Poems by an Old Reprobate

Dawn overslept

2011-12-03T18:26:00.001-08:00

Dawn overslept

rubs eyes

opens curtains of night

no apologies for london plane trees

naked leaves with foliage down

rumpled at feet

as if stepping from cold morning ablutions

late november's mist and drizzle

i with camera coaxed out of doors

breaking hush in dim twilight

senses at point

scan shrubbery for opportune takes

there! amongst ruddy lance-shaped leaves

pearly droplet clinging to branch

pulsing with urge to let go

.....click! did i or did i not .....

like heartbeat of quivering life

recorded in digital image

i may hold original finitely in electronic stasis

as it was and never will be again

aware how gods or no gods

we may enter and be touched by beyond

beyond what commonly seems to exist

and quench our longing in uncommon splendour

December mmxi

Of love

2011-10-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

Of love
         so quick to tongue
be wary
         tis for young to learn
we fail by falling
      in and out
qualified to earn
        how happy how sorry

subject to poet's metaphor
      this esteemed estate
where selves subsumed
      fall under sway consummate
beyond fancy or expectation
      synthesis
opening out
      what we share commonly
and how different
      to meet to hear to explore
this fair intimacy
      arriving through hardihood and puissance
at matched experience
      cherished in contemplation
and enjoyed as it unfolds
      so to let be let be
let become what becomes

mmix

of origin ...

2011-10-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

... being of itself utmost bounty
calls originality into being

In the beginning
       was the thing most and only alike itself
most alike what it was
   and the beginning
being original arose out of its own spontaneity
   so the beginning was
and always is the beginning
   which we are wont to call right and good
not being able to dance upon the point of π
   harmonious proportion
being itself as itself in every way

you and i sue are of that seed and flowering
   being ever alike and not alike
and endowed with a sense of proportion
   in order to declare thisisthis and thatisthat
we shape into particular things single or many
   each a novel identity even in likeness
droplets of the infinite flux and endless flow
   which are never lost or estranged
except incidentally or to themselves hapless
   for the fulness of being known
is itself being itself in every way
   through spontaneity dancing upon the point of π
or finding own selfhood when seeming most lost

mmx

Tich, on guilt

2011-10-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

From Tich Backhouse`s Confessions

Whan i feelz a spazm o`guilt comin`on, i sez to mesen, Tich, me lad, that horsewhip aint yore owen, tiz relick ob your forefaderz who knew no better, treated thissenz like wild beasts.
So i takes me orf t Blaxmitz Armz fer a pint o wallop ter show i iz kind t dumb animulez.

LEA

Hey luv

2011-10-17T17:21:00.000-07:00

  Hey luv let us go a-jaunting o
      when the red-cheeked sun
in her walking-out attire
      rises laughing over the horizon

scooting by watchful hawk and eagle
      down to the jaunty seagull's hangout
rocky shore sandy beach weedy marge
      where tireless tide's urge to push and pull
from bygone sagacity rules
      poseidon's fishy realm and aphrodite's foamy origin
where awareness begat sentiency

yes our home too: briny and ozone
      whose thriving presence invigorates
while we alert and observant pole and peer
thrilled and often chilled never want for wonder
for this is a force beholden to no-one
      and like love provides and demands
generous and severe

L.E.A., mmix

Solipsis

2011-10-16T02:28:00.000-07:00

Take the eye of mind
the longing "i"
the knowing "i"
explore its subtle self
as in a scrying glass
lit by the lantern of the psyche

enter the cavern of the cranium
at the threshold of awareness
where shapeless musings
beckon at the ports of insight

i have explored the passages of self
braved the introspective dark
undistracted by spectral fantasies
in antiquated dress
which spell-bind with doomsay and revelation
those who peep
then look askance

i learned to step ahead
with ear attuned to resonances
echoic as in a void
and slept inside the tomb of yesterday

where sunlight creeps into the eastern hall
there i awake to life
and mingle with that throng
of feelings thoughts appearances
that market-place
my personality
where i belong
my self-meant territory

early 60s, rev. mmxi

body aint what it were

2011-10-14T02:14:00.000-07:00

He didn't ask
what state
how low
he felt
not himself
snake-bitten
no escape
his body's travail
wasted
on mundane labour
slumps in chair
sees hand
between thumb and forefinger
map like vellum
translucent
where veins and skin
in perspective
recognize
terrain of age
state he fell in
poor sod
his body
distressed by pain
demands recognition
and yes
briefly mended
he'll disregard
again
and suffer
humiliation
known as
old duffer

mmxi

In company of angels

2011-10-12T01:50:00.000-07:00

In company of angels

no doubt music

medium of heavenly expression

for sounds born of where why what if

would be clucked out of marble halls

imperilled as they are with uncertainty

thuswise we keep our feet on ground

under doubt's contrary shadow

in purposeful endeavour

to wring out of refractory consonants

and arbitrary vowels

what stands in for

what is behind standing in for

affinity found by imagination

beyond witness reason

can with agreement

no question raised

join our divided parts

and arrive where wisdom fails

discovering in womb's

combobulative song

eloquent tongue

our throats with wingèd chords

leaping through lusty strains

will dare angelic choirs

exhuberant response:

hail ye boo-ba-boo yeah ...!

mmxi

Hellhound Bay

2010-10-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

I'll tell you a thing
    a thing to be told
rodent like hellhound
    more fiendish more bold

one moment twere serpent
    an 'terpsichore t'other
any shape it could wear
    as sister to brother

o doubt not you cynic
    each word that I utter
never sandwich so thick
    or spread so with butter

the like never hunted
    not as hungry for prey
as savage in mien
    nor kraken nor ray

oh that bestial spawn
    from dregs o the deep
they say he were born
    without mother to weep

ferocity incarnate
    at ravening prey
parastichopus    hydromedusa
    outviciousing they

o fear ye at midnight
    o fear ye at noon
neither garlic nor crosstalk
    will ward you from harm

take heed of my warning
    bend ear    mind your act
stay clear of the saltchuck
    at walpurgisnacht

for hallowe'en mmx

true blues

2010-10-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

Let's not sing the blues      mister
      i got 'nough hurt
spilled to lose
      no kind o moody song
kin take me that place
      where sadness don't belong
how in hell can i bear
      that caterwailin guitar
of down-n-dismal romance
      sure had my share
long time this guy larnin
      what double-dealin do
yore heartache caint cure
      wretched at night
hate mornin too

better move right along
      this feller digs the score
that blues hauling old freight
      no use t feel sore
what's gone's gone
      keep head on straight
if she's right woman
      no matter what's ne t
wisen up      you kin wait

laurie ashton dec mmi

sense out of sensibility

2010-10-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

Tut     promise you     love
   never did peremptory utterance
so get left ad hoc to chance
i'd tell you first
    what occurs by slow or urgent degrees
as we dabble or plunge
    in shallows or deeps
thus rehearsed by petty daily drama met
should rule through neglect of rule

trust in faith can't offer trust
    nor constancy without equivocation

upon each mutual occasion
    foregoing what is yet to be owed
as with avowal greater gathered
    this then and now whenever
mishap by no means misled
    continuity aptly prevails
each to each engaged in together-meant

heart so beats     breath so swells
    upon matters that tacit matter

oh tis tizzy admits malice
    soothly restored for affirmative
fondest affection     tender regard     caring touch
    earthier than precepts of importunate imperative love
determination more ready to equable concern
    by mere fantastic sentiments unmoved

tis t'woosomeness
    un-put-able tongue-wise     other than ...

... companionate elucidation

sept 29th mmx

Before we were wed

2010-03-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

Before we were wed
   how often we'd said
love lasts and no foolin'
   we've written the ruling

alas   how come   why
   you 'n i made time fly
too soon and we split:
   never mind and that's it

alas   howcome   why
   time flies to th' limit
twain t' two gone by
   before we can tame it

exposure to wind
   and exposure to weather
blows off yr headdress
   'n sprightly tail feather

epode to life (singing ,,,

oh i looked it over
   happy over
still it's over for a long long time

mcmlxxx__

Mud Bay, October mmix

2010-03-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

Mud Bay, you'll stay as you were
   in our weather eye this day
dank desolate late october
   heavy drizzle   wind tilts umbrellas

and cameras sprayed with rain
   high tide featurless unmoved
such pounding on grass and reeds
   clumps of heavy-headed flowers
saturated and subdued   like us

no we didn't shout in confrontation
   nothing dramatic   too busy coping
by mutual support   tangle of togs and gear
   elements aim breath-taking shots at us

lone great blue heron empties locality
   at our substitution and elects distant post
marching legs of railroad   trestle dwindling
   like our comfort zone

blown away and had enough
   we seek alleviations of car
content to be present and in companionable spirts
   when earth and weather conjoin
   treating us to spectacular visitation

mmix

to laughter insubstantial

2010-03-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

You don't have to be ilkla moor baht hat
   or doolahlitap
to dig th' infra
   simply touched
when you encounter number's outcome
   death's door
dearth of plenty    dower of none

cheer up   says sparrow
   layin' down bow-n-arrow
cue tip to review

likelihood's where we're at
   certainty - trust in bonce's sponsorship
gone for a burton

trees in breeze    mare's tails in sky
   supply verity to you and i
anticipating rain or clarity
   consulting obedience   habit's tie

on measure   we stake our lot
   crossroads of heart's dilemma
passion a-sighin an' a-sobbin
   topknot counts us out
guts in denial
   as evermore invites us in

suzerain transcendence   sacreblah
   dig the infra
doff thinking capstone
   feel how and what and is
source of up and does and wrests worth

egyptian goddess nut overarching sky
   twin of world-god geb
pictured bending from horizon to horizon
   in touching embrace poised
primitive vision   shattered as visions must
   until beyondwherewithal   manumitted from human whatness

my   oh my   unbounded unmindful at last
   singing paean as visions slip away
until what is not is not

mmix

Whatever you may call it

2009-12-24T01:16:00.000-08:00

Whatever you may call it
    sun stands still on its head
before it turns into new orbit
    make of that what you will
call it winter solstice    romans did
    sacrifice or sanctify with observance
kiss under mistletoe or paint town red
    'taint hope or dread affects outcome
why'd we let sun's axis tax us
    summoning luck or gods' boon
hence moonface or sunny demeanour
    in expectation of new year:
may generous health your days attend
    with firm friends and love held dear

mmx

Dream

2009-10-30T01:39:00.000-07:00

My interpretation of last night's dreams, how diseases could be like people, or vice versa, you never can trust their good offices, be on your guard!

Yesterday i read a monograph (an unusually long one) on APO-PREDNISONE 5mg which i have had prescribed to alleviate symptoms of a chest and lung condition; i have been in an apathetic bodily state, translated into mental, even emotional, due to (mainly) a simple fact, breathing an unhealthy air, which most subjects here seem to survive; but only for regenerated and "normal", enjoying this state of being alive and curiously happy about what i am doing and where i am, at the beach, seaside, fresh "ozone" in my lungs or "prana" or oxygen (as we call it) but like the yoga books i read, a life-giving influxicant (?) "inspiration", spirit, the will and energy to "be immediately whole" physically and mentally when partaken of or breathed in to condition the body, mind, all senses. Too wordy!

This monograph was dire with nay-saying and "ill" prognostications which set me aflame with instant coals of hell ahead - or some such panic. Words spring out alive like Pallas Athene in my brain & thigh, armed, and in this case, dangerous.

The "air" is buzzing - people agog about the 'flu, esp. the new "in" flu, H1N1, and bulletins, hazardous and rife, proceed from the mouth of authorities - "get your shot, vaccinated, be safe, make all safe, etc!!!" I'm to get my dose in a week, both vaccines, yet i read in my monograph on prednisone, no no no no don't get vaccinated or associated with those that are (Sue got a shot from her doctor last week - the first flu) quote,

"Do not have vaccinations, immunizations, or skin-tests ... live vaccines may cause serious complications (eg. infection)"

Oh dear. But Sue steadied me, sane as she is, having studied these bizarre formulations in her wont for biology and medicine. Cancel vaccination if doctor orders.

Last night, i seem to have translated or symbolized or interpreted the monograph into fantastic dreams, people instead of bugs, kind and nasty by turns - you never know which it seems - i was in the society of a large family or related people who lived in a corner of land (3 acres) near me, outlandish folk, who by connivance and entrapment conveyed me (innocent as i was) to some gathering ...

(damn but at the point i was to write out what took place, my porridge boiled over, stove-top a mess, my hasty efforts to retrieve ruined same dish - no breakfast to go with the prednisone, a must! - and by now 11am washed out, with porridge, recollection of dream, even in poor detail ...)

I recall only how they alternated between (feigned) attentive kindness and spite - the shoddy lot! - lost my trust, and harried me, till a sweet young thing took me under a care, walking me back to where i came from (?nearby their place) but me no buts, by then i expected a denouement or turning against me as a body (showing their true nature) and this mockup of a treat (the muchness of the girl's blueyed presence) instantly put me on guard. It was she to deliver retribution or punitive blow to my safety & esteem. I woke up in a tizzy.

mmix

Untitled

2009-10-22T18:53:00.000-07:00

My sleep    i tell     be still
    because it dream of thee
nervous as leonina melibe
    that slips from here to there
by no one shape possessed

o tell me    heart
    that be i sore or sad
more in head than in thee

though tis dream i dream
    dreamless addressing thee
thy potent afflatus
    as if some demented lodgment
penetrates my brain

yes even mottled vagary
    of fashion or motion
forgotten as soon as seen
    art thou in my subcranial
notices    albeit more unreal
    than illusive self i tend

oh yes    what you demand
    in my most demented dreams     i fend

oct, mmix

after reading Thomas Campion his verses
when ill and medicated, my awakening turn to pen

Manifesto or Rant in Deep Gaze Delving

2009-10-18T15:19:00.000-07:00

Part 1

Oh kindred by birth and death related
    on teeming earth dwellling
commerce of pulsating organs
    through cellular intelligence impregnated
origin infinitude
    coming from and going to
tissues importunate with growth
    who lustful live and dissolute die
deprived of wants that fail through vicissitude
    misadventure of this fickle cycle
oh community of indeterminate animation
    born to accident and challenged with loss
what could recompense injury more apt than relief
    or compassion restrain intemperate demands
mind by inspiration more than ambition
    accedes to conscience' better eye

oh community of kinds at odds about ends
    from means obtained how known
except some antic universal cause
    with wisdom from past lore elicited
attend to beginnings how led
    in what purposive directions
community with concern for fellowship in common
    variously inclined to unique identity apart
whose insights preserved by ritual and practice
    though skilfully employed with attainments incredible in scope
none consider a priori right to hierarchical supremacy
    except vain attitude of one self-indulgent species
that would cite imperative authority for distinct unfellowship

Part 2

oh human kin new-born to wonder
    with delight and curiosity ennobled
body and mind in accord
    rudely aroused to consciousness
giving tongue in elemental protest
    by need informed and by habit conditioned
sufficiently quick of self commanding
    to prove original independence
whether as ready to oblige as defy

oh spirit of animation by what cost
    of nature natural with instinct imbued
sooner or late conforming to species' interest
    determined by adapting to curcumstance
how taught how inclined from ingenuity informed
    external ground from internal experience differentiating
until what's known through sensible perception
    surrenders to thought's conceptual validity
immediacy distanced by objectivity from abstract truth
    i self-consciously felt as me
that other self    falling short of ideality
    uniform perfection    state of ultimate virtue
thwarting companionship with teeming earth
    disowned in favour of superior image
conceit of human ego    rogue arrogance
    even vassals' due denied
oracular epitaph so inscribed:
    ah weal and woe kinship's loss
    homage and fealty disdained

finis

mmix

To Love

2009-10-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

For young to learn
    or apprise by falling
in    and out:
    'to love'    verb
wordworthy adjective
    for poets' courtly
conduct and conduit between
    where selves get subsumed

love: to dote
    falls short on staying power
misses mark    butt of cupid's shaft
    might as well go sky-larking
as vaunt the quill
    or mope the turtle-dove

tis comminution of vocabulary
    before love divine'
s versatile synthesis of
    pointing out and recognizing
what's in common and differs

how rare to find
    this coming to mind's twain
arriving arriving arriving at
    matched experiences
above expectation
    thus contemplated    and let be let be
let be

mmix

after reading poems on love by elizabeth b. browning

Does my mother need an ornament

2009-07-13T17:36:00.000-07:00

Does my mother need an ornament

for she was no angel halo-sent

besides, her heart was stone-cold

after my father went

was he her immaterial precedent?

mcmlxxx

Innocence caint lie

2009-06-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

Innocence caint lie
    experience is why
truth may be a viper
    inner sense caint lie

sure as candour
    short of truth is shy
tricks kin forfeit verity
    inner sense aint sly

may innocence be free
    from truths you lay on us
lie's a lie tho seeming wise
    sneaky self-serving compromise

nah    inner sense aint show
    tis anonymous antithesis
to reason's blowhard certainty
    an' informs our musing sentience

mmix

End o road blues

2009-06-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

Tharz an end to th' road dearie
    an end to th' road
road whar i iz agoin
    weary wid my load

oh    i loves you truly
    loves you all day through
but nights iz harder dearie
    cos they gits some dreary blue

sees end has t' come dearie
    sees end has to come
    taint wrong feelin what i feels
though loves you plenty some

tharz an end to th' road dearie
    an end to th' road
down road whar lovez a maybe
    alivin iz my load

mmix

Irreverent rant n testymeant: tich backhouse

2008-11-25T17:32:00.000-08:00

Got flea in me ear
    caint be shuffled off t hell
widout benefit o appeal t wotzwot
    tis jurisdiction o common plea
taint big deal     tiz bumsteer
    prim or maudlin bible-punchin
brot uz to dis pass
    bended knee to mitred boss on high
nix on blame n guilt     tiz small beer

seems pundit god fabled celeb in ecstatic fit
    went gaga    jines bevy o disportin spheres az wun
blows script    dis wurld on ours slips offen hook
    anomaly wid mind f owen
grate unifying theory unstuck
    cumz orbital spin whimsickal
spurns imperative net o niceties
    regularity aint zactly where itz at
seasons along o nite n day kick traces
    till chancetz lack clout
odds n evens juggle places
    'n wot cuddnt be cumz about

animated matter
    roused frum cumbrous clay
by sunz radiance bidden
    crawls on land    propels in sea
each feedin on remains o tother
    dietz implicit conservation

elemental sphere
    habitat o proliferatin critters
thorough ordeal o happenstance
    provokes urgency ter suffer n persist
commandin guile n craft
    means dat persuade sentient beins
ter triumph n surpass
    ober wot dey were an now iz
till upstart species
    aspires t status atop heap
full o theyselns
    az favoured beyond mortal ken

whan I tich were tad back then
    skipped sunday schoo-ul fer deviltry
clumb up nearby abandoned windmill
    an' lookit far
openin eyes     how prospects depend
    az stature o humans diminishes
view hullo frum on high heady tonic

dig tich filosofusser n gadfly
    axin dis grate pinweelin proliferation
wherewhichwise be you agoin
    sizin up does n donts
I figger how more fools kicks bucket
    dan enters mewlin fer tit

quiz     how cumz about dis burden o care
    arrogatin estate ober earthen naybours
handed down az damnable legacy
    contrary t second nature o give-n-take
tiz greed     tiz prejudice     tiz vulgar pride
    wud deny we iz kin

wotz point o larnin matters
    beyon our sensible ken
if'n they don’t sit obligin
    like painterz model
compliant t perfecshunz exactitude
    till orl wunderz ob dis consummation
seem throwen like gardez loo frum casement
    or night-soil on fields o bishopz glebe

nah quitten tizzy
    we kin wit queriex acumen or mudder wit
resolve wotz nearby an ' at large
    stead o bandyin contumashush pros n cons
as if'n eyen lost touch wi' haid

sez I tich surely conclusive
    opt fer originall provenance
deaf ear t bumptious propheteers
    an' lib owen lot az best t prove
we aint stuckup gods nor lickspittles neider
    accomplex nodes o sentience we
carbon copies haha
    sweet generous birthrite gibben
cos we iz dem n dey iz us
    engorgin n transformin
nut cowerin on fall o hammer
    cum soon cum later by-n-bye
tiz nut ours ter pry

wherezupon leavin off me disquizition
    landlord    tis honour bends yr dooty
tap barrel o feisty forebeerz brew
    grateful draught we sups
in cheer o gran ancestral lineage
    wez tagend on
frum mite to might-be
    you haz dun uz proud
I is toot finis

tich, oct 21st, '008, blaxsmit armz

Kitchen rigs' hop

2008-11-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

Crotchetty fridge's
    clackety-clack
catchy hook
    as if on track
with radio's jazz
    trumpet solo
floating by
    sweetlier made
in liquid notes
    to splashing faucet's
funky metre
    plop plop plop per…
lop
oh yeah
    premiere performance
this once only
    my kitchen rigs' hop
man     if I can jive
    wonky joints in rhythm
at eighty-two
    and still get with 'm
ah yes     I'm alive

mmviii

*Upon getting a spanking new fridge that turned out defective.

Sorry for the gap in posting

2008-11-10T13:19:00.000-08:00

Hi, all; sorry for the unexplained gap in posting. Laurie's amanuensis, here.

Laurie has been prevented from writing for a while; eye surgeries, assorted other issues.

He's back! I will be posting his poetry again, shortly.

Dream

2008-08-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

I come alone to this unwholesome spot
    shut off from the passersby
where the garbage sprawls over acres
    and I recognize my collected consciousness
site of every care and feeling I disinherited
    and the air smells like the entrails of a disembodied animal

now I know how my natural spring of joy went underground
    choked up and went underground
buried by this debris
    no wonder!
I realize my fear of discovery
    cost me more dearly than any of those paltry sins
I hid    alas!

mcmlxx__ (rev. mmviii)

Distances and magnitudes

2008-08-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

Distances and magnitudes
    impress upon our vision
how far seems far?
how high seems high?
    extremes compel our attention
from the daintiest flower
            to the loftiest peak
    we gain perspective and proportion

respect - for which we may long
    as well as accord –
counts less than immediacy
    how feelings feel
thoughts and the words they evoke
    come later

presences transcend the what of things
    whether now or now-gone-by
to touch the indescribable agency
    we call "heart"
prevails, survives, pounds in our blood
    we are embraced
drawn into the bosom
    of the undeniable "it is"

mmviii

Yen for zen or buzz & buzz

2008-08-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

To lose is to possess
    wordy logic
refuses to shut up

oh    where may
    rest achieve
balancing act's
    standing start

as paper thought
    ink assumes
command …
    thus art

you know my
    nom de plume
at feather's touch
    ouch!

few    fewer
    not less
more few    less than few

capitals seldom
    refuse to capitalize
on their upper case
    disguise

no can mean yes
    and    come along    goodbye
tears and laughter
    can both be losers
not trying    can try

mmviii

Jest like to wonderland

2008-08-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

Yes    your spirit goes to heaven
    jest like you were before
xackly        cept you got no worries
    no bothersome you name it
jest like to wonderland
    snug in yore mother's you name it
only difference is difference
    you got none
difference is wot you left behind
    cos it so worrisome
now you got cosy wall-to-golden wall same as

spirit deft yclept for me
    leaps in veins
you dasnt smile in vain
    nor shed tears neither
you live with circumstance
    for no smiles no tears
both go together
    can't take it with you
alas for the lack
    you realize that    don't you

mmviii

Lilypads float motionless

2008-06-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

Lilypads float motionless in midair
    fish glide through an insubstantial medium
            we can only trace by filmy apparitions
        transporting us past our conscious selves
            into an underworld of lurking-places
                as if sketched in child's crayon
        mirrors of the above begotten below

while a white sparkling waterlily
    the manifest star of this unlikely haven
        winks with promise:

    "what you give shall be received
        though it comes out not as you thought
            or perchoice hoped
        it comes out nevertheless
            justly in balance
                at a remove
                    from your browbent reckoning"

a fulfillment as prompt to the heart
    as if to our astonishment
        we realize
    it is here
        not there
    that we belong

mmii

And here we are

2008-06-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

Next to precious breath
    next thing to cherish
no    not love imperishable
    nor dearth of punitive hurt
nothing fabulous
    like indulgent life
after the fact

yes    affirmation
    blood's pounding tide
active confirmation
    without doubt of inference
after sedulous thought
    instance at one go
here I am     therefore there am i

mmviii

Dear little spark

2008-06-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

Dear little spark
    atom monad or quark
you flame in the forge's breath
    elemental one with nameless ancestry
wonder how you came to be
    particular force or undulant light
star in mimicry    that by day by night
    has spun and shaped entirely
the fabric of our vision
    selfless you lie upon the shelf of my desire
the utmost    yet the least of things
    tell me    where did you get your wings

mcmlx__ , rev. mmviii

Crinoline Bridge

2008-06-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

Crinoline bridge
    where once we met
wandered up
    that cobbled street
a place to tryst
    fit for a royal pair
in coach and four
    and us no less

we found a pub
    by instinct's guide
apt with the humour
    of an age before

here we two sat
    with taptser's mild
glad to hold hands
    and no words said
till    alas    lunchhour fled

the clock stood still
    for now I see
that arching bridge
    the shallow stream
and you my dear
    as you were then

what would I be
    not half the man
without the sense
    of yesterwhen

mmviii

Solipsis

2008-06-10T21:21:00.000-07:00

Take the eye of mind
    the longing i
    the knowing i
explore its subtle self
    as in a mirror
lit by the psyche's lambent flame

a cavern dark and subterranean
    where streaks of vapour
hide the recessed chambers
    to one who peeps
then looks askance

I have seen those caves
    have groped among the passages of self
explored the unreal dark
    and slept inside the tomb of yesterday
I learned to step ahead
    with ready foot
and ear attuned to echoes soft or strange

where sunlight creeps into the eastern hall
    there I awake to life
and mingle with the throng of feelings, presences
    and thoughts
that market-place    where I belong
    awake to self
my self-meant territory

mcmlx, rev. mmviii

Names

2008-06-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

These names, mementoes,
Tickets that by your leave
Can reproduce a past event.
Some names that I've forgotten
And some as well-remembered,
Bringing smiles to eyes now poker-sharp
That blink upon the passing of a sleep.

Say so-and-so, a place to go
When we were leisure-conscious;
A bag of chips beside a pub
And cider drunk in daylight spaces
Between the shady trees.

Still, names like these
Cannot survive our day;
And where they go, to vanish,
Those long-disposed-of memories,
I cannot tell. But wish them well.

mcmlx

All the passions mustered

2008-06-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

All the passions mustered
Cannot rule a garden
Planted seeds may spring
And grow; now rain now sun
Have fostered germination; straightly bound
To rise and uplift seeking
Present a shoot, a leaf, a flower-face
To skies as open as an angel's forehead.
So I leave my daring apprehension.
Tension of a need, a loss deplored.
Within this need-less heart I capture
Confirmations, glory and my word.

mcmlx

At Ryder Lake - a weekend visit to my cabin

2008-05-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

My dog and cat
    what can I do for them
who sit together on the steps and wait
    upon my going
going out to part
    my life is twisted in the stem
and I who
    last to choose
must either stay or go
    postpone our fate
the estrangement of a file
    in someone's providential
cabinet up there
    no doubt where is father
to a motto

so I drink a brother glass to prove
    the pose of reason
is no match in satisfying
    man's esteem
in short
    I'm getting blotto!

mcmlxiii rev. mmviii

Civilization

2008-05-21T02:50:00.000-07:00

A deck of cards
    dealt by the dealer
as they fall out
    and played according to a hoyle
whose rules enforced
    ensure the transactions of the game

a house of cards
    struck as a pasteboard pageant
of foreshadowy perceptions
    within the precincts of a crystal ball

see how the pictures
    dance and shuffle
hearts and diamonds
    lead the motley throng
with the kings and queens attending
    to the cries of
"show your hand!"

spades and clubs are bosses
    run the verbose show
disturbing threats they utter
    whenever dancers slow

come dance the minuet my queens
    come laugh and mime you knaves
aces in a hole declare
    that trumps will call
and cards will fall
    upon a deuce of judgment day
alike upon a judge of deucement day
    alike upon the cracking packing doom

mcmlx… rev. mmviii

Cut down to sighs

2008-05-12T16:57:00.000-07:00

Aint outright difference ventually
    standards differ exclusive
peoplez a to zero just-so inclined
    like yer popular bookended
gilt-n-leather-bound volumes
    orl fer show

diffz singular incognito exception
    escapes who's who
can be domiciled by upper-case entitlement
    or yore scryptic latin incantation:
like darwinz heresy
    disturbs status quo vadis

neverbuddyz trueblue pals in concert
    cum down to brass tax
sumz gotta dance happystance
    sumz gotta sing boo-hoo blue
sum follers fiddlerz green
    sum pied piper
whose service we pay thru nose or rue

hasten or tarry
    stay single or marry
dig human logix whim
    how truthz tongue-in-cheek
an we iz turnabout fickle
    demonsterable primitive psyche
frum humblest to vainest
    universal a priori ahem!

nobuddyz exemplary
    imagewise in-mirror-copywhite     nah!
cos diffz me-n-you swapping god forfends
    playing hung-up or put-down
sing-song commonplaces reiterated ad lib
    made-to-measure lies as amends
winner gets booby prize

diffz uz emerging frum womb
    spelling out yer likely prophecies
cum cum    admit    aint we orl
    born lonely in company forlorn
aint we    aint we
    long long to cum despite resumé
cut down ventually
    cut down to equal size

mmviii

Tears don't mend

2008-05-11T04:49:00.000-07:00

Tears don't mend
    like tears in cloth
nor does pain stand still
    like unstruck bell

touch to quick of grief
    tugs at scar tissue
vestige of prior hurt
    mortal reminder of event's remove

sap dripping from wounded bark
    birds' and insects' plunder
tree's life fluid
    preserved as amber

injured epidermal layers
    assimilate suffering's burden
memorialized distress
    by benign craft healing

mmviii

I saw a vision once

2008-05-10T16:44:00.000-07:00

I saw a vision once
    let's not mock at visions
I have seen what eyes deny
    and feelings understand by intuition
whose world is right by knowing?
    what we have felt is just
and knowing shortly judges feeling

I believe my fancy
    let it play as fiddles dance
the tune my feet will tap
    the barrel-organ and the flute
are instruments of pleasure
    take them gladly or sadly
badly fails to please

I saw a vision once
    it taught me not a whit
about this peopled planet
    although I learnt the threefold rule
what it meant was meaningless
    the visioning was clear
visions are horizons
    they explore the hemisphere we never reach

let us teach ourselves as best we may
    find out the vision suited to our looking
I have spent a lifetime nearly
    searching out my need
the dream I swore to find has dissipated
    the flesh lives on:    the soul-search deprecated

vision as it was    and will be     I adore
    as madmen know the cost
the mind is not lost
    as long as searching searches
and the field is clear
    snuff out the candle when the wick is dim
bury him!     he burnt a flame
    in his own name!

mcmlxii, rev. mmviii

Rich get rich

2008-05-05T00:47:00.000-07:00

Rich get rich
poor get poorer
call it "bottom line on top"
is too near the bone
nothing to do with Darwin

mmv

There's sometimes a sunny corner

2008-05-04T00:58:00.000-07:00

There's sometimes a sunny corner
    just nicely in the shade
where gloom can gather glimmer
    and no remarks are made
where daffodils or tulips
    spring-born delight to show
they love the clement weather
    and they are good to know
    where love has planted seed
a garden fit is raised
    and folk go arm-in-arm
through rows of life amazed
there's sometimes a sunny corner
    to watch proceedings from
a garden in a nutshell
    a place when no-one's home

mcmxcix

When hope is dead

2008-05-03T00:49:00.000-07:00

When hope
    is dead
patience seems
no virtue.
but
    out of
        the
            void
cometh forth
the new.

mcmxcix

Aphorism

2008-05-02T00:44:00.000-07:00

People who live in public houses
with a glass in hand
often get stoned

mmv

Behold

2008-05-01T00:41:00.000-07:00

Behold how the innocent bee
is seduced by the ravishing maw
of the lascivious cherry flower

mmv

Once upon a goodly Summertime

2008-04-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

Once upon a goodly Summertime
there fell a Winter wind
and i fell ill
sick at heart
wilfully whimpering
whimsically caught
like a parachuted seed
on a splintered limb
that might otherwise
gladly land anywhere
to coax the cold earth
through the pale year
to burst into Spring
blossoming

mm

Mere Meme-plexity

2008-04-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

I see what you meme
    he sed
a meme isn't a mime
    though it's similar
    not inimical
    but amicable
as if memory were mammary
    seeking same teat
and every meme rehearses
    tedious old rhyme:
memeplex in time-tether
all sucks together

mmv

Summer

2008-04-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

Summer's around the corner
with yellow roses and canterbury bells
Summer's an honour
like holding your hand
while I'm murmuring 'Very wells'
that weren't planned
we agree simply and spontaneously
That's Summer to me:
your smile
and how you have a look that tells

mmi

A thousand words

2008-04-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

A thousand words
or a thousand days
nearer to expressing his heart's devoir
the unbidden lover
languishes behind a shut door

mmv

Busier than the busiest

2008-04-24T22:14:00.000-07:00

Busier than the busiest, busy thee
none more busy, not even foraging bee
strange that the honey a toiler should prove
though from sweetness comes strength -
or so they declare!
Thine industry is worthier far
than seven-score housewives, each to a chore
for by comparison, their deed is done, that and no more
whereas for thee, my hasty dear
doors bend upon a spacious landscape
bravely unfurled
workings of the heart

As for myself, i fly at what intrigues
the need to know how come how go
tis not my choice, nor vice, nor inkling's homily
that i should, inadvertent me, the bonds of study
take on
i loathe travail
assigned to impulse, driven or drawn
by sensible logic's keen severity

And so in this, being complementary
not contrary-wise to you
tis why, both being suited, thou and i
merrier are we and more loving thereby

mmv

Busy the moon is

2008-04-23T22:12:00.000-07:00

Busy the moon is
fair to see
busy to play
hide-and-go-seek with
at night among the clouds

even in my dreams
my fairest dreams
replete with felicity
i have not seen fairer

ah, that i could capture
capture and kiss
those maiden-proud lips

but lo! presently
she shape-shifts
into a haggard old man, listless:
why, oh why?

mm

fragments

2008-04-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

one empty word
fills the void

the curse
a skull whose hollow
cranium
conceals a few drops
of last night's rain

funny how being thirsty
i drank from your stagnant pool
and in my delirium
took the fever for love

mm

Walking with Willie

2008-04-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

Luv, at the time i was walking with Willie
we weren't mashing, nothing of the sort
he held my hand, turned and said
    "Doris, i want to court you"

what'll Dad do, i thought
get mad, tell him to get lost?
    "there's better than you in store for her"
he might smartly rhetorical
and Willie, what'll Willie retort
    bein' a cobbler's lad?

no, Willie's a billet do, a ticket of goods
    he's smashing!
he held my hand like a proper pal
    turned and proposed, just sesame beaucoup

luv, whatever Dad and Mam may purpose
i stood and gave him my heart, savoy fair
when you get a brave dare like that, take it
luv, i'm walking through life with Willie

mcmlxxxvi, rev. '99

To M, from the North Shore

2008-04-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

Across the harbour
lights of downtown city
blinking
into tardy sleep

i, at my window
seat for contemplation
by fantasy of beckoning pen
reach out to you

a restless mood
in fellow-feeling
with those transient rays
bright wands
that play in squiggles on the water

so you, my dear, are present in my head
held luminous or else
by turns extinguished

go to bed…? no, i linger
chastened and sombre
whilst wavery beams
leap from the darkened waterfront
to show
how naked under this evening sky
my hopes can fly
or fall
both high and low

mcmlxiv, rev. mmi

When i go to the Wars

2008-04-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

When i go to the Wars
i shall go hence
as if subject to Mars
yet Venus or Aphrodite
she, your resemblance
will be

mmv

Dead grass

2008-04-17T21:15:00.000-07:00

Dead grass    the farmer said
   they eat dead grass
as i wondered what the cows did
out there in the spare sunlight
of the frosty meadow
   the wiser i watched them ambling across the turf
and i felt sorry for the cows
with nothing to do a hurdle on their necks
as if i too were a cropper of dead grass
in a bare pasture waiting to be led back to a warm barn
and fed

mcmlxi

Same ol' story

2008-04-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

Same ol' story
candle sure don't shine
wax iz burnin' low
waitin' fr that man
scared since he iz mine
'fraid to let him go

mmv

Trains make me sad

2008-04-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

Trains make me sad i cried
unaware of the lie
for the tracks run straight to your door
and i am there before the train
can leave the station

mcmlxi

We pay a price

2008-04-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

We pay a price for living
is the price too dear?
oh no! fear
is too near the bone
to place a value upon
“turn again Whittington!”

time marches
in quick step
or slow
just so
the paean and the pang

one arrow to the bow
many to the quiver
armed by providence
against what accident
may deliver

mmv

To be a child again

2008-04-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

To be a child again!
    whittling a ship shaped from a stick
    walking homeward with a skip
being holiday-wise
    or seeing life from the teeter-
    totter tipsy view
    askew or upside-down for fun
and summer’s done through a hoop
    with a holler
wheedling a dollar for the theatre
    or grubbing in dear dirty earth
shelling peas to thieve the culls
these carrots onions turnips
    eaten raw or else disdained
health maintained precariously
    on a diet of
    crust     mouth full sticky with honey
    busting to be gone
    call on favourite pal
britches torn reaching for thrush’s nest
    in hedgerow
feet wet from leaping ditches—
    not quite
    socks soaking in sun to dry
provoking fights with kid brother
concluding nights
    out like a light

oh if i had my druthers
    to live life again…
what a chance to change
    nothing! but zip! happily
    range the gamut of joys and losses
owing no debt to fate
    except a taste i cannot sate
    and a lively heart like a ship that tosses

mmi

To fly a kite

2008-04-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

To fly a kite light in the sky
    a streamer-cloud balloons blowing children hallo-ing
looking up wide-eyed

i’d rather be born again
than died in the wool at school     head bent over
    perusing paper with inkblots scrawls marks
        for a hundred per cent the ultimate

    flip your lid! fly that kite! watch it duck as we tug
leaping eager to clamber out of sight
    kids must be wrong as well as right
trust as strong as a heart-string can pull us down to earth
    for a rebirth

    those desks they sit in
with lids like kettles over ids
    simmering
        scrawled on blackboards like toilet-walls
‘two and two make four’     (raise your hand when you know the score)

    jericho blow! fanfare of hope! eye’s opening wider
greeting the spider’s web of kite trails in cloud-streamers
    of windwards blowing children ho-hoing like Buddha

    lap it up! whoop it up!
kittycat can look at the queen
    where have you been lately     growing up?

mcmlxx, rev. mmi

Prison gate, agassiz, bc, dec '63

2008-04-06T01:36:00.000-07:00

These children!     doukhobors!
    pretty girls in comely dress
to make us proudly canadians!

    mad anarchists?    to make believe!
who these?
    their shelters rude as beggars' lairs in city niches
yet the dignity of pride is here
    ingeniously-fitted frames of lath and pole
with walls of transparent plastic
    visible to public gaze
to hide no bad intentions

    their site a disused gravel pit
a people shunned
    is that the best officialdom can do?
a misled vision and a futile trek to the promised land
    vagrancy?

    never mind the place    the view
my heart is glad to own a heart of native timbre
    steeple-bells speak to all attentive ears

    welcome is the human touch
in meanest dwellings
    whether clay or wood abode
wherever feeling dwells
    the pealing bells
renew their loud appealing

dec, mcmlxiii (rev. mmvii)

Where were we now?

2008-04-01T01:26:00.000-07:00

Where were we now?
the thing just happened
it was neither short nor long
nor sweet nor sour    nor blue nor gay
it was -    as I said

this alone is news    between the headlines
and the classified we find
a piece of mind stamped with the idiom of laconics
simplified and qualified to suit
the tastes of no-one in particular
it is vehicular

as I said:    no-one spoke
or wrote    or thought
it just fell out    -spontaneously?
come    let's agree
the point is missed
if you insist on knowing
tactful as a 'coon at feeding-time
I wash my hands
I'm going

mcmlx

Hesitation

2008-03-22T02:50:00.000-07:00

Who hesitates at death – I'm one
what hinders crossing over?
burden of ownership
once shed … gone!

mcmlx

Singularity

2008-03-18T01:45:00.000-07:00

Singularity's blast
    so long ago
paean of praise
    don't serve now
many more
    big bangs due
fabled last days
    or cycle anew?

mcmlx

If i say kissing someone

2008-03-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

If I say kissing someone
suits my fancy,     do you know
whose lips I mean?    or if I say
love's will be done    do you care
whose eyes return my stare
unrewarded?
this heart has guarded forty-one
done-to-a-turn     sizzled    frazzled
seasons    those long hot summers
dazzled by the sun
that turned out bummers!
so if I say    kissing someone
come what may will repay
my fancy    do you care
my eyelids stare    fold over
like errant balls
lost in neighbours' gardens
with forty-one summers
beyond recall?
do you care    do you care
do you unreward my stare
debonair one whose lips
I mean    I mean to own?

mmlx, amended mmvii

As the peony bud

2008-03-15T02:40:00.000-07:00

As the peony bud
bends on a slender
stalk
my heart's opening
awareness
bends in deference

mcmlx

No exceptions

2008-03-15T01:53:00.000-07:00

"Each of us
        must eventually be alone
    so why kid ourselves
        love can make any exceptions?"
he said
    as he slipped into bed beside her
    beside himself
she grunted
"brother, don't work yourself into a lather
        before the event
    never fear, you'll be alone soon enough
        after we're done"

together they made out
    hand in hand    face to face
        under the white sheet
    laying ghosts
    comforted

mcmlxxiii

The draught of your going

2008-03-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

The draught of your going
has followed you across the room
and I wait in a vacuum of grief
until the breeze of your return

Wotz purpose o life: Leckcheer by Tich Backhouse

2008-03-10T13:12:00.000-07:00

Leckcheer deliberated t macadam road senile delinquents club

Wotz purpose o life
whyfor consarned u axes
u wants rewards o virtue extended
u wants orl same benefit o dayly labour
u wants many appy ansum returns o loot bespeculated
lissen up Tich tellz wot sovran purpose
yore breathin goodly air dat won't b wasted iz

purpose o life iz wurk
i sez wurk cos energy subtile dynamick wot drives dis wurld on ourz
frum direpad babbies thru to daffy-down-dilly ol codgerz liken uz
plus frilly matronz gon whoopee in haid
tiz gran prime mobility holz us tergither
youze brite eyes gotta earn keep wid bothersum chores
so duz brawny dodger hoose labourz amountin ter hercules hissen
akeepin u-nanimated iz objeck
ebry cell o body corpuscular strainz nerves t limit
conjining wun fer orl n orl fer wun in determinal mind
wot u callz concert performance
till u stanzaz ereck an attainz stature
each in proper sequins
swich configgerz ackchual critter
human beenz wot we iz bein wot we iz
allus adoin summat no matterz wot
yore walkin talkin laffin dancin sobbin
noddin orf ter zzzs iz orl wurk
wurk taxes care on us – n we taxes precarious
or we flies tangential to curves ob big round O
so jest hitch up yer skirts
r tighten yer bibs-n-braces az maybe
weze destinned ter keep agoin strong
weaken den ony den purpose erecks sanitorial haid
uze gotten rid of
rubbish litterin lanzscape fairboden
tis ony rite circumstanzas given az iz
wot dont wurk dun deal
savvy now up n atom

mmvii

Pride

2008-03-07T01:47:00.000-08:00

Pride is the rock
on which my ship breaks
and I find myself
treading the cold water
where once I thought
I walked

mcmlx

Ego

2008-03-06T01:46:00.000-08:00

Fuck you
I'm it
the centre pin
of what makes the welkin ring
and I don't apologize
one bit

mcmlx

The Minstrel Passes

2008-03-05T05:10:00.000-08:00

To whistle and sing
A trivial thing
But a note that I wrote
Told a tale
And the song I have borne
In my throat
Like the musical call
Of the whale
Or the humming-bird whir
Tells a tale
Fit to hear, from a friend
A trivial tale
With no end
A rise and a fall
That is all.

mcmlx

Predatory Cherry

2008-03-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

.

Predatory cherry tree
assaults foundations
of untoward building
fruitless endeavour
enraged colony emerges
topples with blade and saw
full flower of its glory

april, mmv

Little Brown Buddha

2008-03-03T17:48:00.000-08:00

Llittle brown buddha
wooden god
before I go to the land of nod
tell me
this yearning for another
is it worthwhile?
I see you smile
stretch fill out your belly with breath
and resume your yawning

mcmlx

Carnal Tulip

2008-03-03T00:37:00.000-08:00

.

Carnal tulip
like arachnid creature
with prehensile crimson limbs
staining escalloped frills
of creamiest cream
black eyes hideous within

mmv

The Blue Tit

2008-03-02T02:31:00.000-08:00

The Blue Tit sits on the orchard bough
her avian mind consults the now;
        sun and flowers and crows and bugs
she perches she poses she sniffs the breeze
    she shrugs and sings, “I’m quite at ease
        with sun and flowers
            attending the hours
    as if things were planned to do as i please”
“That’s what i think,” the Blue Tit sings
    on the orchard bough
        blithely folding her wings.

mmiii

We're back!

2008-03-02T02:24:00.000-08:00

Due to health and other issues, this blog has not been updated for several weeks.

We're back to normal now, and daily posting will resume. To the half-dozen of you who have been faithfully dropping in, thank you, and keep coming back.

i can't stand

2008-02-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

I can't stand in your mirror
    nor you in mine
mirroring brings images to focus
    bounce off in reflections
bedazzlement that embrightens
    the gloom of staring
at nobody in the room
    but yourself
whose light i cannot stand in
    insight ain't inerrantly à propos
0f what we are convinced
    comes like alice's quantum stroll
through the looking glass
    brought to livelier bloom
than is taught

mmviii

What does heartache matter

2008-01-31T19:10:00.000-08:00

What does heartache matter
taint matter of what you can earn
taint matter of playing holy on sunday
taint what you hardheaded could learn

what does heartache matter
squeeze my heart like a garlic press
i bleed the sweetest tincture from hurting
and hurting, whom can i bless

mcmlxxxiii

of its own kind

2008-01-12T04:37:00.000-08:00

Better than half-lies
    half to be heard
and half to be winked at
    for you to figure

    bettter than half-truths
living out their half-lives
    like impotent sparks
of a damp fire's dalliance

    better than non sequitur
led by the nose
    and off we go
none knows where

    what we stand for
is what we are
    resolute in choosing
more resolute to care

    schooling heart survives
with lessons learned and understood
    sui generis
in fathomed appraisal
    despite your honorific
shall and should

mmviii

New Year's Resolution

2008-01-05T19:09:00.000-08:00

Oh lord
     i promise
tomorrow i'm crossin over
    i promise     i promise
goin on t'other side

cant help lovin and hopin for today
cant help it less than suicide
what d' y' do now y' do what y' do
    except promise
        mouthful o' hope
    I cain't swaller
        'n i promise lord
tomorrow 'm crossin over
goin on t'other side

lord     i recognize
    infernal grandiose
        smoke machine's scenario's
            gonna capture y'
if y' don seek eternal rapture

but for today lord
    gotta stay till i get a preview peek
    gotta wait 'n see

oh i promise
    yes i promise
whate'er betide
i'll be yours truly
i'll cross way over
tomorrow i'm goin on t'other side

mcmxcix rev. mmviii

Jesus is the most

2008-01-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

Jesus is the most
he's my favrit
talk show host
though julius caesar seizes me more
because he reports from
both ends of the spear

mcmlxxxviii

Having acknowledged...

2008-01-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

Having acknowledged
    the great least understood
having tested the quality
    of the celestial garment's hem
having maundered on the rim
    of the joyless void
having clapped one hand
    in response to the keenest zen koan
do I then run about
    like a crazed teen fan
    waving the vaunted signature
nor do I lie back moping
    as if my hands were tied

mmvii

The crew

2007-12-29T00:26:00.000-08:00

Rough men     rough hands and tongue
    rough for the purpose
a job to do and a will to do it
    when the shovel swings
a tune is played
    rhythm of muscles and motion

Good men
    good to dig a ditch with
shovel and gravel and pipe and tamp
    down in the hole
the cribber's dared
    hardpan or silt
wet ditch and dry
    they're the boys to work with

When a job's to be done
    and every last son-
of-a-bitch must be working
    they're the boys to work with

mcmlxiii, rev. mmvii

The yellow hat

2007-12-28T02:19:00.000-08:00

Hard of voice and gut
    the yellow hat
tough as it takes
    when the gauntlet's thrown

he'll brag
    the yellow hat
a match for any boast

is it the pipe to lay
    fighting the mud
cribbing the cave-away -
    no-one else would

watch him at work
    pushin the crew
first by example
    less'll not do

when the going gets tough
    and the boys cry enough
there's one never quits
        it's
    the yellow hat

mcmlxiii

To Goretti; paraphrases of two Chinese poems

2007-12-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

(Inspired by the translation of two poems engraved on antique jade plaques, in the collection of Goretti Lee Roberts.)

What delight
taking tea
    in the bower
by the banana plant
    bamboo and fir tree
rustling in rhythm
    with the pitter-patter
of the rain
    the bright moon above

~~~~~~~~

These fine sensible souls
    contentedly resting
where flowers prosper
    after strenuous day's walk
heartfelt pleasure
    upon sight of full moon
presiding over mountains and lakes

mmvii

Two faithful wives

2007-12-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

Two faithful wives
    or perhaps wise women
the art of theatre
    drawn as if from the life
japanese ladies choosing flowers
    for the elaboration of their simple bowers

an exemplary scene
    reminds me of our happy excursions
and the wayside companions we apprize
    with many a will-we or shall-we
as an excuse for dilly-dallying
    you and me, lass
no nonsense between us
    though much that is nonsensical, nevertheless

led up and down the garden path
    by the wonders under our noses
agreeable disposed to each other
    and what most distracts to take note of:
winged and leggèd creatures
rocks and rockbound
plants and trees in the season
and clouds chimerical
    as soon assembled as let go

just-so happiness
    is sustained thereby
for permanence exists in the ephemeral
    and our fondness – call it how you will
the disposition and the pursuit thereof
    being in the present tense persists
letting the clock go about its business unobserved
    hands that practice due diligence
till we decide the tense is perfect
    and call a stay for tea

i love our humble silly-sallying
    and a common delight in the commonplace
a regard most rare
    shared perhaps by these two wise women
     or faithful wives
which shall be my image
    that i bend to pick as a whimsical posy
a tribute in your honour
at this Winter Solstice
year two thousand and three

mmiii

Blissful bed

2007-12-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

Bllissful bed where luxury lies
    in thrallèd virtue of your eyes
rebellion lurks at issue whence
you return gentled virtue out of violence
and undo hair    restrained from flair
    so to observe and drawn thither behold
bold shyness hidden        invitation's trust
    in reticence turns and lightning thrust
as breast to breast prudence is cast
    perforce aside        and also pride
loss becomes least and more glory beside
    fond versus vain    all else at rest
perquisite's gain engaged stands fast
    and so proclaims love's gleeful heart
at your invitation tussle is won
    betousled and fragrant to awake as one

mmvii

Impromptu

2007-12-11T12:23:00.000-08:00

Obedient as the letter of the law
    i arise
consult the skies
    for prophecies and predilections
now it's my turn to shine
    let the sun do what it will
am i a stickler
    or a traveller who's gone too far
over the hill?

mm

to the pot susannah likes

2007-12-06T01:50:00.000-08:00

Rotund and exhuberant vessel!
vase or bowl you may be
too small for either
meant perhaps to be fondled
though physical integrity suspect
still cleaving despite the cleavage
and made more precious thereby
    here you are boldly declaring
I! instance of the matter that matters
vibrant opposites consonantly engaged
in twain identity attracting and embracing
proving that from difference
springs difference anew
    an occasion for festive jubilation
for such is love
which submits not to degree
and sensible of intensity
comes by degrees
into the province of impulsive embrace
still cleaving despite cleavage
    no doubt an exhuberant vessel
meant to be fondled
made more precious thereby

mmv

To an Unreal Mistress

2007-12-03T00:59:00.000-08:00

Dearest unreachable miss, i do not amend my worldly lust
    nor tread the path of prudence for your sake
to bear your silent scoldings with despair
    that ears now deaf to hope's address would me mistake

You feign indifference whether i may come or go
    yet tempt me more, though i can never bind
your flesh to mine by sound or touch or sight
    as living mistresses the feast, not goal i'd find

No, i forswear both kisses loose and fond
the grave lies deep in eyes that seek that bond

mcmlxii (rev. mmi)

To Joceline

2007-11-24T03:04:00.000-08:00

Say . . . joss!
    let's give the rules a holiday!    from you
who take the cake
    like a faith in the exhuberance of living
simply for enjoyment's sake
    to me who peck at the crumbs
grudgingly
    as if committing a sinful act of pleasure
tell me    when are the tables turned
    you know: the unmerry-go-round mad hatterwise
picking up someone else's empty cup
    with apologies

to dodge the questioning
    let's pretend we're the guests
call the waitress
    we'll set out the goodies on our sensual table
the limit's our ability to pay in laughter
    we'll pile sensation to the skies
forgetting all about the cost
    until we've had a bellyful of what we're after!
the moral's clear    move over gal!
    as long as imperfection rules the roost
the gamest cocks get to crow . . . let's go!

mcmlxiii, rev. mmvii

Slug it out!

2007-11-21T02:02:00.000-08:00

Ants in nest
encounter tampering hand
due either to mischief or curiosity
display diligence and fortitude
in repairing adversity

whereas we human creatures
provoked by hand of fate
deplore plead beg lament
question why of misfortune
feelings put out of joint

ant also subject to suffering
dares no idle claim to compassion
earns mercy of labour's reward
resumption of gainful endeavour
by no fault of its own undone

mmvi

Disconsolate child

2007-11-20T00:15:00.000-08:00

Disconsolate child hugs doll
surrogate image of comfort
to which we, too, turn
in our adversity

mmv

See poetry (fragment)

2007-11-19T01:02:00.000-08:00

... See poetry. she lies
as all gray –powdered predications
lie, like periwigs on empty heads.
Be nice. Discard the lice.
Beribboned as a beauty fair
Cherry-heart has drunk the ripeness of her eyes.

mlxx

Last Words and Testament of Reverend Divine Doctrinaire Bideen

2007-11-16T19:19:00.000-08:00

Last Words and Testament of Reverend Divine Doctrinaire Bideen

Late of Persia and this World

On Consideration of a Dear Friend and Filosofusser, Tich Backhouse

If you, dear Reader, will kindly vacate the idle rocking-chair on your sun-warmed porch and turn to the Byrne Abbey slopes, looking south down towards the Byrne's Bog and the Big Bend where our famous salmon-navigating river fattens on the tide of the salt sea, you will notice a tall red brick chimbley, our own recycling plant, where this township's refuse is burnt and committed to the ether and thrown in smoky spirals by arbitrary winds back whence it came to descend as smut on the streets and fields of our domicile.

Next to the chimbly stands another recycling plant, the Institute for Incorrigible Women; that is, those who are deemed in need of correction but are beyond a husband's balmy influence; and over to the east by the spurline railway tracks, the Honey Haven Ranch, adjunct of Byrne Abbey Hospice and Sanatorium, residence and workplace for crackpots and senile miscreants whose principal offense is that they suffer from mental disability. Of which, i, your servant, Tich Backhouse, is one. We are detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure, which is not returned. Yus, we iz halfway round the Big Bend, but don't let that put you off.

The Rev. Divine Doctre Bideen and i had fallen in with each other at the ranch during several past incarcerations. And a wondrous man to his friends he was. I liked him on the spot. He was one of that rare ilk, the ilk of human kindness, and his crime – if crime it may be – was absent-mindedness: he lent and borrowed money as if it were cheap scrip – which it were to him – forgetting whose wallet it belonged in and he was invariably seized for non-payment of bills. So they put him in a position where he could not earn any money to pay it back. That's governmint fer you!

I wouldn't listen to a critical word about the good doctre, unless it were that his mind were too large fer the brain of a mortal man. His attention was fixed on no temporal horizon and he arranged his curious vocabulary of abstractions in capital letters, thinking words needed no grinding on the philosopher's stone if they were heartfelt.

He got his degrees in Metaphysix 'n Theology at Ispahan University in Persia, and he was a Haji by right, which means he executed the duty of every true Muslim believer and went afoot on a pilgrimage to Mecca. So you can cast no aspersians, ha ha!

How he got to Byrne Abbey, i dunno. 'Twasn't any hankerin' fer the Sisters of Mercy, which is our institutions present mentors, besides he were celibate and never gazed at a woman above their buttoned shanks. He had been a Sufi among the Turks and perhaps they drove him out. And he were at Tiblis or Tiflis when the original Doukobours negotiated a passage West. So he may have come with them. I wisht he talked more about actual people 'n' places an' less about bloodless ideas. But there's a confirmed philosofusser for y': that were hiz bent an' bless him for it! I've copied some of his animadversions – "pipedreamz", az i called them – while we were occupying up 'n' down berths at the funny farm. I shall miss him, an' Honey Haven will never agin be my second home.

Tich

I know it's Fall

2007-11-16T13:31:00.000-08:00

I know it's Fall
    cos my knees are cold
They'll get used to it
    as i will
    this reformed Thyrsus of mine
    but warmer dressed
A storm in a huff
    precipitates hailstones
    drumming its heels on the roof
    so i look out, startled
    and a zealous wind
    fall's janitor
    is thrashing the cedars and cherries
    until they writhe
    . . .  leaving behind
    this seamless layer of cloud
    like the underside of a massive broadloom
    barefaced as a tart at a wake

"Stay in!" you counsel
    "It will clear later"
But this is the seasonal cusp
    when dozing waterfowl
    open the other eye
    and recall timely invitations
    to greet the sun elsewhere
Probability is
    it won't let up tomorrow
Dash it! Mustn't get broody
    turn on the heater
    choose an easy chair and book:
    that mystery set in sultry Baetica
           switch to a brighter station
          rummaging as thought will
        to a destination
A poem, celebrating
    the shorter rotation of the sun
    after the Equinox:

O Fall, Thou Fell Antagonist
            and Usurper
    Who dids't Maternal Summer
        swipe with barbarous hand
    Anent Thine own o'erhasty accession ...

Sorry, can't continue. I feel old
    Maundering!
I see my own countenance
    in Summer's decline
    and Fall's succession
    A matching parody
Can't get broody
    A cup of tangy Ceylon tea
    my compatible chair
    the book and Thou, my Dearest
    always in my thoughts

Oh, Fall, welcome!
    But wipe Thy nose!
Unruly gusts, white-rimed frosts
    and scouring rains
    you summon;
    and if your temper suits
    that peerless antithesis:
    Indian Summer
Lucky i am to salute Thee
    in my seventy-first year

mcmxcvii

Virtue stands

2007-11-12T23:39:00.000-08:00

Regal virtue stands now irresolute
won't by itself bestir
as if chained like Prometheus to adamantine rock
conscience gnawing with cruel maw
outraged liver

mmvi