~Nature~

Set-Back Hour Morning

28 October 2007
Headingley, England

wind's susurrating dry trees fitfully
in starts & stops Zephyr plays with yellow
that once green will drop tomorrow to brown
covering autumn's seeds with detritus

but now breeze is an echo whispering
hidden secrets love thought it buried deep
with sounds that only heart can interpret
in melodies that soothe soul's passing by​

 

Una Sola Nube

30 Octubre 2007
Portsmouth, Inglaterra

Un arcoiris vino y se fue
Pero mientras estuvo yo te vi
Encaramada en lo mas alto
De nubes blancas sonriendo con sol​

 

Fleeting Sear on High

4 November 2007
Headingley, England

Some mornings come upon their occasions
Full of bright light that darts and plays about
Reflecting on each leaf particular
In ways that can never repeat again

Yet we run past this magic hoping that
When we return it will occur again
Though sun its angle will have shifted slight
Beyond what our height's vision gathered then​

 

from sky to earth

5 november 2007
headingley, england

spots of drizzle cling on cool window panes
as silver gray clouds drench dull sullen day, —
every now and then yellow sear floats down
gliding on air's errant trajectory

no more so than a lifetime of daydreams
immersed and riding on high fluffy clouds, —
amorphous figures that become heart's wish
until disintegration drops their form​

 

Softly Shadows Lay

6 November 2007
Headingley, England

Long haze shadows fall deep onto fall's surge
Leaning into earth's hibernating dreams
Seeking comfort & refuge from sun's light
In twist-landscape maze longing for moon's night

& I relish every slender shape's curve
& I cherish how dark plays among bright
For this autumn is a treasure splendid
For these eyes still open, wide & candid​

 

when wind the tango does

8 November 2007
Headingley, England

blustering winds & rustling yellow leaves
move to vague swaying rhythms in sunlight
that's chiaroscuro cast as clouds obscure, —
diffusing, blocking & projecting bright

zephyr's mood shifts new day from storm to clear
from melancholy to gypsy czardas
as rainbow curves where just before rippled
opaque sinuous-water-curtain-sheets

to tangos i watch Clear's passion dancing,
that captivates and fascinates sparkling, —
with white lead, charcoal & blue up on high,
to green, brown & orange down here on earth​

 

Wavering in Her Constancy

23 November 2007
Headingley, England

Round silver dollar moon smiling on high,
Suspended in suave ether blackness deep,
Solitary her night trajectory, —
Beautifully lonely beauty shines bright;

Sound there is none as I run on grass,
Susurrating soul's soft hum with each breath,
Viewing my true companion through craggy trees, —
Momentary her slight moonbeam-kiss.​

 

Three Bouviers

1 December 2007
Headingley, England

I'm glad I took the opportunity
To run on muddy trails treading leaves brown
While yellow sun was still beaming his face
For early afternoon soon swooned to gray

So many times on paths like this three dogs
Exploding energies of fun and joy
Following in a strict 'heel' when ordered
Or bounding when released from master's word

Now as I clean black dirt from my shoe soles
The memory of 'give me your paw' comes
Ingratiating warmth now that sun's gone
Inspiring me to go on while alone​

 

Almost Winter Quatrains

1 December 2007
Headingley, England

—1—

Life's simplicity special in richness
Pauper poverty with clear soul's bigness
Sun lit crystal clarity in vision
For each little thing has unique sureness

—2—

House and streetlights from distant hills twinkle
It's not atmosphere that causes wrinkle
But branches wavering with howling wind
And perhaps some far-off cloud and sprinkle

—3—

She and He are not stereotypical
She's cool northern and He's warm tropical
I watch how they both mirror and mimic
But Mars and Venus are quite topical​

 

Transient

6 December 2007
Headingley, England

It seems only yesterday they were green
These moist sears that lie now undistinguished
Fermenting in brown piles blown by zephyr
Forming dark loose skin with last evening's rain

Cover for bulbs that lie beneath surface
My footsteps are now pounding in a jog
But soon, so soon, they'll bud and bloom in spring
Though my run's gait has moved another place​

 

1 of December's 31 Days

28 December 2007
Headingley, England

it's a stormy day here and
sun occasionally plays its
yellow onto tall stark trees
and buildings from its steel gray
shifting promontory high.

i've gone back to older forms
Pablo Casals on cello
with his subtle bow playing
Schubert's quintets so simply.

to these sounds nature unfolds
outside my window's glass pane
behind two lenses i wear
through eyes that would glean it all
into a heart in love with life.​

 

Cascades

28 December 2007
Headingley, England

Stealthy night in dark camouflage crept up,
Without my sensing her proximity, —
Reading and thinking demand so much time;
A couple of letters and a phone call,
Consumed short day before I could trot off;

Then when I ran something pushed me forwards,
As if I wanted to grab time's slick back,
Or push myself beyond some barrier, —
Perhaps it's just my mind coming to terms,
With what it meant to be Victorian;

There is so much that's still not palpable,
About an era that's not so remote,
When my run takes me past Peel's gray statue,
Then past Queen Victoria on her throne, —
So casual linkages snap to place.​

 

Heart's Empathy

29 December 2007
Headingley, England

This winter day is blustering with change
Uncertain it shifts from storm, clear, then storm
So slyly I slip on my running shoes
When yellow sunbeams are out for a while

A mile into the run I'm in the Past
Comparing now's to then's value frameworks
Aware of how contingencies form Us
Weird bricolage of culture that's our soul

Half-way into the run the weather shifts
Sun's still shining and growing rainbows through
Clear soul's hermeneutical sympathies
But now gray masses congregate in sky

Strong Westerlies raise up their banshee howls
Finding a way to invade through my sweats
As cold rain falls to cool me at end's run
Small hazards of journeys through time and space​

 

Winter Doldrums

7 February 2008
Headingley, England

It's an afternoon of pink and gold glows,
Although at times my soul did feel some lows,
I've felt impediments that fell as blows
And pedaled fast till sweat poured 'tween my toes;

Time passed as I watched a flight of black crows,
Uncomprehending, my amazement grows,
But this day held no colorful rainbows,
And nothing fresh was easy to compose.​

 

unnoticed they bloom

5 may 2008
kew gardens, england

little blue bonnets fill the sidewalk's edge
where every now and then dandelions
sun burst in joy now that spring has arrived
with longer days that fill leaves up with green

o,—i notice the sparkling of light rays
and the bright profusion of varied blooms ;
but i don't stop and caress their moment
dwelling with a painter's attentive gaze ;

no,—i just pass and take rapid snapshots
that will never in album organize ;
for all i see is that there's so much left ;
and all i know is that there's little left​

 

a fine spring day it is

15 May 2008
Headingley, England

oft times in life winning requires losing :—
no black seed lives until white flower falls ;
no other rooms exist till we walk out
into life's day,—though storms may have their way ;

but in twists unexpected heart oft finds
smiles that yesterday were lost in worry ;
joys that soft touch autumn's skin with spring pink ;
songs that string and voice now long to glad sing​

 

summer days short

19 May 2008
Headingley, England

it's asking night's moon to glow like day's sun
this dream that i had of brown autumn love,—
there's no empty space in bowers o'er grown
with Muscat that hangs in full bunches ripe

& frankly i'm loath to prune any vine
that so many years has faithfully served
to ease all heart's worries and deepest frowns
and roosted in places love's gentle dove​

 

Spring, Summer and Fall

4 June 2008
Kew, England

How wonderful dream was while night lasted
Warm brief illusion when heart swam in love
Before ordained,—sleep's time came at moon's end

Now weeds crowd where once giant fig tree dwelt
Hugging earth close fearing to soar up high
Lest violent storms uproot all Eden's tall

Doubt and fear, undiluted, soul blasted
Leaving frail blackened bark in life's small cove :
Still afloat, searching for new paths to wend

But in rough games face gets a lump or welt
'Tis nothing to complain though worth a sigh :
Spring love dwells in summer and dies in fall.​

 

Flea Bitten Dog

11 June 2008
Kew, England

Morning's cool greets me with her kisses :— I,
Hazily refuse to open eyelids ;
Lazily dwell in waking's brief twilight ;
Happily feel every aching muscle.

I feel but bliss in my reclusive state.
In a third floor loft full of light's white joy ;
In how at ease I've come to be with life ;
In sweet perfumes from apple trees in bloom.

 

Half-Sleep Day Dreams

14 June 2008
Kew, England

How kindly solicitous minute was
That came and seconds spent on my behalf ;
Sun arched a bit in that brief span of time,
Two larks outside in duet synchronized

While coffee's water reached its boiling point
As red heart palpitated sixty beats ;
An instant at which plane flew overhead
To snap me back to think outside daydreams