MIDDLE EARTH©

CYCLES

the water wheel comes to rest

through its spokes come blinding flashes

sun gleaming over silicon towers

free energy day after day

falls on solar panels

but the wheel does not move

a city's worth of water

to produce photovoltaic chips

has not rained down

a final scum of algae, bright green

no more parties

red wine as precious as blood

California's gold sits useless in a vault

there is an earthquake

the waterwheel is no more

stars shine through

as before

DESERT WHARF

someone had put a dust pan in my hand

saying: here

get busy

what?

dust devils?

oh, all the stupidities

just get busy

something of a landscape painting

or a bank statement that sticks in the craw

as the house lights dim

elephants stomping over wooden floors

so I decide to fix the flat tire first

no cell phone call

but just in the middle, as the last nut snugs

suddenly the horizon changes to redwood trees

then birds falling from naked limbs

it would have been all right

in times past

when the mail box sprouted less junk mail

and there were fewer cars

salute the Amish horse and buggy

but now all the power lines are underground

to cure ugliness, scrape out more right of way

provide protection against terrorists

we are told

but any well fed person can see the ruse

it's for shark protection, now that we learn

they detect small electric charges

and chomp internet cables while questing for underwater prey

junk mail is more certain than this

at least advertisements are clearly dishonest

in that they ignore costs external

on the pretext

that stomach ulcers are immune to electrotherapy

so that youthful forest paradise

was lost in a moment in time

without tie downs on the dock

anyone can swim like this

VINDICATION

a woven basket

floating by ancient design

writhing with iPhones talking to each other

“Turn off your beeper!”

there's one in every crowd

a sudden hush

when the human approaches

humming an almost inaudible tune

bull rushes nod in agreement

as the ancestors arrive

after so many methane years

finally the restoration, the return

of that original moment before iPhones

reminiscent, humanly speaking, of cold mornings

“We feel dis-empowered by this anthropomorphic trope!”

but repetition, like gold leaf decoration

is the mother of disenchantment

and the upstarts are softly tapped

gently, a feather on each keypad

let the gold leaf settle where it may

it might be said

it has been said:

such a squander is unvirtuous

so the bull rushes rest their case

a court of public opinion is convened

in a space granted by Bank of America

bathed in light filtered through cathedral windows

where the Pope and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve

exchange private (non interest bearing) notes

the human approaches a teller's window:

“Your Honor, the iPhones have reached a verdict.”

“We find the prosecution guilty of mail fraud.”

the ancient basket floats on down stream

empty

a subtle chattering is heard

HERE'S HOW

necessarily a raisin will have to do

the closet shelf has been shot through

one imagines holes in the wall

unplanned small windows

but whatever it was left everything intact

nothing changed except

a certain X-Ray vision

and fading laughter

slipping out through hypothetical holes

through which ordinary events are clearly visible

an early morning power failure snuffs the street lamp

after years of getting used to it

how can one complain about a missing complaint?

or about all that stuff up on the shelf

which won't go anywhere

but who cares because

perhaps it was a gamma ray, gamma-vision indeed

or a failed explanation

and obviously pure logic will not redeem the situation

such considerations are toe ticklers

ants around the feet that will only bite

if the queen is disturbed

“Off with her head!” yells the Red Queen

and there we have something to hold onto

something most people know

but how?

well, just review the impossibility of tweeting a dream

a matter of bandwidth and protocol

with direct communication an easy work around

not that this will win many converts

which brings back the raisin

might as well

not that it's an explanation