Vivid Bouquet

Vivid Bouquet

sitting quietly,
lonely, on a shelf,
more beautiful, 
than words
can ever be...

colours swarm,
overwhelm
our senses.

we're dizzied
by such colours
we see here.
comparisons
do not compare.

watch  a 
silver moon
sail through
a cloudy sea.

yet this is 
more, so much, 
much more

play your
best music,
don't omit
your drums.

wake up the sun,
now rising in
the east.

we cannot
see such vivid
colour without 
light. darkness
won't do.

we need some
brilliance to 
see the vivid
bouquet, sitting
quietly, lonely,
on a shelf...

Mugho Pine

      Oz and i
walked by
   the dying
mugho pine

      i stopped
      to shoot a
   photograph.
trapped his leash
   under my feet

as if i had a right.
   no choices left,
      he waited, 
impatient as
such a small
   dog can be,
perhaps a bit
      indignant.

   i liked the
   leaf colours,
not the meaning.
the pine had
   a problem

so unlike Oz
(and me)
   we were so
happy, on our
perfect walk.

      (for him, 
always an
   adventure) 

Wild South Hill

   we watch the
weather roll
      over this hill;

we see mists 
   slide down 
      towards us,

      sometimes
bringing snow.

we run a tab
with nature,
      fools if we 
   forget this.

   when we are 
least prepared, 
      perhaps; it 
will come due.

   mists and clouds
      obscure the
hilltop in autumn.

snow, in winter
   reminds us
we don't go
      up these
hills so well.

these are our
   autumn days.
   it isn't over;
      the view is
fine, from here.

Red, red, red

i met a man who
   could not see
      any colour.

   though i love
      to see colour,
i didn't pity;

   the man with
      no colour
was good as any.

he lived his way,
      making this 
   world his own.

he wasn't disabled
      in any way. 

      nobody knows 
what other senses
he may have had.

      he wasn't talking
about such things.

      perhaps there is
no way to speak of
   unshared visions.

we all walk alone.

Caribbean Rain

Caribbean Rain

last time was exotic
tile roofs waiting
in early morning rain.

maybe it was here
we saw pelicans,
marine iguanas,

rain, tropical rain.

looking through
glass, we see a
certain welcome

a welcome
of a certain kind.
rains taper off.

rain, tropical rain

peaceful warm rain 
does not alarm
in any way

instead, it soothes.
(been wet before
and always dried)

BW Tree

BW Tree

   looking lonely
   on a hillside,
black on white
      is all we see

under blackened 
      branches i see
   no distant stars

   even there we
      crave light,
      we are 
night-blind

even in daylight
      we do not
   see so well

      from here,
it looks like
   scenery of 
   some kind

these days, it
      seems so 
hard to find

   good scenery,
a distant hillside
and a black tree...

Leaf on Asphalt

Leaf on Asphalt

   (only a fallen
      leaf, a thing
of little value)

      i cannot say
what meaning
there could be.

how important
      is anything
i have to say?

      does anything 
we think count
   as important?

   can we ever
   be beautiful
      as a leaf?

   (only a fallen
      leaf, a thing
of little value)

Leaves and Grass

Leaves and Grass

      today is 
   a new thing
warmer than 
      i thought
it would be.
 
   brighter, no rain
fireworks celebrate
something i forget.

we look for rain
      when we are 
   so parched
   as this our 
tired earth,

   a fallen leaf  
      in grass,
an old friend 
(we loved) 
      who now
   is fallen, fallen leaf
(unforgotten now)

when we are gone,
   who will take up
   our memories?

   bright stories
      capture all
possibilities.

sadly, light fades
   (it will return)
   and darkness
covers everything.
      we sleep

Black and White Barn

Black and White Barn

      all the colours
      that we need
to tell a story...

all the colours
      that we see 
make white.

   no colours 
      at all
make black.

      darkness is
   like silence
to our eyes.


   a step this way,
the point of view 
   will change.

this becomes that.
      and unreal
   becomes real.

   looking around 
corners: a question 
      of seeing.


any artist should 
   know: seeing is 
      not believing.

but believing
   is a big part
      of creating.

creating may require 
all the beautiful 
   colours that 
      there are.

Autumnal

Autumnal

   this time of year
our world begins
      to chill,

   so we wonder
why we're here
      as light 
   grows dim

and air gets cold
      but not too
   cold to breathe

   today, october,
      colours
   start to fade

except for trees
      which go to
   red and golden

   (a million leaves
have lost their green
      and changed)

   this time, this
      change (is a 
beautiful thing)

it decorates our 
   cooling world 
and cheers us
      once again.