i have an island

 

i have an island in my room

i keep it in my bed

it's there i sun and walk on sand

and swim inside my head

piano tuned

 said as if done.

the man's on the run

heading this way.

will see how it goes.

holy mackerel, don't need anything

but a pleasant time.

what i want, what i wish

row the boat.  catch a fish.

simplicity elasticity, musical notes in captivity

here this poem ends ... explicitly 

now tune the piano?

and the man quickly did.

when she asked me

 

when she asked me to turn

off the sprinklers in twenty minutes

i nodded and  noticed the kitchen clock

and then the one in the living room.

they were ten minutes apart.

i began to tell her and she said

“Oh, jack” in that tone, you know which one.

“This is not science.”

“go make a clock then” is what i thought

but didn’t say,

then forgot where i was going with this

so i returned to the spot where i thought it

ever do that?

it usually works  -  to capture forgotten thoughts

return to the spot where you thought it.

this time it didn’t work.

looking out the kitchen window

there on the back of a chair

a squirrel sat intensely

looking in at me.

i had a plan where i was going with this

but  now, before i forget again,

i'd better go out

and turn off the sprinklers.

The long shot of the morning sun

 i remember the long shot of the morning sun, first thing, at the crack of dawn.

 how it hit the kitchen wall.

that's  how i learned where east was

 and that the sun moved a little every day cause i made a small mark on the wall with a pencil where the sun first hit.

and the weeks became seasons and changed where i marked on the wall. 

Oh, the color of the sun and the wall. 

i'd mark small so my mother wouldn't see it.

F in space

woke with a tone in my head,
checked on the piano, it was an F.

later in the day i remembered the F.
next day, again i duplicated the F.

then a train went by:
what do you know, the mournful tone was? an F.

now i am waiting another F'n train.

Let's retire the bucket list

like large stars people mounted on their houses,

 because it was the rage a few years ago.

thank goodness it is out of fashion now.

Dump 'em.

i say that so a few more people will

take down the ridiculous stars.

while we're at it: retire the bucket list.

we don't need a list of special things we 

must do in our lifetime.

Survive and return

 didn't expect to look out this evening

to see frolicking two full grown bunnies.

for ten or fifteen minutes they did

typical rabbit play: hopping, running, staying close.

turning the corner on summer

change comes whether you think of it or not.

are you talking to me?

keep your eye on the ball. 

that's common sense.

 

don't know why i repeat the rules

eventhough the rules keep changing.

all seems so simple when you see the field.

stay within the lines.  that's what they're for.

 

plenty hot and humid out.

though we've signs that another season will soon appear

line up, wash well, dry, stay clean, my dear.

and be ready for what change comes next.

Zucchini bread

 no yogurt with dry cereal this morning.

 sure they exist, but forget about it.

today it's zucchini bread and butter

so moist and light

it tastes like cake - the bread does.

not a tough meal to take.

call it a tasty breakfast.

but don't talk with your mouth full.

Renewal

Old school mates, from 61 years ago.

That says it. That, and: my goodness.

Imagine seeing someone you once knew that you haven't seen for a lifetime. 

A wonderful event. 

A tremendous wow to all, even persons reading this. You get the idea. It doesn't often happen.

Of course It warms the heart.

rolling

stand back, make room.

no obstruction, time is moving.

 open road free wheeling,

fine weather hauling.

hills won't matter.

free spirits chatter.

songs are calling.

we're heading home. we're heading home.

one about

there's one reported this a.m.

a solo rabbit at first light; out scouting.

all the great night storms predicted 

resulted in a sprinkle.

so night ran quietly on hardly a breeze.

74 degrees This mornin', warm as you please. 85 this a.m.

looking at cloud thickness all day. 

and hey, now i can hear it raining. 

 300 species of hummingbirds in the world.

17 species in the u.s.

with these words

to you i send a warm hello

and advice to keep a lookout for what's ahead.

how prepared can you be?

please, be as best as you are able.

worn out

 after a night out staying fully alert.

morning wakes in silence, no one hurt.

energized and tired, all in one.

time to to sleep, no need to run.

this is home land. safe for all.

good dreams, my friends. wall to wall.

 sun sets

some do

flush red

others

rush out

grey

Been a while

not since april

has another month begun with A.

put a note up with a staple.

into this tree, mark it maple.

Books

 around on tables.

here they are. seems many.

just reading one at a time; or two.

i tell you reading keeps me company.

books tell a story.

Evelyn 13

 the town we came to last

October with Catherine my daughter.

the town is Wooster,

an  R instead of W and you'd have Rooster.

 an hour away when you figure.

good weather, good country drive. 

ordered the Evelyn 13 again.

leftovers were boxed and became supper.

john walker

 John walker caught me, turned came back

we talked the morning with interest covering his current book and frogs.

i explained how the principal takes a position.

he will look now to see who is boss .

i have to speak up for him to hear.

John lives in his world as i harbor mine.

we are comfortable talking.

i made a four line poem as an example.

that's how comfortable the space john gives me.

always i'll speak louder, more clearly.

he walks miles each day.

i call him john walker.

a good soul.

not raining

 skip the prediction.

sure we have the complete thick

cloudiness masking completely the entire sky

all the way up and across, from one

side to the other plus up and down,

 it's totally gray with no darkness

anywhere.

so it doesn't seem like rain will fall.

not immediately.

maybe after a while.

three minutes after i finished writing this

i turned my back and

it began to rain ... hard.

Asphalt day

 with expectations that never again 

to wake thinking, worrying

about the great black work being

done on our driveway ... good luck.

today they pour, roll and spread smooth.

will it smell?

and the rabbits keep away?

and, yes, we've good weather;

there is no rain.

rabbit trio

quietly near summer sunset

in the back yard three rabbits appear.

they don't walk or run out. 

quietly they appear at once.

our little one is surrounded, 

and may be the attraction.

ten minutes later they disappear. 

Pebbles be gone

 The workers are going at the drive.

Monday will see them put down asphalt.

That will be the end of it for them.

For us it starts our hundted foot stretch

of driveway. Clean, smoothed. 

Easier to walk on for me.

A sight prettier than gravel.

We'll see how it affects the rabbits.

They are our interest now, until the day they disappear for the winter. 

A lot of trees, an acre of land and tabbits.

Of this we care.

Dreamed some

 and i remember at the end i told my friend Joe i'd have to move back to California again. during the dream i know the weather was fine.

if i was down by the boats i'd really like that. i guess my friends and the boats i knew are all gone. Even Mike at the shipyard is probably retired by now.

it's better to just dream some and feel good about the marina in Sausalito, California. i have warm feelings when i think about it.

Fighting rain

 all eyes to the sky.

the hard way of prediction. 

we know rain is surrounding us,

on tbe way to wash us down.

radar doesn't  lie.

the soil is sticky enough right now.

thank goodness the Mennonites are an able crew, and yet there's only one of him.

hats off.  attention.

we made it, this shed's in.

darkness

starting easy on the light side.

its a grey day, no doubt.

an atmosphere dull, not sharp.

what this weather's about.

 

reposted

Saturday, 10-28-2017

October skies

take some steel and winds
not great, but easy.
color them rolling,
skies alive. 

 

zero day

no plans are set.

consider this open time.

wall to wall.

free with no appointments, 

that's how to awaken.

gives me space to create. 

fill the day with what is best.

i should make a list.

broke down and back together

 had a circle of dream,

 light as a feather. 

in the back of my mind i'm keeping an eye out for what's next.

Angela Merkel spoke. a pleasure to see dignified composure and competence..

                      

                                 ***

took the car in; then after the oil change

paid 500 dollars more for new break pads.

plus another hour and a half waiting

for them to do the job. 

i think one guy did the work.

they had coffee and no donuts.

you go to an auto dealer and that's what you get. 

it is good i report, so you remember.