the poet’s path
by Ron Whitehead
Hope for everything, expect nothing.
Desire little, want less.
Don't expect poetry to pay the rent,
be thankful when it does.
Be your terribly flawed but always honest self,
there is no such thing as perfection.
Open your arms, scream at the sky.
Kiss the rain, embrace lightning.
Make love with thunder,
laugh with the roaring wind.
Practice letting go of all expectations.
Focus your energies on completing
one project then another,
at the same time.
Be wary and watchful,
with open heart open mind.
When you left home you had nothing.
You birthed a world out of dreams and visions.
When you lose everything
go back to the beginning, pick up
the broken pieces, start all over again,
build a new world out of dreams and visions.
"Don't be so open minded
that your brain falls out."
Anything can happen any time,
including all that is good.
Walk the tightrope, without a net.
Fall down, get back up and walk again.
Live simply in a small cottage, with two dogs.
Plant flowers and trees, for birds butterflies bees.
Go for long walks daily,
in the woods and along the river.
Say hello to the broad winged hawk,
the great blue heron, the white tailed deer.
Born to die, there is no safety, all is demanded.
Expose yourself completely. Write naked poems.
Accept the consequences of your successes
and your failures, as no others dare. Be bold.
Be no one but you,
your own authentic original self.
Present yourself as you are,
a wise fool.
Don't hesitate,
embrace mystery paradox uncertainty.
Have courage.
Through fear and boredom have faith.
Be compassion.
Embrace the wind.
Embrace your heart.
How many more times will you see
the sun set, the moon rise.
How many more times will you hear
the baby laugh, the songbird sing.
How many more times will you feel
your lover's touch, the rain on your face.
How many more times will you taste
the sea's salt, your lover's lips.
How many more times will you smell
the autumn smoke, spring's plowed earth.
Dwell fully in the creative fire called life.
When your time comes to leave this world
do so with grace, then let go and journey on.
***Stay tuned for Ron Whitehead’s next installment!!!***
Photo of Ron Whitehead
BIO: Poet, writer, editor, publisher, professor, scholar, activist, U.S. National Lifetime Beat Poet Laureate Ron Whitehead, who grew up on a farm in Kentucky, is the author of over 40 books and more than 40 albums.
A UNESCO Europe Writer-in-Residence, his work has been translated into 20 languages. Winner of the Kentucky Poetry Society’s World Peace Prize for Poetry (Judge Lisel Mueller), the Kentucky Poetry Prize, the Yeats Club of Oxford’s Prize for Poetry, the City of Louisville presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in The Arts, and many other awards and honors, including being nominated for the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Ron's poetry has been published around the world in a diverse range of print and online publications from TRIQUARTERLY (Northwestern University/Illinois) to ARTFORUM (Czech Republic) to BLUE BEAT JACKET (Japan) to BEAT SCENE (England) to SOUTHERN REVIEW (Louisiana) to TRIBE magazine (NYC) to AMERICANS & OTHERS (Italy), and thousands of others.
He produced thousands of music and poetry events, festivals, and Insomniacathons across Europe and the USA. Although he recently retired from producing events, at 74, he continues to perform and record with his Storm Generation Band and many others.
His new book, TAPPING MY OWN PHONE, was released, September 2024, by the National & International Beat Poetry Foundation. His new album, THE WAY of THE HEART: OLD AGE SUITE was just released by sonaBLAST! Records.
He just returned from Newfoundland where he was the first Writer-in-Residence for the historic Woody Point Heritage Theatre’s Sonic Harvest Sessions. A new video, filmed in Newfoundland, was released February 2025.
His new book CROW and OUTLAW was released January 18, 2025 by Keeping the Flame Alive Press. A new Published in Heaven Poster of his “A Poet’s Path” poem was released on the same day. A new music spoken word video of A PRAYER for AMERICA/This Land is Your Land by Ron Whitehead (with Woody Guthrie) & The Storm Generation Band was released by sonaBLAST! Records in February 2025.
He will Feature at PoetFest in April 2025 at historic Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida.
He will present The Keynote State of Gonzo Address at GonzoFest New Orleans in May 2025, where he will also perform with legendary composer and multi-instrumentalist David Amram plus with the band ZU ZU YA YA.
His newest book, On A Feather of Light: New & Selected Poems, was just released by Pennington Press in hardbound, paperback, and e-book editions. And an audiobook will soon be released.
OUTLAW POET: The Legend of Ron Whitehead, a feature length documentary on Ron's life and work, is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime Films Documentaries.
Ron Whitehead’s official website is tappingmyownphone.net