Partners

Call it Hawaiian affection, I have the gene
I don't climb with people who are terribly mean

Being a stray, I must keep my guard up
But if our eyes meet, you will hear a "Wazzup?"

Climbing partners are sometimes hard to find
I've been lucky so far cuz everyone's been kind

The guy who kept calling me "Dude" was wildly tame
He always had his mind on Mary Jane
(I think this is why he kept forgetting my name)

I remember the time I climbed with a serial killer
I thought that 20-foot whipper was the day's only thriller!

Then there was the one who thought she was running from the Feds
But actually she lost track of time and forgot to take her meds

I miss the guy who knew how to tape my hands so they no longer bled
He was a serious pothead, I hope he's not dead

To each and every partner who later became a friend
I will always support your life as if it was me on the sharp end

Shared Space

There's this place that I visit

When I want to cut the bullshit

No one judging what's wrong or right

Just fully living the day and night

Taking a break from the urge to self-criticize

Stripped naked of any deceiving disguise

Like getting into a boat that no longer floats

Even music is the rest between the notes

The only thing solid here is uncertainty

The rock and Being form a sacred unity

This shared space once physical

Transcends into the metaphysical

No escaping and no place to hide

Lean into the pain, are you up for the ride?

This place does not care if you stick the dyno

Ego is toxic like bat guano

This place is the hush between the chatter

At the end of the day, the result does not matter

For us to heal, we must feel our pain in another

Give kindness and care to the one who lost a brother

This place teaches me that I've always been whole

The thing I was searching for resides in my Soul

Ocean Plea

If you have an affection for both animal and tree
If you don't want an infection in your knee
If you enjoy diving, paddling, and surfing carefree
It is up to us to save our sea

Close Call

Breathe in peace, breathe out worry
I was climbing in such a hurry

I stopped tugging, tapping, and tracking
Unaware that a hold up above was cracking

I worn my kids about complacency
"Constant vigilance is a good place to be"

As usual I wasn't listening to my own advice
I was careless, reckless, and rolling the dice

When I got to the loose hold, I went for a ride
Felt like being caught in a surfing riptide

At first I was blaming the humidity
But honestly it was my own stupidity

I was lucky that day that I survived
My heart took awhile, but it revived

But now I tie in just to cross the street
And I won't take it for granted that we got to meet