Tag: poetry

Starting Fluid

caffe-americano

Snow falls silently outside

And the still of the morning

Is pleasantly preserved.

I stare into the endless

Swirling eddies of steam

Wafting up from the hot

Mahogany, life-giving

Ambrosia before me.

A sip, and I am lost in the

burnished, heady brew.

The starter spins — nothing.

I take another glorious sip.

More spinning–nothing.

There’s enough light now

To see the deer feeder

Out the back window;

I’m glad it’s empty again.

One more sip now, and —

Vrooooom!

Now where did I put that

Bag of feed for the deer?

children of the grave

Kids_Marching

as ozzy sang out years ago

the children start to march

what kind of world are we giving them

they can see we have no heart

we make them go to school

with guns and drugs and knives

and our leaders will not change the rules

to save our children’s lives

they all bow to money now

and democracy unwinds

but when their own child is gunned down

I think they’ll change their minds

To Grampa (2050 CE)

global warming

The waters are warm

And supercells form

You took all the calm

And left me the storm

For all you were worth

I was heir to the earth

How could you not care

You were there at my birth

You knew all along

That it was all wrong

Polluting the air as

You sang me a song

You’re not here to blame

So I’ll live with the shame

In this world you left

I still carry your name

 

–Photo by me

Spring Break ’74

il_340x270.1218349361_t15r

We were only two ‘ludes

Or so out of Minneapolis,

When we came upon the

Old St. Croix River bridge

Bringing us to Wisconsin.

We were really pumped

For our first Spring Break

And just couldn’t wait to

Arrive at Daytona Beach.

 

Well, just then we had a

Spring break on my old

’53 Chevy pick-up truck,

So we sat there a while,

smoking a couple joints

While we contemplated

The fate of the universe

And our latest situation.

Then, the acid came on.

 

I do vaguely remember

The six of us wandering

Around amongst some

Very freaked-out cattle,

With Dan blowing cows

massive shot-guns until

They were quite baked.

Meanwhile, the rest of

us were singing, I think.

 

I laughed so hard, my gut

Hurt for a couple weeks.

None of us can recollect

How we’d made it home.

We never did make it to

Spring Break back in ’74,

But my only true regret

Is that I lost my custom

Hippie ’53 Chevy truck!

Crazy for Carol

women-clipart-walking-dog-6

Crazy Carol is the most beautiful girl

I’ve ever seen, yet she is very alone.

She slinks around town with her dog

In that same old Goodwill ensemble

And is quite confused that everyone

Acts so nice and friendly to her face,

Yet no one wants to be a real friend.

Standing before her spider-webbed

Full-length mirror, she sees herself

Broken up into all those pieces and

Asks aloud, “Could it be the cracks?”

Well, maybe I’m crazy too, because

I’m falling for her, craziness and all.

alien world

IMAG2802

I remember when as a young boy

playing house pilot in my F-16

I would throttle back and

rapidly descend into

my mom’s junk

jewelry box

where I

would

glide

over

the

odd

world

of metals

and watches

and alien stones

and was so bewitched

I had to fire the afterburner

to make sure I’d clear the far wall

 

–photo by me