Now that I know where
to look, the little removable
panel in the back porch floor
seems obvious. Lifting it
provides access to a master
water shutoff valve. No more need
to crawl through cobwebs
and dust. I feel the presence
of an agile mind, a hand
grasping my own, and I breathe
Thanks.
An elderly Asian man
finds a seat near me
on the Route 550 to Bellevue.
About every third breath,
he emits a deep Buhhhh
from low in his throat.
This eruption shivers me,
though less than I might
have expected. He is not
so much older than I.
By the time we cross
Lake Washington, I quietly
try on a sympathetic
Buhhhh, about every
third breath. It’s not
so bad […]
Reflections on a subtitled movie seen
in Boulder, 1963
Defeated Japanese soldiers,
abandoned on a small Pacific Island,
argued over what to do,
how to find food. They fought,
killed, eventually ate
each other.
The last one
carried his ragged
childhood doll, like those laced
to kamikaze pilots. He stumbled
to a western bluff where a black
and white sunset oiled calm water.
Sitting on a broad […]
A man sits at attention,
suspended in a rotating
crystal with no top or bottom.
Each facet of the crystal mediates
his thoughts and feelings
about himself, family, others.
He surveys the zeitgeist,
adjusts his attitudes,
offers a palette of caring
colors to relieve
the stress of others.
He believes this makes
the world a better
place.
Although the prospect
of death is worrisome,
his vague sense of Buddhism
and healthy constitution
allow […]
Long after I left for work
each morning, my housemates
explored groovier, more imaginative
paths. They found me stiff,
uptight. I chafed
as my records were
mishandled, my stereo never
turned off.
When my girlfriend’s old
lover came calling,
I reacted blindly, with swift
passivity.
I stuffed her sneakers into
the fridge.
This desperate act resulted
in my further
ostracism.
Bantry Bay, Bainbridge Island, 1973
(No. 91 in a series […]
Old Schmitty maintained it was simple.
Incline two logs up to your top
course of logs, lay your purlin
at the base of the incline.
Tie two ropes to the top course,
take two turns down around the 30-footer,
throw the ropes back up to the top,
and roll ‘er right up.
Like an old cairn,
Schmitty pointed the way
through impassable terrains.
Use the power […]
Most nights we read aloud,
sloped against each other on the
afghan covered couch.
Through Narnia and Earthsea
we cheered Good’s
endless battles with Evil.
One night, when it was time,
we placed Air’s homemade
super kiss bookmark at
chapter’s end.
She climbed up to her bed
built over drawers and low closet.
A guardian angel looked down
from the low ceiling,
and glow-in-the-dark stars absorbed light
for their upcoming […]
Old Schmitty was 88 when we met, back when
he used his last two working fingers
to peck out short, dense treatises
on love, nature, kindness.
We’d unpack his thoughts for hours
searching the Yeomalt beach
or watching the Sound from his driftwood wicki.
I lived just up the hill,
and I’d find him whenever I came looking,
on the beach or by his […]
Positive
a remembered mountain
lies around this bend in the trail;
more dense forest.
Leaving the theater,
searching for my car,
turning in the wrong
direction.
Driving around my Island
home of thirty years,
shortest routes elude me.
I’ve always been this way.
Each time illusions melt,
chaos,
providing a fresh chance
to see.
(No. 98 in a series of responses to Han-shan’s Songs of Cold Mountain)
Learn tai-chi.
Go on a one-year birding trip.
My friend Tatsuda told me
I should make a list
of fifty things I want to do.
She mentioned this because we’re
getting older, and, besides,
she has a friend with prostate cancer.
He’s an engineer who only
came up with twelve items.
Build a Habitat house; visit France.
Practice yoga; learn a language.
At first I was reluctant.
Too […]
