Teleological

Science
really sticks to the baser questions
about how the world works
sure it tells us much
and teaches more
but it will always fail
to tell us why...

Lego Time

The banging has stopped

the children have gone to bed

now it's time

adult time

we have a lego viking castke to finish

and kids just get in the way.

Urban Touring

Happy day!
the snows have come
I couldn't wait till finals done
and so I played to school and back
and "how" you ask did I have fun?
Let's say I test with ski boots on!

Sparkles

Turns out
when it drops below zero
you see little sparkles
all around.

Some might say
that it is the water from the air
freezing
and flitting about.

Turns out
it can also be
your contacts
freezing to your eye.

Final

Come inside
you freezing notes
tidbits of info
cold
all scattered
where the winds of confusion blow.

Come where it's warm
inside my head
where you can snuggle
and I can see
what you all look like
together.

White as Snow

I wake
the earth is white
a pure solemness
falling in tiny flakes
clean.

But then I remember
after the melt in Colorado
when we would find
all our dirty toys
and secrets
out on the front yard
for all to see.

Snow doesn't purify
it just covers up.

California Dreams

She stopped
like a bug in molasses
moving
but not forward
"What is it?"
"This is my first time seeing snowfall"
California dreams
Don't hold a candle
to powder.

Veterans

I choke when I hear
the bodies thrown
to the hungry jaws of war
always chewing
without a stomach
just a tube
that feeds them right back in again
Uniforms get all mixed together
in that blender
buttons come off
and Velcro names
get jumbled together
like magnetic letters on a fridge.

Right or wrong
its hell
and call me naive
but that's the way I feel.

Blagojevich

Back to work!
The governor said
a day after arrest.

I did not try
to sell the seat
to who would pay the best!

I don't believe
nor do my peers
that you are free of blame

we have the tapes
we've heard you words
you need to leave in shame

It may just prove
that I am wrong
in asking you to stand

But know today
you're not at work
to help your fellow man.

Light

Oh light-
you bounce
bend
refract
and absorb.

Some say God is light.

Ok, what's His wavelength?

Stupid Things

Saying stupid things-
You would think
that you would grow out of it
Just wake up
with a tongue of intellect
that saw the future
and the past
One day
I hope for that
I really do.

Lamplight

I hold my lamp
a feeble flame
but it works for now.

House

As I build my life

sometimes I come across a piece

that doesn't fit anywhere

so I put it in my back pocket

and continue to build

until I can see where it goes.

Guitar Man

I went to a concert last night
wispy fingers scratched chords
through a duct tape guitar
and an harmonica held up
by a lashed piece of bamboo.

Close your eyes
he sounds like many
then you can hear
the faint melody
pulsing like a flickering memory.

Routine

So much to do this day
yet first I write a verse
because I have to
I wish I could say
it was a release
to transcend mediocrity
the daily grind
the demands of living.

But its not
I do it...
because I said I would.

Gollum on Hobbits

Hobbits are terrible, nasty things
they must always be avoided
they will steal what is most precious to you
and dangle it, keeping you captive
by a promise you made to what you love
they will deceive, bind, hit
and throw you to your death
relieving their curse
and returning yours
at the same time.

Yes,
Hobbits are wicked things.

Fading

Some people live
lives half empty
dead eyes
striving for vapors
and reaching for dust.

Not that I'm any better

Little Bottle

A little bottle

of sparkling cider

sits on my desk.

It's empty now.

Dumpster Diving

I heard about a man

who lived for a year

out of refuse

cast off goods, 

food, 

and shelter.

He learned

where the best stuff was

wrapped in separate bags

buried deep within kitchen waste

like the discarder

didn't want the discardee

to find a thing.

Buried

The deep things

of the heart

are often buried

deep deep

like a dark secret

or a gemstone

or a black vein of coal.

Mountains

I climb

with friend

up up up

till the mossy green

yields to patchy snow

and blowing winds.

The tracks ahead

fill with drifting snow

the pass is near.

And as we stand

in ankle-deep whiteness

just missing the liquid fire

but still seeing glowing embers

of an extinguished sun

I can't help but to look

and follow the ridgeline.

There are mountains to climb.

Antsy

Sometimes
I want to bury my head
deep in the ground
with a little tube to the surface
to breath
and eat
and drink.

I would probably get antsy
(that's just how I am)
and want more than a tube.

Great

You are so so big
and I so small
if you only knew
nothing would change
and that's what makes you great.

You give
it pours out of you
like rain
or orange juice.

I hope you don't run out.

Climate Change

As I breath out
you breath in
recycling my gas.

I respirate
you assimilate
Together we'll build mass.

But strange things brew
as I change on you
the atmosphere so great.

What once you lacked
you now can't stand
you lower uptake rate!

Rivals

Pullman fills
with people from around the state
the stadium is packed
with alumnous rabble
some in purple
others in red
and I wonder
why would you hate
a husky so much.

It's not like they're a Ute.

Two Worlds

I straddle two worlds
one says, "that crazy religious right"
and the other, "join together on prop 8"
They are pretty much the same
on so many other points
that I forget who goes to church
and who doesn't.

In my science
I see creation
the management of life
in pools and fluxes
flowing haphazardly
a sand dune
grown from a random grain
into a mountain.

In my soul
I see creation
a purpose in my being
responsibility
service
Eternal Hope.

Do I straddle,
or do I span?

Apical Meristem

Grow little plant, grow
you do so much
without even trying
the closest you come to a brain
is a bundle of cells
that pumps out hormones
grow grow grow.

Then I think
about how we're not that different
especially
when I was in high school
and college
and grad school.

Grow little plant
grow.

Warp

A moment spent
is gone forever
but I wish
I could make it stretch
from yesterday
to tomorrow.

Genealogy

On Monday night I sat and learned
how indexing can be performed
the sister Gibbs came, Moscow way
to share with us a bright new day
death records, county, from all the land
entered twice, and checked by hand
so those who wish to build their tree
can do so with some help from me!

Check here for more info

Depression

In the great depression
people still smiled
although they may have taken a bit longer.

Clouds

Like pulsing traffic
they wash across the blue
a conveyor of cotton
they move east
towards Moscow
(Idaho)
and Elk River
and the Sawtooths
until they squeeze together
too dense to float
nucleating around a mite
until they fall
and shred through
mountain, rock, and earth.

Pretty good for a cloud.

Coyote

Coyote is a trickster,
follows his stomach
when he should follow his head.

Under Moon

Under moon
a silver shadow
painting greens and browns
black and gray
across the hills of the Palouse
I think about where I am
how my heart
still yearns for the smell of sage
carried by hot current
dried sweat.

I will be ok here
it's taken me a bit
to get used to
and I can always run home
if I really wanted to.

Unnatural

Rust-brown bars
stuck into the earth
like thick bristling hairs
on a man who hasn't shaved for a few
draping electricity
to home
school
and traffic light.

It's easy to forget
that they really don't belong.

Yield

To yield a heart
a mind
a soul
to Someone Else
is agony.

To strip away
from vein
artery
and muscle
tearing tissue
ripping flesh
the wheat and the tare
share roots after all.

To present
a bleeding heart
with holes ripped
once filled with appetite
and lust
not a gift I would want.

But Someone does
I still don't understand why.

Veterans

I honor you
who do what I cannot
and leave family
for country.

I honor you
who take each day
and live for something greater.

I honor you
and pray
that we can figure out something better.

Map

A million things to do
and I write poems
not for you
but for me
to teach me how to talk
what I am
where my dreams lay down
to sleep and dream themselves.

A map guides my feet
with roads
an contour
but what guides my heart?

Exalted

I struggle with my thorn
but I feel
with or without it
I would not be exalted
I'm too close to the earth
the warm brown fills my nose
like the North Carolina summer
the screaming of cicada
doesn't bother me a bit
because I'm too tired to care.

Keep my thorn
if anything it pulls me up
not like a tether
but a fishhook
tearing in until it's deep enough
to plop me on a boat
flopping for air
a fish out of water.

Yeah
I'll need some work
before I get my harp.

Forrest Gump

You carry the name
of a sheet-laden hooligan
wore the braces
of a rocky society
until you broke free
to become that which those who mock
wished most to be
whisper to your grave friend
you will be together again.

Lonely

I'm not sitting alone
thank you very much
I have memories
to keep me company,
dreams
to keep me motivated
and perspective
to keep me laughing.

No I'm not alone
but you can sit here
if you like.

Something Quick

Just a note
to those who think
I am a serious person...

I mean seriously
you really think that?

A kiss

A kiss
is a whisper shared
a breath lent
and a moment suspended.

Emperor

It's good to know
what people want your picture for
before you send it in.

Or else
you end up
at a lunch with many forks
and people who pour your salad dressing
with this as a backdrop.

yadda yadda

Yadda Yadda
a catchy phrase
says so much
with nothing at all.

Facebook

A digital friend
is a friend indeed
yes we can be friends
you asked after all
Does Facebook let me add enemies?

So So

So long
can be so short
depending on what side of so you're on.

Memory

A touch
can be so near
and so far
at the same time.

Like the sun
on your back
it's there
but years away.

Flock of Leaves

Leaves

dance on the wind

a flock of birds

twisting in the air

creating traffic from nothing

then landing

one by one

a whispering mass.

Until they get scared

by a passing breeze

and do it all again.

Enter the Dragon

In China
they are so backwards
use the bathroom standing up
don't form lines
and eat split-pea Popsicles
remember their traditions
and sacrifice for the future.

Love and Stars

To write of the stars

is to write of love

so many have tried

some have come close

but none have succeeded.

Discovery

I remember hearing things

when I was little

that didn't make sense

to my little ears

but now

make too much sense

and I wish that I was little again.

Multiplicity

Never has so little
meant so much,
thank you.

Patience

Patience-
Isn't waiting for summer
but enjoying winter.

Legos

I am playing legos

and I am 25

I made a giant bug

with a stinger

and still didn't clean up.

Sorry Mom.

Revolution

Today is the day

the leaves went on strike

stick it to the man

and put up a fight.

Not sugar for you!

they cry to the tree

We won't be your slaves

and work without pay.

They yellowed and red

in bursts of display

a new revolution

the dawn of a day.

Until they discovered

to all their chagrin

that brittle they grew

and fell in the wind.

For their true support

from the tree all along

was cut out by them

as they sung their song.

Poetry

The song of pen

when no music plays

and when the quiet places of the heart

need to speak.

Moon Phase

Does the moon grow sad

as she wanes from earth

and turns away

from fall walks through firework trees

and summer evenings

spent lit by glow bugs

and giggling kids?

Or is she happy

with the respite

from a thousand screams

dark alleys

and violent nights?

What have we done with the peace of the stars?

Thank You

Does a thank you note

really count

if you were asked a thousand times

to write it?

Anonymous

I remember a note
that I got in eighth grade
left on my desk
scrawled with loopy pink letters.

"If you did your hair,
lost the glasses
and changed your clothes
you'd be pretty cute."

I have contacts now
but haven't showered today
and am wearing a shirt I found in a bin
but I think I'm pretty cute anyways.

We never had a chance Nikki.

Cave Man Games

I remember
I was ten
and we rented Cave Man games
for the NES
that we all chipped in for.

It took us a week
to learn how to toss our wives
and club our friends
and build fire with sticks.

And you would think
that if we played it again
now
we would be too grown up
and it would seem like a waste of time.

You would be wrong.

Hydrology

It's sinking in
like water through soil
drawing through me
out of me
into me.

Fall

The dying lay
rustling like withered flesh
life pulsing out
under the cold sun
as they dry
their veins stretch through their skin
their spines arch
into a ball
where they roll under foot
and crunch
smaller and smaller
until they are only dust
then dirt
then life.

Smilin'

A smile on my face today
stuck on
like sharpie on an overhead
or pine pitch
on fingertip.

But I feel okay about it
Katie said I looked giddy
but I told her guys don't get giddy.

*Tee hee*

Left Behind

When the earth shakes

and we see descending

in flaming architecture

Him announced by golden trump-

we will shake

and fall

and rise up.

I wonder

will it matter what I left behind

or will that be all the difference?

Learning

A smile pulls across my lips

I know a secret

that nobody really cares about

and I walk through

and up

and around

a giant circle

where many feet have stepped

but not in quite the same way.

My path is special

even though

it's worn smooth.

The Human Genome

The Human genome

has been cracked

each nucleotide is known

at least for those

who gave their blood

some template for the code.

and then they talked

how many genes

our DNA encodes

and we found out

we're not too shy

from a nematodous worm!

Boardwalk

I drove up to a town today
with a carload full of friends
we laughed and ate and walked about
on a boardwalk without end.

The sign claimed that it was so big
the biggest one around
that floats on ceder shaped and nailed
The pathway we were bound.

And after walking 'cross the waves
Bonnie did turn and hurl
"The sign did not to us declare
its the boringest in the world!"

Waters

Sometimes

I look to the dark waters of the heart

for inspiration

but often

I prefer

the clear creeks of the mind

it's easier to see the bottom.

Getting up

I'm so human

I am reminded of that

daily

and I realize

that I will fall short

and I will mess up

but that is the point.

Deadlines

Another couplet short and sweet

for there are deadlines that I must meet

Holiday

Nothing deep for ya'll today

perhaps I take a holiday

BP

When you take water
out of a river
and put it into a tube
then suck away
all the air
the water will boil.

I boil too sometimes.

Sunday

Sunday is a peaceful day

a time to stop and rest

a load of poppy that sure is

I bare have time to dress!

If at first...

If at first you don't succeed,
try,
try,
try,
try,
try,
try,
try,
try,
try,
try,
try,
try,
try,
try,
try,
again.

Making Up

When the lights go out
and the people go home
I stand in the parking lot
and look up
around
side
to side
and wonder if should go
or if I should say.

Lollipop

Sickly sweet

like the string of red

that hangs from the end

of a kid's lollipop.

Never will it fill you up

but it still tastes good

as much as you hate

to admit it.

Quiet

I think
when all is quiet
and only I exist
that this is how it was at the beginning
before boom
before it all started.

Ring Ring

Two calls today
leave me confused
like I am about to eat
after fasting,
both hungry and thirsty
not able to decide
whether I should pick up goblet
or fork.

The Middle Way

The easy way

is lots of smiles

a well-placed hand

moments of abandon

dancing in the rain

with lots of whispers

with one winner

and one loser.

The hard way

has all the same things

except both win

and lose

at the same time.

Poem 2

I post a poem most everyday
here it is for you to see!

BYU-59 UCLA-0

The Bruins came to deseret

to see what they could do

they felt real fancy coming off

a recent double-u

Well Cougars come on pretty strong

with dog breath on their nose

they would have won it anyways

without celebratory throws

The third worst blowout ever seen

by yellow wearing bears

I am so happy yes I am

I just could throw a chair.

Poem

A flower grows from the snow

a flame in a field of white

to be trampled

underfoot

a wolverine is coming

and he's hungry.

Sausage Wars

There lived a Prussian scientist
Who's mouth he would not shut
Otto the King quite disagreed
and called the doctor out

"You pick the weapon, scientist!"
The royal taunted neat
"I pick two German sausages,
One with undercooked meat!"

"No thanks," Bizzie did acquiesce
Not being one to gamble
"Today is not a dueling day"
Or something he did ramble.

Translational Blues

I'm just a peptide chain
looking for structure
looking for my cofoactor
looking for my reaction.

I twist
into what's possible
like when I was five residues
into a helix
and bumped my proline
and it was better to be a beta sheet
the whole time
I'm hydrophobic anyways.

Oh to be stable!
minimize my strain
clear my sterics
but I will sacrifice for the whole
better a side chain conform
than a motif collapse
into unfavorable disorder.

Unless it is beautiful disorder
for sometimes
that's what's needed
to get the job done.

I fear
that by the time
I find my form
I will feel the gentle embrace
of a thousand ubiquitins
who whisper sweetly
as they drag me deep
into the blender.

Blender

Faces spin
blurring together
like a peach smoothie
leaves me hungry and thirsty.

Let me sit
with bread, meat and water
at a table with few chairs
to eat my fill.

Wax Statue

You do not know
my face in a crowd
like wax dripped
over bronze
only an impression.

A talking candle
that may brighten your face
but tells you nothing
from inside.

I need the warmth
of the individual
to melt cuticle
and bare metal.

Private

I wanted to share
but not today
I'll write it in a private place
where only I can visit
because
I'm the only one there.

And so you bait me
"Ask me anything"
but the only question you could answer
I would never ask
because only I can answer it.

Earshot

Waiting
for a cry
that will never come
so I will run
until the sound
couldn't reach me
even if it were there.

Directionality

It may seem
that there are a million
places to go
people to see
things to do
and that
they all lie in different directions.

Really
those things
that are most valuable
all lie in a line
and we can pick them up as we go.

Apathy

It's starts in my chest
a tingle of apathy
and spreads throughout
and there I am
like Spongebob himself
ready for anything.

Cubbies

We keep our hearts
in little cubbies
love, hate, happiness
and when they are gone
and we want them
we reach into the cubbie
even though there's nothing there.

Poor Affinity

I relate
to the enzyme
of all life
Rubisco
who grabs carbon dioxide
and sends it to be twisted
and turned
into sugar.

But he doesn't like carbon all that much
and has a wandering eye
and will even settle for Oxygen
when there's enough of it around.

So here I stand
in the midst of Oxygen
(about twenty percent atmospheric)
looking for some Carbon-
gratefully more than one in a million,
but not by much.

I hope I don't fix an Oxygen
because then
it takes a whole lot of work
to make things right.

Two Haircuts

I have two nieces
now both have shorter hair
they give watermelon smiles
in the pictures
like Jack-O-Lanterns
except these pumpkins
have hair
that now
is a little shorter.

Off The Grid

Call us cheap
call us lazy
call us luddites
but our Clearwire renewal notice came
and we did nothing.

Now the computer sits
with dusty keys
and rotting mouse
used only for the occasional DVD
or picture show.

Off the grid-
now I play music
and work longer on campus
because the lab has a computer
and I need to post my poems.

The Law and Sausage

I once heard
that those who love Sausage
and the Law
should never watch either be made.

That's what I like
about funnel cakes.

Confessions

Monday
I started a program in plant science
five years with the beasts
and when people ask me what I am doing
they think I breath green.

Inside
all I can think about
are the three bonsai
I have started and killed
The acorn I planted
and watched die
and the nine pots of Arabidopsis
I planted Monday
that aint looking so good.

Little league

There are no bystanders in love
none are spectators
all are players.

try to only watch
and you will fail
try to play
and you will fail
but that's the point.

School Ditty

School has started once again
fill my brain with facts and figs
open books and reading late
home at midnight don't be late
to wake and do it all once more
so much knowledge is in store!

Breathing

Each breath forgets the last
not brothers
but generations
each new dissolves the old
like it never existed.

Friend

I smile
because I don't know what else to do
too prideful to admit that I am wrong
but running round the Mulberry bush
these many times
makes me dizzy.

And my head spins until I no longer care
and I focus on the sick exhilaration
that rolls around my stomach
like a dryer load of bricks
clanking.

I am a fool
and I know
but feel like I can't
do all that much about it.

I like to think I have more control than I have
that you seem to have without really meaning it.

Lame

Sorry team
my mind is spent
too much time reading
and not enough thinking.

Just a little stressed
my mind
my heart
my soul
stretched just a bit.

I'm not holding my breath anymore
but I'm not breathing out either.

Lentil Fest II

The bluegrass band
pounding banjo
and swinging violin
you couldn't help but bounce up off your heels
if you weren't already dancing.

A pulsing circle
straight from the Indian subcontinent
moving traditionally
straight out of Bollywood.

One stood in the middle
a different one each time
moving their hands
bounding their hips
and the others clap.

And I thought
once a year
these students leave dissertation
and research
to come to Pullman's Lentil Fest
and dance to bluegrass
and it made me happy.

Lentil Fest

Time to go to the Lentil Fest
with a big silver bowl
filled with chili for all
biodegradable spoons
made from potato starch
and a funny booth
that makes you pay twenty-five cents to race slot cars.

I'll go
and say hi to my friends in the beer garden
(which doesn't even have any plants)
and talk to the people
selling handmade bags
and dripping gyros.

The sun will fall
and the streetlights
will hum on
until the people dissolve into the night
like so many flies
when the meat has dried out.

Beans

Burnt beans in a pressure cooker
filling my kitchen with smoke
thin smoke that smells
like cannons loaded with haggis.

The heat was on
and there was not enough water.

Now its time to scrub.

Mist

11 miles
to the top of a shrouded peak
the view-
very misty.

Leggy

I had a friend
who was hungry
and in a hurry
as she shaved her leg.

She cut her ankle
and it bled for twelve hours
finally
she called her sister.

"Go to urgent care"
she told her
and wouldn't
you know
the blood stopped
as she walked through the clinic doors.

Tension

They say
a screw is tightest
when the metal stretches
and thread strains against thread.

So twist me
until I strain
and bind my heart to you.

Peaches

On the way back from the mountains
we stopped in Naches
and bought a box of peaches.

By the time you get back
the last one will be gone
they've gotten juicer everyday
and now taste
like pouches of candy water
on the edge of rotten.

You gave to others
I ate until I no longer want
we got through the box
you through generosity
and me for indulgence
good work.

Keys

Little pieces of metal
ridged and rippled
cold reminders
of a world without trust.

Do they make cars
without ignition keys?
I had a friend
who rigged his truck
to start with the flip of a switch
I wish I had that now.

I can still crawl
through my window
and the shower doesn't have a keyhole.

Little reminders
of how we live
(or are told to live)
like someone is waiting
to steal our car
or steal our underwear.

(If anyone can get me into the Clark building please let me know. I have a lonely set of keys in there)

Restless

My feet
ache for familiar paths
the roads that cross
through fields of
the expected.

Not greatness
but the mediocre
manufactured
like a McChicken,
always the same.

Now I choose
the grinding path up
sometimes
the ascent makes me restless
like waiting for a bridge to lower
so you can drive across.

Patience is not my virtue,
I am the captain of my soul.

Colony Collapse Disorder

When I am old

When I am old
I will play jokes
that only I get.

Like dress like Santa
for Easter
and drink water
from flower pots.

And no one
will say a word
because I will be old
and it would be rude.

Pirate V

I talked today with an older Pirate
He'd been around for a while
and seemed very wise.

I asked him
how he managed
to live so long
in such a brutal place.

"Never pick a fight
when you can get him drunk
and steal his boots."

"Always carry a piece of old rope
you never know when you will need it"

"And do crazy things regularly
to keep everyone guessing"

After he passed out from the grog
I took his boots
I tied him up
and shaved the monkey
that we feed hardtack to.

He doesn't talk to me anymore.

Happy Perseid

The moon it isn't full, but its getting there
and the streamer's getting washed out by the light
Perseid only comes 'round once a year
every August
far and near.

All the people turn their eyes up to the sky
and hope for something better than what they got
they see all that their afraid to hide
in the streaks if green across the night.

(This is part of a song I am working on we'll see about posting the rest)

Mosquitoe

The mosquitoes

bite

through spray

sweat

wind

and heat.

So I wrap myself

against the swarm

like preparation for a burial.

I am tired
I lie down.

Others notice

the swirling blackness

that settles on my body

but not me

for I am asleep.

Altitude

Here
above Pullman
and the world
I will stand
with friends
and with myself.

The rain
will have mixed
my sweat into my mouth
the air will be cold
and the wind
will chill my damp shirt.

And I will wish
you were here with me
not to talk
but just to stand
and watch.

Backpack

Everything I need
for the next day
or week
is in my backpack
on my back
and I am free
because I need so little.

Through desert
or mountain
river
or waste
All I need
is on my back.

Lotto Online

Wow! What a response to the visual-verbal fusion experiment! Today's is inspired from one of the comments.

Lotto Online-
I do not know you
yet your comments
cut like a winter breeze.

Because I know that deep down
I am uninteresting
show me the way.

I click
you lead me
to an online lottery service
I do not know what you sell
but find myself
wishing you had something I could buy.

Space Cat

Cute

The next two days will be experiments in visual/lyrical poetic fusion. Enjoy

Flyboy

When you fly

above the cotton batting

and can't see

the Christmas lights of the landing field

a friend once told me,

"You line up these two little lines

like a little cross hair

and descend

through the clouds"

the choking blanket

only watching the lines

until you hit the pavement

because they are all you have.

I only have these two little lines with you

and I hope I hit the runway.

(This is for V. Thanks for the email, and all the great feedback! My aunt also notices my typeos. Is this aviated enough for you?)

Fasting

I fast
to starve the beast inside
until he shrinks
into a dog
then a puppy
and one day
into nothing
just a little scar
on my hands
and my feet
just as a reminder.

Wonderland

My feet have found a trail,

move with purpose and with strength,

cross the stones of my adversity,

worn smooth with each stride length,

then a motorbike rips through it,

first annoyance then a prayer,

seems the wilderness is only soma,

till you meet me there.

Rose Tinted...

The sky is pink
people live to serve me,
and I them.

No hate
venom
jealousy
or malice.

This is my world today
and I am happy in it
I'll leave my glasses on for a while.

Three Cheers

Three cheers
for the past
the present
and the future.

I don't understand
why Dickens called them ghosts
they are very much alive.

And when they walk together
they don't follow each other
but leap around
like a flock of pigeons
fighting over a hairy bagel.

Best for Now

My mind
and my mouth
have had a dissagreement.
They no longer get along very well.
Especially when I'm talking with you.

I wish
I could let thoughts flow
through the starry night
through the silence
through a shared moment
alone on the grassland.

Desert-lust

The desert calls
my one friend through it all
it sings a red goodbye
and welcomes in its breezy nights.

There nothing is asked
but for me to breath
and to move
across the sand
like a silent owl.

Blank Page

Right now my wish
is to put my brain onto this paper
every thought,
idea,
fear,
and hope
For all the world to see.


But I can't find the words
they're lost in a phone call that will never come
a sunrise missed
and a long road to Texas.


So I'll settle for a blank page
because at least it has possibility.

The Cobblestone of Boston

I try to write something happy

nothing happy seems to come

even walking with the rebels

I have given up my guns

On the streets of revolution

I see plaques of lives now thrown

to the fleshpots of our liberty

a part of me is torn.

One Day Soon

One day soon,
aliens will come
and take one by one
all the people that aren't important
(like garbagemen, deejays, and Google employees)
will we even notice?

Nature

When the river flows
she doesn't know where she's going.

The trees will always grow to the sun,
this is their nature.

this is our nature.

Recycled

Do we really

give away our love?

Or is it just held for a while

until the moment fades

and then ground up

and molded into something new

like those fleeces

made out of old pop bottles.

I'd rather have a fleece anyways.

Renewed

You wore that ring
for just one month
what did you think of it?

Did it bind like iron?
Burn like coal?
or sooth like a balm?

I don't know if I'll ever know now-
or that it even matters.
Seems as though
time moves on
either way
and that's just fine.

Fortunately
the heart is unique
and no matter how much divided
will always come back together
like a never-ending apple pie.

I sing the old songs
every now and again
to remind me
of times spent.

Just a visit
to a feeling
-for each time it's different-
to guide me
on my journey today.

I'll keep the songs
but need to erase some other things
I think you'll understand
I think I'm whole again.

Toad Juice

Dance 'round the fire
my new freinds
for your bellies
are full of toad juice.

Tell me your secrets
and your fears
I ask only because you will do it anyways
and it puts me more at ease to pretend I asked.

Then sleep the sleep of frogs
buried deep in the mud
I'm sorry when you awake
because your problems will still be there
when the fog clears.

Sun Schmun

No sunscreen for me!
The sun is weak
and I am strong
my skin is brown
I need no protection.

And that is how I've come
to sleep on my stomach.

Encounter

Your mouth is moving
words forming
thoughts flowing
but I have no idea what
you are talking about.

Is my heart closed?
I'm not sure
but I'll nod anyways.

Full Circle

I breath it all in again
I feel my lungs fill
then decompress
the same grass
the same sun
but now I'm smiling
and looking forward
to tomorrow.

Summer Nights

Summer nights:

baseball
lounging
cool breezes.

But I am clumsy
and have much to do now
but not too cold.

Mist

Through the haze
I see a figure
then nothing
closer and closer
it draws
then disappears.

Part of the mist
or part of me?

Boo

My niece
doesn't understand
what Boo is.

To her
it is magic
and once said
leads the hearer
to fearing
and trembling.

I told her
that it doesn't work
while your holding her hand
and she gets your attention first.

Nights on 270

Falling on my heart
heavy snow
covering deep-
a sadness?

I don't ride my bike anymore
through the parking lot
or make animal noises
and laugh.

You bring to me your innocence
I can't bring you mine
I'm sorry.

I read big important books
and stare at the ceiling fan
thinking
while others talk.

I worry sometimes

Now

On this funny rock
we call earth
a billion possibilities
spread from the present.

Do they wrap like the arms of the Kraken
to pull us towards inevitability?

Or do they expand
like the edges of an infinite universe
into eternity?

Brangelina

Congratulations

Brangelina

on your twins

I never wanted to know

nor do I really care

but the omnipresence

of the papparizzi

and public opinion

placed you square in my sights

and I had no time to swerve.

Do you think Rwanda

would have had a hotel

had we cared as much

for our brothers and sisters

as we do

for Brangelina?

Winding

Winding trails
make winding adventures.

Incomplete

Incomplete?
Not quite yet freind.
But until you are near
time is only to be endured.

Messes

People mess up
I mess up
We all mess up.

Let's just accept it
and do our best
to get back up.

Sturbridge

Sturbridge Village-
Over a hundred years behind
but they are American enough
to sell ice cream and T-shirts

Breed's not Bunker

Bunker hill had no battle
surprised you didn't know?
A mislabeled map
and two hundred years of schoolchildren
got it all wrong.

Walking Boston

There is a fine line
or a line at all?
That separates patriot
from rebel.

Both bleed and die
for pieces of paper
and flag unfurled.

Both are born in smokey taverns,
basements,
or coffeehouses
to discuss
golden futures
and dawning dreams.

Both live or die broken
against the imagination
of a nation.

What would you fight for?

Ant

Little Nephew
playing with a carpenter ant
I'll let you play
because you have so little
control
over so much
just play nice.

Starlight

Friend-
when the night
spreads across
the sky like a great sheet
and the stars become pinpricks
into heaven
think back
on all the happy nights
spent under that same sky.

Prince Waiting

Cinderella
poor girl
with your torn dress
just don't get your hopes up
because Fairy Godmothers
are hard to come by these days.

Blaze

Let it all burn down
my books
paintings
and memories
so I can pick through the ashes
and find what's really important.

Friend

Friend-
we enter a new path now
it might be twisted
filled with brush
or paved with bricks
we'll see where it goes.

Let's enjoy the adventure.

The Millenium

Some say
that before the end
there will be a thousand years
to prepare
for a glorious new earth.

I'm starting to think
we'll need that time
to clean up the old one.

Next Time

Look out-
because next time
when I fall in love
I will pursue
with reckless abandon.

I've played the mousetrap long enough.

Freedom

As I bike across
the green velvet of the Palouse
I feel strong
independent
on roads of dirt
and gravel
until I realize
that is not for those
who built the road
I wouldn't get
a quarter mile
and I have to go where they tell me to.

Home

If you see me
please let me know where home is
because I'm lost
and looking for the way back.

Mr Mugabe

Once so bright-
I wonder if you were real
or was it
just a prelude to the fall
intentions etched
in the trunk of the Baobab tree
from youth
not to fade
until the tree
is cut by the axes
of a village in need of wood.

Supper

When its dinner time
and all you have
is sausage
old tortillas
and pepperjack cheese.

Combine them
and make a dinner
that you only eat
until you are no longer hungry.

Recluse

When no one is looking
the shades drawn
I like to do silly things in my apartment
like Ninja rolls
and SWAT maneuvers
because I'm 25
and have the apartment to myself.

Shopping

Never go to the store when hungry
you will buy Cheetos
and frozen potato skins
Kippered snacks and chocolate pudding.

You will forget to buy fruit
milk, eggs, and and the meat for the BBQ.

And you will be happy.

Old man

One day I will wrinkle
like a linen suit
my flesh will relax
sag and shake when I move.

My bones will fold
and snap
like peanut brittle.

And my words will slur
the corner of my mouth
will pool with saliva.

What then?

Laugh

A laugh-
cuts like slicing wind
heals like Gilead's balm
numbs like ice
teaches like Darwin
and lifts like a piston.

Old Friend

Friend
Why now?
Was I supposed to say more?

Three years
I've kept your picture in a frame-

Best of luck Ryan.

Ain't Nobody

Ain't Nobody
that can sing like me-

and when I sing you here
you will come.
not because I am good
but because
you're my harmony.

Lonely

Yeah,
I get lonely.
memories fuel
a blaze of "what ifs..."
That keep me warm enough
to get to bed.

Starlight

When the stars
blaze the paths
of a billion possibilities
against the pitch
of reality
Take a breath
and remember
that it only takes one star
to make a home.

Steady State

A steady state
fills the world around us
a tumbling equilibrium
a metered chaos.

My life
in constant motion.

Home

As I recline
on the earth
and turn my eyes
to the speckled night sky
I wonder-
of all the time
since humans
first laughed
how many nights
have been spent
just like this?

And I realize
that I am an alien
under a roof of wood and tar
But I am home
under roof of stars.

One More Time

Just one more
I tell myself
vowing that it will end.

Then the clicks
turn the minutes
into to hours.

YouTube has struck again.

So Close...

Its funny-
I will tell you that I love you
or hate you
in verse
for the universe to see
(at least those with wi-fi)
but when we're together
I just smile
and try my best to hide.

Plantar Kindness

We probe
prod
pound
mash
and blend
to find out
how a leaf works.

Why can't we just ask?

Secret Confession

Yes call center girl
I know how to reboot my computer
I'm not really this dense
its just that I'm in love with you
and can't figure out a better way
to hear your voice.

Sunflower

The sunflower
isn't a sunflower
because the sun always finds her.

She is a sunflower
because when the sun shines
she turns her head to greet him.

Rainbows

When chasing rainbows
remember that they are artifacts of light
impossibly far away.

I'll climb a tree instead

Moonstruck

When I look into the night
I see the moon
and I like to think
that you are too.

The same moon
you and I.

I know
that while you look
into the same night sky
you see a different moon
and we will never be together again.

Past Night

The past has warm arms
hearts and kisses.
Nights past three
talking about how
we would change the world.

The present seems so empty
the future cold
my bed a cocoon
to sleep
until yesterday comes back.

Never Buy a Fake Watch

In an alley of China
I bought a watch
because I needed to tell the time.

It was heavy
and felt like a good fake
and looked nice on my wrist.

Now its 4:10
or 6:45
Depending

Never buy a fake watch
-especially-
when you need to tell time.

Caramel Hot Dogs

Every time I burp
I taste hot dogs
and caramel.

I said I would eat if if she did
and I went first.

I think I'm in love.

Distal Visions

I hold the world in my hand
a broken kaleidescope,
a spinning possibility.

And when I look
all the images
are smiling-
but they are stuck there
at the end of the tube.

Starting Anew

When life gets overwhelming
and the weight of self-imposed responsibility
bears down like a driving rain-

Just dry off
still the skies
And take a bath in the sun instead.

Forbidden

The forbidden City
is forbidden no more
soon to be the scene
of the world's elite.

So they paint the chipped walls gray
and brick in the alleyways
and post the army
to keep out those without tickets.

Mongolians

The great wall
snaking like a dragon
filled with the bones
of those who built it.

To keep out the Mongolians
the sign said.

So why is this Mongolian farmer
following
trying to sell me some chopsticks?

Beijing

A sleeper to Beijing
a cabin filled with smoke
the country moves beneath us
like an earthen treadmill
I wake in the forbidden city.

Shanghai

Shanghai
the people buzzing
like a million flies
on scooters
in cars
on feet
People weren't designed for cities.

Paper Dragon

The Paper Dragon
slumbers in a billion paper hearts
bound by chains
she first struggled against her iron bands
until they cut deep
and she slept.

The dragon awakes.

Twin Bridge

The wind
of a thousand years
blows through cobblestone

Young feet
chase young feet
over and over again.

When is this place
under the Twin Bridge?

it doesn't matter.

Hi-Five

I have to smile
I'm a bit frozen otherwise
yeah, you'll work for now
but beyond that?
I don't know
nothing personal
I'm going to bed.

Pirate IV

Oh the pirate's life
isn't so bad.

Yeah there's the scurvy
and getting stabbed
the hardtack, lice, and mice
sun blisters, and the boo box.

But nobody will tell me to put the seat down.

ARRRR!

(Sorry about the bathroom humor, I couldn't resist the pic. It's a toilet snorkel in case your house catches fire and the only air you can breath is subterranean)

Paint Me

Paint me the colors
you dare not paint
the ones that never see pallet
but stay in the box.

Paint me the colors
that others don't see
because they have grown old
and no longer play.

Paint me the colors
that will never fade
because they do not only reflect
but glow.

Paint me.

China Roads

I'll be in China soon
my feet winding ancient paths
carved into mountain
brick
and earth.

And as I walk
I'll think of you
and other paths
we once raced.

Pirate III

I have heard many reasons
that Captain
wears a patch
across his eye.

Some have said
that it's so evil
that if left uncovered
the sea would boil
like a pot of piranhas.

Other's say he lost it gambling
and is bent on revenge
to the three-eyed rouge
who still wears it.

But the truth is
his Ophthalmologist
told him to cover up
his good eye
to let his weak one
straighten out.

Pirate II

It sure is rough
being the quartermaster
for a man
who Arrrs and avasts.

He can be difficult to understand.

So that is why
Captain
has a ferret on his shoulder
and I am about
to do a dance across the keel.

I hope you have better luck than I!

Pirate I

I wonder
if deep down
the pirate is self-conscious
of his wooden leg
and smelly beard.

And when he calls me
a land lubber
before he pushes me down
the wooden cliff
to be kissed
by hungry sharks
he really just wanted
me to accept him
for who he was.

Brace for Impact!

There are six people
in our family
and all six were asleep
as we barreled down the median
in our 89' Chevy Suburban.

I imagine Mother was first to awake
and of all the things
she thought to say
"Brace for impact"
was what we heard.

I was asleep on the floorboards
and had nothing to brace against.

There are six people in our family
and all stayed awake
as Mom drove us home.

Abraham's Accident

I remember
when you broke
Abraham's neck.

You cradled him
and wept.

Don't worry
that's what luthier are for
and he still plays fine!

Aloha Track

Aloha Oregon
we walked around the track
closer than friends.

"Is that your girl?"
a schoolmate asked.

We looked at each other
and laughed.
"No, she's my sister"
then we bought nachos.

Smile

When you were strained
tighter than the E
on your violin
that you knew better than your own laugh
you wrote a paper
for a class project.

Years later
I read it
-sorry for the invasion-
and in it
you said you had a brother
that made you smile.

Well I'm here
and I will do it again.

Immortality

A million men
and a million ways
to live for ever.

Recycled
Remembered
Regretted
Reborn

Some tell themselves
and move on
others-
obsess
and forget to live.

I Will Fail

I have lost sleep
alone on my couch
tottering between awake
and asleep.

I will fail.

It is absolute
with no argument
it is truth.

But when I wake up
Everything seems better.

Palouse Falls

I met a German
Canadian
today on a trail
I thought a bit rough
and steep.

Not him-
He was seventy-five
and used to climb mountains
with sisal rope
and piton hammers.

Experience makes many things relative.

Canker

Let it go friend
the canker will consume you.
I know I am young
and you are not.
The naivety
of inexperience
is my balm
and my strength.

Trust me
let it go.

It's hard for me too.

Dr. Minor

Professor Murray:
Dr. Minor!
This must be you,
in your leather throne
and palatial estate.
I want to thank you
for helping us write our dictionary.

The man in the chair:
Err...I am not your doctor
but the warden-
welcome to Broadmoor
He is quite insane
and killed a man
-that wasn't Irish-
but you're welcome to visit!

(Click on the title for more information)

The Desert of Sinai

Send me to the desert
I am a rebellious child
My clothes won't rot
I'll be fed every day
I will spend my time
wandering
through arid sunsets
and craggy, windswept wild.

The wind will blow into my ears
Your promises
curses
and secrets.

Was this supposed to be a punishment?

Destiny

I do not believe
that each of us has a path
mapped in a cosmic GPS
where we need to wait
for a pleasant recording to say
Turn right, 300 yards ahead.

But that we are the captains
of our soul.

We make our own way.

Jumper

I wonder what he dreams
as he falls
does he replay the wickedness?
Sadness?
Regret?
or Happiness?
Does he enjoy the thrill?
Or is he filled with terror?

Unfortunately there is only one way to find out.

McDonald's

When I don't feel like cooking
and get hungry
I go to McDonald's
and order a bacon cheeseburger
and a McChicken.

And as I eat the pillowy bread
spongy meat
and bite into the little cubes of onion
I feel guilty.

Late

Sorry team
I was five minutes late
all will be ok
don't freak out.

Green

A little photon
with a billion friends
pushes an electron up a ladder.

Then the electron falls
like a hot potato
passed from enzyme
to enzyme
Making the legos of life.

Yawn

Time for bed
A long day of discovery passed
and I seem to be
in the same spot as I started.

Direction

I either have no idea where I am going
or have the best plan in the world
it's hard for me to tell.

Towed

211.39 gone
between two yellow lines.

I was nice
got a ride to the impound lot from the tow truck driver
bought the man behind the glass
a candy bar.
Because I figured a lot of people
were mean to him.

And he knocked off the 39 cents.

Church

I sit
For three hours
Edification?
Slumber?
Revelation?

Yes.

Beach

Take that wave!
You pound against my body
white foam spraying
seaweed wrapping 'round my toes.

I am the winner.

Searching for the One

So many choices
spread out like an open book
Too sweet
Too Hot
not enough
too much.

Which one is for me?
Which one will make me happy?

"I'll have the Yellow Curry"
I answer
when the waitress asks.
She's kinda cute...

Digging Deep

In the history of this rock
even the flattest plain
was once a mountain
thrust up by colliding plates
then worn down by grinding glacier
the history is there
you just have to dip deep enough.

The same goes for me.

Interesting

"Interesting"
I wonder if that is my answer,
not a word on content,
form,
or grace.

Not that flattery is what I want
even a critique would show synthesis
on something I created.

Blame it on gen y
but I'm leaning towards pears.

(Sorry, this one probably makes less sense than others, let me know if you want clarification)

Cadet

I walked through a museum today
dedicated to the youth
who throw their flesh
into the open maw of war.

The I passed a group
running in matching shirts
strengthening muscle
bone
and heart
So they could
spill,
break,
and lose it all.

I still wonder what the point is.

Decisions

Sometimes
we make decisions
by spinning around
until out brain swims
and walk in a direction
based on where our inner ear pulls.

Other times
we pick a road
that seems well trod and safe
-or brambled and precipitous-
Same difference.

Still others
we choose because we love
the land, the river, and the sky
the sun, the snow, and the slicing wind.

Can you ski in Texas?

Houston

So flat-
Like a steamy pancake
the heights of man
tower the heights of earth
I see more stadiums than ancient Rome.
So many people.

So where did the rabbit
in my brother's yard
come from?

Back to The Desert

I'm flying back to the desert today
but this one is flat
with no rocky mounts
and more sand.

I feel like I am cheating.

Last Day

I tried my best
to place pencils,
highlighters
and organizers
back into the supply closet
I think I passed everything on to Laura
but I am sure there are things that I forgot.

Full Circle

We talked for a minute
as you walked out
and you asked me why I was leaving.

I said "Back to school"
but what I meant was
"To save the world"

Will I get there?
I don't know
and I'm not sure it really matters.

King Cotton

Oh cotton,
You are royal indeed
with the gene pool to prove it.

Feeling shallow?
If you wore a crown,
you would have bucked tooth
and hemophilia
and might be hidden in a castle wall.

Where can we
find a queen for you?

We'll go back
before the Hapsburg
before Charlemagne
to a fresh line
a common ancestor.

Diver

I heard
Two hundred feet under
in lake Tahoe
a man in scuba
floats suspended in time.

Compressed lungs
left him there
and his family,
decided that's where he would like to stay.

He floats
frozen in place
I wonder if he is smiling?

Boo!

Ha,
I scared you.

The Middle Way

Bombs for bombs
bullets for bullets
traded over sacred soil
both are right
both are wrong

Let's just trade smiles instead.

Moose X-ing

Down the mighty Palouse
I saw three moose
(or should I say meese?)
putting hoofs into the water
feeling a crossing
until interrupted by a raft
-our raft-
So they turned and ran
Don't go so fast
we won't hurt you.

Together Alone

I like to stand among people
and sometimes say nothing
just enjoy their warmth
like a seashore breeze on a cool night
or thick blankets just before they begin to warm.

Freindship

Swirling
layered
made from pieces of paper torn
signed with a smile
you hang on my wall.

Silly Men

Do you think
that Mother Earth
and Father Sky
laugh-

When Penman and Monteith
woke in the night
to arrange psychrometers,
thermometers
and pyranometers?

They say, Silly men
trying to make models of this mess-
and they forgot the anemometer.

Sleep

Wrap me in numbness
like a taco
so I can forget it all
and go to a place
where adventure is carried
on every breath
and in every heart.

Breathless

Sometimes I feel,
when I am away from the desert
or a mountain
and sit alone in my apartment
Like my breath is being drawn from me
a ragged thread of life
slowly being pulled
out of my heart.

The Dating War

Shoot across the bow
at first
just to see what they'll do.

Will they raise surrender?
Or pound cannons with powder
and shrapnel
to tear our sails to canvas confetti?

Maybe the ship is filled with bones
a memorial to humans incessant need
for water
and food
and vitamin C
(not vitamin sea)

We'll find out,
but I'm not really in to that ship anyways.

Adventure Potential

I am guilty
when I look at my bank account
of only seeing adventure potential
both large,
but more often small.

Instead
of seeing it
in the unanswered questions
and awaiting discoveries.

Flux

All around us
we see flux
movement from areas of excess
to areas of dearth
it drives electricity,
births typhoons,
and draws water from root to stem.

Why then,
does so much flow the other way?

Intentions

I have a pocket full of intentions
that spills into my backpack,
room, and life.
I better just pick one and see where it takes me
because I have to go somewhere.

Flashing Yellow

No red lights here
to small for that
slow us down too much
our roads are gravel
and our houses mobile
or ancient.

Just a flashing yellow
that no one pays much mind to
because we already know
where everybody is.

Dampening

As you move into the soil
the temperature dances about a mean
to the rhythm of hours, days and years.

As you move down
the waltzes of the surface
fade to a buzz, then to nothing
The mean becoming the sum.

This is the depth where all is silent
This is the depth where you find the soul.

In Transit

The thrill of the unknown
the vastness of potential
my life spreads before me
each path a silken web of choice
but I have no need to tread lightly
for I am the spider.

Cold Camera

The camera
takes a picture alright
but just a picture
because it can only see with photons
and flashes of electricity.

We see the picture
because we record the scene
in our memory.

Ambition

Flails about like sails
at full bloom
and them some
during a ripping storm
three options:
"Let them out!"
"Cut the mast!"
or "full speed ahead!"

The last is the most foolhardy
and rarely the wisest,
But its my favorite.

The First Hippie

Saint Francis of Assisi
-and he was a saint-
traveled on the fifth crusade
as the only true Christian
and did more to make the land holy
than the blood of a thousand Turks.

And brought more to bring peace
covered in sores
brought on a stretcher
than an army of ruddy youth
on horseback.

The Middle Ages

I always thought the times between light were static-
people stuck in a great intellectual rut
where nothing new was created,
crafted,
or discovered.

I find that I am wrong
and during my middle age
I hope I do the same.

Change

Drifting in the squalor of mediocrity
my nose catches a new scent
riddling through a haze of contentment.
It comes from somewhere new-
and familiar at the same time.

I don't know where it comes from,
but I like it-
and both fear and hope
that it leads me on.

Change is in the air.

Roads

When I think about the paths I've left
paved with broken promises
I wish that it was enough just to be
and not to do.

Deep down I know
that it is impossible to be
until you've done.

A Million Poets

How many poets
artists and writers
have lived
and died
with silenced pen
and invisible brush
because they never
learned how
to plaster their souls
on a blank page?

Essex

The crew of the Essex
Sailed east
for fear of the cannibals
when their ship got sunk
by a whale.

And on the journey home
cramped in a boat
with little water
and no food
they became cannibals themselves.

Time

Time is all relative, right?
As relative as daylight savings
where a single finger
can turn back
or forward
the cosmos
for an hour
or a day
or an eternity?
We forget that seconds where not made for man
we just thought up something to call them.

Out of Range

The first person
to fly around the world in a helicopter
was Ross Perot

Strong

When I tell people
that I do not own a TV
it is a source of pride
it makes me feel strong.

But the truth is,
that it is because I am weak.

Moontouch

I touched the moon today

it sat split open

under a light.

One of the most expensive

rocks on the planet

a black gem

polished by saw

and hurled through the cosmos.

And when I touched it

it touched me.

Mermorials

I read
the Gettysburg Address
carved in stone
by the tired marble gaze
of a President
bearing the weight
of two nations
on a broken back.

Kids laugh,
teens kiss,
and parents look anxious for a smoke.

And I hope I get it,
Because blood ran
and bones shattered
to get me here.

DC

The District of Columbia
is a place
with many secrets.

Now,
it has one more.

Golfballs

I heard

That they used to make golf balls

from boiled feathers

and they made them round and smooth.

The pros would play with them

until they were battered

unusable,

no longer smooth,

dimpled.

So they would cast them off

to the caddies

to practice impossible dreams.

Guess who hit them further?

Reed

Strip me of my flesh
plunge me
into the river
to soften my bones
so that you may bend me
through, around, and across
my brothers
and my sisters
without breaking.

All that so we
can help you carry
fruit, roots, and keepsakes
from place to place-
Do baskets still grow?

Friendship

When we went to Zion
a rare zodiac
painted its streamer
across the desert night sky.

An argument launched a race
panting to the top of Angel's Landing
and you won.

But hope
is a teasing mistress.

Birthday brought
a painting
entitled
Friendship

OK
I can take a hint.
It's nice to be friends.

Global Kiss

Kiss me
as you lay down
in your great western bed
with stubbled blankets
of last year's harvest
quilted earth stitched
with fencing and road
red passion fading
to night's inviting shadow-
Kiss me before you sleep.

Void

Nothing seems to come today
too occupied by thought.
I could recount the story
of a Nepalese man
who might be shady,
or talk of a power struggle
gone South.

But both would be
without emotion
like I feel now
But I have a promise to fulfill.

A Rhyming One Today

I've caught the word
that people think
My poems I cannot rhyme.

So I respond
with verses sweet
To quiet those that snide.

The truth be told
In lyrics I
Began my first attempt

At forcing thoughts
to fit the mold
of grammar so unkempt.

We squeeze them yes,
these verbal queues,
to end with sounds the same.

I can do that
I will indeed
It's just a game to participate in.

The non-rhyming ones are just so much cooler sometimes.

Snowflake

Every snowflake
needs a place to start
a tiny floating speck
to kick things off.

Pseudomonas
turn out to play a role
oft times
in this nucleation.

A bacteria!
Becomes a seed
so you can ski
and dams have jobs.

Think about that next time
you catch the first snowflake of winter
in your mouth.

Chaco

Chaco Canyon-
the center of a universe,
I wish I could take you there.

You would understand me
so much better.

Creativity

I hope
that if I were to place
a firecracker into my brain
with a lit fuse
until my thoughts
splattered through my ears
like a muddy geyser
onto a page
that it would look
just like
this.

Sucks to My As-mar!

You had the worst asthma
(Mom explained)
not Troy
we bought our first breathing machine for you
and drove an hour to Boulder
to visit Dr. Bach
the allergist.

Nice story
She must be mistaken though
because I am strong
and don't need an allergist.

Thermal Time

Winter wheat-
like a molding fuzz
you frost the hills.
A green surprise beneath the thaw,
how do you breath
under choking whiteness
and bitter nights
to meet the reaper
for an early harvest?

Thermal time
you answer.
My days are degrees above
and my nights below
a threshold for growth
I take heat when I can
to make my leaves
and my fruit.

Ah,
thank you for that advice,
because I need to grow too
and only get three vacation days
for each quarter.

Dry Clean Only

Our neighbor-
successful
probably happy
paid for home,
cars
and grandchildren
by selling the fabric
for the labels
found sewn to the collar of your shirts.

Does that mean
that I can find my fortune
in cloud, butte, and Mullen?

Because we need those much more
than we need washing instructions.

Scabby

Restless heart-
you fill me with hope
dreams
and fantasy.

All the while
peeling away contentment
chunk by chunk
like a bleeding scab.

Its worth the trade
if you ask me.

Pretzel

I bid
one-thousand-five-hundred and fifty dollars
on a pretzel reminiscent
of The Virgin Mary.

I was going to make
a shadow-box
to put it in
To show my friends

But five-thousand one-hundred dollars
was way too much.
Don't ask why.

Love?

Take my breath away
like a kick in the stomach
-viscously-
when I'm not expecting it

And when I am on the ground
tell me the things that I long to hear
the promises I can't make
impose on me.

Then drag me by my hair
to a chapel of broken hearts
bend my knee
and take my soul.

Isn't that what love is all about?

Definitions

Once every four years
(and few centuries)
We remember
that a calender
is just our attempt
at conforming nature.

We want things
to fit in boxes.

A year
A species
A law
Pi

These are just words
to describe things
that we can't understand.

Poetry Night

Alright Team Legend. There are many of you out there (at least three, including myself) that read this thing. The time for passivity is over. Now its your turn. On Saturday, March 1, I will be holding the world's second "Non-Rhyming Urban Poetry Night" at 7:30. Come if you can, if you can't send me your work and we will read it in proxy. Comment to this post if you have any questions or need directions. Thanks again for validating my creativity, this gives me a chance to validate yours.

Longing

A golden haze speckles my windshield
I am driving into the setting sun
West to adventure
to visit the land of my Father.

Two weeks gone.
Leaving my appetite unfulfilled
like drinking water
to slake hunger.

Now the images flash on my screen saver
and I hesitate to move my mouse
when it is time to work again
I see the red rock
smell the sage
feel the path sing underfoot.

I long to return
to the land of my Father
and your Fathers
But I realize that the longing
is the richest part of the journey.

Final Emergance

The world gapes wide
a Grand Canyon of opportunity
with plenty of places to jump.

Through Navajo sandstone
cut by the grinding currents
of five million years
-a blink geologically.

And as you fall,
past the granaries
and mining trails
you become a speck in time
ambivalent to impact.

For your goal
is never to hit-
you are aiming for
the Emergence
Sipapu

And so you drop not to this world,
but to the one before
and the one after
So what you do now
doesn't really matter.

Antarctica

Where have gone the Shakleton's?
The Amundsens and the Scotts?
Are they still out there
Frozen by pride or friendship?

Or have they endured,
into astronauts and scientists?
Who push the boundaries
of maps and knowledge
with Diplomas and Dissertations.

Maybe they have instead deferred,
suppressed their nature.
Choosing instead RPG's
Loud music, and movies.
Inoculated themselves
against the vast greatness
of human potential.

I'm somewhere still on the ice,
playing football on the melting floe,
the boat crushed
but full of hope.

The Package

The package came today
it was small
insured
and expected.

There was no surprise
When I saw the address
the handwriting
neat like the text on a diploma.

Still I tore it open,
and put the pieces on my front seat.
Inside a red box
once given in love.

I put it in my coat pocket
and sat on it at work
now it's in my sock drawer
what else can you do with a ring?