I hiked through Cape May Wildlife Refuge today, not much wildlife was a stirring, but plenty of fungus was a growing… I was amazed by the colors and forms, hopefully you will be as well, if not, oh well…
I don’t always write haiku, but when I do it is is, well, haiku silly… I generally like to not have form but sometimes I like it, so what the hell… I was sitting on the beach, listening to the surf, and these words, and syllables occurred (because I do always think of her, wherever she is, I think of her).
entrance to the beach
the thousands of footprints down
none of them are yours
alone on the bench
ocean breeze washes over
do you think of me
streetlights long shadows
strangers walk, conversations
I am here alone
stars shine down as fixed
couples on bicycles pass
am I being judged
take a picture of
my very shadow being
I leave nothing here
music… one of my fave bands and albums….
Minus the Bear – Michio’s Death Drive
if that don’t get your gaggle giggin… well, I give up
I am on vacation, but still in New Jersey… Cape May specifically, it seems to be an annex of Philly these days, I didn’t intend on writing so much, I felt so not inspired, but, I did write, like a homeless weirdo on the beach (oh the looks I got creating my art), but that said… here is what I wrote, tomorrow , a monday, I will be on a beach, some beach, probably remote because I want to hear from the plovers, the kites and the gulls, instead of the dull populace I know… (this will be added to my porch series)
“porch” (vacation version) 10.7.2018
cape may, cusp of columbus day
I come here to get away
and find myself surrounded
by sounds and lights
I can hardly hear the waves crashing
billy joel cover band and conversations,
shadows from car lights through railings flashing
shadows of people that grow and stretch
I’m sitting on a bench on the ocean road
a concrete promenade
across from an official entrance to the beach
a sign orders me I am not allowed, by the town, ordinance
white wood rails cast an L on the ground
and now the cabana bar is wailing some stevie ray vaughn
something I might have chosen
“the sky is falling”
kindle wood wired fences, to protect the dunes
the car lights feel like flashlights, walking up like midnight joggers
older couples walk by –
I wonder, flip flops make a certain pop sound
what will I be when I am older
not too far from now
I am the only one out here alone, writing,
everything else seems inviting and wrapped in reveling
but I remain, trying to concentrate on the waves
the constant surf in the near distance
not the clamor blocking from all directions, distraction
am I selfish, for just wanting the sound
the sound of the ocean crashing, allowing my mind to rest,
there is a breeze, but yet, the plants of the dunes do not move
I suppose they are immune when I am enamored by the move,
a silver mother and golden daughter walk past
at least I imagine they are such, their language in form and my experience spoke to that,
the bike racks are not quite bursting but near full, at night,
the paint and stain on the bench looks quite pristine, woody and iron blue,
even the garbage bins seem clean,
but the din…
that ever present welling of amplified conversation.
If ever a tower of babble there ever was
“porch” 10.7.2018
so how did I wind up here?
sitting alone on a bench
the stir of life all around, a maelstrom
and I am the eye
sitting and observing, all this life
a lifeless eye, closest to the intense
but calmest of all,
life, merry, singing, dancing,
friend, family, lovers,
cheaters, smokers, would be elopers,
detached from all this
tricking my mind, that time is,
time also sweeping me by, and through
sidelined (as if escaped)
but the days peeling away just the same
I question my motives my every move
introspection
I have more than many
certainly more than some
I should rejoice –
but here I am
staring at foreign plants on common sand
these pages moist with the breath of the common sea.
The weekend, the name engages thoughts of fun and relaxation (at least to me), so I like to post light, or things maybe that I like but are not complete (I rarely go back and rewrite anything, I like to do things in the moment, just my jam), feel free to use them to inspire you (just give me some cred if you do)…
“planned” 5/3/18
I am so prepared for you
that I am ill equipped for anyone else anymore
I wish I had the answers
that everyone thinks I should know
still searching for
at the horizon
forever just out of sight and reach
so prepared for a fate
I may never meet
a dream in my waking
have I closed all the doors?
“cleanse” 5/14/18
I do not mind the rain
cleanse my soul
to begin again
momentary lapse
imagine molecules of water
in within the power of divine
I would like
to linger, delude
to wash anew
an intoxicating prospect
I brew
5/31/18
if I am to become ash
will the fire
incinerate my sin
erase the mark
allow me to forget
even in
in the time it takes
to dream.
“gang of clouds” 6.6.18
rain approaching
leaves turn upside down
a gathering crowd of clouds
with ill intent
rumbling
indistinct muttering
waiting for
the signs
a flash, a crack
to unleash
their wrath
notes… for whatever reason these feel haiku-ish to me.. but that is me, I had a weird week but still posted a bunch, I am off for vacation tomorrow in lovely Cape May NJ (a magical place if you ask me), I love the ocean, I wonder how I will view it now since my re-awakening as a writer ? not sure, but I am damn sure I will be at the raw bar @ the Lobster House tomorrow night, bet on that.
Toad the Wet Sprocket – Walk on the Ocean (live)
and I would be remiss if I did not say thank you, any of you that ever get this far, I am trying to post me as much as me possible and if anyone cares, thanks, any reads are appreciated. All comments and the ole follow-roo are also appreciated.
“barefoot feet” 7.29.2018
I read an article, that suggested, we walk around with barefeet, to feel more connected to the earth, I’m not sure, but worth a try, first things first, I notice not everything is as smooth as you and I may think, a driveway, a sidewalk, full of kinks and angles, so used to shoes to smooth these out, not particularly painful, just an odd sensation compared to the old sensation, and then there is the grass, a seeming tickling epiphany of senses, fibers reaching hands to massage my toes and between, heels feel soft with deadened blows, on this green carpet ride, (I try to forget the bugs) or dirt underfoot, I imagine – just the sensations.
I am taken back, to my youth, I quite remember well, being a little barefoot devil, I guess I did not know ‘better’ then, or care rather, (memory), especially the shore, the beach, I could not wait to emancipate my feet from the burdensome shackles of flip-flops and race across the scorching sands into the quenching surge of the tide, twisting my feet under the surf, until I felt the danger of no escape, of being pulled under further, the cool sinking quick sand enveloping my toes, my soles wiggling, chasing crabs, kadima balls, flying kites, digging holes to nowhere, all under the watchful eye of summer sun all the while making my neck red, all the while with no shoes
barefoot feet, I suggest, you give it a whirl, travel back in time, in your mind, to simpler things, where shoes were a mere nuisance
This was written in response to an article I read from Laird Hamilton, sure, he looks amazing for his age, I found it a little presumptuous but also interesting, the great thing about an open mind is your store is open 24 hours for new customers to come in.
note: this is what I call free form, there is meter in there at times, at times I am just talking to you in my mind, the words… they just come out this way, especially this one since I had to go back and transcribe this from one of my journals… man my handwriting is ass… I think I captured the gist of things mostly, but like all of life I won’t hit a home run that often or every time… just have to keep stepping into the batter’s box I suppose.
Well… ok, maybe not so much (the aurora borealis is pretty darn cool after all), but I was watching this massively awesome BBC series “Wonders of the Solar System” and was enlightened (pun) by the fact that the phenomena is not limited to this little sphere we call Earth, in fact, that massive red giant (no, not Colin McGregor or the Kool Aid Man)… I am speaking of course of our celestial big brother Jupiter, as it turns out Jupiter has these light displays on both the north and south poles… The “lights” are all formed due to the solar radiation (called the solar wind) thrown out constantly by the sun deflected by the magnetic field of the planets (in short, it is slightly more complicated than that). Just another chapter in how amazing this universe is (even our little tiny corner which is the everything we will ever know). Sure, I am a bit late to the party on this… but I can admit that.
So anyway, this poem also formed from a ball of dust and the ort cloud (my head) last night… (and here is my Voyager inspired poems, I think I might start a collection page of my science based/themed work instead of these ad hoc links, but that is just a thought)….
9.30.2018 “miracles of the solar system”
I contemplate the world, spinning
a veritable grain of sand
on this continent, thinking
might I levitate in place
and the ground beneath
will rotate around under, my feet
as I will to absorb the total cycle of the sun
my mind to become flat and limitless
to expand outward to the edges of the universe
a platform, a table for all to sit upon
the knowledge, the power, of a billion suns
could this lonely spot of life
handle the vastness of an expanse
that weighs in blocks
not perceivable by human scales of thought
of this, just this one, on the shoulders of many
just to understand this
a world spinning
a night companion orbits round
what seems just out of touch
we have only touched once
so familiar
but these are miracles, in the every day flesh
for granted
sunrise and sunset
lest we forget
the immense fate and circumstance
for our faces
to be met daily
by the rising, of the life giving star
we so casually call, ours
the sun
Music ? I have posted this before but I have to post it again (and probably again), to me it fits the vastness of space… ambient space music supreme.
Your thoughts and comments are welcome and appreciated, and might even be read.. by me of all people.
these words came to me,as they are, driving to work last saturday, what more can I say ? this is the muse, this is being in the space intersecting with inspiration, I can not explain it like I can not explain so much of this world, as I am just this one dude existing in this world. with that said…
9.29.2018 “early am drive”
over the green of verdant hill
soft fingers of september sun stretch
glistening
each drop of dew provides
shimmering in the gentle warming of autumn dawn
notes… this is one of those I can not possibly explain, it happened and I loved it at first sight/write, it made me think of so many poets before me, sort of a hybrid (sort of haiku in spirit) but still me, I guess.
9.30.2018 “porch” (series)
I gazed out towards the horizon, searching for a moment of clarity, I paused and listened, and then – I heard a voice in this late september hour:
“yo, we’re not in kansas anymore”
Firstly I was surprised the horizon had a Jersey accent let alone a voice. Secondly I was not sure how the horizon was familiar with the source material. Thirdly I was surprised at what a deft metaphor that was for the passage of one season to another… but then again the horizon has a few billion years on me to contemplate such things. There are so many questions I would like to ask back but the horizon is always so out of reach that my speech can not possibly keep up. Talk about moving the goal posts… if I could somehow thrust myself forward enough to where the horizon will be it will have been and gone before I could even get to the spot, kind of reminds me of tomorrow, something else we never can seem to catch up with or be at. So what to do? Sit back and enjoy the cool air associated with the tilt so subtle in 23 degrees but so defined in the coming winter’s lease. Another year’s ride descends into the end of a julian cycle, hopefully I will see you on the other side, as this whole carousel resets again, for another spin.
notes: nah… I don’t feel like writing any, I don’t think this post needs it although I am playing with some words here, did you get all the asides ?
tonight’s edition of my ongoing experiment.
9.30.2018
trapped in the utter utilitarian mundane, I stumble out of the house locked into the weekly ritual of throwing out the trash after a week’s end and a sunday dinner (portuguese BBQ in this case), so besides my porch (or to the left more accurately) I had a visitor, quite as startled by me as he (or she), a tabby cat whom I do not recognize (and who certainly does not recognize me), so we stared each other down like it was some version of high noon (albeit without the applied tension of an actual gun fight), so, who will budge first from this initial shock and lock? “your move buddy” I mutter, thankfully the cat, as it turns out, speaks english and starts to confidently saunter away (as masterfully as only cats can seem to do), but then I am flush with a small dab of regret, as I like pets and animals in general (and I like to think they might like me back indeed), so as the cat retreats I lower to my knees and make all those sounds we make that seem to catch a cat’s appeal, and for a moment I steal the attention, a pause, a mention, but this cat either does not trust me or has something better to attend to (can not say I blame him/her), so with that, the cat continues on across the paved boundary that separates the two sides of my street, onto the incline of my neighbor’s well-lit driveway, I pick up the garbage bag to finish my task, all the while the cat, looking back, tabby keeping tabs on me wherever I am, this cat seems to have the lure… but also the lesson, and what might happen, with curiosity.
Music? some Voivod, because they will never get the due they are due.
there is just a line there about cheshire cats… listen for it, it is rewarding.
and also digest this, since I am on a cat thing….
and to all who read me, thanks, seriously.
Shades of My Garden 