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

The Great Pretender

The Great Pretender

As a child, I pretended to be many things:

police officer, firefighter, western wrangler, doctor, astronaut, and soldier.

As I got older, I pretended to be funny and had many friends.

I pretended to be a student and made it through school.

I pretended to be an athlete and played many sports.

I pretended to be James Bond, and had nice girlfriends.

I pretended to be Paul McCartney and was in rock bands.

I pretended to be an explorer and roamed the Great American West.

After that, I pretended to be a filmmaker, and found a career.

I pretended to be a lover and married a wonderful woman.

I pretended to be a father and have three beautiful daughters.

I pretended to be a martial artist and taught Tae Kwon Do.

I pretended to be a writer and saw my work on TV.

Later in life, I pretended to be an artist and sold paintings.

I pretended to get healthy and lost 50 pounds.

I pretended to be a philosopher and wrote poetry and blogs.

I pretended to be a composer and made many songs.

I pretended to be a luthier and got in an art show.

Now, I’m pretending to be old and I’m  a grandfather.

So, pretend to be who you want to be. 

It worked for me!

Billy Radd
Asheville

The River

The River

Life is a river

And, you swim in it, always.

It starts as a small quiet pond

made of rain and dead leaves.

The river always moves down

pulled by the earth to the sea.

It never rests.

So, you must always swim.

Coming from the high places, 

the river moves fast as rapids,

or slow through the plains.

But, It never stops completely.

So, you must always swim.

There are rocks in the river

so you must look ahead.

There are dead branches under the waves

so, you must be vigilant and strong.

There are others in the river

flowing with you to the sea.

All enjoy the view

resting through wide valleys.

But, all must keep swimming

for the river keeps moving.

The water is cold, keeping you alert.

The sun is warm, making you happy.

The wind is fresh, tickling your face.

And, the birds’ songs give you hope.

Water is strong and weak

and the river is its story

but, a story without an end

as eventually it flows into the sea,

which is eternal.

So, you must always swim.

Billy Radd

Asheville

Stand Against Shame

Live in the light

Dream in the darkness

Believe in the right

And, shut out cold starkness

Revel in blind goodness

Repel all that is bad

Always move forward

And, never act sad

Complete what is broken

Don’t change what is whole

Repeat the unspoken

Climb out of your hole

Be friend to all people

Don’t live in the past

Fly down from the steeple

The die is NOT cast

Stand tall in the wind

With your head in the sky

Open ears to the din

Is the best way to fly

Billy Radd

Asheville

Chasing the Void

When you've been around long enough, you'll eventually understand that you'll never know everything, you'll never experience everything, you'll never see, taste, smell, or feel everything because the concept of "everything" is one big false hope. But, that's OK, because, after a while, you forget about that and just go with the flow, try to stay in the grove, and realize that there is no beginning nor end, only "now" (as everything as it gets) and "not now" - The Void (as nothing as it gets). So, chasing "everything" makes as much sense as chasing The Void - it doesn't.

Billy Radd
Asheville

When Peace?

There is no way to peace; peace is the way."

Mahatma Gandhi, May 8, 1937

Floyd the Cosmic Turtle

Floyd the Cosmic Turtle, he’s on top

Floyd the Cosmic Turtle, swims a lot

He transmits on all the wave links but receives on only one

Floyd the Cosmic Turtle, he’s on top

Floyd the Cosmic Turtle, roams The Void

Floyd the Cosmic Turtle, can’t avoid

The prayers of all his faithful, who know he is The One

Floyd the Cosmic Turtle, roams The Void

With flippers always moving, his shell is hard like rock

Floyd knows we all are sinners, he’s keeper of The Clock

You mock him at your peril, he doesn’t need old priests

You’ll never, ever see him swim up lonely darkened streets

Floyd the Cosmic Turtle, he is The One

Floyd the Cosmic Turtle don’t need no gun

His eyes, they are all seeing, his ears, they hear your heart

Floyd the Cosmic Turtle, he’s The One

Billy Radd
Asheville

The Way of Mistakes

Nature makes no mistakes, ever,

for judgement is only the realm of humans.

Animals never go down the wrong path,

for all paths lead somewhere.

Fish never get lost as they swim the waters

as part of the great chain of life.

Trees know their way as they reach for the sun

with their roots seeking water.

The smallest speck and the largest galaxy

unerringly dance in evolving unstable perfection.

Make no mistake about it.

Only humans define good and bad, left and right,

benefit and detriment.

Evil and righteousness are equally meaningless.

Nature moves always, all ways in perfect equity

while we decide to define justice, love and right, 

or prejudice, hate and wrong.

In this way we place ourselves outside nature.

This is our biggest mistake.

Billy Radd

Asheville

The Seed of Artistry

From where does the inspiration of an artist grow?

Some creative seed planted in the forming brain in a mother’s womb?

Does it ride the first morning light peeping through a nursery window?

Is it in the lonely sound of the cold wind of a passing storm,

or the first rain drop to kiss a newborn’s warm face?

Or,

Does it naturally exist in each person’s mind as a condition of being alive,

but is either allowed to wither from disuse or abuse,

discouraged by the constant neglect of others to recognize its existence

or

encouraged with love, attention, opportunity, and conscious nurturing?

Look into the face of an infant.  

Answers lie in the potential of innocence found 

and the eternal opportunity of elders to facilitate emerging art there.

Billy Radd

Asheville

The Moment Critique

Notice the texture, the subtile depth of an edge

the perfect color of the spaces between

where nothing exists

except the potential of an instant

to evolve into what was not

ever before.

Billy Radd

Asheville

Habitual Ritual

Habitual Ritual

Can’t see too much from the inside,

outside of the music inside my head.

Was I running away from myself only to find

I’m up against, at last, an endless wall of men?

From the day I was born I was told what to think.

Strange, now that I’m older I can see

from the top down that the bottom is a sink

into which everything I do, say, or think disappears.

But, this is next to impossible to hear

when you’ve got nowhere to hide, 

everything to lose

and the end could be looming quite near.

Holy Moley, I can’t get the idea out of my head

that sooner or later, no matter what I think, say, or do,

I’m gonna be really, finally, unequivocally dead.

Oh, the wonder of it all, the wonder of the small.

I can’t remember the beginning, and won’t remember the end.

Life’s not a road that goes anywhere but in a circle.

So, I’m riding all the colors, notes, smells and flavors

like a jockey on a horse finally coming round the bend.

Billy Radd
Asheville

Bricks

Bricks that tell a story fired in stone,

clay from other ages, tapestry sewn

fine, hard linen all in a day’s work,

never seem to weaken 

while cold dead men shirk

the will to contain what we all hold dear

standing up against the outside,

it’s inside we should fear.

Billy Radd

Asheville

Of Color In Color

Curves around and about

the shapes of colors 

moving in circles 

around the walls 

of my inner space 

bouncing like golden balls 

leaning to and fro 

from the amber glow 

of a soft light

catching a slice 

of dark rainbow

in a bottle

Billy Radd

Asheville