The story of leaves…

The story of leaves is an ancient script
written on earth’s parchment
in blazing colors
telling the timeless organic truth
 that the glorious  brilliance of fall foliage
(more Pollack than Serat)
is also preparation for death
 
leaves
and mortal adam—dust being
who Rises and builds greatness and beauty
must detach and let go
 
This story is also told
by stones and bones at
Giza pyramids, Coliseum, Acropolis
the abandoned Stuckey’s along I-70
in Illinois
 
Leaves and stones
whisper a truth [...]

the beloved community

what is your name
where are you from
what is your story
will you listen
to my story?
will you listen
or do you think
you already know the truth
of who I am
and how my story does
or does not fit with
your story
as you listen
will you take me as you find me
even as I do the same for you
and what will we do [...]

Be who you are…

As you go off to school this morning
I see your middle-school wings spreading
and I want to tell you
be who you are
as you are becoming
As the sun rises on another day
of books, lockers, lessons
and teachers who will see
your potential and mold it
be who you are
as you are becoming
As you laugh with friends at table
and take the [...]

Receding summer…

A standing ovation for summer
with its buttery corn on the cob
sauteed zuchini squash suppers
A thunderous applause
for freshly sliced yellow
and red beefsteak tomatos
bathing in vinegary sweet
cucumber salad
A heartfelt yawp
for salsa colors
framed in Mason jars
popped and sealed
a family production
A euphoric yes
for verdant goodness
even as the tasks of the day
and the crisp morning air
foreshadow a turning
a diminuendo
See the [...]

When you were nine

This is to remember
that when you were nine
you reeled in two smallmouth bass
hooked to the same crayfish lure
the early fog still hovered as you
reached for the line and brought
the shimerring green fish
into our canoe
this is to remember
that when you were nine
you specialized in the art
of custom-fitting bicycles
in our neighborhood with
a plastic bottle against the spokes
noisemaker
this [...]

God’s Facebook status

In the beginning the earth was formless and void
And God’s Facebook status had not changed in years
Then dust became a soothing sip
of coffee on the way
to build the great civilization
or at least work the status angle
within the ant colony enterprise
of my language world
Then…unto us a child is born
into the squalid slums I don’t pass
on [...]

Polanyi in New Orleans

Cloudburst gone, a July sun peaks
through the trees onto the glistening
wet sidewalk where a man
twists balloons into weiner dogs
At the edge of the Cafe Du Monde
We sit and wait for beignets and coffee au lait
the ritual of confirmation
into the world of streetcars and Mardis Gras
the French Quarter
The air is fresh and sweet
As strangers take [...]

This is the day…

Teen to be tried as adult in killing
Expert: Let kids use their gadgets
This is the day
U.S. keeps watchful eye on suspicious N. Korean ship:
Also moves to protect Hawaii from missile
This is the day
Hundreds of thousands rally in Iran
Ruling cleric warns Iranian protesters
This is the day
“They are trying to control the markets by talk”
“The markets [...]

Where I’m from…

I am from tamales
from Mexican Coke out of a bottle
and the custom-painted celestial blue Ford Galaxy
I am from the scent of dusty roads watered by a pipa truck
the box fan in the open window that blew across my canvas cot
lacquer-scented air from the carpenter shop next door
I am from the Sonoran desert heat
from jicamas and [...]

Central market…

Central market
dark-roasted Ethiopian brew
fills my recycled
paper cup
I walk and inhale
the scent of organic humus
beneath the brick floor
now rising up as
leafy green celery
pungent horseradish
and apple butter
I take a sip and
amidst the market bustle
am grounded in the earth
from which I came
to which I will
return