NO PRICE©

NO PRICE

a subtle breeze brings peace

to feet simmered in summer's heat

as though no wars were happening

a small electric fan

fueled by renewable arguments

is karma

a wonderment

accountable to no reasonable explanation

Tabitha at the foot of the bed

amidst random noises

her ears not moving

there are no prayer wheels here

yea

though we ride the San Andreas fault

and my staff

a pole lopper for trimming trees

is no comfort

our institutions bundle tendencies

organized in madness like redwood burls

to be sawn in slabs that resurrect

forgotten wonder

but still

the little fan that could

does

our huge air conditioner

the ocean

might override the fan

if the jet stream drops

and war keeps its market overseas

it seems a cruel interlude

incalculable and priceless

this breeze at my feet

CAMOUFLAGE

usually unfazable

Paul Deanno cracks incredulous

“Rain in August!”

a flash of truth

from behind moats and ramparts

admits he hasn't seen it all

while those who aren't on fire, flooded, hail stoned

yet

celebrate the sales

of what's left

life the way we thought it was?

what was is striking back

an accumulation of pin ball machines

and balls fall where anything can happen

who is responsible for the automatic flippers?

the land rush made rail roads king

their owners richer

history is camouflage

but weather is what it is

our goldfish tank opposite the pantry door

where I remove my boots

is in a great commotion

flipping splashing and flopping

who says fish are dumb

they know I will feed them

snapping up food

I'm reminded of august senators

MILKY WAY

fireflies are stars of a different order

inhabitants of many mansions

with screen doors and traveling sprinklers

peacocks strutting under palm trees

rabbits down worm holes

and eggs that refuse to sit upon walls

freeways in their sport of drastic murals

do not hear rabbits running

a sound relatively unrecordable

but earth skin feels them

and fire flashing metallic wings

pulsing

figments of their kin

the conflagration passes

semaphoric shouts

notes dying at sunset

ocean roar, spray, oysters

infinite in their passing

where seagulls

drop white splotches

on milky cliff side echoes

disappearing

SELF CREATION

these bird droppings are the only remains

of a flight out of nowhere

to shuffle the day's deck like a magician

and come up with a web of meanings so unparticular

as to defy precise analysis

the spiral slide at Wendy's for kids

might be apposite

or rain drops over the south bay in August

there is no time like the present

and that

is magic

ROOTS

could a stubbed toe improve civilization?

toes are definite

more or less

the foundations of civilized life

pending arguments about quantum reality ---

with the ill fated certainty of fools

defenders and anarchists speak passionately

yet monuments erected at world fairs

and idols representing invisible gods

have no more meaning than the roar of the ocean

on the other foot, though

a stubbed toe

goes a long way

towards clearing up confusion