(The Only Thing)
the only thing you can know for sure
is that you don’t know anything for sure
if you don’t know this
you don’t know shit
don’t sweat the problems
don’t cling
don’t have regrets
don’t seek revenge
don’t hide your tracks
don’t blame others
don’t take yourself seriously
don’t keep count
don’t be a believer
don’t be a victim
don’t dwell on it
don’t cry in your beer
don’t impose your opinions on others
the universe takes care of itself
has for a long time
worrying about it gets you nowhere
there are always obstacles
just do what needs to be done
you can’t control what others are doing
better to act without expectation
just keep moving
the way is written in the book of the universe
which is wide open to our gaze
A short self-portrait
I have written a book called Naropa Journals that is an account of my time hanging out with William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Ken Kesey, Herbert Huncke, Gary Snyder, Anne Waldman, et al. It was a great experience and I tried to capture some of the excitement and inspiration of being around the Shakespeare Squad in those days from 1980 to 1990.
I have six books in print, two volumes of poetry and the rest prose (all self published by my own little press) and have been published here and there all around the world from time to time. The magazine "Parabola" has been fond of my work and I have appeared there numerous times.