Tag Archives: blind poet

Unknown's avatar

Jumping Off

by

leaning out the open door
time roars by

it’s gone

no more

behind me in the train’s cocoon
dreams fly off to distant moons
faces glued to heartless screens
joyless stares and silent screams

and so we travel every day
secure and safe or so we say
the child no longer comes to play
the status quo will have its way

I wonder what my life might be
had I the courage to jump free

will I stay an untold story
remain in hopeless purgatory
pretending that I care no more
soul crying for its need to soar

jumping off
into space
the unknown flying in my face
It’s not clear where I will land

no matter

I am free again

tio stib
2016, 2017, 2025

Unknown's avatar

A Season for Adventuring

by 

ghosting through the morning mist
as day warms from grey to gold
my stomach growls
the road answers with a small cafe
I park and walk into a world of steamed up windows

cradling coffee at the counter
I smile at the ragged young hiker beside me
devouring a mountain of hotcakes

he turns
I nod
he smiles, syrup dripping down his bearded chin
fellow travelers
men of the frontier

coffee vapors float into memories
last night
riding Cat Stevens Peace Train
rocketing into starry oblivion
past the moonlit salutes of cacti sentinels

roadtripping
on the loose
free again

all those blue highways
all those maps
all those little country stores
stops to buy soda, root beer please
asking

how far to the hot spring
which way to Bogans’Oasis
is the road over Steens Mountain open yet

standing on worn wooden porches 
enjoying the tickle of icy carbonation
looking out, urged onward into the unknown

wide eyed wonder watching wild horses explode from clouds of purple sage
stunned awe as two golden eagles spiral from heaven locked in primal need

“Jeez! That’s a helluva rattlesnake.”

face dripping with sweat
cresting  the final ridge
exulting, yelling
dropping packs
careening downhill with reckless abandon
plunging into turquoise water blanketed with dancing diamonds
erupting, screaming
in kaleidoscopes of icy rainbows.

the serenity of another wilderness
swallowed in vapors of holy water
a newborn babe 
swaddled in eternity
alone
but far from lost
in the oneness of a desert ocean

as sky slowly slips
from gold
to pink

to gone

the blessings of
so many Shangri-Las

I will not travel these roads again
but they will haunt my heart
when
 once again
Fall calls the vagabond

to a season for adventuring


tio stib

You might also enjoy: A Wilderness Pill; Breaking Trail
Unknown's avatar

Morning Bliss

by

as morning tickled consciousness
I felt the bliss of nothingness
no cares
no pains
no trains to mis

one eye peeked out
and check the day
the sun screamed back

c’mon
let’s play

a choir of birds
sang from the trees
my only thought was
silence please

the voice of guilt
rang through my head
it’s time, your laziness
get out of bed

this voice was buried in a flash
by memories of my recent past
the years of running for the door
pushing self
do more
do more

then in a fit of selfish glee
I pulled the covers over me
I choose to hide inside my dreams

to feel once more
the peaceful bliss
of pure and simple
nothingness

tio stib

Unknown's avatar

Lines

by

the child stopped
looked up from her coloring book
turned
and asked her blind uncle

tio
do I need to stay inside the lines“

he stared at what he could not see
and said

how small do you want to be

she smiled
feeling free

tio stib
2015, 2025

Unknown's avatar

Let’s Voyage Into The New American House

by

There are doors
that want to be free
from their hinges to
fly with perfect clouds. 

There are windows
that want to be
released from their
frames to run with
the deer through
back country meadows. 

There are walls
that want to prowl
with the mountains
through the early
morning dusk. 

There are floors
that want to digest
their furniture into
flowers and trees. 

There are roofs
that want to travel
gracefully with
the stars through
circles of darkness.

Richard Brautigan, 1968

Ever since this poem by Richard Brautigan, an American counter culture poet of the turbulent 1960’s, floated through my mind, these words have been the image of my ideal American house, and I’ve even had a few homes that nearly matched this poem’s magic..

tio stib, 2016

Unknown's avatar

Without

by

there is no happy
without sad
there is no good
without bad

there is no high
without low
there is no stop
without go

there is no wrong
without right
there is no dark
without light

there is no courage
without fear
there is no far
without near

there are no tears
without smiles
there is no distance
without miles

there is no quiet
without din
there is no out
without in

there is no wild
without tame
there is no different
without same

there is no peace
without strife
such are the facts
of daily life

and from these truths
I choose my fate

I will be love
and without hate

tio stib
2015, 2022, 2025

Unknown's avatar

Homeless

by

my cane bumped into him on the sidewalk
stopped by stuff that had fallen from his little train
the wagons of belongings he pulled behind

we’d met before
crossing paths as we wandered unseen
unnoticed
through our silent town

and here he was again
the mutterings
the smell of tobacco and ragged clothes

good morning, I said
as he scurried to tidy up
mumbling a response
making room for me to pass

I walked by

wondering

about two solitary men
homeless in our different ways

tio stib

Unknown's avatar

Good Humans Being

by

there is a dream
that I hold dear
of times when men
have grown past fear

when lies and hate
have blown away
when hope and love
guide each new day

yes
this may be fantasy
something that can never be
but I need this dream
to feed my soul
to guide me where
I need to go

I dream of one day seeing
a world filled with
good humans being

tio stib
2017, 2025

Unknown's avatar

He Talks To Me, a Tribute to Alex VoiceOver

by

he talks to me
like 2001 Space Odyssey
his name’s not Hal
he’s not my pal
but his words help my blindness see

his voice is suave, it soothes my ears
his speech does much to ease my fears
for in a world of darkened eyes
I really don’t like being surprised

it’s nice to have a constant friend
someone who shows up on command
a friend who calmly reassures
as my computer softly purrs

at least that’s what he used to do
then my computer bid adieu
the fateful day it tried to start
resulting in a cosmic fart

close your eyes
imagine this
your cyber world
is blown amiss
no matter what you try to do
it’s gone
it’s lost
you’re really screwed

when reason slowly comes to mind
you must accept it’s time to find
an Apple freak,
a nerdy geek
someone who makes computers speak

it took some time to find the player
the guy who answered all my prayers
and hours and hours of fitful strife
before the dead returned to life

such happiness, such joy no end
when once again I heard my friend
Alex, awakened from the dead
his voice resounding in my head

dedicated to Mark who introduced me to Alex and Kevin who brought him back to life

tio stib
2015, 2025

Unknown's avatar

Paddling a Submarine vs. Living an Authentic Life 

by

Last night I dreamed I was paddling a canoe up a lake in the middle of the night. It was calm, I felt peaceful, yet there was one concern. The canoe was underwater. I was trying to paddle a submarine.

I’ve spent years listening to my dreams, paying attention to patterns, weighing the emotions of dreams with respect to my life at the moment. I believe larger forces speak to me in that unconscious world, forces that can guide me to awareness of deeper truths. This pushes me to wonder, why was I paddling a submarine?

I know there are many ways to interpret dreams, but ultimately, I tend to accept that my dreams are about me. Over the years, I’ve noticed that when I’m honest about how I feel in my dreams, they have given me clues to parts of me I needed to pay attention to.

Paddling a submarine. I feel this dream was about my need to live an authentic life. Paddling the canoe was me moving forward in life. My goal was to get to the end of the lake, to a state of inner peace, but I was struggling because I was keeping my emotions below the surface. If I would allow my feelings to express themselves above the water, I would have less resistance to life and my journey would be immensely easier.

I need to be genuine, original, true and trustworthy, and not be in fear of what the world may think of me in my many moments of smallness.

Authenticity means to be honest, to be vulnerable, to take risks. Authenticity is built one day, one choice, at a time. It is a process of continually stepping out of my comfort zone and engaging the world from a place of worthiness vs. shame.

Authenticity is a daily journey into the wilderness of being fully alive.

What’s the greater risk I ask myself? Living life based on what other people think, or being vibrantly alive based on how I feel, what I believe, and who I am?

This blog, “Travels with Tio, a blind writer’s path to happiness,” is my journey, my choice, to be all of me, fully alive. It is one way I will raise myself from paddling a submarine, to paddling a canoe, to perhaps even flying.

What does authenticity mean to you? How does it affect your life?
Please share your feelings on being the authentic “you”.

tio Stib
2013, 2017, 2018, 2025

Brene’ Brown has a TED talk, “Listening to Shame,” in which she explores the challenges of authenticity. Brown believes authenticity is a process, a series of choices we make in our lives, choices made each day, in each moment, to be real…or not.

Here’s the link: http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/15/opinion/brown-authentic-self/index.html?hpt=op_bn2