The Gardener
Santa Clara, CA 95051
theroot_
THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANCE©
LATE SUMMER ADIEU
as the egg spins
whirl derbies! vanquish meadows!
show evolution!
diaphanous moment
poppies and frogs and Senators and gems
make a telegraphic pause
curlicues of traditional applause
forget-me-nots in blue eyes blinking
emerald butterflies
none can voice the demographic trance
of sky hawk wings
trailing cirrus twinges
lines at the DMV for testing vision
city workers clearing storm drains
apprentice computers clotting cottage cheese
fortified with vitamin D
squamous abnormalities
squashed dictators
medical marijuana scattered over dysfunctional BART escalators
attendants arguing safety versus
salted peanuts
who gets stoned behind closed doors
at strike negotiations
have we forgotten concerts in the park
the Japanese tea house
or do we believe arboretum giant ferns
the Grateful Dead
Brubeck, Bach and Company
Dynamite Society
Zen Centers everywhere
everything is the center of
the new bay bridge
the bay window closes
fading junipers bow to lilacs
to Venice with singing oarsmen
Stradivarius skies
Monet's redoubt
a houseboat with yellow flags
shimmering ripples
Mississippi gamblers in a barber shop quartet
crack that buggy whip!
load that barge
oil's a comin'!
green felt flags and scarabs
metallic
shimmering crocodiles
FLICKERS
I am a gnarly root
a galaxy
or flatulence or a fuchsia
clouds pass over my grave
green monkeys howling
and the rusting ruins of a city
Mayan temples hidden there
are receiving signals from Cassini
for a blood sacrifice
clouds passing calmly
silent, whispering
birds
insects
libraries in rubble
the wind
I am wind
MAGIC TIME
while claiming a heritage
these fingers
find their reach within this mind
where there is a time for them to release their grip
none of this is a possession
waves crash upon a jagged shore
clam shells hold fast shut until their opening
dawn dawns
cats yawn
crows flap in great abundance
and a small white moth flittering
radio telescopes are primitive
time is an illusion
a holiday with processions
and greeting cards are sent
to cement them
this is safely ignored nonsense
though plainly spoken
on a plain that rambles
visualize a red wheel barrow on pristine snow:
how would it be sitting there
unburied?
here in the bay area
once the greatest estuary in the world
why have politicians on skate boards landed in landfills
to be buried in earthquakes
death is magic
our gold rush had not much to do with cocaine
until it flooded Stanford
and spawned Professorville
Stanford Shopping Center
lectures on Zen Buddhism
stately processions with tassels and robes
people trying to think like kings and queens
in droves at West Gate Mall
tarantulas in their droves from the east foothills
squashed on asphalt roads
birds are smarter than humans
migrating ahead of climate change
wild pigs forage down into suburbia
bees are diseased
but this isn't really happening
is it?
a snap of the fingers will make it go away
won't it?
KUKU
parking lot
car starts up
vroom!
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The Gardener
Santa Clara, CA 95051
theroot_