GOING DOWN THE TRAIL©
REMEMBERANCE
by imperceptible shifts in the solid crust of history
a refined sensibility brings forth dragonflies
harbingers of a gamma burst to undefine everything
and the few words here inscribed will be vaporized
it is so comforting
what! shaw . . .
take that away
comforting?
but there is no getting around it
dragonflies are really here
still
and they are so ancient
ancestors of our irrigation canals
pyramids of our rational proof that what is
cannot be what is not
the rays will overwhelm Kepler's Books in Menlo Park
nexus of printability, profitability and humanity
that will overwhelm T-mobile, AT&T, and the presidency
I cheer
good greed, green copper oxide, and the armor of industrial captains
transmogrified
transported in rapture to the other side
capitol domes that shine
in Liberty's sky
it is near
city subway cell phones will not operate
normal minds bent on an Easter Egg hunt
validated at Seven Eleven
and yet another dollar gambled on salvation
is sucked into the black hole
DARK BRILLIANCE
here in the cooling embers
even terrorists acknowledge Shiva
destroyer of worlds
galaxies, black holes, a universe
of vortex rule
temple spires and sky rise needles
rise in dimness
perhaps a smog check will do
a letter of indulgence
though flowers bloom
effulgence in a howling of wolves
fugitives from the outer darkness of reasoning
where the crucible is not discerned
some with crutches, some with crowns
originally
in bacterial colonies
bank tellers, researchers in Alaska, welfare fathers
who have all paid their dues
plug virtual money into internet slot machines
to calculate possible returns for States lacking taxation
it seems dark
here in the brightness of city lights
though toes are unintentional homage
that the night sky few people see
is blinded in night's ending
HEARTH:
heaven and earth
given a pry bar long enough
and a place to stand ___
move the earth
bah, humbug!
granted definitions, logic is irrefutable
except when navigating reality
requiring
the square root of negative one
kingpin
of the Queen of sciences
allowing for her wily ways
instruments of expression
words
conspire to entrap me
"you are defined by your relations with others"
said my boss
trying to corral hippie behavior
but I danced away:
what about my undefined self?
logic!
it's good for stop lights, legal disputes, justifications
sometimes for making bridges and bombs
professors and philosophers pay homage
definitions are sport
in this life I have played
a chess toy, a computer, a flaming debate
turning points appear on their own
brooking no argument
offering no explanation
nothing to refute
there is no triumph
but trembling
as when lightning strikes
Tabitha purrs and sits on my clipboard
kneads
sort of like a pry bar
doesn't know her claws hurt
SERENGETI VEGETABLES
I awoke to a need for maintenance
specifically, the carrot bridge over the Platt river
a note left on the porch of waking life, that place
of work and traffic
of bartering pigs for cell phones
brewing coffee for greetings, foreclosures
and sewerage treatment plants
a small note, like the glance of a passing girl
who knows full well
the realm of dreams, warnings, impossible plans
kingdom of unimaginable colors
high definition puzzles
swept under the mat upon leaving
our fenceless pasture
where heres and theres are laughable
gargoyles, governments, gardeners
[bleep, bleep, bleep! the author as surprised as any]
and the lady next door
and all
have to walk very carefully
over the carrot bridge
AFTER BURNER
dharma wheel
watch the embers fly
meteorites
hailstones bouncing
the door bell rings
a free Watch Tower pamphlet
Sunday morning shattered
sandal wood burning
fuchsia in bloom
a humming bird
and Rosie barely twitches her tail
the great dharma wheel
is unmoved
WINDFALL
deep currents pass beneath the ocean surface
causing disappearances, migrations, sea walls
currents of thought are submarines
passing right through libraries without a bleep
silent missiles that ignore walls
a manta ray snuffles ruins of the Titanic
dodges Atlantis
skirts the Bermuda Triangle
then a rogue wave
on a raft with one mast and a tattered flag
NOAH in bright red letters over a scattering of stars
horizons glower
crows gather for a meeting of the clan
then suddenly the silence
a great calm over fields and city streets
voices in the wind:
we are one!
NO HARBOR
in the middle of an ocean, how to begin
how to know the end if there is no beginning
foot ball, base ball, eight ball
no matter who wins
the lawns and courtyards of universities
exist beforehand
wind in the trees, butterflies
floods, tornadoes, lightning of climate change
all exist and have their stories
on a stage that is disappearing
even the wood chip path at Full Circle Farm
with its magic sometime Shakespearian end
vanishing
Festival flags bravely snapping to an unseasonable wind
wheelbarrows of volunteers accompany The Bard
nothing lost, nothing gained
just vacant
all that was still is, see the artichokes
the play goes on
bubble gum wrappers in the parking lot
plenipotentiary ambassadors in a battlement of civic disputes
street sweepers
all
in a confidence of place
chew in vain
NO RECKONING
in that six inch narrow strip of earth by our porch
a nanotube of boundless plains
something is growing, tendrils and yellow blooms
without permission!
a tenderness of feeling, perhaps trying to be a zucchini
which will reward toleration with a stir fry
do zucchinis scream?
do they dream?
does the prospect raise a shudder?
quickly quelled
they are meant to serve, without spirit, and be served
for dinner
raindrops patter from a humid sky
putting the lie
to a forecast of mostly cloudy
grateful eyes to the new borne air
brush your teeth children
your college debt needs a chance to survive
that narrow strip of growing tendrils that creep on solid ground
perhaps hoping for a sprinkler system
come rain or come drought
you have been prepared for a day that will not arrive
the cycle has necessary endings, beginnings, repetitions
and warnings from the magnificent ones
that repetition happens
a narrow alleyway that leads only to its end
when without warning a new day begins
consultants, advisors dragging grain sacks and sandbags
say the flood will begin
yes, sometime soon
store water in bottles, a can of beans
move up 2,300 feet or more
but do not trust in us
to save your bacon
so delicious
how wonderful it is
tourists in San Francisco at the quake of '06
Chinese immigrants with papers
and paper lanterns
and Tong wars
and stir fry zucchini
smell the sesame oil
culinary history is the ticket
the history of lawns is water
and a wavering tendril looking for something
how wonderful it is
zucchini decodes the future
so do not ask what you can do
but rather what you are
pepper spray and batons notwithstanding
find the day of your understanding
and do not tarry beneath rain dripping eves
fresh air is worth the trip
fresh water priceless
and yes trees
deserve respect
brush your teeth
don't expect salvation
which you will find on your own, necessarily
because of who you are
the world is waiting
