Tony Cardo Poems & Expressions

30/11/2024

Pen and Paper

I don’t need an AI tool
To deliver my reprieve
Sounding like a poet
In love with autumn leaves

I would like to write like McCartney
If I could only feel the joy
With Lennon as my partner
Reaching for the Real McCoy

I would like to write like Coleridge
If only for the fame
I would like to write like Dickinson
When no one knew her name

I would like to write like Dylan, or
Whitman's Song of Myself
With drier eyes I would celebrate
The meaning of this wealth

In the morning sunrise hopefulness
The caretaker takes good care
Of precious jewels inside of us
Laid out and always there

When the grass is looking greener
On the other side of the fence
My original style convinces me
I rarely make a dent

My effort seems like therapy
Until at last I learn to be
A pen and paper pioneer
Who only writes like me
*

24/11/2024

I’ve learned what’s right
I’ve seen what’s left of me
You chip away a little more of me
every day
Until at last I arrive at the center.

A lifetime of calling,
as if there was some reason to be saved
Other than the satisfaction of knowing
the truth lives behind every door,
no matter how large or small.

The promise of expansion and joy
And the need for redemption
Have permeated my efforts
The dance goes on, like a clock never stopping
And it lives another day without repelling.

Goodness is in me for sure
Blackness turns away from the light
for just a little while each night
And another day dawns
With or without me.

Turn the page and wash away
What do I do with the love that remains?
To follow, to listen, to give
To learn about those treasures beyond what I currently know
For the current of life moves me on until
each day dawns
With or without me.
*

14/10/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2zkXosBj1Y&t=58s

Original music, written by Tony Cardo, set to video with ambient images and scenes from Arise workshops in Portland, OR

13/10/2024

The painter dreams of painting
and then he paints his dream,
The singer sings a melody
of songs no longer living in a dream.
*

25/09/2024

I listen to the sound of a quiet heart, gently basking in the glow of the present moment, while yelling at the TV.

15/09/2024

10 Ways a Day Can Be Beautiful

1.) Opening a box of chocolate covered raisins and knowing you shouldn’t eat too many.
2.) Reading my New Yorker Magazine and getting inspired to write.
3.) Finding some money in my pocket that was in there all this time.
4.) Deciding to give it to a tattered coat sleeve holding a dirty cardboard sign.
5.) Holding Lucas on my lap while I drive slowly toward the end of the block.
6.) Hearing him giggle.
7.) Taking a breath because it feels great.
8.) Listening to the rain on the roof.
9.) Cleaning the kitchen, knowing it will get dirty again tomorrow.
10.) Turning off the TV because it disturbs my quiet.

Oh wait… that was today!

*

07/09/2024

As we strive to live in a consistency of positive emotions and visions of a better world, those around us may or may not join in the satisfaction found in reaching outward and upward toward higher knowing. What is higher knowing? How far can we move only with logical thinking? Albert Einstein said “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”.

We take many steps in our lives, and each one can bring us closer, or farther away from our heart. The self is our real home, however long or short the time we spend with it. I love sharing this because it feels so good! It's not like I live with this perspective every minute of every day; it's more like I am a renter in a really nice place, only here for a little while, with fresh air, warm water and a beautiful view. Occasionally, a kindred soul walks over as we sit together, listen closely and talk more about it.

There lies no pretense in wanting to uncover the essence of our soul, and many times we do this through interactions with others. We share, therefore we are, and the greatest of philosophers have never revealed something so simple, something so original. Shall we be brave explorers on a search for certainty and reality? The smile on your face and your knowing glance tells us we are onto something true. Then, not unlike a dream, a soft breeze carries our words away, and we celebrate the gratitude that remains.
*

19/08/2024

Pen and Paper

I don’t need an AI tool
To deliver my reprieve
Sounding like a poet
In love with autumn leaves

I would like to write like McCartney
If I could only feel the joy
With Lennon as my partner
Reaching for the Real McCoy

I would like to write like Coleridge
If only for the fame
I would like to write like Dickinson
When no one knew her name

I would like to write like Dylan, or
Whitman's Song of Myself
With drier eyes I would celebrate
The meaning of this wealth

In the morning sunrise hopefulness
The caretaker takes good care
Of precious jewels inside of us
Laid out and always there

When the grass is looking greener
On the other side of the fence
My original style convinces me
I rarely make a dent

My effort seems like therapy
Until at last I learn to be
A pen and paper pioneer
Who only writes like me
*

06/07/2024

Can we be champions of humanity, allowing the best in ourselves and others to surface, sometimes in the midst of storms, sometimes when the anxiety of daily life asserts itself, or when all is seemingly calm? Can we turn the microscope of our awareness to places inside, or to the songs and poems of the awakened amongst us, hiding in plain sight? If we see ourselves as detectives, let's solve the mystery; if we see ourselves as innocent, let's allow for pure, positive energy to win. Let us be devotees of the quiet, where we can truly reflect and learn about life. Let us be leaders without leading in any particular method, instead, let us lead by radiating all that is good, right, loving and true.
*

04/07/2024

I am unable to see myself, except in the mirror of my Heart. For many years I stood and stared at a face that will go away one day. Hopefully, my smile will not. I really do not want to see the changing world around me - I only want that which is constant and will always be here. Can I find it a little more each day?

I travel in a speedboat on a lake deeper than I can imagine. Speed is not my friend, yet with too much speed I travel each day. Quickly now, more than ever, I dive into the cool water.

*

14/06/2024

Beauty lasts, and we know for certain, our deepest wish beyond veil and curtain. In a simple heart, the call will fly, the caller lives on and You will never die.
*

01/06/2024

After I listen to the news today, the world appears to degrade into chaos and hysteria, as injustice and insanity are the norm. Then, I notice as a ladybug lands on a nearby leaf, and I remark to my beautiful granddaughter, all is well; Va tutto bene. The specs of dirt we call current events are easily brushed away by the recognition of the greater things: trees, sunshine, people walking their dog, a soft breeze, smiles, whispers, hugs, kindness, gratitude and laughter.
*

30/05/2024

In the pursuit of knowing more about who we really are, there is a beautiful light of understanding that guides us everyday with its loving vibration. Abraham says, "You don’t have to work at being in the high vibration that is natural to you, because it is natural to you. But you do have to stop holding the thoughts that cause you to lower your vibration. It’s a matter of no longer giving your attention to things that don’t allow you to vibrate in harmony with who you really are."

Echoes of the film, "Cloud Atlas" tell us that although it seems like we can’t expel evil and injustice in the world, we can constrict it within our own hearts.

In our own hearts... that's where the real work begins!
*

27/05/2024

Can we be grateful for the "microscope" we have to see our motivations more clearly? We can turn our focus to anything or anyone we want. And luckily, we can get help from others to accomplish this. No one is an island.

Nature speaks to us in a non-verbal language, and we listen in the same way. Take the time to let that sink in.

You might be someone who believes the challenges of life are under control; you might be someone who has a nice life, good health, nice relationships, and that the time has come to create nice things for others. Or you might be someone who is struggling to make sense of the chaos all around us; and that the gift of creation is temporarily out of reach. Either way, as long as we are alive and breathing, there is always hope for clarity. Clarity is a friend with a fast car waiting to take us for a nice ride! Ask for it when you need it!

Music is a wonderful method of expression, speaking to all regardless of country or the language spoken.

On and on, we speak, we sing, we see, we rise.

Singer Songwriter | Beaverton, OR