Fast Day 363 May 31 2014 Heaviness

 http://www.bodhitreemonasteryofart.com/the-flow-of-heaviness



Heaviness

When did my body become hotel furniture?
luggage, baggage, backpacks slightly mildewed?
My life is my neighbor's futon,
uncertain washed,
scrofulous of lint,
balustrades ungainly, heavy, hippo legs.

The air tastes like a cardboard menu from Baja Fresh,
combining spice and chilies with cellulose.
Sun round as gramma's ottoman,
old cockaigne quilts
with preposterous scenes:
calico cats and polyester dogs pant!


--

Fast Day 362 May 24 2014 Economy Of Nuptials

Economy Of Nuptials

"We are to be re-branded..., " they said, faces shining.
"... although Sheila will keep her fam'ly name,
and I may hyphenate... "

This is how our son, John, informed us of marriage
upcoming, and they showed us the logo
designed for wedding rings.

Bespoke intertwine of vines and doves,
sun blossoms forged in gold,
the only gold,
the only bow to tradition,
the only touch of the past
from these Magi who refuse to
dismount their camels,
and leave their gifts
hidden,
scattered,
unopened;
no need for gifts...

They did not register on-line, for there is a need,
for seed and venture capital,
this now their IPO...

entrepreneurs of a child, whose name was chosen
by putting her in the middle
of woven geometry,

parents at opposite ends... the family name
to be that of the parent to whom
that baby chose to crawl...

"Carpet kabbala!" I contemned upon hearing it;
"Shhh," she said, finger to my lips,
"Be not so bearish!"


--
notes

The baby was placed in the middle of an oriental carpet, and the name became that of the parent to which the baby crawled.

Fast Day 361 May 17 2014 Winds

Tassels

Winds

Love is jasmine upon the wind,
lemon on the wind,
rosemary, orange-blossom;
love is sandalwood,
musky is the breeze.

Hunger is garlic on the wind,
lemon-grass breathe;
barbeque satiety;
hunger evanesce
into sweet clover.

Sleep is morphine pepper pollen,
blown on the wind
in the spring, in summer;
sleep is peppercorns,
and the film noir.

Religion is Queen's Anne's Lace,
breathing through the spaces:
white and indigo tzittzit;
religion is hyacinth
and the pheasant's eye!

Politics is tornado street,
tempestuous;
the eye of hurricane,
sleet of ignorance;
hooded aconite.

All these perfumes anoint the wind,
wind four-cornered;
the same everywhere and place,
yet so different!
We are all Wind Riders!

--

notes

tzittzit   =  the tasseled edge of the Jewish prayer shawl.

Fast Day 368 July 5 2014 Михаил кочевник (Michael the Nomad)

 

Михаил кочевник
Michael the Nomad

when did you get home?
and did the ocean roar?

did you see your pals again
at the Georgian shore?

did you look into a store,
did you hold your child high?

and why was he a kid again,
and why was I a sigh?

do you trek a thousand miles?
and when did you get home?

is there a feast to welcome you?
and presents, sweets, a poem?

i have already been there...
i shall not go again.
go and find your future
and sometimes i will send

an email of christmas time,
easter email too,
picnics, woods, and running twain
for life will ne'er run true...


--

birthday poem
reworked from an earlier form.

"Georgian shore" -  Georgia in the Caucasus, not the US State of Georgia

Fast Day 360 May 10 2014 Jobby Nooner

Jobby Nooner

Young girls fill the trees,
climbing and sensuous kites,
forgetting their mothers for a while;
and foreplay falls down
like willow trees that seek
the slap of water.

Young boys' sea-weed hair,
tosses in the rhythmic deep,
sleeping like fathers for a while;
and excitement looms
like heavy flotsam driftwood
cruising on water.

Wake in the present!
Boys and girls together strand
themselves upon the time sands of today;
jetsam from delight,
beer bottles and broken glass:
watch where you step!

--

Jobby Nooner has to be Googled. It takes place where my family used to go swimming every weekend. That was many years before the Girls Gone Wild times.

Fast Day 359 May 3 2014 Island Morning

Island Morning

I sit alone in sobriety.
Today fills my coffee cup
to the brim and overflowing;
Leaves on the river
flow like boats to foreign lands,
and cottonwood seeds
fill the window screens,
brighter looms of my youth!


--