Life and the cosmos…

Life and the cosmos…

silhouette of person
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 “the edge of the earth” 4/25/18

I am standing at the edge of the earth

ready to step off

into the universe

maybe our current existence

is actually a flat surface,

so I might fall

into dimensions

of curved comprehensions,

of life

travel back

future past

or perhaps beyond time

subsiding on another string

extending consciousness

by some other means.


I think about life… and death.  I have no memory of any life before mine so am I destined to be just a grain of sand… who disperses into the nothingness of the vast ocean of the universe ?

life began as a proton having a menage a trois with some electrons leading to a single cell organism living happily in a puddle of chemical muck of amino acid building blocks… and then that single thing decides to replicate (as we all want to do but amoebas did not believe in birth control apparently)…  eventually pull itself from the slime (some millions of years later) and climb onto the land … and suddenly has the choice of a galaxy or an iphone.. truly evolution.

for this poem I am invoking a bunch of science… I am saying we could be ‘flat’ not referring to Flat earth belief… but that we think in 3D when there are other dimensions out there.. so we would appear flat to something in a 4D universe (I am also referencing string theory), I know, heady stuff… but I if we just live and die.. what is the point ?  I want to believe there is more… we all do.. some have religion.. some have science… I have nothing… I am still looking, hoping, searching…


music?   Living Colour “Cult of Personality” … this song rings true for decades… plus Vernon is just one bad ass guitar player.

People watching…

People watching…

adults airport black and white building
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I was stuck at the same store for work pretty much all week. Not to complain (it was cool to be out of the office honestly).  Red Bank NJ is a really nice town so that was a bonus.  But working on computers in supermarkets does afford me the opportunity to people watch in the live zoo environment.  I have been doing that but in a different way.  I try to figure out what went into that person, literally meaning, all the circumstances of life and time that lead directly to the person standing there (the ingredients for that particular cake)… it is daunting to think about but… also fascinating, and then juxtapose that with me just being in my little corner of the earth and this concentration of events and experience that makes individuals goes on like a grand machine billions of times of day across this world which is so incredibly tiny against the backdrop of the cosmos…  Hard to wrap your head around, but I try (or maybe that is the way my cookie head crumbles).  Then I wondered what these people see… when they see me.. the posture, the body language (do I have a big dumb forehead? do they check out my butt?).  Do we ever really look at ourselves the way other people do ? Can we ?  I suppose social media helps that if you are honestly yourself in videos… but do people act the same (totally) when a camera is on ?  (There is the scientific theory that something changes when it is under observation) I wonder if future generations will just have cameras all the time and just be… because that is all they will know (Truman Show?).  These are the things that bounce around my mind.  The following should have been part of my live poetry jam I did a couple weeks ago but I totally forgot I wrote it.. I am human after all (my co workers may have issues with that statement).


6.18.18

supermarket

jackson heights

the faces

races

ages

generations

one by one

all in line

check out

with no exceptions

A simple image.

A simple image.

dandelion nature sunlight
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snow globe” 5/23/18

tufts

of dandelion fur

swirling in the wind

cast long shadows

in the late afternoon sun


Semi-haiku I suppose (well, it feels like one to me).  I personally don’t like to be bound to form but it is like anything else in life (you want to wear a comfortable pair of pants that suits you when possible).  Haiku is like watercolor to oil or acrylics in the painting world.  Or maybe I am too lazy to count syllables and I am certainly not Japanese…

The idea of space…

The idea of space…

moon and stars
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inner space” 4/24/18

concentrate

I try to feel every atom

the space in between

science tells me so

I travel the air inside

for the answers to this world


the empty space” 7.12.2018

I am standing

on the end of all known land

I am staring, wondering

I know all this

all this, empty space

and inside

am I just the same?

time ever pulls me on

I struggle

to grip what is beyond

what to make of the landscape

behind

for that which shaped me

and is spent

forward, grinding

until nothing is left

the personal erosion

the never stop heart beat

involuntary breathing

I am falling

into the emptiness

submission

a life’s fulfillment

a dream

has come to an end.


So science (at this time.. because real science changes all the time) tells us by observation that space is actually pretty empty (that’s why the little voyager probes will probably outlive our civilization… 70s tech will last a billion years! oh the power of hot stuff!).  Of course there is the new grease in between the creases thing (see what I mean about science evolving).  So there is immense space in between things but we feel so … connected in our tiny tiny corner of one galaxy in the vast immense insanely large universe… hard to wrap a primitive mind around…  so that is what I was thinking about… the space within our space and how we fill our space within that space.  Heady stuff… but… we only have one life, why not contemplate it all, even if it is much easier to just eat work sleep… I am no different, I’m trying to be, to focus on being a phoenix because I know I am, we all are (well, honestly not every one, I am talking to you, those reading this who have that spark), we choose normal (even our normal) because it takes constant effort to be the pinnacle… but we do owe it to ourselves, even though we will fail… but at least we can get some stuff done… my opinion.


music.  super chill ambient.  Seti “Pharos”, of course SETI is the project to try and detect alien life using the world’s best radio telescopes (like the amazing Arecibo array). This album is a total trip through the cosmos, you can almost imagine the stars as you travel past them (well, at least I can).  draw the shades or curtains, lay back, turn up the bass a little and imagine flying through space passing stars, asteroids and planets… and contemplate what Frank Drake was trying to quantify… definitely some super food for thought.   I appreciate all comments and feedback.. and criticism.. man I love complaints because how the hell am I supposed to see this through your eyes?  hint: I can’t!

Take the dive…

Take the dive…

mountain by the sea
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Acapulco” 5/4/18

I will dive

from barren cliffs

into the sea

to feel the depths

envelop me

without a witness

to the fall

the tide sings

a familiar song

nothing at all

nothing at all

no one at all.


This was inspired by (somewhat) the famous cliff divers of Acapulco in Mexico. They used to be on TV a bunch on ABC’s world wide of sports (dating myself, but that is OK, experience is a good thing).

Some thoughts…. Firstly I am afraid of heights.. so I would never do this in a million years or for a million bucks (besides you really do NOT want to see me in a speedo – and no, that is not me in case you are asking, thankfully I am not that hairy).  Secondly there is the idea (well, fact) that if you do not time your dive jump correctly you go splat (not so nice).  Thirdly I just liked this one when I wrote it (not a single edit, it came out of me just as it is written above, first take)… I think (I don’t want to assume) that most people reading this are fellow travelers in the arts (hello fellow practitioners of words!) or of the creative realms… and whether we would like to admit it or not we have favorite children, for whatever reason, there is that spark that blinds us and makes us proud in the same light (inspiration)… so this is one of those, for better or worse I just enjoyed writing this one… satisfaction.


So, sometimes I am lazy…um, I mean topical !  So here is some cool music to read my blog by.. Tycho “Dive”, if this doesn’t make you groove, check your pulse… open your mind to the electronic divine… this tune sold me on Tycho (not Tyketto… totally a Jersey thing…), if you get a chance go see him live, he tours often

Game of Thrones…

Game of Thrones…

antique armor black and white chrome
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So, being the consummate dork I am a huge fan… not of the books (they are a bit of a mess in my opinion.. I am a Tolkien boy after all, he makes more sense) but the show.   So for the hell of it I wrote some GoT inspired stuff… because… why not.  I love watching the reaction to the show here, I don’t know why, but I find it fascinating.  I’ve entertained in my mind flying out there to watch the final episodes… whenever the hell those come out.. come to think of it the show is now matching the output crawl of the books. Life imitates art imitates art… or something?


“Jon Snow” 7.2.18

wolf of the north
born of ice
blood of fire
descendant of the first men
crossed upon the mantle of tri-fire Targaryen
can the balance tame
a dragon’s ire
Daenerys’ desires
can this bond
shield the world
bend all men
into one will
to repel
the ever coming march
of the dead.

upon the wall
and through
O’ Jon Snow
show us the light of the north
the heart that beats flame
and stand before
the gates of doom
to battle upon
where the night king looms;
we look to you
O’ Jon Snow

7.2.18

in the crypts of Winterfell
rests the ages
the sages of generations
wardens of these northern lands
keepers of the sevens’ grant


This kid was the first to do a GoT theme cover on violin (well, I think)…. 7 years ago, and it still rules your world… I learned how to play this on guitar… and it made me happy.

A dead moth…

A dead moth…

apartment bath bathroom bathtub
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in the bottom of my bath basin.  I do not imagine most Americans call it that.  But the word “tub”… is just.. well, ugh.  I think of a tub of lard… or a tub that you throw stuff into (utilitarian but not exactly a thing of beauty).   I mean, even a Tuba sounds like… a Tub+A.  Guitar has a much cooler ring to it.  Anyway, back to the dead moth.  So this thing flew into my shower and I watched it fly into the beating stream (I have one of those adjustable showers and I like the sado setting like raining ball bearings of hot water pelting my back like a good snowball fight).  I thought about scooping up the guy and letting him back out…. but then I figured.. it’s just a damn moth, how long do they live anyway?  Which set off a philosophical conundrum in the foundry of my mind.   We do not live that long relatively speaking.  A Redwood would probably look at me and scoff… and then a Joshua tree (not the U2 album) would comment about the Redwood “oh those silly kids”.  I kind of like the Buddhist idea of reincarnation but what if there is no remembrance of your former thing?  And what if you were reincarnated as the same thing 10 times… or 1000…  So anyway, the moth took about 2 days to finally go down the drain, it kind of hung out in the tide of my showers…  taunting or haunting me, not sure. Just some food for thought.. or some words to digest.. or some other lame gastronomical appropriation… So here is something vaguely related…


falling” 6.10.18

we are all

in free-fall

terminal velocity

no parachute

or guaranty

without doubt

we reach the bottom

when? we do not know

but the meet the ground

and into

we will go

 

scream or be terrified

or simply

enjoy the ride.

Nostalgia and Routine…

Nostalgia and Routine…

architecture art bridge cliff
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alarm” 6.25.18

my alarm clock is blinking “12:05”

immediate panic, late for work

but then I realize

we had a power outage

besides

there is no way it is five past noon or midnight

who uses an alarm clock anyway

these days

I don’t, I use my phone

honestly, why do I still have the thing?

nostalgia I suppose…


routine” 4/23/18

routine routine

all the same

change the routine

to change

the sun rises to dawn

another day comes

another day gone

and now back the same

routine routine


I often ponder the comfort of things… I am eminently guilty of this as most of us most be.  I look at what once had great personal value and now seems worthless.  I suppose moments (thoughts, feelings, emotions) are harder to warehouse than hardware… but why do we cling to things? Comfort, familiarity… should we chase her? spontaneity…

Weekend fluff…

Weekend fluff…

green grass field during sunset
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I am a creature of habit (not a nun), but a creature of the pun…  I like to keep it light on days off and hell… it’s summer baby !  so why not just have some fun.


6.8.18

fat little woodchuck

bumbling about

side of the parkway

you do not even hide

where were you

when I was a child

I would have marveled

at your silly ways

wack wack waddle waddle

you go about your day


turnabout” 6.8.18

this time

it was Jonah

who swallowed

fudgie the whale


so… Carvel ice cream was a big thing here in the north east US when I was a kid.. Cookie Puss (which sounds like a bad porn name) and Fudgie (OK, I’ll leave that one alone) were huge!  The chipwhich was like an earth changing thing man! and the klondike bars .. !  I must be in the swoon of summer. So, about the woodchucks… I must have not noticed them as a kid, they seem legion now along the GSP… every day driving home I look for their forecast .. (woodchucks are also called groundhogs and well.. I am not explaining the rest).  And about the McDonalds commercial.. I can’t tell you how popular that thing was… and the shared experience of day camp.

Beauty & the Banality…

Beauty & the Banality…

IMG_1817

6.28.18

pastels formed as clouds

pressed up against the sky

late summer afternoon

spring like storms rolling through

watercolors

portend the approaching moon


That is the view from the parking lot of Wegmans supermarket in Woodbridge NJ… cmon! what isn’t inspiring about that… I am remiss to keep posting instant material but.. posting something new is just so much more … um… “new” feeling, boy am I profound! I want to get to stuff I wrote the past month or so (stuff I really like)… I will but I have been overwhelmed by instant lately and it makes some of my other stuff seem stale when you are birthing work directly, almost immediately.  In  the same car trip (my ultra cool exciting ride home from work) I wrote this about an hour earlier…


6.28.18

on the golden shores

of my dreams

the sea glistens

tides rise and fall

of shimmering sequins

the sun bathes healing light

malice is an unheard rumor

spite a harmless shadow upon the ground

I take

a deep breath

on the golden shores, of my dreams


Once again I was writing this in my head while driving (muttering to myself like a madman)… and that is what sucks about cell phones/ear buds by the way.. in NYC you used to be able to pick out the truly crazy people who were talking to themselves… now they are in disguise!  anyhoo…. so I was at my fave rest area penning the above. Maybe after I become a renowned poet (after I am dead 200 years) they will name this rest stop in my honor… oh, the immortality of it all.  I would be honored if families stopped to pee in my honor…  I probably won’t actually be honored as I will most certainly be dead.


music?  I am going with a more recent fave of mine… tycho, he is also an artist (beside music)… I have to say his tshirt I bought is like the damn softest thing ever…  but forget all that and enjoy the music (electronic, not dance… thoughtful ambient ?) wait for the moment @ 4:34 …. brilliance… tycho “epoch” (his latest work)