slowly, silently
the cumulus popcorn clouds
of blossoms explode
–Photo by me
Author: michaeljordahl
Retired Miner, loves science, reading, carving, walking, recovering alcoholic
stump
this old stump was
a magnificent tree
and has more than
a little in common
with me–we both
have the structure
of better days seen
and the young swaying
saplings make us turn a bit green
–Photo by me
oops! (a true story)
into the iron
depths of hell
the mighty brute I rode
and so appeased
the metal beast
with yet another load
at four AM
I hardly felt
the many bumps and jolts
but nothing quite
will wake you like
a hundred thousand volts
my truck box hit
a power line
I should’ve stayed in bed
and had my boss
just send to me
the million bucks instead
perspective
in the vast abyss of the cosmos
men and their endeavors
are as insignificant
as the dust from
which they
arose
but
atoms
form bonds
and molecules
can form an entire
living universe unto itself
it’s all about our perspective
when jesus came to sturgis
when jesus came to sturgis on a harley
we knew that everything would turn out fine
and when it started raining on our party
jesus turned the water into wine
and then he grabbed a bible from his harley
and from it read how on the second day
that god made grass and saw that it was gnarly
so jesus used the page to roll a jay
he took a hit and washed it down with soda
and ’round and ’round we passed that blessed jay
and somewhere in the hills of south dakota
they’re passing that same joint around today
dust devils of mars
in the shadow
of olympus mons
there lurks
an old romance–
the wind and sand
become as one
when arm-in-arm
they dance
under the pale
light of earth
their silent
vows are sworn
and every time
they bump and grind
another devil’s
borne
untitled II
the jilted lover
walks a solitary path
through the land and pines
–photo by me
Alcohol Avenue
You suddenly find yourself barreling down Alcohol Avenue toward the hospital dead ahead. It’s all green lights, pedal-to-the-metal, full tilt. With other cars boxing you in, you can’t turn back, even if you want to, and you say to yourself, how did I get here again?
You remember driving down Sobriety Lane away from the hospital. You had crossed Denial Street and even Anxiety Way successfully and with great expectations. Then you suddenly hung a left on Just One Street, only to find it led right back to the noisy, teeming traffic of Alcohol Avenue, and here you are once again about to turn your pleasant afternoon cruise into an ambulance ride.
a lucid dream
suddenly
a lucid dream
I am aware
that I’m
dreaming
I can fly
I tell someone
that I’m about
to disappear
and I wake
myself up
and smile–
what strange
things are
lucid dreams
1973
I think that I
Shall never see
Another year like ’73
I turned 18
Became a man
And strutted ’round
So lean and tan,
The drinking age
was dropped too far
And high school lunch
Was at the bar
The army turned
To volunteer
The only draft
We knew was beer
I graduated
Got employed
And bought the things
That I enjoyed
Yes, only God
Can make a tree
But we were
Gods in ’73
michaeljordahl 