Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Leaves of a tree function best
As a unit. Drawing strength
From the same grand source,
They provide for the grand host.

Their structure provides
Stability. Elevation,
Exalting them to heaven.
Feeding from the same nectar,
Firm together in their brilliance.

During times of neglect
Or doubt, they astray.
Errant fragments of themselves,
They abandon all hope,
Disregarding their support,
Leave the unseen abiding renewal.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Another year, another birthday
As of late I've had trouble answering
The question, "What do you want?"
And people are taken aback by my response.

"Peace of mind," I tell them.
They plead me to reconsider,
Telling me cost is not an issue.
That's part of the problem;
People feeling gratification
From the things they give,
And the things they get.
I don't want distraction--
Material subtracting my attention
Given to consideration of
All the years I have spent
With my toys spread out,
Consuming the realm I inhabit.

With growth I have found out,
Less is necessary. Space is scarce,
And as I fill into my world,
I require the room my objects occupy.
Left with all of my material on the outside.
I have neglected to pack away the things
That are truly precious.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Have you met my distant relative
The man trapped in ice?
A father, or uncle, or
cousin so far removed I can't count.

He spent his days
Racing his paints against
The melting glaciers.
A Neolithic savant stabbing,
Scraping bristles bearing colour;
Line-drawn hunters,
Arms drawn back for art.
Beauty is in the kill.

Stories of scavenging.
Stories of surviving.
Stories of success.
Stories told with each stroke.
Crude was our ancestors' language.
Since: tomes have been bound;
Scribes have translated, cried, and copied;
And oceans of ink have been poured.
Yet, we're still stabbing and scraping
At the minds of those who turn a deaf ear.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Honey, we've all got scars.
Some wear them with pride,
Others keep them as a stark reminder.
Valleys and ridges comprise the topography,
Under the crust is where we're truly fucked.
Pieces broken and shifting,
Changing the chemistry of who we are,
Facilitating chain reactions that ensure devastation.
Formations scab over,
Formulas bring new products.
Are you taking notes?

Mere markings on the map of life.
Each place has a name
Commemorating its founding.
Someone stuck a pennant in me,
Quick! Grab the tweezers,
And repel the interlopers.
It looks like a piece a broke off.
It's stuck real deep.
You can't dig for this truth,
Best try talking it out.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Please, let that morning lark take flight.
There are many things for the day;
Catch that worm early, save the night
Song of accomplishment, so gay.

Night owl, don't you dare drag your claws.
Flirting with larks past your bedtime.
Feathers together in wild maws.
Cleansing entwined souls, so sublime.

Fly-by-night rendezvous commence.
Can't set dates in transitioned tense.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Living as Guests

Approaching you see
That it isn't Hawkweed
Peppering the highway;
Just men safely clad,
Attending to their civic duty:
Busing the winter's refuse,
In plastic weighing so heavy.
In preparation for the season,
Our surface for feasting is ready.
Jovial medleys fill the air.
Tunes sung from the Sun,
Herald the robin's return
But first, let's clean
To welcome our tenants
Home.

Friday, April 1, 2011

These legs twitch incessantly.
Itching for a chance to move,
Waiting, swaying metronomes.
Leaping for a time to swing.
Hot music fuels their demons.
Stepping and dancing feeds them.
Propulsion suppresses them.
Bipeds gripped onto pedals.
Quads pray, strained for salvation.
Calves flagellate. Holy Mother!
Tenacity turns the wheels.
But, demons don't die easy;
They hold leased titles elsewhere.
Extremities, cavities,
Prime land for development.
Again their song is heard throughout.
Skilled operators of hands.
Vocal chord reins tame the tongue.
Now, the nights are theirs once more.