There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who prey upon them with IBM eyes
And sell their hearts and guts for martinis at noon.
There are men too gentle for a savage world
Who dream instead of snow and children and Halloween
And wonder if the leaves will change their color soon.
There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who anoint them for burial with greedy claws
And murder them for a merchant's profit and gain.
There are men too gentle for a corporate world
Who dream instead of candied apples and ferris wheels
And pause to hear the distant whistle of a train.
There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who devour them with eager appetite and search
For other men to prey upon and suck their childhood dry.
There are men too gentle for an accountant's world
Who dream instead of Easter eggs and fragrant grass
And search for beauty in the mystery of the sky.
There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who toss them like a lost and wounded dove.
Such gentle men are lonely in a merchant's world,
Unless they have a gentle one to love.

James Kavanaugh

Some people do not have to search -
They find their niche early in life and rest there,
seemingly contented and resigned.
they do not seem to ask much of life,
sometimes they do not seem to take it seriously.
At times I envy them, but usually I do not understand them.
Seldom do they understand me.

I am one of the searchers.
there are, I believe, millions of us.
We are not unhappy, but neither are we really content.
We continue to explore life,
hoping to uncover its ultimate secret.
We continue to explore ourselves, hoping to understand.

We like to walk along the beach -
We are drawn by the ocean, taken by its power,
its unceasing motion,
its mystery and unspeakable beauty.
We like forests and mountains,
deserts and hidden rivers,
and the lonely cities as well.
Our sadness is as much a part of our lives
as is our laughter.
to share our sadness with one we love is perhaps
as great a joy as we can know ---
unless it be to share our laughter.

We searchers are ambitious only for life itself,
for everything beautiful it can provide.
Most of all we want to love and be loved.
We want to live in a relationship that
will not impede our wandering,
nor prevent our search,
nor lock us in prison walls;
that will take us for what little we have to give.
We do not want to prove ourselves to another
or to compete for love.

We are wanderers, dreamers and lovers --
lonely men and women who dare to ask of life
everything good and beautiful.
Those who are too gentle to live among wolves.

James Kavanaugh

Someone Might See Us

We've got to stop laughing like this -
someone might see us
And wonder why we're still giggling
When the whole world is weeping.

we've got to stop laughing like this -
someone might see us
(Did I tell you
That you have a clown's face,
That your ears are too big for your head,
Poking through your hair
Like curious children,
Begging to be nibbled at?)
But we've got to stop laughing like this
With tears in our eyes
(Which is a nice way for tears to take their leave).
Someone might see us
And wonder why we're still laughing
When the evening news
Only permits an occasional grin.
(Did I tell you that
Your bottom lip hangs down
Like a baby bulldog's,
That your teeth are crooked
And I love you?)
But we've got to stop laughing like this
And set some goals
Or be practical
And maybe save the world
Because someone might see us
And wonder why we're laughing
When the banker's look worried
And money's tight
(Did I tell you that your nose is bent,
That you have hound's eyes
And squirrel's cheeks
And I love you?)

James Kavanaugh
from: "Will You Be My Friend?" 1971