April one-ish

don't open your eyes, you won't believe this ... sleep more before you go ahead.

Wake to snow Covering all ... won't last, melting fast. Winter's gone but  yeah bah. What an April morning to take in.

want some eggs an bacon?

you're dreaming.

Meanwhile there is poetry, back in fashion ... scattered around  pick that one off the ground, clown. It's yours.

claim it. sticks a medal on you for showing up today ... hold still, Willy. Will yah.

okay eight-thirty now and the street looks slushy. 

nothing new falling. it's on the way to total meltdown.

2021 stretches

 

Sharon Stone doing a cowboy film.

she certainly did 26 years ago.

am i poeming yet

this middle of the week?

trash goes out every Wednesday.

stack up those weekly obligations.

while Catherine flies in

Califonia to Detroit.

she'll see her friend then drive here

where robins are out hoping, pecking

as today the year's third month ends.

worn out. mark it down.

a quarter of the year has burned.

not only quickly it went quietly.

entirely wrapped up.

as you, i'm happy to have seen it.

Spring for sure

Flying today is my daughter

from California. where it's hotter

well, it's not the season for heat

yet it's warm enough.

 

neat she's  coming here  

wing in dear.

And good for us. Joy.  Joy again.

This doesn't happen everyday.

 

we'll all enjoy the visit.

like sprinkling seeds of happiness.

well i guess i'll miss her toby and daughter.

so i guess we'll fly hr way next. 

Doctor me

 

here and also another ... there.

load me with appointments.

two today ... say, hey.  Plenty

of attention. where i'm scheduled up.

more than enough for me.

my calendar is usually clean.

can i quit yet?

i'm only thinking about it. 

cold light spring rain

morning cold spring rain.

enough so neighbor  runners

packed in suits head to toe

jackets with the hoods-up go, 

decked in outfits like firefighters 

on the back of a bells-clanging

fire truck running with siren blaring

down city streets. out of the way, 

 

tearing quick, make way.

on this  cold rainy day.

very brisk starting.

out of the way.

times are right

 the ceilings are high.

Floors are natural, wood boards.

no cars passing this morning

all creatures doing as best they can

no rabbits, deer, birds nor wind;

and it's warm enough, you know for sure

after a long winter cold, spring finally began.

time daylight savings

daylight savings time 

forgotten the day after

until six months later.

why do we reset clocks. 

don't tell me.

why not forget the change 

we need the sun in the morning

and the moon at night. 

 coffee and oatmeal are sufficient

cancel inconvience

goes 'round

 

when i heard he was a Beatle

i had no idea Paul McCartney

would write Live and Let Die,

a Jame Bond movie theme;

or that fifty years later i'd write these words,

think this thought, and not be particularly surprised.

my, my, how the world goes 'round.

although, i had not the foggiest idea.

the lake and the towne

the lake waves roared and gulls flew swiftly 

as lives tumbled forward

Into new times and new friends;

always unexpected adventures.

years later i came back and walked on the pier

only slower and not so far out this time.

now i can satisfy myself by looking at old photographs

and pictures i'd painted years ago. 

there are memories. sweet memories we share

of times back then. you know when.

summer was ours. yes it was. 

we'd hear the coal dumper and the morning trains. 

remember?

we saw familiar people walking on main street.

you see one, recognize, and forgot his or her name;

almost recall, but not quite. you never thought some year you'd try to remember.

and there were people then i could recognize but never knew their names. 

their cars or trucks went by and a while past they would be familiar too, 

and we never gave it a second thought. 

i know driving by you couldn't help but look to see what was playing at the Ritz.

you'd smile. some time you'd have seen the movie

and now you'd drive to the next town to a decent theater.

or it was league night at the bowling alley.

maybe friends would come over for cards tonight or a beer.

no matter ... evenings went well.

these endless summers were ours.

 

 

overhead

The International space station

floats overhead, clear as a bell,

bathed in the light from the sun.

Tonight the ISS passes over at

10:49 p.m. Coming from the west/southwest.

It revolves the earth every 90 minutes.

16 times a say

Threatening to soon become Spring weather

a blue jay and a male (red headed) woodpecker

tree hopped outside our window this cold morning,

20 March, with frost on the ground.

reading this on another date you'll have to imagine

the coldness. the stillness. the internal anticipation

of the sweet beginning happening now.

all around, anywhere we look.

 

talk to anyone and behind the day's greeting

is the hopeful sweetness, the advent of tomorrow's glorious season

no one can stop or keep away.

Spring.

Need help, some/space station

The day is a absolutely like a spring one;

which began midnight today March the 21st.

Clear, light blue sky this morning and fields hold 

a light tan cast more or less, as far as I can see.

 

we need sunny days to get the green growing.

plus some heat, of course.

and naturally it will ... happen i mean.

slowly, swiftly through every lawn and field ...

 

green'll cover everything as far as we can see. 

there will be birds and people walking their dogs

with their plastic bags.

 

                        ***

 

the evening news on Cleveland TV said the space station

is coming over at 8:39 tonight, from a west south-westerly direction.

also i heard something "about fifteen degrees." i missed that.

later it was time, Meri said  come on, and we went outside.

in this new home we don't know the directions well,

only East for the rising sun and West where it sets.

she wanted to drive to Delaware somewhere where there is open space.

at home we have trees all around and only a few minutes to get ready.

we stood in our driveway, in about a minute and she starts,

"there it is ... i see it there." i looked and there it was,

just-about overhead. we expected a dot and it's large as captain Kirk's Enterprise. and lit up. 

for seven minutes we watched the space station pass over from the middle of our driveway.

rain hell's worth

 didn't happen, yet, it's gonna.

wind that clock, storm's on the way.

i put on shoes instead of slippers.

serious water coming down, down.

 

we'll soon see how much 

atmospheric anomalies

are shaking our days. 

at the very least: dress for it.

line in a row

seen together during winter months

lined  up on ice in a row 

then leap up to the air all at once

when they decide it's time to go

 

ducks fly in a shifting v 

low in flight, not going far

I've got to stop right there. The title: Line in a row.  When you have a line, 

that's a row isn't it? I am sure that a line indicates a row. I don't have to say

straight  line. A line is a line, and that's a row. March is a month for poetry,

isn't it?  Keep your shoes on. Get in the box. 

get ready for opening day.

When the pitcher pitches,

knock it into the stands.

and when you round the bases

be sure to tip your hat to the fans.

andy

 

Today I was taking a nap

when the phone rang,

"This is Andy from the shipping department..."

That's all I ever hear,

because there is a pause

and I hang up, every time.

He's been calling everyday for a month,

maybe longer, I lose track of time.

Maybe he's from the "fishing" department.

I've never asked him to repeat himself.

We've never really talked.

I just know when it's

the wrong time for a call

and I'm not expecting one,

the phone rings

and it's Andy.

Dentist, our special one

 Ok, slip-up. Goes around. 

Hold him so high yet still have fear.

There I said the word 

And how's your morning.?

Quiet, nothing... prepared.

Thought I finished with dentists,

Then a holiday  nut broke a crown.

MY crown. ... my golden crown.

Do I get a 21 gun salute for showing up?

Forget you.  Bail out  now or she'll

Drive you you know where.

Yes. I'm ready.

***

get tough.

later, Got through. 

One finite day -1

    

             a quarter into the year,

noting days, like dripping waters, pile on repeatedly. 

  our position labeled fine.   over my shoulder now,

 separating threads, flipping heads

also tails. 

while making bread ... who controls flipping?

 examine what is going on. avoiding  dread, enough said.

Position ourselves in hopes for the most, making toast ...

 turning out a good year ... our objective.

     we're underway ... put jelly on

a mention of jelly to make us all feel good,

                                               

      well beyond this year's starting line

our position is labeled fine. 

   over my shoulder now.

 separating beads, flipping heads

and tails, making bread,

who is controlling flipping?

 dodge  dread, what was said

positioning ourselves for the most, making toast ...

simply turning out a good year ... our objective.

no doubt we're underway ... with jelly on.

 jelly is mentioned to make you feel good

forty one

it's Fahrenheit degrees in the morning.

warmer than anything we've had for 

a while. not freezing is it. not a question. 

reminds me of country roads we've 

driven between here and Shelby 

where Ted and Ali's our old 

breakfast place is. for me it is 

sitting still and looking out the 

window that draws back the warm times. 

open again

the lockdown is done for

had enough for now

don't asume anything.

keep your distance.  mine too.

turned over

where dream world is i keep going.

to return quickly as 

dropping off to sleep.

no problem,  no waiting.

Without hesitating.  

line up now  

wake up

 now it's the month and the angle

when first thing each morning

brightly shining through the blinds

the sun decorates my wall with brilliant stripes.

it 's a bright display

gets my attention.

too bad the sun

doesn't make coffee.

lacking ticking

 

i can't hear it ticking.

upon trying i ascertain

it feels wound enough.

the porch is cold.

the clock is not keeping time in the traditional sense we think of ticking and moving clock parts. not running seems to sum the clock lack of movement. i last checked this morning. it must have been running. i remember no strain or alarm to get it going or worry bout the clock's condition. i surely didn't write a poem about it then.

clock tocking is now in absence.

also ticking is gone.

with this note quiet is registered.

presure in your tires

 one of the easiest things to do.

keep tires up...then one day wham.

 you've seen it happen when you don't expect it, you're suddenly

looking down on misery, not always yours thank god, everyone has a turn.

it happens all around...or used to, yes, misery.  they're making 

better tires than they used to. we used to look down and find a state of distress...

well, yeah.  remember patching tires. a while ago. this is miserable truth.

i am not kidding. on the good side when things are fine we can pull over on the road side 

chew a twig of grass, oh, and sit on a

 knoll, enjoy the view. your tire is okay,l

just relax...take it easy for a while. you're not in a hurry. it's a good sunshiney day.

a month keeper

 seems the weather and the date is where i can be.

the weather because i see it out the windows,

the date because we're doing a quick slip out of February.

i like the month because it's my birthday time.

i don't wait all year for it, but maybe i do.

it's a familiar marker, more than Christmas and other holidays.

and it's in my head because it is only special to me.

familiar, more than special. i know the month well;

cold, snow and my birthday.

crunching water waves

just a picture...in mind,

then it became me, on the sand

near the sea. one foot In

 feeling exquisitely warm water

 such a fine sunshine day.

 we welcome the exchange

standing by in the water. ready to walk

in a while.splash in up to our chin, go ahead fold over, then look around ... rolling

where we  are.  Like waves, we're rolling.

2.

remember a few days ago how the snow melted when winter collapsed,

seems the bottom dropped out of it.

the heavy winter cold had gone away.

it's not even April. not close.

the snow season was ripped out from under us.

No skiers. No complaints.

3.

look how shopping i found little discs of chocolate, on the top shelf.

write those candies down, will you? then scratch them off the list, go on.

lover make sure there is not a trace of those little buggers

bugers and buggers...two guh's i suppose.

candy anyway. 

now, zooming, should we wear our Sunday clothes?

warm feeling, i know. scarf on.

meanwhile, mechanical...

a scientific study to relieve the spot where literary pain...

let me phrase this, that, my hat...no cat

vines entwines, 

pile a stack...sticks, candle wicks

 my heart holds you back of mine, 

nick of time

sublime, so sublime.

change from the depth of winter

now look where we are.

different weather surrounds us,

not usual, it's warmer.

see out the window, the snow is melting there.

 

winter has collapsed, 

the bottom dropped out of it.

the heavy winter has been taken away.

carted off, ripped out from under us.

 i don't mind, although it seems  a portent of different  weather to come. 

                   ***

 

note here:i want a semicolon in this punctuation. i will have to wait to try again.

 a semicolon carries a certain flare.

read twice

 doesn't bother me to go back to read

a second time what i wrote. 

generally i always have to.

it's not easy to digest a poem the first crack.

is this good or normal? well, who is to worry?

i don't write them in one pass anyway.

Onward, ahead or so

 This is getting to first base with a poem.

to start i put nuts in a basket. Gathered are feelings and i called them nuts.

he reached into my mouth and unscrewed a post he put in to hold a crown.

i said that right. the post is loose, he(my friend the dentist)'s going to put in a larger post.

 (here my wife would say "he's not your friend, he's you dentist." and i'd say "he is too my friend.")

  now, on the next day.

I'm going back to (my friend) the dentist;

I'd rather avoid the thought, however, I respect the man. 

I'd look ahead happily If i had half a wit.

 i'm going to let him twist a larger screw into my jaw.

 

prediction spring

 yeah, i am melting snow

well, seeing it, not participating

it is too slow to watch snow melt.

i am warm inside looking out

take your time; you melt, i'll be here.

Rascals in line and around

there are a thousand people standing around and the new guy is asked:

"Are you here for your second shot, sir?"

new guy looked at the ceiling, thought before he said, "yes."

The guy who asked is in charge.

 he wore a dark blue shirt with a badge;

i remember him from the last time...the first time.

 He let's the line wait forever, that's who i remember and is dark blue whirt.

 

the next person in line, a woman, spoke out:

"are you going to let the line continue?"

these are not union volunteers. 

the man in charge looked, thought and paused,

 

then said, "Go. go. go."

i heard the man in charge ask: What color is your car?

in the majority there are only white cars, and grey.

"White".  I spun my head around for no reason, i just did.

 

"the man in charge turned to a girl and said, "when he 

comes back tell him he has  a white car".

the one telling and the one told are different ones.

so is the one he told.