Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Poetic States - WA, ND

I do a lot of series: The Many Names for Rain

sprinkle -minute multi-colored particlescolor the donuts of our illusions

Sprinkle
sugar on the cake,
a slice for everyone,
two if it don’t rain and melt the
ice cream.
shower -hi-tech Water Pik set on low sprayempties a stunted water heater

To save
water, shower
together – however,
be careful when picking up your
dropped soap.

When, if, finished, there will be over 100.


The Many Names for Sun

Sunrise, First Shine

I wake, the light demanding the day be joined,
morning so gentle I can’t resist the call.
By noon, shelter sought from the sky’s power;
twilight, to watch the day end in crimson blaze.
Sunny, Meadow

The sharp taste of dust and pollen greets us,
the trail a thin line across the meadow.
A flash of light breaks in the woods beyond:
Feather, horn, a reluctant traveler?

These are written with Kathy Paupore from Wild. I have the odd numbers, her the even. When finished, there will be over 200.


Days of the month and week, colors, based up parts of books such as the start to Tale of Two Cities, inspired by others such as Wang Wei's River Wang, the alphabet. The current series is Poetic states, short poems for each state, DC and maybe the territories. The first two:

Washington

Red Delicious and Yellow

When you handed him the apple,
did you expect you would leave the shelter of the garden
to live in a rain forest
among beetles and banana slugs?
That you would need to purchase
umbrellas and rain bonnets
in the colors of orchards on the west lawn?

When you bit into the apple,
did you expect she would be your master?
That you would need to relearn
the names of all the bugs
and creatures that crawled along the earth
and in and out of bitter fruit?


North Dakota

Everyone I know was born
between Grand Forks and Williston.
Everyone I know moved away
from North Dakota to stand
on the shore and stare at China
when the fog lifts.

There might still be people in North Dakota –
the air force flies planes out of Minot
and they once made a movie there
about people who lived in Minnesota.
during a winter so white
Fargo looked as empty as Manitoba.

New York is next, but is kicking my keister.

Until next week.

Smiles.

Gary

1 Comments:

Blogger Here and Now said...

hello, gary.

my first visit. enjoyed it very much. also enjoying the states series, though must add re texas that the state claims 4 presidents (ike, born here, lbj, my favorie, the first bush, not as bad as we thought, considering the second edition, and, of course, the second edition, about whom willy nelson said, when asked what he thought of the texas cowboy in the white house, said, he ain't from texas and he aint' a cowboy, so quit your defamation all us texans and cowboys), plus one might have been president, sam houston, who was andrew jackson's first choice for vice president until he (houston) got caught messing with someone else's wife and left washington (he was a senator) to live with the indians then move on to texas.

and that's the history lesson nobody ask for.

enjoyed the blog.

allen

8:02 PM  

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