on the river

the river runs through town
and though it has changed
being near brings the
comfort of the familiar

no more the line of wooden fish houses
Heymann's, Kishman's and Zimmerman's
where full and weathered boats docked
to empty the catch from their nets
pack the fish in ice in wooden crates
then truck it off to market
or you could buy some right on the spot

no one knew they were leaving a memory
like a stain
that a local kid would carry away
into the future

to write it down revives their voices and laughter
fishy smells and tar-stained foul weather gear
the heavy crates and ice on dirty boards
that i can see and hear with my eyes closed

restaurants are made now that are imitations
to scenically characterize what we lived
right here
in our town on the river

violets

on damp mornings
in early spring
flashing color on the ground
shining through
all wet with dew
the violets

such tiny things
amid the myriad fields of green
there are many underfoot
i hardly pay attention

tireless to trampling
some may say
but i don't think so
cause nobody likes
getting stepped on

a cabin

i'm building a cabin
somewhere high
a mountain retreat
that touches the sky

and the mountain has a sound
something low that i can feel
a stillness massive, full
of the earth

counting logs, the hours pass
snowflakes melt on window glass
fire logs insides roar out red
imagination is my bed

foggy windows

we have some foggy glass
so i called my old schoolmate tom
to see if he was still selling windows

years before he measured
and sold us some good new ones

he's still working part-time
so i made arrangements for him to drop by
we need three replacements

"you're still a business magnet, tom" they'll say
and he'll feel good
and we'll get new windows

friends are friends
and business with friends
is always my first choice

fish sense

a great blue heron as tall as i
was around the pond today
okay, he was a little shorter than me
twice i chased it away
i haven't been able to count the fish
they' still hiding
alerted to the danger

how did they know
he would eat them?

i guess if you're a fish
it's obvious

the trains

the train rolls through at night
as it has all my life
and the whistle goes long and hard
dah-dah-dit-dah

i was an amateur radio fellow and learned
the morse code starting with that familiar letter q
there's a plaque in roma where sam morse lived eleven years
across the alley from our favorite luncheon spot, pasquali's
for me, the sign was a touch with home and the trains

if light winds blow up from the south and the bedroom window
is open the sound of the train whistle can wake me, shake me
most of the town, i am sure, curse when they fall out of bed with
the horn blast - morse code for the letter q

i asked my friend the engineer and he knew nothing about
the morse code, said the signal was not the letter q
just two longs, a short and a long

i thought the train signal began back when the
telegrapher was the wiry old man in the funny hat
who sat out there in the lonely shack and bridged east to
the west with information

i checked the internet and found the train whistle signals
have no connectin witht the morse code
except in the one coincidence, the instance of passing a crossing

a life long belief has shattered
and the late night trains roll on
long - long - short - long

spring off

as Ohioans we are accustomed to temperature extremes
i remember my mom telling me that in 1937 it snowed on
the fourth of july
weather change is the wild goat that lurks before it charges
now this year spring is May
we can go ahead and pencil it in

after winter's farewell snow
on gusty winds entered the warmer air with a
deep blue sky as backdrop for mammoth clouds tumbling fair
unleashing lawns, trees, bushes and flowers, nesting birds and buds
fresh and underway
nature reborn
this new season has begun

you can water golf courses and keep them pristine
but it's nothing, nothing like the clean
gleam of full young spring

the ultimate in automation

here they are
there are no others
nothing like them
god bless them
suspenders

you want to wear your pants loose
and keep them from dragging on the ground
you got it
the one and only
nothing tight around your waist
hold 'em up to the heavens
suspenders

the very name emits dream

plase note: while the british call them braces
they also drive on the wrong side of the road
they also think suspenders
hold up womens garter belts
so be it
i like women either way
with or without

invented in 1822, thanks you Albert Thurstoon
a.k.a. galluses (not Thurston - suspenders)
galluses is a variation for gallows
let's stop there

fixin' out of the box

oh, how you doin'?
i didn't see you slip in
i was just checkin' under the hood of this baby
it's doin' pretty well, but it's got some kinks
just keepin' and eyee eye on it tit suppose it could use a bit of attention like we all . . .
now did you see that?
that's what i mean
that spellin' thing keeps gegttin' fouled

say, when i get this all fixed up i'm goin' to measure it up
i bet you thought i was going to say i'd invite you over
but why in hell's name would i do that?
you got cher space n' y gitts mine
now the dialecter is going haywire on this thing

do you see? do you see what i'm dealin' wif here?
tricky bidness tricky
plan ahead, what i always say
well, i think about it, i'm not on the plannin' committee or nothing

baby steps, i say that too
remember that movie with that bill murray guy? hah, he cracks me up
hey, that's enough jibber jabberin'
let me get back to what i was doin' here
good seeing you

beginning

every part of the globe
has a theme and pattern

in ohio
seasons are incredible
winters frozen dead
then spring begins and grows quickly from nothings
enough said

it is beyond our abilities to invent such magnificence
a sole creator came up with the idea?
it is a large complicated thought
i see why greeks, romans and others
thought it was a team
it is so much like a dream

blackbirds

a couple were out there last night
about seven
still light
they were looking around in the yard
like they lost something
they don't have pockets in their little black suits
so whatever they found they were stuffing in their mouths
to eat then or later
i don't think they'd just be looking around for the fun of it

they went around the rocks, the wall
and the stones around the rose bush
quite serious
diligent, i suppose
up to something
one was tossing rejected bits away
fast like he was going through a trash pile

i'll have to keep an eye on them for a few days
to see what they're up to


our friend blackie was the winner
he was worth a little story
i never had to keep an eye on him
he looked for us

robins in bird world

robins are the hardest workers
they run as much as they fly
moving quickly in early spring

always searching on fast feet
for fast food
or twigs to build their nest

later it's take home food
to feed the children

then they'll train the kids to hunt
and pick
and run around
the way the big ones do

spiders

everythng in ohio has a season
for spiders it's the month of may
then when you see your neighbors
you don't say hello
just, how many did you kill today?

satie

a mystery who wrote simple lines
master of slow time
fellini with hidden wires

i hear his melodies again
and never know i heard

calming, soothing
sweet as a quiet body of water under moonlight
weeping in blessed solitude

a carnival without clowns
weaving a stitch at a time
slipping subtly by as the dolphin
in a quiet, dark ocean inlet


to hear his work
click this taste of eric satie

the pond

some years ago behind our house i made a pond
for me and the mostly goldfish
they live there
i'm just the caretaker

spring means cleaning
passing a net through the water
in slow sweeping motion
to capture debris
last year's leaves
small bits that have collected
from a long winter's winds

so for hours i move the net along
slowly sifting the waters
like a gentle moving song
making myself familiar again to the fish
and the frog

oh, yes
every year there's at least one frog
that hangs around for a few months
until it is time for him or her to move on
where frogs come from, where they go
i suppose i'll never know

maybe it's an old person thing
or at least a calm person's task
to patiently go over the pond
again and again until the job's well done

to start over in another place
with a new pond
would be work intense
i've got this pond
and perhaps now, a bit more sense

there is enough work here
for me to do
but i started the job
so i'll see it through

indian shoes

one year
grandma lulu sent me indian shoes
moccasins just like the real ones that indians wore
i don't know where she found them
maybe at the store
cause she lived in arizona

and then she sent me a second pair another year
i must have said i lost them
but found them later under the bed
cause how can you lose slippers?

now i have two pair
and wear them everywhere
in the house, of course
they wear well and shuffle quietly
do you think she would send me a horse?

homecoming

what am i doing here?
i was born here, isn't that enough?
my wife has her garden
and i have my stuff

saw my friend and
heard the story of the past year
her son has a job
the neighbor had a couple more back surgeries
and her mother has dementia
at least the grass is green
and her pond has two frogs

i've been back a week
M. worked pulling dandelions
i have nothing to write
and my computer has fatal errors

my friend in roma hears nuns sing in the morning
i went to Bob Evans had oatmeal
heard the same thirty year old rock music
that every Bob Evans in the country has
tap your feet while you eat
ain't it neat?

house on the hill

the little old house has nearly fallen
it has been going down for years
even when i was young it turned shabby
but held strong character beyond its peers

at one time it must have stood quite charming
a handsome work of craft in wood art
designed and erected quite carefully
but, sadly neglected and now falling apart

years ago it was abandoned
the shutters fell first
then windows broke and chimney tumbled
as it went from repairable to worse

now i still recall it in those better times
and that's how i'll remember it well
the dear little house on the hill in the country
that slowly died and went to hell

la gallina liberata - the liberated hen

in a corner on the ouside wall
in the centro storico of the ancient town narni
is ambra's new restaurant
la gallina liberata - the liberated hen

she named it for a chicken in her yard
that was stuck somewhere
struggled and got free
she had to call her restaurant something

ambra is a good cook, organizer and host
has friends to support her offorts
the amibiton and perseverance
to realize her projects

spring arrived

wore my big coat the other day
spring arrived just yesterday
it blew in on silent wings
and hovered above the neighborhood
before wrappinig down around us

now it's hot, in a t-shirt today
i heard the boys call outside playing
there are green buds
and singing birds nest building

it's sometimes still winter
after the snows melt
but i'm sure
it's steady spring at last
when i leave a window open

the cooper hawk and the squirrel

from the window i saw a cooper hawk
and a small grey squirrel sitting very close
on a wire with a telephone pole between them
one of them hiding from the other

the hawk was scouting for prey
twisting his head to look about
the squirrel was quiet, unseen, motionless
didn't even flinch his tail

setting my book aside i watched for several minutes
after i looked away briefly. the great hawk was gone
the squirrel stayed in place a safe while longer
someone else would be invited for lunch this day

tell someone

tell someone i'm out here
tell someone who cares
hold warm thoughts around me
keep me in your prayers

no mystery

poems should not be a mystery
i want you to know
what the words are saying to you

easy to follow as a cleared path
in a well-kept country garden

go on, meander step by step
by fruit and flower
pine wander
an hour

a discovered treasure
will be my pleasure

just beware the sprinklers

monster hits

we were talking about hit songs
the ones you sang along with
got you moving

remember walking down the street
it was practically coming out of the ground
flowing in front of you
out every open window
in every store
fragments from passing cars when they whizzed by
on peoples faces, their lips, filling them

then she and i started mentioning a few
where we were when such and such
first i'd say one, she'd say another
we'd agree a bit, then top the other

the result was a list of the big ones
hits we loved dearly
that picked us up and carried us with great joy
ignited us
that's the magic of the hits

i know you can agree with this poem but if i get specific, start mentioning names well, your list is different than mine

skyped

don't do it often
this week with a change of zones in a major way
i've made a few skype calls from ohio

maximo a traffic guy for rai radio
this time working the night shift called from the station
gave me a visual tour of his office and co-workers complete
with large maps of italy on the wall

the second i hung up captain z. called from poland
just back from a basketball workout and maybe a beer
first mate rafal, a teammate, gave his regards

i gave both a walk around outside tour and when out front
the moment i pointed my camera at the street
m. drove in and waved

then called daughter c. in california
it ended with her taking daughter and a neighbor kid
to musical theater class
(we didn't do that when i was five)

the video calls took us around the world
with something for everyone

flight details

i got to the airport and this time didn't leave my computer in the taxi
checked in for the flight and went to the waiting gate
i overheard tourists telling other tourists what towns they saw
listing off names of places, nothing about what was there
the others listened and nodded approvingly
been there, been there, okay, okay

the lobby restroom is designed so that when i am standing there peeing at a row of urinals i look over my shoulder and see the entire lobby looking back at me

the coffee bar from hell was up and running barely
it only stays open because there is no competition
a kid could open a lemonade stand and wipe them out

i walked around back to use the restroom a second time
this time the womans door is on the right and i'm standing there on the inside, but my invisibility shield was activated cause i stepped back out unnoticed
i guess they were all busy

back at the gate a lady walked by panning around doing a thousand dollar narration into her four dollar camera saying things like, "here is the lobby, you can see all the people"

oh welcome delight, they called us to board early so three hundred people were cramming and making a jam of it to get in front of the others in the line
then after about five minutes of shoving
someone changed their mind and said would you please sit down again and we'll board at our regular time instead

then i saw an old schoolmate
my god, i didn't know whether to laugh or cry
the memories came flooding over me
the sock hops, the heartaches, the laughter
nearly in tears, the years
then i saw it wasn't her and felt relieved
one less thing to do

then they called for zone one to board
after they called zone two and three i checked
i was zone one

why can't people board the airplane and sit down? what is so tough? it's like beavers caught in an ice jam... no, i am sure beavers would do it quicker
a lady stopped in front of me and took five minutes to slowly load her overhead compartment
when she finished she turned to me and said thanks
as she let me pass
i went by her wondering why thank me?
what were my choices?

i noticed at 36 thousand feet the restrooms become a lavatory
which may relate to the fact that the higher you fly
the faster you go

over the alps a jet below us going the same way an increasingly shorter distance below us
was anyone aware?
i was ready to jump up and run tell someone, maybe the guy in the seat behind me, i guess you can't get to the pilot easily these days, maybe it was a lack of sleep that had me alerted for disaster, or maybe it was the three airplane disaster movies on tv the week before my flight
airport one and two and the jet with the pointy nose
the names aren't important

hungry i am prepared, brought the cookies she said to buy
i should have paid more attention to how she opens them at home
struggled and finally started looking for something sharp after nearly rolling on the floor i used her sewing thing i carried and they didn't take away from me

i had carrot sticks my wife cut a week before
i ate a pound of carrots but didn't eat them all and had to surrender the last three sticks and a ziplock bag in philly
they marked my card and put me though a special security check cause i admitted i was carrying an apple
they took it
but let me into the country

dear US Airways

i left my socks on your plane
maybe you heard about it

it could have been the lack of sleep
i tried to get comfortable
i listened to the safety instructions and wanted to do it right and didn't inflate my life vest until i deplaned in philadelphia
i didn't know the plane had to crash or you couldn't use it
and wondered why the others didn't follow instructions

the guards were very nice
i did everything they said
and took my shoes off when i walked through that big magnet thing
that's when i saw i had no socks

i don't think anyone took them when i was sleeping
cause i didn't sleep much
they wouldn't let me back aboard to look for them
instead they gave me coffee

i thought i took everything with me when i "deplaned"
my shoes made it home and should fit again in a few days
thank you for the plane ride
i hope you find my socks

edit me?

friends,
i've got to get up in two hours and fly to the o on the ends and high in the middle
these people will take care of you now until i get over my jetblog, i mean jet lag
i'd have links on the right side of my blog, but i can't even remove the junk that is there, like what is that stuff? i need a ten year old computer wiz
my comment on the derby is: in the best interests of all, turn off your tv
there are interesting things coming out of your computer

if you're riding the road on your harley and you look over and see tom, don't ask him for a smoke.

she's been in mexico three quarters of a year and they still haven't named any churches after tanyariffic.

say, isn't that water coming out of the top of your head, giant waiting person?

righting history

fifteen years ago i used the restroom above angelo's coffee bar
with no sign, only regular patrons knew a bathroom was added
in a small room above in the building
that dates from the sixteenth century

to my surprise the stairs and turns and side rooms,
ceilings, walls and floors remained as they were made
i remember having been in awe of the old rooms
so well conserved in their original state

last week i asked to use the bathroom
my primary reason was to visit the space
and then perhaps return again to take photos

to my disappointment it had been modernized
the terra cotta floors replaced, the old wood and walls
painted over in haste
angelo had the money and perhaps a volunteer
and the intention of doing the few clients that go there
the favor of beautification, after all
it was looking quite out of time, hence out of place

unfortunately, what was done made a shabby renewal
this transformation is the fate of much of old roma
good intentions have destroyed the past
because anachronisms are odd

an outside table

a moderately large multitude, though i've seen more
on sunny roman mid-afternoons
its germans and the spanish now
seasons pass so soon

you'd think each country had an appointed time
to take in the sights and weather
for whatever group that next appears
they seem to come together

from a table outside of angelo's
i sipped my wine as they rushed by
numbering thousands by the hour
better them than i