Ol' Factory
Maybe it's true
for lack of dust
that after all those years as the gardener
or depending on humidity, a lazy breeze
a bit of doing nothing
the disappearance of time
a forgotten sense of smell, that gentle delight
~ whiff of compost with hints of barn, manure
jasmine blooms relaxing on the front porch
reborn nose introducing a new generation
valedictory, unfamiliar
reports from the backyard are loaded onto the
word train
packet switched through servers that blink
thoughts bigger than a cranium
though
cannot be caged
moving faster than the speed of light
arriving in fits and starts
what comes back surprises
what I asked for
indeed, there is no comparison
scents somehow foreign yet familiar stir memories
I didn't know I had
how is it?
that without effort an adventure to elsewhere
takes place right here, as though meeting an old
friend
and the usual birds sing their songs, robin's tweet
recalling trees of San Bruno
it's a magic show with rabbits and ribbons
trailing disremembered lives
who am I to complain
if thoughts are creatures without cages
what to ask for?
who wouldn't ask for peace at last?
for the world, just look around
they're not hard to find . . .
not what I wanted
waiting . . .
do a little jig, earlier this year
the cherry blossoms came out a week early
due to the heat
time is collapsing, it's
a beguiling afternoon
with sleepy pen syndrome
nothing that would dismay, the world
will solve its problems
or not
suspended animation
I think if possible I would sketch an ancient texture
a line of stones
with lichens to mark time
which has disappeared again
but that doesn't matter, does it?
I have forgotten how to make apple pie
I wished
if everyone felt like this, it would make
such a difference
we could trade thermogeddon
for a breath of fresh air
an hour before sundown, right on cue
they all arrive
doves to the feeder
finches to the fence, and baby squirrel on the cable
wire
dancing like The Great Wallendas, no balance pole
yesterday it was suspended animation
nothing to dismay today
the National Weather Service says:
Dangerous Heat Wave
Desert Southwest and Southern California
Heat Advisory Increasing
across Los Angeles and San Diego
right here in this backyard
89 degrees
I fill up the bird bath
and robin, as undismayed as ever
comes for a glorious shower of liquid jewels
that I, playing poet, make into a rainbow
baby squirrel is swaying the cable wire
a miracle again
