, and I could never remember the events that lead to the original thought. But at least the reader has an opportunity to compare one's impressions with that of the author. The planned chapters are: 1) the self 2) relationships 3) observations 4) life and truth 5) paradoxes.

Upset

2011-11-23T06:55:00.000-08:00

Upset

All

did

what

well

Business Plan

2011-11-22T16:15:00.001-08:00

Business Plan

Where

trailer courts

first appear

condos

will follow.

Principle

2011-11-21T13:32:00.001-08:00

Principle

Sometimes

the kid who

looks like

he could use

a good beating

has already

had too many.

Vinyl Culture

2011-11-21T13:31:00.001-08:00

Vinyl Culture

May all

your holes

be small

and all

your leaks

be audible

Depression

2011-11-20T16:14:00.001-08:00

Depression

A particularly painful event in the past

Becomes the primary part of my

Permanent punitive identity.

Cluster B

2011-11-20T16:10:00.001-08:00

Cluster B

The longer

she speaks

the less

you believe

that she

is talking

to you.

Plastic toys & Diapers

2011-11-19T10:23:00.000-08:00

Plastic toys & Diapers

Children

really don't

get enough

blame for

destroying

the

Earth

random thoughts #5

2011-11-18T18:33:00.000-08:00

Meaning is the coat hooks of your life.

Random thoughts #4

2011-11-18T18:30:00.000-08:00

That was the sound of snow falling off the mud-flap of my soul.

random thoughts #3

2011-11-18T18:27:00.000-08:00

Tears only occur when something matters.

Random thoughts #2

2011-11-18T18:26:00.000-08:00

Sometimes all you can do is hold the hand of the dying.

Random thoughts #1

2011-11-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

Since history is written, there’s bound to be some mistakes.

Chapter 5: Creativity from "An Artist's Thought Book"

2011-11-18T17:40:00.000-08:00

# 7

Just remember that most experimental failures are often seen as “turning points”.

When we envision a project, naturally, we don’t include the trials and tribulations that will actually be required to complete it. We often imagine things going very smoothly. But I ask you to think of your favorite piece of your own artwork or even a proud moment in your life. What I believe you will find is that those projects were on the brink of failure at least once, but probably several times. It is frequently under the circumstances of repeated obstacles that creativity is tapped into at its deepest level. True and deep insight often comes from working relentlessly on a project, but oddly enough the “Eureka” moment comes when we are taking a break from our work. The turning point is when we seem to have exhausted the possible answers to the question “how else can I do this,” and then we are surprised that a most obvious, and frequently a quite simple, solution pops into our head. It is only then that we wonder why we did not see this before.

Chapter 4: Poetry from "An Artist's Thought Book"

2011-11-18T17:37:00.001-08:00

#45

Reading, Writing, Reflection are the three paths to improving one’s mind. If you want to sharpen your mind you have to rub it against something abrasive.

I find it fascinating that in the great art eras of the past, the artists often would be reading the most up to date philosophy and sometimes physics too! Their art attempted to express visually or poetically the trends in thought. It is like one’s mind, both artistically and intellectually, needs to be sharpened. And one proven way to do so is to read something difficult. Not difficult for difficult sake, but for the artist, who is seeking insights and ideas for art work, to use another’s thoughts as a “spark” to get the wheels in one’s mind moving. Moreover, one’s grasping for understanding may not lead to understanding, but it often leads to thought generation in the forms of hypothesis, analogy, and metaphor.

Chapter 3: Painting from "An Artist's Thought Book"

2011-11-18T17:35:00.000-08:00

# 54

A failed painting doesn’t mean you should quit, but you should be more radical.

Most of the time when I have finished a painting and been dissatisfied with it, it is really because I did not take enough chances with the painting. In each work there has to be some kind of challenge for both the artist and the viewer. This might mean choosing an unusual color or color scheme for ordinary objects or in some other way destabilizing the viewer’s reception of the piece. One of the small, but mighty, rewards of being an artist is when one sees a patron cruising past art in order to “see the show” and suddenly the patron comes to halt in front of your piece. To elicit that response, one is going to have to take chances.

Chapter 2: Singing and Music from "An Artist's Thought Book"

2011-11-18T17:32:00.000-08:00

#42

I find that when I’m writing a song, there are often two songs that are competing to get out and one time. One has to allow both to be born.

People have likened creativity to pregnancy throughout history. I have found that, occasionally, in song writing there are twins! The artist becomes confused since one is imagining that there is only a single child coming. The melody or lyrical content wants to separate itself into two different directions, and if we are able to be patient with what is emerging, it is possible that we can allow these fraternal twins to come out and be different souls.

Chapter 1: To be an Artist from "An Artist's Thought Book"

2011-11-18T17:30:00.000-08:00

#42

Art is getting your conscious mind out of the way of your unconscious processes: art is the craftsmanship of the unconscious.

It seems that so often what stops the artistic process is thinking. When we think, we judge, criticize, procrastinate, or even worse play it safe. The best ideas that I get for my art work generally happen when I'm doing something else and I get this "aside" thought about an art project. For me, art ideas do not happen because I want them to happen, most of the time they happen in spite of me. They happen unconsciously (or at least automatically). The most important thing is to recognize any idea as worthy of writing down or sketching out. Probably the worst habit is to "evaluate" the worthiness of the idea before making notes on it. Now, the conscious mind is in control and frequently that part will tell you that the idea is "waste of time", "not that unique" or "too difficult". We have to learn how our own unconscious processes work and then put ourselves in the position received what it delivers.

Inheritance

2011-11-18T14:43:00.001-08:00

Inheritance

We’re going to end up

with everything

which never meant

anything to us.

Stuck

2011-11-18T14:42:00.001-08:00

Stuck

It wasn’t just that

he had a short leash

he also had it caught

between her legs.

Growth

2011-11-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

Growth

You evolve

until

you don’t

exist

Reconciliation

2011-11-18T14:39:00.000-08:00

Reconciliation

What kind of statesman

do you have to be

to make peace

with your past?

Poems for the Medicated

2011-11-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

I figure just about everyone is medicated by now. So since we are both busy and drugged, I might as well keep my poems and thoughts as short as possible. People, certainly, can't pay attention for longer than a paragraph. Some of you are already drooling on your keyboard. So here will be aphorisms, poems and short ditties that may be thoughtful, funny, or ironic. But in every case they will be short.

Everything is original work by the author unless otherwise noted.