RADAR EARS©

NO SHOW

SO THE DVR WENT KAPUT

taking the TV down with it

curse or blessing, depending

it might be a buzzing fly

a cultural gem on Public TV

during the pledge drives

when I feel empathy with cattle

can almost taste the dust

so it's back to the clipboard

my writing desk

convenient for cat editors

easily distracted by bits of cheese

life is simple

just find the way to cheese

but not quite so easy

especially for cats

unlike rats, they're not good at finding new ways

even the king of beasts

even us

we all tend to get stuck

the old ways worked before

which has got what to do with a kaput DVR?

(patience now)

well, it used to work –

for getting stale cheese

Oh no, please don't start on that Wasteland stuff!

but this is no pejorative parrot –

something to be said for

 THE HELLWITH CHEESE

rat trap lure the stuff of mazes

overturn the board and say oops!

walk through walls that aren't really there

amaze yourself

imagine an ad for private dreams

scan through it without a DVR

dreams, cheese, bah humbug

a night out, beyond city walls

away from city lights

beyond schemes

settles into that quiet beyond dreams

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

AND SO JUST WANDERING DOWN THE ROAD

when it merges into a stray vision

borrowed from somewhere beyond a reverie

no bones about it

the real thing

displacing reality

so called

a vision that defies eyes

does not roll dice

makes me want to whistle while I walk

more depth than a butterfly

just kicking rocks

a BART train across the bay kicking back

with its own whistle

a biblical scholar discovered it while eating a pizza

a zen student while sitting on the throne

it's everywhere

kids laugh

and then become silent

almost saints

but we know better

my sister paints a flight of crows

black wings flap at sunset

my synthesizer sighs

the guy at our Post Office sells commemorative stamps

does he eat pizza for lunch?

I learned how to drive nails in spite of my thumbs

to which I belatedly apologize

there is no end where there is no beginning

even though pens run out of ink

neighbors still wash cars

which eventually will run out of gas

the new year begins where it left off

everyone mark your calendars

EDITORIAL

soft voices extol salvation

strident ones promote freedom

I prefer a cricket

let the wind blow where it list

soon it will change

actually I prefer none of the above

grand pronouncements

shifting sand

raking leaves is better

or playing unwritten music

in the evening

when all the media have been tucked in

pronouncements fade to silence

a reality that includes jokester words

blazing trails through the OED

is a weight of centuries

cornucopia of colors, odoriferous itches permeating that

which is taken for thought

when thought

actually

precedes all of this

else wise leaves

which don't really need to be raked

except for centuries

would be – well

let sleeping leaves lie . . .

it certainly is OK to do though

for some reason

which seems to have stumbled off the edge of the world

grand plumes of reason

flash god's eyes on this bird of paradise display

unbelievable, come to think of it

preceding

all of that . . .

right here in the silence

how can it be

that just being is enough

let silence reign