The Test of Tao

I almost forgot what I remembered.

Then, I remembered what I almost forgot.

Now, I always live in the present, 

And, the present I live in is not

The present.

Billy Radd

Asheville

The Prison

No hearts witness such rare personality that
smiles would be reflected in a being's powerful folly. 
The haste we paint definitively never competes with melancholy, 
but a knowledge of comedy always translates youthful gestures 
into a venially blond complexion which feelings more than nulify.

Billy Radd
Asheville

Whence the Creative Mind

In my own elastic mind, I am occasionally self-motivated to account for a return to original ideas as an inadvertent inventive intonation. 

Much like audio feedback, crystalline thought waves rebounding against my consciously preconceived notions result in ever-finer filters, like gradients, letting in measured new raw frequencies while blocking out old random noise and fuzzy visions. 

Many times, singularly fluttering on the edge of sleep, I struggle to concentrate on the strobe-like pulsing of a non-synchronous conceptual echo humming with an out-of-time rhythm, like a small, soft hammer pounding onto the expansive flat drumhead of my inflated human ego.

At this point, I can choose to let this germ of an idea stay within my attentive view, or let it pass, lazily, like a butterfly flitting by me to visit another open flower. 

But, if I try to look back, or stare too closely at this conspicuously timeless conceptual intersection, or even more selfishly, make a sentient attempt to identify my own proprietary oneness with the very process of discovery, this train of insight quickly passes by my lonely station and I am forced to wait, without time schedule or itinerary, for another transport.

So, in my experience, the key, if there is one, is recognizing “it” and letting “it” happen to me, like a beautiful sunrise. The more I allow “it” to flourish, the more “it” lives on its own while becoming easier to recognize as something of value.

Billy Radd
Asheville

Seed

 

Growing up like a weed makes one feel good

From a child to a man, goes just like it should

And, in time you’re allowed to spread seed to wood

But, never dare think of a time you’ll ask, “could?”

Billy Radd

Asheville

Without Within

Craving Nothing

Craving nothing results in everything, so

One must notice the darkness to see the light.

Hearing one note in the noise doesn’t make a song,

But, it allows one to find the muse.

I know what I know because I don’t know everything.

Be like the wind, pulled by the low places, pushed by the high.

Billy Radd

Asheville

False Dichotomy

You bring about poverty by discouraging spending.

You weaken the weak by strengthening the strong.

You hurt wage earners by propping up wage payers.

You diminish the brotherhood of man by encouraging class elitism.

You don't help the rich by destroying the poor.

You don't destroy the rich by helping the poor.

You get into trouble not helping the disadvantaged.

You build character and courage by ensuring civil rights for all. 

You help the whole society permanently by requiring the rich to pay their fair share of taxes.

Billy Radd

Asheville