Yokohama Theater, 1963

Watching a film of
A battle between
A warship and
A submarine
While a rat walks
Across the top of the screen

An April Morning

Up and away the sunshine went,
The clouds remain, heavy,
Gray, and intransigent..

Hope & Cope

We deal with that
Which each day sends,
Each in our own way,
To our own ends...

The Road Less Taken

Left to my own ends, shunted to an off-ramp,
From the highway of the rich and resolute,
I find a portion of unexpected peace,
In being happily aimless and destitute...

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

Fallen, But Not Defeated

In the merciless, daily
Battle, to stay alive,
Be bitterly stubborn,
And adapt, to survive...

Dairiette

Small town cheese burger
With soft-serve ice cream
An overlooked portion of
The American Dream...

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

Gulp Gulp Gulp

Where I come from, we call it pop,
Not soda, and I've had some magical
Ones, a Pepsi after a hangover flop,
Fanta Orange on a day too humid hot,
Cold fizzy-ness, good to the last drop...

Unknown & Unconfirmed

She was stuck in a spider's web

Of worry and doubt, a condition

Existing somewhere between

Suspicion and premonition...

One Smart Bird

From my car in the shade
I throw the crow some fries,
It eats, I throw some more,
And then to my surprise,
It hides them under a leaf,
The crow is wicked wise...

Remembering Carrie

Back when I was caught,
By the alien Jabba,
I was young and hot...

Spring Moment

Gray and green
April afternoon
The prettiest I've seen

Zipang

Living on these islands
For 40,000 years,
Japanese opt for that
Which never clears,
Like the gray mists
In the god mountains,
Impermanence persists
Protected by the seas,
The Sun-tribe exists...

Undefeated

A gray bird lands, and sings,
On a weed-tree bursting up,
Through a fence, of all things...

The bird's small proud cry,
Proclaiming nature's victory,
To those who happen by...

Where Are We Going (I Don't Know)

Humans, always bored, always hungry,
Even when faced with certain doom,
Can not, and will not, abandon their
Cravings, their need to consume.

Suck on the bones and lick the plate,
Binge-watch with ear-buds, won't
Know it's gone, until it's too late...

Sheng Nu

In China, women over 27,
Who are still unmarried,
Are subjected to pressure,
And constantly harried,

"Left-overs" is what they
Are called, unable to allay,
Or escape, the prevailing
Confucian way...

University Of Texas Tragedy

Scientific observation has proven

That prairie dogs randomly kill

Ground squirrels, rodent acts 

Of murder around the molehill,

Making me think "how human",

Take a life for some kind of thrill,

Based on nothing but an urge,

Let the cards fall where they will...

Happy Hour

No matter what a working
Day may bring about,
Perspective can be
Provided by a pint of stout...

 

In Defense Of Immobility

Travel if you must,
Go where you will,
Pay through your nose
For a fleeting thrill,
Me? I prefer to stay
At home, and chill.

橿原

The Emperor's ancestors, started
The DNA chain 2600 years ago,
Leading up, after that, to the current
Imperials, as far as we can know...

茶道

To capture a moment, temporarily,
Is possible, it can be preserved,
Through a ceremony, of pouring tea...

Still Life

Apples , grapes, tangerines,
In a bowl, somehow impart,
Inspiration for a painter
To turn fruit into art...

Pay To Go To Church

The warm-handed priest,
The unctuous deacon,
Smile, but do not believe,
The words they're speakin...

Love, communion, faith is all?
Don't be so simple, so funny,
Less spiritual factors prevail,
For running a church costs money...

侍

Along with faithfully serving his lord,
The Samurai lives with discipline,
And never allows rust on his sword...

Following a battle you fight and win,
He knows that's when you tighten
The helmet strap under your chin...

When Things Come Together

That strange, rare, moment,
When things settle and align,
Into something that seems
Special, part of a design,
Which makes an ordinary
Instant mysterious, divine...