JOE  DiSABATINO

AMERICAN

ARTIST

CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Video courtesy of Robin Vogel

BOOK  PUBLISHED

2015

BABA PLACES IN INDIA

The above artwork appeared in :

http://www.ompoint.com/OmPoint_Circular_7.pdf

THE CENTER AT MYRTLE BEACH

OTHER TOPICS

POETRY by JOE DiSABATINO

another song of the new life                              

it’s the end of an era time to let go

truth has been buried nothing you do can revive it

if the prophets still count perhaps some will survive it

let go of hope let go of desire

let go of the future, it no longer exists

your garden’s been ravaged

it’s boiled down to—just this

the cry of the heart

the sigh of the soul

this song of the new life

let go of revenge, let go of forgiveness

there’s nothing to do it’s past all redemption

as your house burns be a silent witness

let go of knowledge power bliss

don’t try to understand any of this

forget making a difference our earth and its needs

it’s the end of an era time to let it bleed

the cry of the heart

the sigh of the soul

this song of the new life

like the wildfires in the canyons

and along the Blue Ridge crests

the darkness that’s descended feeds on your holiness

let go of your pictures your dreams your secrets

let go of your comforts your candy your weakness

you’re helpless you’re trapped grab a few clothes

because it’s the end of an era time to foreclose

the cry of the heart

the sigh of the soul

this song of the new life

the smoke’s got you choking

you run for an exit but the door’s all aflame

if you still think there’s a way out

you’re deluded, you’re joking

abandon all effort don’t expect grace just look at the trees

let go of your spouse your money your co-dependencies

the cry of the heart

the sigh of the soul

this song of the new life

abandon all hope for the end days to come

no comet no Nibiru no savior’s gonna punish them

the Mayan’s got it wrong, Nostradamus confused you

the glaciers are melting temperature’s in the pink

name your favorite animal…never mind it just went extinct

the Pleiadians changed their mind decided we ain’t worth it

now they watching from space the end of our era as if God himself cursed it

the cry of the heart

the sigh of the soul

this song of the new life

if you want a prediction here’s one that will scare you

it’s gonna get worse and there’s nothing to prepare you

people are going to jump out of windows, others go insane

they’ll be eating their clothes if they’re not already naked

but don’t get depressed your despair and disappointment

are the wounds that will save you, they’re your holy ointment

because it’s the end of an era and there’s no way to fake it

the cry of the heart

the sigh of the soul

this song of the new life

plastic fills the oceans, it’s what the seabirds eat

the fracking in Oklahoma where He collided with our deceit

man-made earthquakes and everything that’s blighted

shake the gardens of our dreams there’s nowhere to retreat

so bow your head low and lay it on His feet

hold tight His damaan while you sing ‘bring it on!’

yes, hold tight His damaan while you sing ‘bring it on!’

the cry of the heart

the sigh of the soul

this song of the new life

don’t ever snap

Baba, don’t ever snap Your silence

don’t suspend it, bend it, or end it

forge it deeper, stronger, longer

make it muscle out the incessant noise

bring on the much-needed poise

in our hearts, make every day a soundless day

every night a holy night

unleash a Biblical deluge of torrential serenity

flood the world with waves of shattering stillness

capsize the overcrowded boats

of our rudderless minds

drown us in Your crowning noiselessness

in our hearts, make every day a soundless day

every night a holy night

pile drive the steel rod of Your quietude

deep into the bedrock of the world soul

then raise high the love beams of Your Name

high into the endless blue of Your sacred hush

at least do this much--

in our hearts, make every day a soundless day

every night a holy night

aim the mighty arrow of Your unutterableness

into the sickened heart of the world’s violence

now’s the time to unsheath

the divine love-forged sword of Your sealed lips

cut off the head of the devouring word-beast

in our hearts, make every day a soundless day

every night a holy night

Baba, don’t ever snap Your silence

don’t suspend it, bend it, or end it

forge it deeper, stronger, longer

let it muscle out the incessant noise

bring on the much-needed poise

in our hearts, make every day a soundless day

and every night a holier night

leads us to You

when the morning light seeps through

and I’m not sure why I’m still here to receive it

when I think it should be over I remember You

then the wonder, the glory, the rapture of it all

has me raise a glass inside and say…

here’s to the times we got on the wrong bus

here’s to the Truth always there to sustain us

here’s to our screams, our anguish, our pain

here’s to the quiet pulse of Your beautiful Name

here’s to Your whispers deep in our hearts

here’s to our courage to make a clean start

here’s to the wind, the rain and the stars

here’s to the dandelions, roses, gentle guitars

here’s to the ways that lead us to You

here’s to the choices that darken our light

here’s to our deceit, deafness, false delights

here’s to the loves we squandered and lost

here’s to our wounds, the sword and the Cross

here’s to the wisdom we lost and we found

here’s to the turmoil deep underground

here’s to the ways that lead us to You

here’s to the stillness inside the sky’s laughter

here’s to the glitter we’ve still chasing after

here’s to Your wish to move into our houses

here’s to our teachers--our friends, our children, our spouses

here’s to the gift that we get more than one chance

here’s to the times You ask us to dance

here’s to our elders we often neglect

here’s to the explosion of joy we’re afraid to expect

here’s to the thunder, the signs on the horizon

here’s to the shoulders we’ve often cried on

here’s to whatever keeps us small and insane

here’s to the animal inside us gnawing away at our chains

here’s to Your voice singing from some distant shore

here’s to whatever we have lived and gladly died for

and here’s to whatever leads us to You

remembrance

Baba, I don’t ever want to remember You

remember You?

remembering is for people like me

lost, in desperate need of clues

who’ve forgotten

whose deep heart is stuffed…

with Maya’s cotton

why would I need to remember You?

when I wake up in the morning

and there’s a cobra on my chest

do I try to remember it?

I’ve been looking into Your eyes

for countless ages now

waiting for You to strike…

remember?

Baba, please don’t ever

let me remember You

that means You left

and I’m left with only a memory

memories float on the sea of time

the ocean floor is littered

with their broken shells

I have no memories of You

I’ve never spent any time with You

because where Truth persists

we’re one beyond the mind

You don’t remember me either

since You alone exist

Baba, I don’t ever want to remember You

remember You?

remembering is for people like me

lost, in desperate need of clues

who’ve forgotten

whose deep heart is stuffed…

with Maya’s cotton

well, ok…remember You…

once told me to love You

more and more

now I can say

please love Yourself more and more in me…

better yet, let’s forget about me

totally love Yourself in all

so remembering can be forgotten

once and for all

Baba, I don’t ever

want to remember You

I want to know You…now

thank you for the change

summer, 1966

the new jersey beach, ocean city

late evening, i’m prowling the boardwalk

a few hours to kill

before my night watchman shift at the hotel

a black man heavily drunk and slobbering

bumps into me

he thrusts his dirty hand into my face

“got any change, man?”

i push his arm away, “no, get away!”

disgusted, i walk on past him

so far, so human

was it You who gave me the change in that moment?

was it You who changed my frightened disgust

to compassion in an instant?

was it You who turned my feet on a dime

and made them walk back to the drunk

was it You who made me say

“i’m not going to give you any money

but if you’re hungry i’ll buy you a meal

at that diner over there”

and was it You who smiled like that

through those rotten, broken teeth?

as he gratefully devoured

the cheeseburger, french fries and hot coffee

ketchup dribbling down his stubbled chin

was it You who surfed into my heart

on an ocean wave of love

for this stranger, this bum, this human wreck

suddenly now my friend, my brother, my self?

back in my small closet of a room

stretched out on my bed

one hour to kill before clocking in to the night shift

was it You who flooded my being

with wave after wave after wave of oceanic love?

and it was You, wasn’t it, who made me realize

that was You in disguise

this poem is for you, my black brother--

wherever you are, whatever your name:

THANK YOU for the change

traveling the path of love

dancing with You

alone in the lagoon cabin

raindrops drumming the roof

flat on the boathouse deck

devouring the noon sun of You

in the reeds a blue heron

beneath the footbridge

where You once paused

the white water lily blossom

traveling the path of love

a lifetime of mistakes

washed clean

by the fragrance of wisteria

to die before you die

listen to what the

magnolia bloom whispers

if I could only surrender

the way that alligator

stares at nothing all day

traveling the path of love

walking this path

Original Kitchen to Your house

my shadow follows cautiously

leave the church, the synagogue,

come out to inhale His infinite beauty

in this single camellia bloom

on Silence Day

a long conversation

with a bemused green lizard

traveling the path of love

today dolphins

just beyond the breakers

Your Name weaving everywhere

pelicans in the wake

of a shrimp boat

a crowd in Your bedroom this morning

the sand in Your garden

raked clean of footprints

no trace of self for a moment

traveling the path of love

summer moon swimming

inside the midnight lake

shimmering in my heart, Your face

over the boat house

a full moon wanders

Your face transits deep within

inside  the Lagoon Cabin

irises on either side of Your empty chair

outside, roses demand their turn

traveling the path of love

morning tea enjoyed

on the boathouse deck

in the company of dragonflies

Christmas day

on the Center

You gifted pine cones everywhere

there is no god

but God

in this lilac blossom

traveling the path of love

in Your bedroom

a fragrance not from flowers

sends me in search of that garden

tonight, inside the Lagoon Cabin,

the whirling of galaxies,

Venus and Mars Argentine tango

I walk the trail

to Your house

for so many briar-torn lifetimes

traveling the path of love

lovers surround Your bed

outside the window

a jealous angel

Lagoon Cabin steps—

worn sneakers, torn laces

how many lifetimes of wandering?

sometimes I face the highway

sometimes the Ocean

the heart is that which turns

while traveling the path of love

BOOK  PUBLISHED