The Story

Story
This collection of poems follows the journey of the Poet who jumped into a river to retrieve a bottle tossed by the fingertips of “that I am.”  The Poet keeps a journal of his journey, which has three parts.

Finding the Flow:  24 Poems
The Poet finds the river easy to navigate at first, because when we first begin on “the path,” everything is new and we seem to “go into the flow” so easy.  Many of the lessons we learn are more about the mechanics of meditating, such as staying in the “now.”  The Poet learns to meditate through journaling, which offers lessons about “the now.”  However, he begins to fear the implications of following his own path, and worries that he may need guidance.  He explores various religions, but eventually decides that he cannot choose one religion to follow.  He then catches up to the bottle, and asks the Reader to pour it out, revealing a letter that inspires the Poet to go further along his path to enlightenment.  He declares himself a Poet Warrior!  Still, much of the message in the bottle is hard to understand, and the euphoria of finding the flow wears off.  The Poet decides to “clean his closet” and unleashes all kinds of monsters.  He crashes and finds himself on the bank of was or will.

Stuck on the Bank (21 poems)
Though difficult to realize during the turmoil, most of our lessons come to us when “stuck.”  On the bank of was or will, the Poet witnesses pain and suffering, fear and uncertainty.  While struggling to absorb these lessons, he longs to find the flow again.  In the midst of the turmoil, the Poet notices that seeing things as they really are can help in the way we react to life’s lessons.  As a result of this, he sees he is not really a Poet Warrior, and accepts that he would be happy to just be a Poet again.  He also notices that nature offers a way to learn many lessons.  He sees that a bolt of lightning has a purposeless purpose.

The End: We Sea (26 Poems)
Rain brings a flood.  The Poet finds himself in a pool of fear, stagnating with the rest of culture.  He slips out of it through a cool spring, and returns to the river.  There he finds his muse again.  He feels a connection to all things.  He realizes that he is both a part of the whole and the whole all at the same time.  He follows the river to the sea, but finds no blissful existence there.  Feeling cheated, he dives down deep into the ocean, only to find himself at the beginning of the river again.  He chooses to go back down the river to the sea, where he realizes his life does have one meaning: to help evaporate the sea of fear.