each day

learn more and work diligently
avoid haste and waste
stay calm

live in honor
give and accept compliments
stay fit

peace is the way
love is the answer
in truth you survive

pond 3

the pond is an irregular ten by fourteen feet
i put it in about ten years ago
it must be getting ripe

the fish are happy
they number about 20
they go under the lily pads and plants
in the middle of the deep end

the five frogs seem content
five? what is happening?
big frog sat in the middle
four smaller frogs hung around the sides

last year big Herb liked
the sound of my push mower
and often accompanied my mowing
"herb, herb, herb"
that's how he got his name
the call sounds like the
pluck of a loose banjo string

ohio has 15 frog species
ours are the family ranidae
and they look like uh, kinda green frogs with some yellow?

they travel in the rain
big storm coming in tonight
and unless they can dig under the wooden fence
they must be using the driveway

skip rope song

went with mary to the country
the sun was shining there
then down behind the cow barn
for a little dairy air

one for each of us

she told me
to get out
one of each for both of us
i looked over my shoulder at her
wondered if she were kidding

three vitamins bottles
six pills
this is easy
two pills from each bottle
maybe this poem is already over

i picked up the first bottle
and tried to remember when i first opened a pill bottle
maybe i was reading comics then
and got distracted

when did they start these funny tops?
isn't the fact it is a pill bottle enough?
do they have to make the bottles tricky to open?
can't parents put pill bottles
where kids can't get them?
what happened to "no"?

oh, yeah
i was countin' pills
one for each of us
i mean, one from each bottle
make that two from each bottle
don't confuse me

done

morse code

in the days when i was a
ham radio operator i liked
the Morse Code best and spent my time
sending and receiving dots and dashes

send out a call to anyone who
was standing by out there
and someone replies
then a conversation began

some hams used big rigs
large antennas and fifteen hundred watts of power
or illegally more and could shake passing car windows
mine was the basic unit
a light bulbs worth of power

from Northern California i talked to
Antarctica with my one hundred watts
once i made contact with a guy in Philadelphia
who was using a rain gutter as an antenna
and ten watts of power

it's strange that you know
if you like the other person
just as quickly as when
talking to a stranger face to face
there is never any doubt
you get along with the other, or don't
not by what they say, just by
how they send the dots and dashes



Of course, even poets have a point of view, and as
with Morse Code, you can read the person in there
cause we can't hide ourselves, although we think we do.

meri cut the grass

meri cut the grass then worked
in her garden while i sat
on the stone step
and watched some
drinking a soda pop

she does good work
sweats some, and i am ready
to hop right up and help her
but then the heat is telling me to watch a bit more
just then the library calls

kim said they have a book
for meri and i, it sounded like a trick
so i asked if it was one book
she laughed and said no
so then it is books we have!

i happily replied i'd do something about that
she told me there was no rush
we have until next monday, so i sat back down
thinking - now, today is only wednesday
of course we'd be in before next monday

did she think we'd come running
or was she being kind
or is that what they do at the library
call people on the telephone?
well, hats off to everybody!

wind's work

who watches the wind's work
sorting through a row of bushes
plucking dry leaves
i do
follow the swirl
see the swath as it's winding

there are indicators for life
signs that point the direction to follow
pathfinder

a something on the sidewalk
where is the tiny cause for concern
overlooked in haste?

a trip on the stairs
a dab of sleeve and mustard
an offhand thought turned remark
the song on the radio
how do accidents happen?

mark your words as they go by
point into the wind
stay alert and be keen to listen

don't save up for life
like rain in a bucket for water on a fire

the setup is now while the joke
may be years down the road
don't forget to laugh when the time comes

dust on the counter
a veiled layer of disuse
clues are a sidestep
to the rhythms of life

get up

609, 611, 614 a.m.
how many times i've seen
those same red numbers
day after day
what do you know, what do you say
it is an abrupt start from dream
to dawn on another day

what does it all mean?
that is the question of all time
look around, it is the same
familiar, home, sweet . . .
as i stretch out of bed
shake the cob webs outta my head
waking slowly
getting showered and dressed i catch
a glimpse of myself in the mirror and wonder
should i cut my hair or let it grow?

what is this stuff
do i really like dry cereal making noises
make a note: why doesn't it play music?
now, what do i need to take with
oh, don't forget my keys
then, out the door
wait, did i lock it?
i did

three peas

three peas balanced
on the blade of a butter knife
one is you
one is me
one is eternity

thunder in the pass

yonder there's a net
over the pond
much of it
elevated a few feet
waving just enough and
flashin' like a star

so, long before sundown
blue heron came flappin' in
sauntered right alongside
lookin' for trouble

caught him gazin' round over the rocks
like they was tombstones
but he twitched, got nervous
didn't like the looks of it
then up and left town

big frog is there
sitting on the side
on a rock above the water
puffed up on a lotta pride
kinda grinnin'
and the fish are swimming again
feeling safe
practically dancing

peace has been restored
just plain yup

a bite

of poems
i thought a thousand would do
though time has passed
i'm still not through

i could load you up
pour out my treasured best
you'd be stacked high in aces
with too much to digest

one at a time is better
so if you stumble through and snatch a few
that'll do
like the bird that occasionally
flies in an open window
who should have paid more attention
to catching insects
may find something to nibble
if he doesn't panic
and the cat doesn't find him first

perhaps some other day
there'll be a thought right for you
not too much, a line or two
even a bird flying with mouth open
is hoping, and sometimes catches a few

poetry lesson

on poetry
know the rules
there are no other rules

start writing and then finish
or just do part
then do some more later

editing is importance
sews spelling
an rhymes good

whether you start each line
with big or small letters
is to the authors perverse discretion
so i heard
but you hear a lot of contradiction

now go for the throat
oh, and read what you wrote
too cheek four ears

i found it useful to title poems
with names coming from the heart
so as they stack up
you can still tell them apart

justice on the pond

the fish have stayed low
for several days now
afraid of something
blue herons on the prowl
maybe ten fish are gone
so i bought a net
covered the pond
no more will they get

now i worry about the frogs
maybe they're gone
but rain comes in two days
i've got to raise the net
i want everyone safe
and frogs travel in the rain
pond stuff takes time
but peace i'll maintain

a walk to the pier

stroll north and we've reached the lake
with a chill breeze blowing in
it's a good day to have a jacket and your collar up
humidity i was born with
it is either a familiar comfort hanging in the air
or i'm just used to it

we have a long stone pier
the fishermen use it
they say it's a mile long
i don't know, it could be
in rome i told robert how long it is
and he looked very suprised
the pier is something we take for granted

part way out used to be a range light on a tower
it was torn down when they fixed the pier
added a lot of cement to it
i was just limestone blocks before
when we used to swim out there
only the seagulls are still around

it's the local custom to walk the pier
at least halfway, as far as the blockhouse
so, come on, i'll take you out there
see how the fishermen and women are doing
they're out there sitting and waiting
that looks to be the most of what they do
and hopefully catching a keeper once in a while

a guy moves around to look in his tackle box
and then check his poles
patiently sitting in the open is what they do
that's the sport, i suppose

these two have lanterns and blankets
looks like they've been here all night
hooking perch, walleye or catfish

the suns out now
the wind is lighter
and it getting warmer
we've had our walk

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?