Cats

There are two cats here, both orange. They are not mine to keep, just to take care of for an 'indeterminate period of time'. Has this ever happened to you?

In the evening, the kitten takes tentative swipes at my feet, it feels like the batting of butterflies. I figure if it was big enough, the kitten would be happy to chew my head to a bloody pulp. The bigger cat grabs the kitten and puts it in a headlock & bites the kitten hard enough on the nape of the neck to make the kitten cry.

I rescue the smaller cat. They eat wet catfood like an addict would go for cocaine. The kitten is also partial to nibbling on wires. Then one of them takes a mean shit in the catbox.

But whenever I get pissed off at them, I remember I was way more irritating, in about 100 different ways. I probably still am. So I trap them both under one hand each, and pet them until they don't feel like running away.

J Pants and Gyroscopic Personalities + How Tall George Washington Was

"Gyroscopic personalities!" I read on a webpage.

"Don't say it." says J Pants.

"What? What could I say?"

"Here we go." he sighs, folding his hands.

"The concept makes my head spin! But it keeps me steady."

"I thought you were going to say it was a concept not worth falling down over."

"Or it's for people who are up & up, and like to keep going."

"Horrible. But don't lose your balance."

"I'll just keep humming along here..." I say airily.

"Yeah, but then later in the day you start to wobble and whine." snorts J. Pants.

Here comes into the room.

"Wobble and whine?" I say, taking umbrage.

"WOBBLE AND WHINE!" shouts J. Pants, throwing down the newspaper.

"What on Earth are you two talking about?" says Here.

"Gyro -- oh never-mind! We were talking about how tall George Washington was! Six feet two."

"Six two? SIX THREE!!" shouts J Pants.

Oh God, why do we imagine such terrible things?

He has willpower like a rusty knife with a ceramic skull on the end of it. The ugly skull has glass gems in the eyes. The knife stinks. Oh God, why do we imagine such terrible things?

*

He has willpower like a white battleship. The ship sails proudly, fast and clean, and is the envy of the world. Oh God, why do we imagine such terrible things?

*

He has willpower like a Cathedral. When you enter the forbidding ornate doors, your are in another place of silence and fortitude. Statues of saints mesmerize you, and you fear damnation. Oh God, why do we imagine such terrible things?

*

His willpower is like a dread mountain that no one has made to the summit.  He will try, and die alone on the frozen approach. All who go with him will also perish. But he must go, he must try, he will beg and cajole other to assist him and believe, because he is fascinated with it. Oh God, why do we imagine such terrible things?

Poem - Yep

There's really no end to it
when someone leaves

They're still around
here and there

Like the echoes of storm
or happier times

But over time I suppose
you get used to them gone

They get replaced
or you'll forget

From time to time they may
crop up in dreams

You might say "Have not seen you
for quite some time."

And they say "Yep."

Mountain Kissing

"I thought that said 'Kiss the Mountain'. Sounds like the title to a Zen koan or Taoist story." I say.

"Mmmmm." says Chung Tzu.

"You'd need a big pair of lips to kiss a mountain." I can't help saying.

"With a mouth like yours, you'd probably be able to kiss two mountains." says Chung Tzu.

"Yeah, I guess a mountain would really like me. Even two."

Chung Tzu appears to not listen to this, but later I hear him chuckle.


-------

Quail Meadow

Frog School

"Frog School was closed from lack of difficulty." I say, reading from the computer internet.

"Or Frog School was not closed from lack of difficulty." I read.

"Or there is no Frog School." I say, reading.

"When people see something, they want it to be all kinds of things." says Chung Tzu.


----

Quail Meadow

Poem - hang out above me ' darling

hang out above me ' darling
so i can tell you ' how much i resent

my errors ' why not
we all desire an icon ' while we curse

Me and Mr. Miller

"Some of my best poems were threatening, so I threw them away." I say.

"Crazy threatening?" asks Mr. Miller.

"No, accurate."

"And you tossed them?"

"Because I didn't want them to offend."

"Don't ever throw writing away because it might offend someone, especially if it is the truth. True is mostly offensive."

"Why?"

"Because we're all full of ourselves."


-------

Quail Meadow
Late March

Lao Tzu Says "Not really."

"I have no discipline when it counts, and I am infinity capable of deluding myself." I say to the air.

"Not really." says Lao Tzu, petting the cat.


>

You Bet!

I bring a banana peel to the meeting and I deliberately throw it on the ground in front of someone. They see it, and they step on it as hard as they can. They end up slipping. I save them in the nick of time from a nasty spill.

"Geeze!" they say.

"I have a bag of them in the car." I lie. "I'm using them to ward off those who would do me harm."

"I feel sorry, whoever they are! Banana peels are very slippery!"

"You bet! Don't try this at home, kids!"

We laugh like idiots, and several people look over and wonder what just happened.

Poem - i mourn

i mourn ' my selfish monologue
not measuring ' to my experiences

o dreadful ' selfish wrapped up woe
when virgin day ' is above me unspoiled

----

3.25.2013

Poem - 3 years not a drop/ of the stuff

3 years not a drop
of the stuff

so many come
and say they want to
need to
have to
must
stop

you could go into shock
or turn away and say
this is a
problem
i should
not see

through my worry
about me i get close
to you
through
seeing you
i can start
to see

--

March 23 2013

Marginali

Ex favilla novam vitam

Summa votorum attigi

From the ashes new life

I have reached the summit of my desires

---

3.12.13

Irvine

Wanting to Know

We have a minor earthquake today, not a big one -- just enough to shake the monitors in my office. I joke, what would it be like to be in an earthquake, while it was snowing? Has it ever happened?

I find a video of a blizzard in Japan, while an earthquake tosses fishing boats around in the water like toys. The water is ominous and dark, while debris from the hills flow into the harbor like blood. Why do I want to know the things I want to know? 

Writing - Accepted

He can't get his password to be accepted, so he hugs his computer and says, "You're the best computer in the whole world. Really! The fastest, nicest, greatest computer ever." He tries to get into his mail again, and can't. "I love you so much." he says to his computer. Still, he can't get into his email. "Computers are one of the best things in all the whole wide world!" he exclaims, and is still locked out.

He pauses, and decides to sing the computer a long melodious song. He tries his password again, and it is accepted.

Poem - (for today)

the flashlight is love
and it works as long as we keep loving

so if you are in the dark
and feel like cursing or asking why

love a bit & see what happens