Friday, July 21, 2017

ship locator


Position received seven hours, forty minutes ago
Isadora is off Spain, headed to Algiers
I wonder if Ralfo is aboard
how smooth the sea, how blue the sky?
oh, my, and my again.
i believe in you.
who is steering the ship?
how fine is summertime.



.

Sunday, July 09, 2017

Geese the significant


when driving in a dream there is
no need to signal, yet i cordially wave and smile.
traffic heavy melts together on the road,
shut my eyes and nod off into a cat nap.

in a splash, came to wakeful senses
i did in a crowd. horns honking.
waved back, had the change,
paid the toll. told myself i could finish

this dream, in an hour, if i rush.
hit the gas, checked the time
and then realized an hour had already passed.
time flies, you know, some say, they’re right, some time.

took another bite of sandwich,
chewed slowly while i wondered
where i got it and how to hold it
with two hands while driving?

seemed mayonnaise enough to me ,
i smiled at the hearty bread, tasty as reality,
with long green salty seeds in it,
and the tomato slipping out.

aware that all the red was taillights
all the honking were wild geese
making restful music as i
closed my eyes to finish dreaming.

thinking the one last conscious thought,
that i like geese, i really do.
never met one though to get to know,
i’d surly like to.



.

Friday, July 07, 2017

sweet train



cracked the window after three
cloud dreamed again 'til five
when, from long beyond
i heard the name say - i am train

calling low in light rain,
sweet voice, milk and thunder
clawing on wings of steel,
lonely is the night ... i am train

swinging through, blasting,
rolling heavy on quick-wheel feet
powering down, long around, then out of town,
murmur lonely; cutting night stillness like a blade on ice

iron maiden go into first morning light
familiar friend, shaking houses with your power,
i smiled ... low in bed, covered my head
and slept another hour.


.

tradition begins at home



the pairing of plain rice
and miso soup, considered
a fundamental unit of
Japanese cuisine and the basis
of traditional Japanese breakfast;
as for me is the perusal of a broth box
left on the counter where i am
sitting and reading, while eating cereal.



.



President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have proposed reducing the federal education budget by $9 billion, in part by cutting a $27 million arts-education program. They don't like art or animals; the Republican party should dissolve itself with this kind of thinking. A new party can be formed for the people.

.

Wednesday, July 05, 2017



4 july, all are happy. drum, drum.
Ohio waits all year for summer -
sunny fun, and warm.
a holiday exactly like this, a charm.
parade the morning school band,
wave the red, white and blue;
i'm telling you, see some standing and
folks on the sidewalk in folding chairs.
then afternoon root your Cleveland team.
it's TV baseball and a beer -
family eat and laugh together,
cheer those Indians, louder.
nightfall hear the boom boom
it's fireworks for another year


.

Monday, July 03, 2017



hide my face
i'm out'a place
ah jus' got back
from out'a space


.

Sunday, July 02, 2017

baseball



for the Cleveland Indians
where Zimmer plays center field
i'd need a golf cart to get there ...
and a beer in a to-go cup, please.



.

Saturday, July 01, 2017



manuel dreamed he was driving
and fell asleep,
sometime later i woke in a crowd,
said i'd finish this dream
in february ... it's already july,
furthermore, my name's not manuel.


.

Monday, June 26, 2017

it touches my heart



summer warms, inevitably; and charms.
sitting here while spinning june in real time
our mountain cabin came to mind.
oh, the pleasure ... to have lived then ...
the primitive log house we loved.
we kept it and it kept us.

in oak and pines, manzanita, high in the Sierra.
today driving by some woods and creek in ohio
i heard the swoosh of heavy wind through the trees,
so alive it could carry color like a house painters brush.
delight splashed into my heart as i revisited the memory.

so much goodness in our mountain life
could burst my heart to recall our fun;
although time rolls and we did
unaware how the days do get along.
use the days wisely, my friend,
be careful ... be kind ... do enjoy.




.

bend time



to take different pills
twice a day, long enough
and time blends
the best of systems

take pills different
enough, twice a daylong
and blends time
best the systems

to take pills different
twice, and along
enough blends time
the best of systems

to pills different
enough a long day
twice time blends
test the system




.

Friday, June 23, 2017

image



image isn't everything,
but it is a good beginning.




.

Thursday, June 22, 2017



on the outback ... i call it that ...
you can drive for miles and rarely see traffic.
our favorite is a straight line south thirty miles
to shop the Mennonite store in Shiloh.
a pleasant ride with practically no one on the road.
it's quiet ... by farms, and woods and open fields.
some days we pass only two or three cars
or a black, horse-drawn buggy or two.
we wave at them. they wave at us.
that's Ohio. when you look around
you'll find ... it has something.



.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017



dancing in the moonlight
should be my theme instead of
looking at the clock ... counting
three hours until extraction.

are you kidding me?
another dental thing to do.

he's good, i tell myself.
my tooth isn't, evidently.
waltzing to another extraction, i am.
the phone rings, he's ready what?

i go in three hours early
no time to think about it.
he needles me twice, i wait.
he x-rays, 15 minutes later he

takes my tooth away ... can't say
pulled ... he slipped it gone ...
so long forever, tooth.
oh, brother ... another ... withdrawn.

he's so slick
i can hardly bitch.





.

Monday, June 19, 2017



it can be destabilizing for me
to attempt to write poetry
of birds singing
and homemade pie cooling on the window sill
when out there governments say this country
does not get along with that country
and lockheed martin is selling
four hundred forty F-35 fighter jets
to eleven nations.
why don't they all take a breath
and cool their pies instead.




.


very early this morning they wouldn't let
my raccoon on the airplane
to come home again;
that's when i woke up.




.

Monday, June 12, 2017



i can hear you

while i'm sleeping
dreaming hard.
quiet nights
by the open window
until dawn
i sleep and talk some
caught in visions
in the darkness
time slips on

...
there are people
a few at a time, so no confusion,
time consuming, saying hello, they are welcome
because they show up - in night's dream;
every night it seems, i dream - almost ...
hello again, i say again and mean the best
to you, thank you, it seems good to see you
again, i'm dreaming
...



.

Saturday, June 10, 2017

by drove





drove by a nuclear power plant
in Ohio, didn't plan on it or like it.
i'm afraid, but the road took us there.
alongside the giant

with dark smoke belching out
as we drove by so close a baseball player
could have hit it with a
fly ball if ... if a lot of things

... I don't know why a base
ball player would want to
hit a ball against the side of
a nuclear power plant. another thing

we were doing sixty on a curve
with the windows closed.
there's no room in the
back seat to swing a bat




.

Friday, June 09, 2017

eagle

eagle


an eagle
sees eight times better
than a human, how'd scientists ask him?
they didn't ask. they took a dead eagles eye
ball and held it up and said he could see
about like that.
we saw a big one, could have
photoed him .. my camera was not ready.
it takes time to set it up and it's
handy in my phone. good quality
and since i did no photo, i'll tell you
and you will feel the eagle in your heart
as i did,
as you think it should be because it's
such a large bird, and strong, and the stories
about them, and it's the usa official country bird,
like that; and there it was and it flew
over the car practically. it should be in
your heart now too, practically.





.

Thursday, June 08, 2017

new fire station



the local fire department is
a couple years and a few million
into plans for a new station ...
it'll be a hundred yards from our house.
the old small station was built in 1912
they can't get new trucks until
they have a station with doors large enough
to get the trucks inside.

chief john is hands on everything
selling details to the city
and will work it to completion.
Brett made some fresh coffee;
john showed me the building plans,
i sipped and asked questions.
firefighters do a most valuable job.

Tuesday, June 06, 2017



there she is now.
worn rag dress and funky shoes,
bobbling to her car, up and down;
look at her go. like the same
i seen when i was a kid,

only i'm worn now too.
near older'n she is
and i can hardly walk ...
but still go along
better than - Lord help her -
better'n that sack o'bones.

holy smoke, she stays on her feet
like a cork in a puddle
after a sudden hard rain.
i'd wave if she looked my way.
don't want to whistle, might mess her up.



.


poetry is pages
in the book of life



.

Monday, June 05, 2017

ants



ants in a crack where stones met
on the walk near the door...back
there...i'm pointing
a pile of sand, an enlarging crack

i set my foot ready
to sweep the sand pile
into the growing hole
"what are you doing?"\

her tone stopped me cold
"I was...uh..."
enough said by me, evidently

"they're working there."
i looked again and it seemed so.
ants have things as we do...to do.
let them.



.

Friday, June 02, 2017



while i'm sleeping
dreaming hard.
on a quiet night
by the open window,

until dawn
i sleep and talk some
while i dream
and time slips on





.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

breakfast complications



M opened and closed her hand.
"What's that?" i asked.
she open and closed her hand again.
"What do you want? i repeated.

"Pancake syrup." she replied in
her make-believe monster voice.
i raised my eyes and thought a millisecond
"Put your shoes on, let's go."

for the car she bought Sirius .
select one of 222 channels and you're in business
"Oh, let me choose,"pleaded,
and slowly she nodded.
"How much time to i have?"

"Until we turn off the radio."
Sunday breakfast at Dimitri's
a radio playing in the kitchen
can be heard out front when
customer talk is softer

waiting for our order sitting there,
for ten minutes m read aloud
the names of every tree in Ohio.
after one hundred i fell asleep,
but looked like i was paying attention.

i asked waitress Karin how many regulars
come to this restaurant?
i saw her think a flash and "Many" is what she said.
we settled on a guess number - around 200.

i told her, "Say hi to Meegan" who
just had knee surgery on her ankle, more or less.
"but she doesn't know my name."
"That's okay ... we have nicknames for everybody."
I looked deep into my pancake
and didn't ask her for clarification.

changing the subject i told her i can't read
the dials on the clock, i pointed to the one
on the wall above the cash register.
she said, "other customers say the same"
"Gotcha." M turned to look at the clock.

when leaving the restaurant a truck did an illegal turn,
nearly hit our car and blocked our way.
the driver tried to look both apologetic and friendly..
the look came off as stupid;
i gave the humbled lad the finger in my mind.

.

Sunday, May 21, 2017


a skill of the elderly -
putting on socks
while sitting on the bed
and not falling to the floor.



.

Saturday, May 20, 2017

golden gate



when friends came to see san francisco
i'd take 'em to the view no one sees everyday;
and feel proud to point and say ...
there ... that's the golden gate




professional photographer Doug Fairbairn took a wonderful picture from the hill on the Marin County side looking through the waterway and the bridge that is The Golden Gate.

Friday, May 19, 2017

face it


wind blows light steady on
the wall clock says near eleven,
but it's only nine.
the clock stopped some yesterday.

i have a new book to read, a couple...three.
we go to the town old place for breakfast;
not a century old, but what they've got.
the old regulars show up, usually.

no coffee for me this morning.
gary a questionable walks in, walks out.
no old guys at their table,
mr. becker died.

his funeral is this morning.
we live in the building...
his potato-chip factory.
and the clock keeps spinning

Sunday, May 07, 2017




eyebrows are so
you can look startled
curious, interested,
or angry

eyelids are for winking
and closing out light
the part of the night
when you're sleeping

crying is for babies
and feeling better, after




.


while watering
i saw the large, fuzzy baby bird,
looking better today.
he was there below the
spot on the fence where i saw him yesterday.
looking fit. i could identify him;
of course he's grey, not an owl.
he's a pigeon, comfortable now
in the garden.


7 may, a robin on the fence
with a mouth full of sticks,
you know what he is doing.
i waited ... then went inside
and looked out the curtain.
robin went above the rose bush,
below the eves, out of sight.
M will say if the spot if good.
right now it doesn't matter...
robin has building on his mind.


.

Saturday, May 06, 2017



a fine quiet early evening, i stepped out on the porch.
sat on the bench ... watched as a wren flew off
a large fuzzy baby bird ... pigeon or what...gray,
stayed on the post on the fence
shaking a small amount, feathers messed in places,
like he fell out of the nest a day early
seemed lost. i watched a while.

went in, rewrote some lines,
took a breath , right there after the comma.
saw the sky almost had a rose color in it, and blue.
then came back out.

jacket weather cool at seven'
glanced quickly and couldn't find the bird. hoped he found
a leafy spot to hide in the garden somewhere.
i didn't look that hard. tomorrow i'll think of him
and watch for him.

Thursday, April 20, 2017



beige lake, a graying strait/
white gulls with blue markings zip overhead,
banking, dipping fast like kites on fire/
a hum, hollow sound/
can't say from where.
gold fields, azure sky, woods beyond/
powder white clouds trimmed in gray/
i hear distant trains/
dogs on leashes excite a small boy/
in a child's voice he asks dad ... who knows what/
tops of cars pass beyond far fields/
near flashing ripples sparkle water/
gulls held aloft by the wind/
some tree shade



.

Sunday, March 12, 2017



spring ahead, fall back
who was the knucklehead's wife that came up with that one?
and other countries followed the lead?
can't we leave nature alone?
it's how the planet works ...
can't we live with it?


/

Thursday, March 02, 2017



it looked like a patch of snow in the field
got closer.  it was the sun reflecting in mud





.

Tuesday, February 28, 2017



first thing in the morning
count your lucky stars;
figure if you awaken
you're riding a 4lucky steak



.

Monday, February 27, 2017



lost my pen
checked my pockets
pulled out fuzz
nothing hatched

went to the doctor
that's where I've been
took me a pen,
can write notes again.




.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017



can a car be in river
water to the windows
and still work?
Before the Internet
you had to write a newspaper
to the column Ask Mechanic Bob,
or some one like that
who might answer your question
and were really five guys
working i an office
eating donuts.



.

Sunday, February 19, 2017



sometimes i work harder and sleep longer,
or drink more coffee and think of days
spent far away - other places, other times,
i'll take my pick, depending on the weather,
how the sun is shining, how the wind blows.

now where i'm sitting the sun is in my eyes;
but isn't it grand...because that's the same sun
you're looking at; amazing.
that's how it functions...
world without end.

you know, when i used to make a camp fire
wood would burn down and there'd be no fire.
the sun has been burning since before we were,
so how does it do that and not turn to ashes?
who's adding fuel to the fire?



.

Saturday, February 18, 2017




just read February has been the warmest on record.
they say it will be 65 Fahrenheit today here in Ohio;
meanwhile Trump is complaining about the news media.
i'm glad there is something to read with coffee in the morning.

well, where is the snow?
it's the dead of winter...time for blizzards.
so where did it go?
certainly not as i remember.

kids have to play, you know...days off school.
while old people watch white pouring down,
thick on the ground, all around, packing us in.
this year i never had to look for my boots.


.

chi gung



fingers on the collar bones,
rotate the head around, slowly.
both directions. my neck pops
like i'm wringing a stalk of celery



.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

maria




she has gone now.
got word this morning;
alberto called. before he said
i heard the message in his voice

she...a few words yesterday,
wanting to say to me...
then dropped the phone.
i know you friend, maria.






.

Saturday, December 31, 2016



to creeks jumped
and those fallen into.
to bridges crossed,
those ducked under.

to all frogs and fish,
birds and the clouds,
rain in the forest,
over brambles, through fields,

and down long highways.
in sun, snow and quiet nights,
flowers, weeds and vegetables included;
a salute to the finish and new beginning.






.

Monday, December 26, 2016



waiting for james.
he stopped by a month ago,
oregon to ohio,
to Boston, to Rome.
back with his brother
52 and 50,
the drummer and the unpredictable,
nicest guys i could know.
known 'em grow.
said he'd be here last week
that was the plan
now short hours away,
ahead of the snow.
he and Alex heading to Portland
and adventure.
while i read...check out the window,
waiting for james



.

Saturday, December 24, 2016



had coffee...
tapped my spoon on the table,
no sugar for me,
ate enough cookies this week.
gazed out the window
saw more parking spaces than usual,
and fewer birds; seems they all
flew home for the holidays..
gazed more... thought
of warm water swimming,
took just one last cookie
for dipping.


.

Thursday, December 22, 2016



the olives can go in the refrigerator
is what she said to me
can they now? that got my attention,
i squinted at her

didn’t believe her, not then.
that was absolutely not true.
those olives can’t go anywhere,
watch them; even if they tried.

i know for a fact, no doubt about it.
take a load off, olives,
you can put the load right on me.
your going days are over.



.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016



such a beautiful Christmas tree
nearly twenty feet tall
in the neighbors front yard,
been watching it for years;
he's not using it anyway.
our ceiling at home reaches seven,
i only need some off the top.
i'll buy neighbor kids beer
have them cut the top at night
and deny involvement

forget the above. I remembered Gregory
Corso's beat generation poem about
learning to drive and
mowing friends down:
humor from another generation.
unkind doesn't work now
when we need to go easy,
we surly do.
we need kindness, even in humor.



.


practically Christmas
a few days to go
they say it will rain
how can they know?
staying home i'll sing in my head
White Christmas...
"may your days be merry and bright"
at night go to bed



.


shortest day of the year
can you feel it?



.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016



five days before christmas
a mexican food lunch
loosen up




.

Thursday, December 08, 2016




i awaken and look at the news
then i'm sorry i did, for what i read;
for what is said saddens me.
where is the love and the dreams?

softness, it seems, is waylaid by power
and grandeur of prominence.
shall we avoid the sweet scent of flowers?
give mankind gentle notions again.



.

Saturday, November 26, 2016




America has computers.
Pick an issue and a day;
in 24 hours know exactly
what the people say.



.

Friday, November 25, 2016




a lazy gray day watching droplets;
well, first sensing them until
i looked beyond thin curtains
to see silver sprinkles puddle up.

visible from my easy chair,
pearls splatter and shatter softly.
will pour later is the consensus
of weather forecast providers.

i sip coffee to heed what is
given by professionals or,
as in days of old, will dauntlessly
draw my own conclusions.



.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016



2016 super moon, bright white
and larger; nearest until 2034.
got up at 2:00 and saw it a minute;
went back to bed. slept through most of it.





.

Sunday, November 13, 2016



you can yell at the dog
he'll feel bad
and not remember
why you're yelling at him.



.

Saturday, November 12, 2016




two horses
in the small corral
stand in extreme opposite corners,
though horses like company.

these two must have been
together long enough;
each knows
what the other has to say.



.

Friday, October 28, 2016

waiting in rome



the function of bureaucracy
is to make you wait
to show who is boss
to keep you little people down,
in place, engaged

there is a seat, take it
it will be a while
take a number
grasp the ticket
no one will look at it
but it gives you
something to hold on to



.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

nothing doing




from fifty yards away, black and white,
serene on the banks of a placid pond.
i watched for fifteen minutes
fifteen geese taking life easy

they sat or stood in the sun,
a few briefly walked a tight circle,
then sat again. content with time off
from what they do when they're busy


.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016



october wind and warm/
still, pancakes for breakfast were just right/
u sure?/
wait...there aren't two voices in a poem./
tell Shakespeare/
his were different/
and yours is the same?/
well, not the same...You know i made your part up, don't you?

Thursday, October 06, 2016



by request -
hey, tomc
okay, hey
it's national poetry day

i'll wait for intergalactic poetry day
and the new planet they found,
where life has just begun
a mega-gazillion miles away/

so after a giga-zillion years
it's not spinning on it's axis/
there it's still ten in the morning - day one/
what fun. spinning takes practice.

went to Oregon
bought marijuana in a store.
smoked a joint. it took three days.
didn't finish it all.
best i felt in years.
$9, it was fine.
couldn't bring any back to Ohio.
come on, America.
the young can bang heads playing football;
we old want to sit in a chair, relax
and feel good.


.

Monday, September 26, 2016




fog in the morning,
we used to say thick as pea soup.
now, perhaps it's broccoli du jour
jesus crimney - i mean it



.

Saturday, September 17, 2016

rain louder than the train




harvest moon so soon it seems,
though it's been a year;
this night i stayed in bed, didn't open the curtain to look.

Then a brilliant flash at three
and i counted the seconds eight, nine, ten, eleven...rumble.
again a flash - i counted to nine that time.
nine miles away.

i imagine the storm diminished
as i slept gain
until rolling thunder when i woke at six.
left to right, across the sky.
and the rain was louder than the train...two trains around seven.
pouring hard on and off this morning.

This night i slept well,
wrapped in good thoughts and dream.
how about you...how'd it seem?



.

Sunday, September 11, 2016



that place without time

where i go in dreams
is all...it seems/

boundless, sweet love



.

Thursday, September 08, 2016




went to the grocery store
bought a ham sandwich they make there.
carried it home where she she cut it in two.
i asked which half was mine.

while cleaning up the last of the mustard
that she blew all over the floor
she zeroed in when she said,
"take the half that doesn't have a bite out of it."

there wasn't any mustard on it either.


.

Saturday, September 03, 2016



old friends are special;
if you can deal with old coots.







.



i hear the softest melody
when i think of you.






.

Sunday, August 28, 2016



my, it's hot. even
inside where it is air conditioned;
dampness creeps the walls
and clings to you.

not a day to stroll shady woods.
skip that. they say it'll be cooler tomorrow.
why not sit down, relax;
sip green tea.



.

Friday, August 26, 2016



when it's warm out
and work is done
i'll sit quietly
and wonder.


.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016




The whistle seemed a good idea
lets people know a train is coming.
first a guy invented the whistle,
another said, "I can make it louder."

we live a half mile away from the tracks,
over the hill and down a bit.
every morning after the train runs through town
i have to straighten the pictures on the wall.

addendum

Someday they'll find
those early morning,
ultra blasting train whistles
blew America's mind.

Thursday, August 11, 2016



already summer is moving on.
don't have a final tally
the garden's given many veggies.
now, it's yours to rally.

took the wire from the garden.
come on, boy, don't chu dally,
we win, we do; and you do too -
we'll call it bunny valley












.

Monday, August 08, 2016

geeze cake


seek and enjoy.

when you find, and we found
a breakfast spot, another
not a big corporate job...
a little ma an' pa,
and this one had cheesecake.

ok, not your usual breakfast fare but, how about it...
four different kinds, brought from Cleveland.
cherries, blue berries, straw berry and another..
call it a wonder berry...I can't remember.
oh, yes, to look at them is fattening. What a way to go.
I tried a piece...no, not tried, I ate a piece.
As good as I imagined...as good as you can imagine.
hmmmmmm...cheesecake.

Saturday, August 06, 2016

spinning




two eggs, two pancakes, i ordered.
the chubby waitress, embarrassed
about her glasses; still cute and kind.
and the world goes on spinning;

sipped coffee by the window.
i see giant nimbus clouds roll by.
geeze, big as old sailing ships.
thought of mocking-birds, used to hear them.
Uncle Clifford's hand pump well,
and fresh, clean, country water splashing.

then outside, a drunk on a bicycle stops traffic.
he's old enough to know better.
and the world goes on spinning.
i'm glad there is nothing for me to hang on to
or i'd write the same poem every day.

Friday, August 05, 2016

nowsville


Oh, welcome thee of the illerati
now chillax.
click-bait and pocket monsters
sort them out; it will be.
i went dark yesterday, no one noticed
OMG, your guyliner is smudged

Thursday, August 04, 2016

early morning train


slid the window open after three
dreamed clouds again until five-thirty
when, from long beyond
i heard the name say - i am train

calling low in light rain,
sweet voice, milk and thunder
clawing on wings of steel,
lonely is the night, strong, sure

swinging through, blasting,
rolling heavy on quick-wheel feet
powering around, long through, then out of town,
murmur lonely; cutting night stillness, like a blade on ice

iron maiden go, into first morning light
familiar friend, shaking windows with your power,
i smiled, low in bed, covered my head
slept another hour.



redone 7 17

Sunday, July 31, 2016

wen fer


wen fer lunch,
place 20, count 'em 20
miles, long down on the straightaway.

going and coming back, also,
cause they more to dis story..
musta ha'seen over four...call 'em
five, cars on the road.

I'm tellin' ya...somethin' goin' on
right hereabouts in Ohio.
i'm happy as darn about it.
Eat chur corn, Roy.

Thursday, July 28, 2016

eyebrows are


eyebrows are so
you can look startled
curious, interested,
or angry

eyelids are for winking
and closing out light
the part of the night
when you're sleeping

crying is for babies
and feeling better, after

Monday, July 25, 2016



the antique clocks run a week;
how often i must wind them.

Sunday, July 24, 2016

booming


95 and humid a third day.
clouds belly down and booming
at noon, drop a fortune of water;
gardens are not opposed.

Friday, July 22, 2016

heat



the extreme heat of this afternoon
creeps inside where it's cooler
and gets me sleepy
at least for a nap's worth

Sunday, July 17, 2016

cell phone dilemma




major red alert,
cell phone is missing -
the pulse of my life line.
gone but not forgotten.

went back where i had coffee.
questioned everyone repeatedly.
most seemed honest in their replies.
evidently i didn’t leave my phone there.

staggered home dejected.
instead of crying right away,
dumped big trash can in the drive.
two cops driving by stopped to watch.

i put it all back,
took a half hour,
searching the sticky mess
a piece at a time.

then brilliant idea
struck like lightening. wow.
i asked the cops to call my cell number
and put it on speakers in their car.

if the rat face sleaze at the coffee place answers
i’ll recognize his wheezy, whiny voice.
from the squad car they let me dial,
misdialed my cell number several times.

chatted with interesting people,
talked longer with the nice ones
a few wrong numbers were angry,
cops were growing impatient.

i suggested, “Lend me a dollar, i’ll call
for a medium pizza, split it three ways,
if you drive us to pick it up.”
cops were unhappy.

head down, i kept dialing.
finally got the right number.
two seconds later
my pocket rang.

Monday, July 11, 2016


a.

tumble and never fall
clouds do

b.

i hate cloud poems
with the word fluffy in



.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

wellington


Wellington, a forgotten town
a line drive 22 miles east of Norwhere
where 18 crosses 58...
the heart of nothing special but goodness.
an old, tin-pressed ceiling cafe is large, welcoming.
no music, no TV, the hum is locals talking quietly.
cheery Karen from the other day seats us.
glassed in, on the corner over coffee we view
big-rig, cross-town traffic,
the action at the center of the berg.
sipping, we decide how to take two eggs
with two pancakes...too early
for too many decisions; no rush,
all is well...in Wellington

Monday, June 13, 2016

every 17 years


near Shiloh
The other day we heard them...
like crickets, over the hill somewhere.
I pointed so she would know
what hill they were over.

M said,"Those are locusts. They live in the
ground and come out every seventeen years."

I really glared at her. "I know that...
do you think I'm stupid?"

She paused, looked toward the hill,
then said, "That's a dumb question."

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

open window


slept by an open window,
dreamed poetry
until sunshine ran over it
and left me plowed.

good day, some say, sometime;
sunshine, here's to you
from the bottom
of my heart.

Friday, April 29, 2016

dream from where


often i have dreamed poetry,
a few words, an idea.
when writing poetry every day
my dreams were poetry ideas,

then in the morning
i'd write from those ideas.
last night i dreamed mdf: 236748,
mdf: 566924, mfg: 73479

there was a paragraph space
then another series of letters and numbers.
i had a page of these letters and numbers
all single spaced and

still sleeping i noticed what i was reading.
it was a print out i had been reading;
after a bit of time i was still sleeping when
i noticed what i was reading/dreaming

don't know what it was
but when i woke i remembered
this strange dream
and wrote it down.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

the cart


Walking into Walmart
I put my cane aside when
a mysterious voice said,
"Use the cart, Luke...use the cart."

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

dandelions are


dandelions are
good; so very, very good.
good wine, they're edible,
bright in spring, rich in
vitamins A, C, iron and calcium,
health benefits include
relief from liver disorders, diabetes,
urinary disorders, acne, jaundice,
cancer and anemia; also for
maintaining bone health, skin care
and as a benefit in weight loss;
they're cheery to look at,
and naturally, people want to kill them
so double-damn bad.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

a half hour down to Shiloh


M was inside getting plants
i was standing by the car
an old man in jeans, jacket and straw hat came out.
we talked a few minutes about
the good spring weather finally here,
the noisy storm we had last night.
i told him we lived in noralk, in town,
about here to that buggy behind the fire department.

he went on down to his buggy
an old woman wearing a long dress and bonnet
came out and joined him.
they turned the fine horse around
and began to leave.
as they passed by,
he and i wished each other a good day,
and they rode away.

Monday, April 25, 2016

big maket


m went into the store,
i waited in the car, reading, window open.
many people walking in the lot,
heard this constant, serious, deep-voiced, hushed monotone.
an older guy a short distance away,
standing between two dark cars,
ball cap on, talking, shoulder up,
neck angled, holding something to his ear,
speaking into this brown,fuzzy thing,
like a cover so i couldn't see the phone,
his eyes darted ahead and around.
an undercover job going down?
heard his voice, couldn't make out the words,.
waited for the swat team to drop from the sky.
after ten minutes nothing happened.
then i saw ball cap guy is holding
a small, fuzzy dog to his ear,
and never shut up.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

safety first


they have barricades on bridges
high enough so driving over
you won't look at the water
and drive into the river

so why not up and down the streets of towns
don't they erect walls on each side
so bright colors on fancy-dressed manikins with new shoes
won't cause you to make a right turn
and drive over parked cars, through the store windows?

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Paul Simon


Paul Simon you wrote the
words and melodies for so many;
and today I woke with one your songs
dancing in my head, smiling inside me

Monday, April 18, 2016

The Cleveland Orchestra


The New York Times declared
"America's most brilliant orchestra"
in Oberlin's Finney Memorial Chapel
the most extraordinary
Cleveland Orchestra

filled us with music;
sweet, clear and precise.
we gave them attention,
they gave to our hearts.

Friday, April 15, 2016

code red


how many passwords
are in my head?
keep scrambling
code master

Monday, April 04, 2016

uncertain


here is april in ohio
when alternate days of snow and rain do bring
weather still uncertain
if it's winter or it's spring

Sunday, April 03, 2016

sometime skys are like that


look at them, rolling rain-heavy dark clouds,
a giant, scattered stripe in the east
across a blue sky background.

she wanted to take a picture
was driving, so she pointed instead.
i looked and remembered.

low sun, long fields
a wow to see
this good Ohio morning.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

coffee and i see


coffee and i see
the day before yesterday's snow out the window.
silent as all get out;
a nothing special morning...
that's what makes it special.

Wednesday, February 03, 2016

winter lake walk



beige lake, movement in gray
sparkling streaks on surface,
few white gulls, under wing makings dark blue ,
held on the wind, banking, dipping like kites.

winds hum...a hollow sound
over golden fields, under azure sky
tops of passing cars are seen beyond fields
low clouds trimmed in gray, follow in a line like a train

small voice of child passing, marching behind dad
infrequent words spoken - sunny, cool
few blowing leaves, short cropped fields
thin woods, brown trees, little shade

Sunday, January 31, 2016

still, cold


still, cold,
third day in ohio
january ending
expecting weather like winter

three minutes in the store
in shiloh, m shops
i'm waiting in the car, making notes
shopped a swiss mocha to drink

cool out, do doubt
morning on a bright sun saturday
what a day - so clear
between snows

Monday, January 11, 2016

birds


among my favorite life forms
are birds - in an out, on their way;
no time for exchange with me.

they have agendas that can be
loosely categorized as seasonal behaviors:
young meet, maybe dance a bit,
never socialize with in-laws, mate, build nests
keep the eggs warm, bring food for the kids
instruct them on living; to hunt and peck,
gather food and head south for the winter.

when I'm around they land on the fence
check me out, then go,
not a deep relationship to build on.

to their credit: you know, they
never, ever, have a worried expression on their face;
no lips could be the reason.

eyes are open (have three eye lids)
blink fast and do their things.
their big plus is: wings -
they sure can fly.