sip it and wonder
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Friday, October 13, 2017
got my
got my new frames heated,
twisted, they fit snugger ... more snug.
so many words in my heart.
two hours later i am still wearing
my new glasses.
recently toasted,
they not me.
wanna draw for high card?
(i'm thinking about this one.).
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
do i
do i ... do i.
words, that word
to say the things that pile all over,
i see, i know.
now i said "things", another non-word
i use as yes as i can, or faster.
the beat text is happening like a rogue wave.
do keep eyes shut when water splashes
just a blink, you see, of course
and off course.
make a melody ... a melody.
hum a melody, go ahead.
softly.
.
Monday, October 09, 2017
nuts are for
then doing with
like cooking, baking,
donuts or making of a pie.
so: we pick 'em or the squirrel gets 'em
when the tree leaves nuts.
donuts sounds extreme, i know.
.
Sunday, October 08, 2017
Tuesday, October 03, 2017
season
now a change of scene;
from no socks to long socks,
there is no in between
.
help us
the USA builds,
why not build one less
and put the money, an estimated 606 million for one,
towards helping disabled children.
that's a lot of money.
Now, tell me again, which political party
is the one that works for the people?
.
Monday, October 02, 2017
for the people
you know these giant bombers
the USA builds them;
why not build one less
and put the money
towards helping disabled children.
that's a lot of money.
Now, which political party
is the one that works for the people?
.
Thursday, September 28, 2017
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
dear october
here near october,
with only a couple days to go,
it feels like july again,
i mean now ... so hot and dry,
wow, holy cow, rolling fat clouds crowd the sky.
they are nice.
it is so hot you seek relief
in the shade, under a big tree;
where you've got fat leaves
in a thin breeze,
watch them clouds ... slowly rolling by.
i mean it.
.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
on tv
featuring ten wonderful homes to see.
i clicked it off accidentally
then spent an hour trying to find it.
i did not find it again.
.
Monday, September 18, 2017
ten
leaning toward October
night wind can make it cool;
no need for jackets yet, however
month ten is on the way.
.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
near june
one damp
brown leather foot
after another
crept the woods
to a lake and canoe
where two
set off as few would do
to pursue the climbing amber sun
(not yet in view)
and jumping swimming fish
(deep in the blue)
the deer and bear and birds
what they saw
no one knew
This dawn poem is here already ... i brought it back to post again ... just because.
Wednesday, September 06, 2017
grow trees
cut them into poles, and
string 'em with wires
all over the world.
until we think of something better
.
Monday, September 04, 2017
myanmar
she read the morning news
told me as we drove
thirty easy going miles on straight blacktop.
it was 66 degrees 85 later ...
don't have a watch, Enough ...
to a slow down, hometown breakfast ... shop ...
an establishment ...
families walking with all they had,
escaping so they would not be shot.
here the restaurant is open this holiday, labor day -
whatever that means.
women and children and old walked.
the men are all dead
a woman carried a cooking pot,
another a solar panel.
in the corner restaurant
having an omelet with toast and fried potatoes
the lady kept bringing more coffee
i thought about the people walking.
what a world.
.
Saturday, September 02, 2017
water cover
jesus criminy,
birds float in the air,
boats are there to share,
they are helping out;
Texas has flooded.
more area than i can imagine.
.
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
that much
that's how much poetry sweet talk i need
that deep in flowers and thistles
rocks and birds and running water
.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
color up
dress yourself carefully, will ya?
a mess of us are ready ...
so what's it going to be?
how about pizza and a beer
watching those Indians play ball?
to the wire, when they wrap it up,
those boys of the fall ...
and summer. of course.
we spent a lot of time with them.
god we cheered.
from beginning to seasons end;
and after snows we'll do it again, don't you know.
.
Thursday, August 24, 2017
winding out
nearly hits 100 in kentucky;
come home to feel summer running,
going to cool and color soon.
.
Friday, August 18, 2017
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Tales
some with colors bright
keep you awake at night
others so dull they
put you to sleep
.
Saturday, August 12, 2017
moon shadow
and if we are lucky
the sky will be clear
casting the moon shadow.
.
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Sunday, August 06, 2017
talking, thinking
fingers tapping on the table,
thinking, hardly blinking,
i'm able to crack ... there it goes
crack open the window;
feel it? take some air.
ready to begin or having patience
... don't know; can't say.
coffee's good, that's a fact.
pull out my paper scraps,
can hardly read my notes,
pencil blurrs. but i remember
what i saw worth writing about
... now, how can i
put feelings into words?
and emotion.
words, to bring
sweet feeling out;
chosen phrases.
a small bird on the window ledge
distracts me relatively.
sweet sip ...
there's always coffee.
sitting, my elbows on the table
tapping out a melody ...
excuse me. i lost it ... thinking ...
drifting some ... more importantly,
look out the window,
home is warm and good,
that's the picture of it.
the day wears well.
.
.
Friday, August 04, 2017
rhubarb pie
and down a lot of lanes;
country roads, where just those words
bring picture-thoughts to mind ...
heard blowing, rattling leaves,
got sprinkled on, gray cloudy
then sun-some.
on the far side of a field
a white-tailed doe with her two fawns - jumping.
stood still to look at us a while,
then turned back to playing, leaping.
stopped at DeChant farm,
picked a rhubarb pie,
tasty sweet eating,
left money in the tin.
i'm nibbling the outer ring portion
of back to childhood memories ...
plus the pie.
.
Thursday, August 03, 2017
Pone, Pone, Pone
what's your pones vibration pattern?
wait ... my pone is levitating
did i tell you, now it's a pone.
.
Friday, July 21, 2017
ship locator
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
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
.
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
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
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.
.
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.
.
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.
.
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
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
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
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
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
Thursday, March 02, 2017
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
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
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.
.
Thursday, December 08, 2016
Saturday, November 26, 2016
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
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Saturday, November 12, 2016
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
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.
Monday, September 26, 2016
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
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.
.
Sunday, August 28, 2016
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.
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