on the edge of consciousness/ each night fleets of ships are sighted

on the edge of consciousness

each night fleets of ships are sighted

galleons clippers carracks triremes

all going well on courses

they are golden bejeweled and as varied as birds

each night you board one

sail and sail 'til morning 

how many islands have you seen

storms you've braved and pashas and kings

and all their courts dined with and amazed 

with the stories of your voyages you cannot remember by day?

*

i've been accused of speaking in riddles

i've been accused of speaking in riddles

but magic headstones or bobbin conquistadores

waving cosmic forests of emerging fortune speckled with chairs

and floor to celling luxurious fabrics pleated by 

trombone hands

quicksilver sunsets

all fit in if you're willing to trade a dread sensibility 

you say you'll never get past or over 

*

even in ordinary times

even in ordinary times

you can be ordinary

venus is rising

the cat is hiding 

visiting dignitaries

land on a beach in your mind

they bring out

their gifts designed to amaze

and also record 

this splendid moment 

*

i had a dream of curating an exhibition

i had a dream of curating an exhibition
of ground burrowing porpoises
from apha centauri

they were lively and excited

to see the planet earth 

for the first time

*

but never far

graves are perfect

so are tears and bad weather

poems should never rhyme

but might but life can or won't

i have this lousy mind

while here in this restaurant 

you didn't expect to serve

the best food but suddenly 

we are enjoying ourselves

when before it was impossible

so admit you have no idea

what is going on 

admire the perfection

of 1000 old dusty puppets 

seeming useless

absolutely worthless

but never far from playing

just like before

and getting a laugh

in the production we are in 

we don't know the title

or what act it is 

it is a drama comedy 

opera roller-derby fable

with just enough darkness

just enough light

now i am saying

to the sky 

thank you 

*

thanksgiving

2021

sometimes is it like/ all you can do

sometimes is it like
all you can do 

doing your tasks

say a chore

like laundry and

you are almost done

but you can't find a

special shirt and pants 

the ones you want 

to wear tomorrow

and when you are

folding the clothes

you see you are

wearing them 

---

every leaf and stone

every leaf and stone

blades of grass

covered in some snow

so you look up

you look all around

the tracks we make

heaven and earth

grass leaves rocks

snow we are borne

it bears us truly 

some cats walk in the snow

some cats walk in the snow

most cats won't

it depends on what the cat knows

__

poem for a bat

every day 

i am more bat

until one day 

i am not bat

*

no snow yet but plenty of chances

no snow yet but plenty of chances

yesterday the wind blowing strongly 

the clouds above like gray furrows

leaves being torn off and speeding 

stopping then flying more like small birds

you duck a little bit if you are out walking 

same weather for late fall and also early spring

but when facing colder months my soul

for some reason braces and takes courage

*

at the end of dusk

at the end of dusk 

red undersides of clouds

almost vermillion

and the sun's gone

black space seeming to hold

up the clouds 

and then rest them

on the horizon

like a curtain going down 

*

clogged sink / it doesn't mean much

clogged sink

it doesn't mean much 

other than fixing it 

but in the soap opera

with it playing a role

that's laughable and what

selfishness is made of

the chimney sweep

comes on tuesday

*

 

if you write heartbreak stories enough

if you write heartbreak stories enough

tales of disappointment in your life

you'll see how they are all the same 

at any point you can stop 

see how they captivate you

but the trick gets old

going through gives nothing

you're the conjuror and audience

to be different and live differently 

stop narrating and start doing 

your opinions are difficult and hard

the way is endlessly open

_

they read a haunted book/ by a haunted light

they read a haunted book

by a haunted light

in the haunted room

in a haunted house

on a haunted night

which was every night

because they were dead

and ghosts in that house

but they only knew

they were ghosts 

when someone alive

tried to stay overnight

at the air b n b run

by people who lived

far away and did not

believe in ghosts 

--

was it a ghost or was it a branch tapping the shutters

was it a ghost or was it a branch tapping the shutters
on that stormy night when the power quit

in the old hotel

when i silently counted

1 ... 2 ... 3 

it tapped 

1 ... 2 ... 3

so when i counted 

1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4

it tapped

1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4

i counted to ten and it tapped ten times

so i closed my eyes tight and hid under two comforters 

and if i heard any skeletal steps

i was fast asleep

if you listen to the words/ in poems you can sense things

if you listen to the words

in poems you can sense things

just partly visible in the background

craving attention yet still shy

like a boat over varied waters

some depths are reluctant

to be crossed and writhe below

wanting to grab and pull down

ever watchful things verse or prose

caged and these thing pace back n forth

occasionally making it through the barriers

and into the reader's imagination 

----

i'm a little unfamiliar with this spreadsheet

i'm a little unfamiliar with this spreadsheet

and not sure of the process

but the way is informal

we play the game 'is business still a thing'

ha ha ha ha

---

i fixed the broken table

i fixed the broken table

it had been flawed for so long

a daily reproach 

part of the top punched through

the slats piled on it crossways

glued in place and reinforced

now shabby chic though disturbing 

__

i rake pine needles

i rake pine needles
as the wind blows

there's so many of them

where do the come from

oh yes 

the tree

---

it is fall and the weather is changing

it is fall and the weather is changing

when i walk to the mailbox to send two letters

the sun is bright but my ears and cheeks get cold

winter starts quickly when you aren't waiting for it  

last night at the restaurant for dessert 

we had coconut ice cream and bananas with chocolate sauce

the bananas were golden in puff pastry that had been fried

we didn't fight over it

but we ate it quickly 

laughing 

i looked out over the tables into the dusk's high dark blue sky

below that a sash of perfect darkness that were smooth clouds

holding lightening miles and miles off

when you asked me if i was holding my breath

 i said no

___