The Legend of Berkley

Tomorrow

2011-03-17T14:50:00.001-07:00

Procrastination’s setting in
like the setting of the sun
Soon it will be all dark as sin
and time will be all done.

Last Day!

2011-03-04T09:44:00.001-08:00

Today is the day that I am all done
No more mass spec, its time to have fun
No longer before dawn will I rise out of bed
Eat breakfast alone and kiss wife on the head
And measure all day, like a beaver and dam
No, never again hence today, that’s the plan!
I will go home today a burden relieved
Although that’s what I thought last week, woe is me!

Scrap-booking in China

2011-02-18T07:33:00.001-08:00

To Beijing China I did go, with poster in a sling
To speak some science and to show, my work with modeling
But when I got to where I was to post and show it off
I realized my dimensions wrong, I cursed and oft did scoff!

But innovation came so swift with scissors and with tape
A scrapbook poster there would fit my fate I would escape
Surprisingly the poster there as rough as it did look
Attracted conversation sweet suspended from that nook!

What I do

2011-01-20T17:38:00.000-08:00

A number of people have asked me to post a brief description of exactly what I do. So here it goes…

You may have learned back in high school that plants take in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen during photosynthesis. This is only partly true. While the net flux of gasses is carbon dioxide in and oxygen out, other plant processes take in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide at lower rates than photosynthesis. Some of these processes are a big headache for the plant and result in wasted energy and lost carbon. I am looking at possible ways to minimize the amount of carbon dioxide that bleeds from the plant during these processes in order to maximize the potential carbon gain of the plant. If you want more specifics, check out the Wikipedia article on photorespiration.

Ode to Yair

2010-12-10T08:28:00.000-08:00

It all comes down to energy
And how the carbon too
Is balanced ‘twixt all the demand
And what can be produced.

And if those two things do not jive
You’ve dropped the ball to curb
For either you’re not steady state
Or mass is not conserved!

Shakey Science

2010-07-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

The forth and fifth floors of Heald have been mothballed
No more science in those halls, only rusted centrifuges and cracked test tubes
Once they were the best
Humming labs unwrapping the cell
Now they are dusty
decontaminated according to the facility operations postings
never to be used again
Like a Barry Goldwater dashboard mount.

No more Eureka’s
One day Heald will be torn down
The crack in the foundation
Runs like a prophecy down the front steps
Maybe to be replaced
Or maybe to lay out as a green patch for the rabbits
And so might our science
If it too has cracks.

Nobel Surprize

2010-05-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

At least three Germans that I've heard
fled their homeland from the war
but worried for the things behind
they disguised some stuff for none to find

three Nobel medals were so dissolved
in caustic acid, in bottles stalled
marauding armies passed them by
a clear concoction does not catch eye

when bombs were done and guns grew still
the laureates returned to their hills
precipitated gold amassed
and had their prizes then recast!

Plant Sense

2010-04-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

Leaves go up and roots go down
but how do they know where's the ground?
They have no eyes, they cannot see
let's investigate this mystery

Leaves and stems respond to light
lengthen when dark, in sun grow tight
thus as chicks stretching neck for meal
our earth-bound friends hunger's fulfilled

the roots respond, gravity is felt
with statoliths that drop in cells
and signal for the downward stretch
to gather water and nutrients

for us to hear to smell and see
is not to do, we are quite free
but plants cant help but to respond
from arctic wilds to your front lawn.

Mendeleev

2010-03-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

The founder of atomic chart
lived in old Russia under the Czar
and cut his hair but once a year
perhaps because his marriage dear
was miserable to say the least
they lived apart and did not speak.

But after many years of this
a young art student caught his list
her parents did quite disprove
of the hairy advance of this old kook
so sent their daughter off to France
but Mendeleev proposed at last.

The laws of Russia required first
seven years to grant divorce
but the scientist paid off a priest
30,000 did the deed
he was defrocked for this disgrace
but Mendeleev got what he paid.

An irate noble begged the Czar
"Grant me divorce! You did before!"

His non-rhyming reply-
"Mendeleev may have two wives,
but I only have one Mendeleev"

PS During the siege of Stalingrad, Mrs. Mendeleev 2.0 was still alive and received double rations for the work her husband did.

Metabolism

2010-02-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

I used to think,
Metabolites
moved like a factory
from step to step
from start to done
by specialized machines.

Nothing wasted
Just because
production was so tight
with inputs in
and outputs out
with prudence and foresight.

Now I feel
that's not the case
because efficiency
is born through strife
and battles for
substrates limiting.

In my mind now
the fact'ry's gone
and all the parts are junked
the living cell's
production is
more like a big pot luck!

Bunsen Burner

2010-02-05T10:01:00.000-08:00

Doctor Bunsen, of burner fame
Enjoyed his elements
Of all of them
Beryllium
Was his mostest favorite.

One day a fly flew in his prep
And upon his proboscis
His sample dear
A portion there
Flew away from thence.

He chased the bug around the lab
Until he had the thief
And crushed the flea
Most carefully
His science could not be beat.

He laid it in a crucible
And burned it into ash
Recovering
Most lovingly
One-tenth a milligram!

Carl Bosch Visits Montenego

2010-01-29T09:50:00.000-08:00

There was a German chemist
who loved his fancy eats
and visiting Vienna
He ate some tender meats.

So fancy was this dinner
the bill was much adorned
with calligraphy and gilded edge
The price he prob'bly mourned.

He placed the leaf in pocket
continuing his trip
soon off to Montenegro
to try the spinach dip.

but at the border trouble brewed
no documents he had
declaring nationality
no passport! He was sad.

The guard did eye him sternly
this border would be closed
without some sort of paperwork
he thought quick on his toes.

Bosch figured Montenegroen's
German not too sharp
and handed him the bill of sale
from his viennese lamp chop.

The patrol looked over carefully
to see if it was true
impressed with the embellishments
he let the chemist through!

Abandon Hope all who enter science

2009-11-14T15:34:00.001-08:00

Science is a funny thing
You work so hard for sights unseen
And try the test time after time
They never work, and that’s the sign
For when you have quite given up
And lost all hope, despair for sup
Is when the assay finally works
You’d think Science was a sort of Jerk!

Photosynthetic Slug

2009-11-06T17:30:00.001-08:00

Along the eastern seaboard of our fine United States
There lives a slug who slurps algae for hunger to abate
“Not too unusual”, you say when hearing with a glance
Until you realize its evolutionary stance
For not like us they take their food and put it in their gut
They strip away the chloroplast and leave them living up
and let the organelles survive and get hit with the sun
to make them food long after the algea’s carbon is gone
You feed them with some algae for a fortnight then you wait
An entire year they will live on with no food, not a taste!
But before you think that would be cool for us this trait to share
to meet our needs we’d have to be 100 meters squared!

Willow Tree

2009-10-29T20:20:00.001-07:00

One could argue the first to reason
Through the changing leaves of season
In a humble willow tree
Jan Helmont sought epiphany
For how a plant grows from the earth
And dirt still there, what gives the birth
To all the mass of trunk and leaf
“I’ll try out science!” t’was his belief

And so he started with ground well weighed
Sprigs of trees with no delay
And after days turned into months
Five trips around the golden sun
He separated root from clay
And measured out the soil’s decay
As well as how much bulk the plant
Had gained during its growing spat
“The soil did not give its matter
To make this willow get so fatter,
It was the water that it got
For what else could it be but not?”

With irony I’ll add right here
That CO2 gives trees their beards
And guess who first supposed that gas
Came in different kinds and flasks?
Our good friend Helmont did, its true
Let’s celebrate with no ado!

Light Reading

2009-10-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

The energy for you and me
Is made in our front lawn
By converting the sun’s bright beams
to excited electrons.
That drop potential blow by blow
And pull protons behind
A giant turbine turning flow
To ATP sublime!

Electrons once they’ve paid their dues
And formed a PMF
To ferredoxin are passed to
NADPH left
To create all the happy things
That all of us delight
From apple pie to cheesy string
And making darkness light.

But some do scoff at all this fun
And science they do diss
I’d like to see them in a run
Without photosynthesis!

Hydroponic Help

2009-05-11T18:47:00.001-07:00

When my plants are young,
I put them in rockwool
and then they grow a week.

But then some shrivel up and die,
Before they get to speak!

Bulb

2009-04-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

Just a root
that sat on the planting table.
Then a green thrust
like the spikes on a deer.
Soon, it grows
impossibly tall
for such a small bulb.

How can so much fit in so little?

Eureka

2009-03-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes,
I am late in my office
I am reading an old article
and two little Legos snap together in my brain
I want to jump up
tell the world
how to calculate the efficiency
of photosystem II
by shining light on a leaf
and measuring what it throws up.

But then I realize
that they probably won't care
and by tomorrow I'll have to re-learn it anyways

The Eurekas of today
aren't what the used to be
or are they?

Leaf Disk

2009-03-16T14:35:00.000-07:00

To study a leaf
I take a round punch
and try it
push it
and measure it
and it goes on
like it is still a whole leaf
oblivious for a while
that it is severed from its life force
a dead end
slowly oozing life
while I make a graph.

We aren't much different than that leaf disk.

Hydroponically Challenged

2009-02-16T14:08:00.000-08:00

Plants like water
yes they do
to keep stomata wide.

For when they let
in C-O-2
the H-2-O takes flight.

But I am finding
it's not enough
to keep the roots real wet

Once transferred
from media
they need to have a tent!

Sucrose Blues

2009-02-09T21:57:00.001-08:00

My needy plants
what can I do?
They need sucrose
high CO-2
but mold likes carbon
yes it does
and sucrose has
more than enough.

And so it grows
and swallows leaf
I need some way
to find relief.

And so I tried
ingredient new
"Plant Preservation Mixture"
into the stew
but now my seeds
have not vertical liberation
turns out the stuff
inhibits germination!

Eulogy

2009-01-28T23:10:00.000-08:00

Two leather hands
help together with a grip strengthened by age
and rigor
scars from rock, metal, and dirt
recount a life of adventure
once moving
now still
once warm
now cold.

Now to the next adventure
a jaunt across the mist
to lands beyond.

Doughnut

2009-01-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

They used to say bacteria
gathered up their light
using great big doughnut shapes
to funnel photons right

"But such a thing
could never be!"
The scientist did shout.

"For if in membranes
he does live
how would quinol get out?"

Snow Cave

2009-01-17T20:55:00.001-08:00

The cave we built
in the snow
seemed so big
lika a palace.

Until Todd came in
and it got a lot smaller.

Science is

2009-01-16T23:34:00.000-08:00

Science is late nights
playing chauffeur
to plants
gels
and DNA.

Science is written
in the pen of sleepless nights
scribed deep on the gray matter
like etched glass.

Science VS X

2009-01-15T23:22:00.000-08:00

Some like to pit
Science versus so many things
Religion
the wisdom of elders
society
will
and our very natures.

But I see
it all as a cosmic whole
my God teaching me about my plants
and my plants teaching me about God.

Not that I will live to see the intersect
of the two creations
that is not the point
the truth is wide enough to connect the dots
even if we can't quite yet.

Sandcastles

2009-01-14T09:01:00.001-08:00

Like falling up the stairs
you can't go up
while going down.

So is the metabolism
of us
and all our friends.

Only one at a time
or else we would destroy
what we had just built
Like kicking over a sandcastle
while your brother was still building it.

Govindjee

2009-01-13T18:41:00.000-08:00

It's funny
how one name can say so much
take Madonna
you have an image in my mind
and so do I
one that our children should be spared.

But there are other names
that have done so much
that we will never know.

Govindjee
that's it
no first or last
all just one
Like Cher.

(Click on the title to learn more)

Teleological

2008-12-29T20:57:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-20T22:07:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-15T22:15:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-13T10:29:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-12T15:48:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-10T22:11:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-09T15:23:00.000-08:00

Oh light-
you bounce
bend
refract
and absorb.

Some say God is light.

Ok, what's His wavelength?

Stupid Things

2008-12-08T10:53:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-07T15:47:00.001-08:00

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

House

2008-12-06T23:10:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-02T22:44:00.000-08:00

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

Not that I'm any better

Little Bottle

2008-12-01T12:11:00.000-08:00

A little bottle

of sparkling cider

sits on my desk.

It's empty now.

Dumpster Diving

2008-11-30T18:49:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-28T18:59:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-26T11:17:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-25T22:41:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-24T22:38:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-23T22:30:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-22T09:29:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-21T18:35:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-20T09:53:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

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

Genealogy

2008-11-18T20:39:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

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

Clouds

2008-11-16T17:42:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-15T17:40:00.000-08:00

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

Under Moon

2008-11-14T08:52:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-13T08:14:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-12T10:30:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-11T22:17:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-09T22:52:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-08T22:50:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-07T22:45:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-06T08:45:00.000-08:00

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

I mean seriously
you really think that?

A kiss

2008-11-05T08:38:00.000-08:00

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

Emperor

2008-11-04T14:39:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

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

Facebook

2008-11-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

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

So So

2008-11-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

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

Memory

2008-10-31T14:47:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-29T08:18:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

To write of the stars

is to write of love

so many have tried

some have come close

but none have succeeded.

Discovery

2008-10-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

Never has so little
meant so much,
thank you.

Patience

2008-10-25T17:01:00.000-07:00

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

Legos

2008-10-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

The song of pen

when no music plays

and when the quiet places of the heart

need to speak.

Moon Phase

2008-10-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

Does a thank you note

really count

if you were asked a thousand times

to write it?

Anonymous

2008-10-17T22:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-16T22:54:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

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

Fall

2008-10-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

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'

2008-10-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-08T18:15:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

Another couplet short and sweet

for there are deadlines that I must meet

Holiday

2008-09-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

Nothing deep for ya'll today

perhaps I take a holiday