Poem - who could know

let things rest gently tonight
remember you don't have to do or go anywhere
you can just sit and even stretch out

read a poem or part of a book
some music in the background if you want
free of other things you rarely stop thinking

you don't even need to do most of them all the time
most of your tasks an extension of worry
besides in a day or two it might snow

day of snow in later april
who'd know that
who could know


==

Osseo

no objections because
you cannot say no to it
this fond thing river of time
sometimes cold deep or slow
oftentimes rushing sparkly fast
each of us plunked into the stream

i tell stories as if i was a captain
and i had a boat but i go recklessly
from swirl to swirl just like a leaf
no objections because this is life
made so sweet because
of such uncertainty and wonder



***

Out in Osseo
4.15.17

i look at my mind
who i reason i am is irrelevant when centered

seeking to be protection
the order of my constructed thoughts

make a prison or a fiery bed
reeking with regrets and resentments

i look at my mind
and see it is like a cloud

if i admire it as the height of highest illusions
lit by fancy and emotions

as radiantly as a cloud by the sun
and just as substantial as a mist

with no physical foundation or reality
then all is well


***

in the fields of Osseo

stamped from a similar clay
the tilt of the head
the dress
the smile

in a previous time
we parted company
you going home
to a small safe room
to a small town
to mom and dad

this time just seeing
the picture by the lake
snippets of your wishes
naive at heart

an innocent blown here
then somewhere else
blown by the world
that yearns to be deceived


---

this morning at dawn a clean slate
i can make room for whatever i want

the pond has swaying branches over it
overcast with just a hint of dusty blue

i turn within and feather my own mind
then see each bird outside looking for seeds

this morning at dawn a clean slate
i can make room for whatever i want


**

the air
distances
hushed

first
grey
then

haze
like cloudy
glass

or how
memories
form

spring
rigging
blossoms
and buds

soon to be
hatching
out

of still
brown
meadows



****

it is what you do
take a birthday

in a new year
keep taking risks

on this day
celebrate where you are

on this day
think gee-whiz

the stuff i've done
the places i've been

what is in store
the best will be

the very best

impossible to ignore
after all the rest


___

for soubia
4/1/17