The Gardener
Santa Clara, CA 95051
theroot_
GALLOPING©
SOTTO VOCE
today's gas prices are shameful
water and a squeegee for the windshield
considering our lack of representation at central banks
there should be outrage but at the pump
it is satisfactory if there is free air for the tires
BP disaster in the gulf
midwest floods, California in drought, eastern heat wave
the obesity epidemic as millions go hungry
will Mother Nature beat the powers that be to the punch?
or will the bay bridge actually open on Labor Day?
war in Egypt, missiles in North Korea
the Brotherhood facing off with
Big Brother
bankers order austerity for Grecian citizens
who never voted for their sinful debt
oh my, let us not exaggerate, if that were possible
but rather change the channel
forgive and forget
especially the latter
but how about the floods, heat waves, hurricanes?
will there be amnesty?
citizens of the wealthiest nation on earth
until the mortgage meltdown
backed by the most destructive military force ever assembled
nuclear weapons hotter than the sun
will tanks stop the calving icebergs?
solar storms threaten power grids
and thus the internet
Patriotically monitored by the guardians of money
truth?
a luxury defined by Brothers of the Knighthood
secluded from hoi polloi
armored limousines in muted heraldry
and so, of course, who thinks of this while pumping gas
for a cash discount?
technocrats who have children to get to soccer
maybe a hot dog on that day off in the park?
the park?
an atavism not quite forgotten
perhaps ancient history for high rise dwellers
turf for gangs in the projects
or underwater right now in Alabama
how nice it would be to be nice
tune in to the Ministry of Patriotism
pledge allegiance to the drones of democracy
let the Brothers shake hands and come out singing
kumbayah we will all get along
have we learned
or will history repeat itself
with increasing shock and awe?
all this while washing a windshield at the gas pump?
yeah
and how about you?
or maybe we all go down saying, well . .
there was this fly speck
wouldn't come off . . .
DUST DEVIL
do you have a Ph.D. in existence?
yes?
waking up is not a big deal
happens every morning
birds sing, bombs fall, the sun rises
I am lucky
every morning, but consider . . .
sunrise is relative to one's position on the planet
morning prayer for Muslims is not the same
as that for Christians
Christians accept Buddhists
who are nonetheless in error
but the sun's rays are accepted by everyone
everyone is right but no one agrees
it is a mish mash
history is the record of baby steps
learn or fall again
don't spill the milk
outside the crib is a blue skiff
bobbing gently
how did it get there?
it was docked at the Eiffel Tower
Stephane Grappelli was playing on the deck
and there was a longshoreman's strike going on
those people knew Martin Luther King
before the great crowds moved on
to Woodstock
so I water my African violet
recalling morning glory seeds
Heavenly Blue
for those in the know
making violet look tame
actually, I don't have an African violet
not enough light in here
and how can I water a memory that's gone?
so here we are, on our hay ride
or haywire
rolling along
merrily, merrily
life is but a scam
space is vacuous
but hear it echo through the galaxy
I am the poltergeist in the kitchen
the solipsist of academia
unholy am I
watch the fingers
carrots are particularly dangerous
I am a scorpion with upraised tail
my day begins like many another
sunrise
a stick of incense
just sitting
bombs fall
the day passes
birds sing
PURRFECT
the pen takes me in hand
molecules of inexpensive ink spin eons in their dimensions
history rewrites itself
certainties go to welcome graves
thus proving themselves
Tabitha has snuggled into her place
her purr, and she pushes this hand
does she know?
this morning Susan clipped her paws
does she remember?
monsoons in Mississippi
molecules and hailstones beyond computation
ivied walls and Chelsea bridge
a Cracker Jack atomic ring
fire opal
my Ouija pen sketches wonders
Tabitha snuggles closer
one ear crumped beneath the clipboard
yes, she does remember
this moment without end
GROWTH
the communications revolution
ideas and beliefs released, floating free
pillars of tradition are visited with a family of birds
nesting on a city ledge
whose daily activities are videoed to millions
waters of climate change ask no permission
flowing through natural channels and streets
rescue boats are not examined
thunder clouds darken expectations
actual truth supplants speculation
beliefs are the first causalities
but ideas survive a torrent that sweeps past cameras
a brief glimpse is opportune
free from publishers
gate keepers of profit swamped with politicians of greed
raging waters
float dandelion seeds
TAIL WIND
copper tubes at the perimeter
ceremonies of deliverance
therapies, Tiny Tim
the whole collection
will be announced through water pipes in the wall
while being watered automatically tomorrow
sun rising inexorably
a personal history that can be ignored
copper tubes?
ceremonies?
Tiny Tim in his pot bellied desperation, maybe
no one knew him
or the lead pipes at our rented mansion in Atherton
gold gilt ceiling above communal dinners
special pleading for the masses
integrated circuits
compost
and don't even think of the commute
access to schools and shopping
soccer practice
maybe an engineered suburb just like the one
your mother thinks she remembers
kids walking, playing with neighborhood kids
but what if you're a homosexual?
you can adopt them
or if you're infertile?
you can rent sperm
or if you're a Mexican immigrant and can't afford that?
a tenured academic who just wants to discuss it all
without worrying about political correctness
weren't there, after all, the classics
undying?
perhaps the common ground has been destroyed by fracking
Shakespeare Twittered off stage
remember birds?
the smell of sawdust after rain?
garbage cans in the alley outside?
whales rotting on the beach?
clams and oysters on the half shell, so delicious
it has been said, in the same breath with limburger cheese
definitely, it is all insubordinate
all this stuff
why mention it?
my neighbor has a motorcycle
well, that's not very Sierra Club
but he is forgiven
because of a mandala he never saw
a temporary fiction
our cats never saw it
maybe a few in our commune thought they did
and so what?
the suspected watermelon on our front porch turns out to be
a cantaloupe
now there's a fact
I support it, or at least the porch rail does
will it fall?
will it be a disaster?
or will we eat it?
Emerson, Plato, Heidegger, Stalin
where are you when we need you?
maybe not
Great Books of the Western World
what do you say
to Bob Dylan?
so there it goes
flip it off
leaders
pretenders to the cause
defenders of the dream
well . . .
was it a structure or
maybe your house, neighborhood, kids
homosexual dog, apartment walls
clitoral hopes
are we on the same page
or flip it?
did you live in Haiti?
Egypt?
Chicago, New York, anywhere off this planet
not engaged in a crisis no politician will ever contain
deaf, blind, already dead?
look up / / /
worship the god, guru, drug or yacht of your choice
and so what's the soup of the day?
shark fins?
beliefs?
copper tubes?
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The Gardener
Santa Clara, CA 95051
theroot_