“photos” (in memorial for 9/11)

“photos” (in memorial for 9/11)

brown and white concrete building
Photo by Caio Queiroz on Pexels.com

every passing year, I look at the photos, the faces, listen to the somber sayings of the names, listening for the ones I know, not just names on a stone, although cold black granite serves the solemn sober nature reserved, for days like these, the stone stays as still and quiet as the solid photo poses, the lost ones, the never found, buried in that ground, time stopped there, in those footprints, in moments and long winding agonies down, forever and at once, rubble, a giant cloud of dust, time stood still to watch the towers fall as if unreal, but this was real, every day, I drive by, that skyline, my entire life the twin towers were there, but they were just buildings on a postcard, nothing more, not the photos of those lost, taken from the earth in two fell swoop, photos captured in time, of lives taken too soon, a reminder of the gentle foothold we hold on this precious earth, in an instant, a moment, that will undoubtedly fade into time and history, the names will be read, and over time the numbers will dwindle, as the greatest generation fades so too shall ground zero one day, a footnote, a lost monument but not for now, time marches on, a lifetime is just a summer song in the coming wake of winter, so sometimes we must pause in the sake of human misery, so we may remember the fallen, so we may be reminded of those here, to love one another, even if for an instance, that glimpse, those photos so silent, take action now, while your breath still allows it…

MusicFor My Fallen Angel….

more thoughts, from the porch (duality)…

more thoughts, from the porch (duality)…

astronomy cloud clouds cosmos
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I want to run up that ruby lined ridge line on the back of that mountain of a cloud, right up to the moon, I wish to go there but know I never will, but how soon my romantic side forgets, the moon, sitting there framed in blue, is not quite in our sky, my logical side steps in to remind that the moon is in perfect orbit, locked in the cold black breathless death of space, a dead world, echoes of impacts heard in countless lifeless craters, traces of history of billions of years as if transpired just yesterday, as magical, as mystical as the moon may seem, the man, the moon, the dream, it is the dead end of all being, and what will be, for when life retreats or is drawn to another place, a lifeless husk will remain, dust, gravity no longer caring, losing it’s grip, so weak it becomes just a globe in another’s collection, so which do I choose? of my dual nature I lean to the romanticism of the world, the concept of the eternal, but there is that constant reminder in the sky, whether a sliver, a quarter or full glory, the fact that everything dies is not much consolation for the living, more like a rationalization that we all drive down that dead end road, logic is cold, hard to argue with a stone as words do not carve granite well, or at all, but I suppose what choice do I have but to drive on, forward, with hope, for the alternative, while more rational, more reasoned, more probable, leaves nothing on the bone and in fact no bones… at all.

music?  I can not resist, I am a child of the late 80’s after all… so…

>>>>> Duran Duran – New Moon on Monday

oh yeah, this post is part of The Porch Project which has no rules aside from me sitting out on the porch, days of the week? month? nah… just when I can, and thanks for stopping by, this little bus stop of my mind, I appreciate the time and eyes…. thanks.

thoughts from the porch…

thoughts from the porch…

beautiful bloom blur bright
Photo by Matthias Zomer on Pexels.com

‘the lone dandelion’
as I look all about my yard, thinking of something clever to say, or some universal truth to transmit, I have to remind myself, the whole purpose of sitting out here, is, none of these things, to let the world flow, and go from there, I suppose that is my humanity tugging at my strings, sometimes I feel like I could pen a novel in an afternoon, or other times I struggle to write a simple line, maybe this is one of those times, so I pay more attention to the dog, perhaps as slavish as I to routine, yet I know her senses are much keener than mine, or at least more overt, maybe mine are buried by human arrogance, I look at all the leaves scattered on the lawn, a chill I know but since left long ago has snuck back into this room, alas, where did the summer go? I suppose that sentiment loses some significance as we get older and are saddled with work, the days of youth – the summer was this singular freedom, long days, beach days, peeling skin, neon colored buckets, hiking in the catskills, scraped knees, everything seemed possible, now, just the nicer drive to work, waking up with sunlight and coming home with same, a delight on it’s own, and it is coming to a close, as everything does, I suppose, I look off to one of my bamboo bushes, and oddly, totally out of season, there is a single dandelion, no, not even in the flower phase, in the hair is white spread the seeds phase, how odd, and how quite late, I want to tell the little guy he is a bit out of sorts, but why cut short the singular joy this little weed might be channeling, a single dandelion spreading it’s wings, futile, I know, but the singular notion of it is in a way inspiring, a singular bloom out of season, but a bloom just the same, for a second, there is spring even in the face of the fading shadow of summer.

(part of my ongoing series, oddly called The Porch Project, ok, maybe not so oddly)

musical accompaniment: Warrior Soul – Children of the Winter

a simple little poem, as we all gaze into the night…

a simple little poem, as we all gaze into the night…

reach for the and blue moon neon signages
Photo by Designecologist on Pexels.com

“tell me, tell me of the moon
a paramour
who never moves
closer always
always remains
at a distance
remains always
at arm’s length”

notes… I was listening to this (Cellar Darling – Rebels) and these words popped into my head as they often do, I suppose I was playing with words, and repetition on purpose as we all tend to do the same things so often, myself included, breaking the mold I guess is a habit, one I do not have quite down, quite yet, but I endeavor the goal, I endeavor it so, so I depart in that direction even when sometimes lost…

Time out for beautiful New Jersey…

Time out for beautiful New Jersey…

Goffle Brook Park, Hawthorne, New Jersey

 

So… this park was built originally as a work project after the great depression, it was designed by the same architects as Central Park NYC, and oddly it is like an oasis in the middle of bustle, just like Central Park (it stretches miles along) ,  I have been trying to show off my state, my home, and honestly explore all the nooks and crannies here in New Jersey that I don’t know, so this was one of those days, I figured the hurricane would have cleared out most of the weather, not so much as it was a mixed day but… a good one, just the same, great walking park, great for families at the southernmost end with tons to do and a dog park !!!

post script: I did bring my trusty journal but no inspiration, which is typical, sometimes, ok, many times when I am out and about in nature I am absorbed by it, so I rarely write when I am on vacation or exploring, I must have looked like quite the odd duck, all dressed up in my work clothes hiking all along and peeking over the brook banks for those perfect duck shots, one woman asked if I was with the survey team (for the trees) and another asked if I was that nice young man who took the photos for the newspaper, I was neither, just someone determined to show that New Jersey is many things, yes, we have our down areas but for a small state we have more than people know, and being a homegrown joizee boy I should highlight all that because even I am unfamiliar with all the amazing things here, but I will show them off, or that is the plan, and maybe write some interesting things in the process…

backwards saying making sense…

backwards saying making sense…

“don’t speak dead of the ill.”

left human eye
Photo by Ruslan Alekso on Pexels.com

note… just me playing with words, these things pop into my head from time to time, so, I will post them sometimes, not everything has to be a novel you know… and this little line is a little deeper than you may know on the surface, if you ponder such, think about what I am saying here by flipping the usual translation…

lost. love. letters. (haiku edition, short and sweet)

lost. love. letters. (haiku edition, short and sweet)

lighted candles on cupcakes
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

a birthday candle
made upon one selfish wish
a moment with her

notes… and so the pining does muster on, I’d like to pretend I don’t think about things, and how I might make them different, and all the other fantasies in my mind, but I will always remain hopeful, as the random tide of the world brought us together once, maybe there is sequel in there somewhere (and not a rewrite with bad actors), I am a cork in the river in that way, letting the universe work things out, I am not sure if that is the right approach, when it comes to such things I am not sure about much… at all…

music

>>> Second Self – Red October

underrated… much like me… my humor is subtle, you have to trust me on that front, these guys almost made it, like a lot of bands, they had the goods but just didn’t “hit” enough for the label to push them at the time, they are still around (the guys, not the band) in various forms… or so I am told…

when life gives you apples… (a story tied to a hurricane )

when life gives you apples… (a story tied to a hurricane )

yellow apples
Photo by Madison Inouye on Pexels.com

ginger gold
for such as the ocean hath reached the land
and scorched with tide by god’s own hand
for fierce camille stormed in from the coast
and brought forthwith the entire gulf
through these valleys that became the sea
countless washed past these winesap trees,
but amidst this rip in nelson county tract
from this ripe new wound so would emerge
a fruit pure golden and brightly new
so forever we are reminded true
of dear old clyde and his wife
this plot of earth, the loss of life
for from the mud and roots up torn
that golden apple took up form,
to you, I raise my ginger gold
to you rise! from that dire stance
this fruit of hope, so behold –
so began, the ginger gold.

notes… so this has a lot of footnotes, or links as they are these days, in short I am fascinated by hurricanes and dorian is  no exception (I called it floyd 2.0 days ago), I took a look back at the 1969 hurricane season which is a historical one, it produced camille which devastated the gulf coast with a 27 foot (confirmed, probably higher) storm surge, this is a mirror for what happened in the bahamas, so one of the things the storm (camille)  produced, outside of the devastation, was the discovery of a new (since popular) varietal of apples, survivors of the massive flooding that killed over 150 people discovered it in the wake of all that tragedy.  The rest, well, that should be obvious I hope, and all power to the muse as I wrote this all today in almost one stroke…

Driving, traffic… and things…

Driving, traffic… and things…

action asphalt automobile automotive
Photo by Taras Makarenko on Pexels.com

the drive
birds crossing cross
against the misty mountain fog
a flag draped over an overpass
yes, the fourth is certainly approaching
all the vague forms in the distance
seem like hypnotic suggestions
to my subconscious
or active lucid imagination
outlines, fragments, geometry
for me to fill in
“looks like rain” I think
as thought becomes motion
the drops, large by standards
thud ka-thud thud on my windshield
intermittent wipers, pause
they will do for now
the miles all seem the twins
only the signs tell me the state I’m in
numbers… 156, 152, 145
plotted on a graph, asphalt, cracks
mile markers like minutes on by
patches to cover the ravages of age
and seasons
the constant beating, the humming
of rubber drones on roads, spinning, humming
at various rates of speed
some under, some over
I pass the state police
with no appointment met today
I look for license plates
from other states
to plot a trip, or remember one taken
destinations
local geography
the occasional one from west of the mississippi
holds my attention, interest
for that fleeting second
on my drive
home.

notes… something I wrote back @ the end of June, totally forgot about it, one of those I wrote that I liked immediately, in fact this has no alterations from my original scribbling, usually I squabble over a word here or there, maybe some punctuation for meter or something, but nah, this is exactly as I wrote it

Music ?  sort of a guilty 90’s pleasure but they were really a great band (for a flash in time)

>>>> Badlands – Hard Driver

and I would be remiss, a fool, or a dope if not to thank you for your looks, likes, hates, spit filled takes, it’s all good (I just waved to you in a gracious manner, I swear)

a prayer for…

a prayer for…

close up photo of hummingbird
Photo by Frank Cone on Pexels.com

“a prayer for a young child
may your innocence remain intact
let not that shell be pierced or broken still
until your wisdom
has gathered age
so that you shall emerge
matured and able
to take flight”

notes.. I say this, or post this, as a hope, which I know does not always happen, but no harm in asking, I am not a non realist, but I am an optimist, and always will be…