Farewell, Fiscal Year

Insinuation of coolness, longer shadows
Caused by the lower angle of the sun,
Summer's green fading, tiring, by degrees,
Combine to remind that September's done.

What Makes Me

Overwhelmed with a feeling of things
Passing, slipping away, makes me think,
Makes me want to slow life down and
Simplify, makes we want to drink...

What The Vegetable Reveals

I suppose life is like an onion,
With multiple layers of skin,
Waiting, needing, to be peeled
Away, to reveal the truth within,
Which, in the end, doesn't match
The drama we think we are in...

Want Versus Reality

Nothing in life is guaranteed,
Is a cold hard fact, which we
Know, but don't want to heed,
As if it were some weird, and
Analog, a lost prophet's screed,
About us, the entitled ones,
Who possess more than we need.

Autumnal Equinox

Japanese gather on the hillsides,
And in wooded temple grounds,
Which host their family graves,
Cicadas' cries replaced by sounds
Of bell-crickets, the fine fall day's
Cooling transition surrounds
The families, convening with their
Ancestors, amidst the old mounds,
And burial stones, each reunion of
Souls, a mystery which confounds.

秋分の日

The first yellow leaf, encouraged by
A cold breeze's nudging and shocks,
Detaches, and drops, from a summer's
Branch, on this day of the Equinox.

Meat Puppet Aspiration

Conscious, and self aware,
Yes, I am me, indisputably,
Whether being here or there,
Thoughts and feelings swarm,
Through the hours I'm awake,
Based on how my senses inform,
Everything combining to make
An out-of-body feeling, which
Is later revealed to be a mistake,
As my meat reasserts its control,
Through sleep, pain, and pleasures,
Dispensed in differing measures.

Horse Soldiers Versus Cannon Balls

Proud cavalryman of the Light Brigade,
Astride a powerful horse, chomping at the bit,
Upon hearing "Charge!", he spurs ahead,
Cheered by the sound the bugles emit,
He gallops bravely, colorfully, into the valley,
Then sees the waiting guns ... "Oh, shit."

Darkest At Foot Of The Light House

"There has to be more to life than this"
In the midst of poverty or plenty,
Our happiness remains a hit or miss
Proposition, less to do with wealth,
It seems, and more likely based
On dreams, luck, food, or health.

Atmospheric Hope

A dark cloudy mass descending,
Then interrupted by a burst
Of heavenly colors and light, ending
The gloomy message the rain storm
Was unintentionally sending...

(Photograph by Geoffrey M. Hamilton, 1955-2011)

What Goes Up...

We float and soar for a glorious
Moment, then fall down, of course,
Reminded of limits, and reality,
Uncompromising gravity's force.

Epiphanic Inspiration

It was as if the revelation rode
An electric unicorn into my head,
And made my brain explode...

After Life, After Noon

Growing up, you're informed there
Are places called heaven and hell,
But whether they actually exist,
Or not, you really can't tell,
Then, as years pass, you forget
About it, which is just as well.

The Privilege Of Being Attractive

She sees him looking at her, and accuses
Him of undressing her with his eyes,
Which, of course was true, but is something
He thereafter calmly, steadfastly, denies
Claiming, rather, he simply was stunned
By her new designer dress, and tries
To make it sound normal, and she relents,
Despite knowing it was a pack of lies.

The Creative Process At Middle Age

I relax, and lay back, letting the blood
Flow and pool in the back of my head,
Helps to produce ideas they say,
But I end up going to sleep instead.

Occasionally Futile

Earnest and thorough
Explanations, landing
On un-listening ears, won't
Lead to understanding.

Where There Is Life

Love is not something to be measured out
In spoonfuls, no, it should be poured
Onto your beloved, always making sure
To refill from the heart where it is stored.

Jihadi

What monstrous power lies in hate,
Propelled by religion, which can
Make one feel justified to take,
A knife to the throat of a helpless man.

WTF Sweden?

Americas pronounce it "Aye-Kee-Ah",
And Japanese call it "Ee-Kay-Ah",
IKEA, the same in both nations,
The site of endless shopping trips,
Followed by tool-related frustrations.

Mind As A Quilt

It occurs to me,
Somewhat dimly,
That life is linear,
But also, a tapestry,
Past quilted with present,
Almost equally.

Transition

Sights of sea hawks looping
Under puffy clouds, enthrall,
On a day which can't decide
If it is summer or fall...

Joys Of Harbor Living

Designed and built to penetrate
Fog, and be heard miles away,
The ship's horn moans me
Awake to face the new day,
It repeats a few times as if
To summon me where I lay,
And I arise, guessing I didn't
Need more sleep anyway.

Writers Workshop

Words, disgorged in an urgent stream,
Onto paper, an opaque, abstract, splatter
Of ink, for deciphering by professors,
Poetry, after all, is a serious matter...

After Effect & Memory

A minor disturbance occurs
On the smooth water, after
The frog jumps, the carp stirs,
And concentric ring-ripples
Expand and intersect each other
Across the quiet pool,
Reminding me of a physics
Experiment back in school.

Ceiling Tile Vision

Lying back, staring at the ceiling,
Trying to ignore her illness,
She imagines concentric spheres
Radiating out from the stillness
Of her room, her sickly fears
Temporarily forgotten
By the vision of others, everywhere,
All happy, bored, or misbegotten,
All breathing the same Earthly air,
In various the states of decline,
Or growth, which we all share,
In the portions our fates assign.

Point of View

Flower draws attention
Of man and bee,
Quite differently...

Man sees beauty
To soften his mood,

Bee sees a colorful
Source of food.

The Methods Of Meteorology

The typhoons passed through
And blasted the Pacific high
Into a confusion of clouds
Which now cover the sky
Bringing rain and landslides
Leaving very little dry,
The hot summer cooled
Down and compromised...