First Day Of Winter
First day of winter
whiff of skunk under cream cloud
river dark and slow
Sweet Goal
I dreamt that I scored
a sweet goal in the World Cup
and then I woke up
Freedom’s Scent
My dreams remind me
that I don’t know who I am –
they bear freedom’s scent
Loose Mesh
The loose mesh of mind
catches so much, lets so much
slip through without trace
Solstice Tree
A parrot’s flying
parallel to the ceiling
clinging to the fir
Changing Shape
Aftermath of love
when the dead are mists in mind
changing shape, color
Charcoal
The oaks are charcoal
on cloud as a gray squirrel
dives into ivy
At Haulover Bay, St. John
How could I have guessed
squid could be so seductive?
love’s not deductive
Meerkats
A tiny litter
of meerkats in my office
on a shelf of dreams
Now
I am older now
than I’ve ever been, younger
than I’ll ever be
School On Magnolia
This jade is the last
living remnant of the school
where I taught myself
Wild Rose Tangle
In wild rose tangle
twittering small bird chorus
sings praise of sunlight
Bed
I’ve now put to bed
those who once put me to bed –
their last sheets are earth
Ice Ferns
Now sun starts to thaw
ice ferns from the dark puddles
in this muddy trail
Quaint As Clothing
I’m always naked
in my mind, so ideas
seem quaint as clothing
Rose
Sun in the tangle
of leafless winter trees makes
a delicate rose
Flicker’s Head
Top of flicker’s head
all the way up an oak, red
hammer on blue sky
Last Day
Last day of the year
my stomach aches for the past,
for the future, too.
How Wishes Travel
How wishes travel
down the generations, work
mischief and music
Black Noose
A black noose of coots
surrounds three snow white still swans
winter visitors
First Day – 2007
First day of this year
and I’m the same old me who
keeps slipping away
Mob Of Robins
A mob of robins
on the glistening green grass –
did they never leave?
Pink And Eager
Just whose tongue is this
in my mouth, pink and eager
even when I’m not?
Much Too Much
No declarations
of hope or bright ambition –
I’ve felt much too much
Fallen Jerusalem, BVI
Rounded rock and blue
sea and sky, Jerusalem
Fallen is just this
Tracks
I’m leaving behind
tracks to show I didn’t know
where I was going
Final Shore
I’ve started dreaming
about my parents – they have reached
the far final shore
Not Me
The writer’s not me –
if he starts to think he is,
then he’s lost himself
Fog Pillars
Pillars of fog fill
winter morning woods as I
hike toward the sun
January
This warmest winter
coins January of gold
routs buds from their sleep
Changing Sky
Twenty winters I’ve
stared on these same bare gray oaks
against changing sky
Sunday Morning
Sunday morning, tea
and late oranges, sound of Bach
across seas of time
Deeper Mind
What my senses say
is question and answer both
for my deeper mind
Looking Away
Wisdom of looking
away from what I am, from
changing how of now
Undertake
What I undertake
each day is but prelude to
last undertaking
Spring In Winter, January, 2007
The purple crocus
have now joined the wild parade
of spring in winter
No Confusion
White dog and gray cat
basking in warm winter air
show no confusion
Rain On Slate
The white dog asleep,
rain on the slate roof, gray cat
hiding under porch
Far From Home
In winter sunlight,
the pink orchid’s opening
so far from its home
Far Away
Songs from far away
and long ago, Bahia,
where beauty found me
Blue The Sky
How blue the sky is,
how many times I’ve said this,
how blue this sky is
Color Of Milk
At last it’s turned cold
and the puddles are frozen –
ice color of milk
Sunlight And Shadow
Sunlight and shadow
chase each other through the day
till blood tips the west
Crowds
My mind is a crowd
each one with a crowd inside,
each with a story
One Voice
I’m a crowd, can’t speak
with one voice, but must wander
one voice to the next
Greenest Habit
The greenest habit,
is the greenest habitat,
how mind sings itself
To Gaze At The Moon
I’m turning away
from what I might come to know
to gaze at the moon
Yes
Here is where I am
and here, too, is what I am –
grizzled old fool – yes
Slowing
My brain is slowing
and I ask “Better or worse?”
freedom’s not knowing
Wave After Wave
As seacoasts withstand
wave after wave, so we bear
our deep hopes’ dashing
Lone Point
That one cardinal
is the lone point of color
in winter landscape
Ten Years Past
Ten years past I met
a bald eagle on this branch –
for me he ‘s still here
Snow Drops
Snow drops are blooming
in this strange January
that can’t make one flake
Black Snail
Here’s a small black snail
with convoluted chambers,
its own life of sense
So Quiet
If I could open
the door into white dog’s dream
I’d keep so quiet
Newspaper
Gray cat is asleep
on the newspaper – I can’t
bear to disturb her
No Snow
White tails of brown does,
white of swans, white dog trotting
blue lake’s winter rim
Intricacies
Late afternoon light
intricacies of meeting
half a moon in blue
Black
High in leafless oak
black vase shape of crow, watching
featureless blue sky
Cuneiform
In a sand island
in the stream, cuneiform
imprint of deer hooves
Throwing Books Away
Throwing books away
after a lifetime’s reading –
no print in my heart
Yellow Bloom
Under this gray sky
witch hazel’s in yellow bloom
by the old white oak
New Bridge
Tiny children cross
creek on new fallen oak bridge –
they’re bright with delight
Like Skin
This form’s so simple
I’m almost ashamed of it,
but it fits like skin
Self-Immolation
The monk in the flames
can’t step out to talk to me –
I have to go in
Bright Shooting Stars
Rainbows in the hills
by day and bright shooting stars
above the night wind
My Company
I find myself here –
I’m glad of my company –
two hermits in one
Quiet
Now there’s quiet here –
I don’t know where it’s come from
or how it got here
Next To Nothing
All I can put down
of me is next to nothing –
so I nuzzle it
Escape
Simplest things escape
like moths in silver moonlight –
no calling them back
Dawn’s Red Ribbon
The bare oaks impale
dawn’s red ribbon on their tines,
lift it as it grows
On Mei Yao-ch’en’s “Mourning For My Wife, Three Poems”
A thousand long years
before my birth Mei Yao Ch’en
knew my love and grief
Late Winter
I’m already drunk –
cherry blossom ecstasy
is born in winter
Fox On New Snow
A fox on new snow,
the great big red bushy tail’s
sleek gliding shadow
Phantom
The phantom desire
rules my life and makes me want
what I do not want
Wisps Of Smoke
High up in the sky
migrating geese – wisps of smoke
without a chimney
Snow Storm
From featureless cloud
falling white flapping tatters
become one earth sheet
Sweet
Sweet, babble of doves
late in winter as snow melts
and the snow drops bloom
Blue Pair
A blue pair of jays
in the bare weeping cherry
under charcoal sky
Imagination
Imagination
is a country all its own
where I am not me
Applause of Coots
The applause of coots
taking off from this small lake
that’s still half frozen
A New Peep
Spring light’s suddenness
changes the cardinals’ song –
there