almost undressed

almost undressed.
one piece every few seconds.
pretty cool carpet-layer,
ever a maple though, still teaching
fall semester to whoever attends.

all fall

green leaves.
yellow and reds
arrive,

all fall.

Life hesitated

he used to say, “stand back, fool!”
when he thought only he could hear.
but Life hesitated, turned, and looked around,
slaying all foolishness.

ready pressure

I found ready pressure.
forget the description.
it worked
by not letting it work.
there is a good lesson here:
     know what evades and releases the stress.
     then stomp on it, break it into several places.
     then enjoy the stress.
     it bears you gifts from afar.

cascading

cascading words tumble on to the page;
he could just as well catch them with his mouth,
but how could he take his name off his mouth?

some simple handle

he says ‘he’ or ‘I’ throughout the travelogue,
but it isn’t himself that is spoken of.
     we take some simple handle, such as a pronoun,
     and forget it is just that.
                    and soon it’s carrying the weight of the earth.

all are compliant

the lines are long, but all are compliant.
no mere flu shots here, all injections are free.
a daily dosage of word and image–
the jones fixed till next time.
they leave contented
with practiced frowns.

I had to turn away.

someone asked if I can cook.
I had to turn away and giggle.
I see only food.  I be only oven.

significance

significance is a can opener.
unlocks, decontainerizes.
there is stuff here, and I am here
with that stuff, and I know I am
here with that stuff.
all is a significant presentation,
that computer speaker, that lamp,
that lady bug, that roach, that coffee
cu-excuse me, there is something
with extra significance that begs
attention….

things don’t

things don’t smell
as strong in the cold.
is it my nose or
are fragrances water soluble
and ice up on the way?

the same trick..

ever noticed those cheap, extra thin
restaurant napkins?
they are embossed with little bumps
to make them feel thicker.
actually, because of the bumps,
they are ‘thicker’…
seems like my mind plays the same trick…

tossing

he once believed in the evolution of the spirit;
but his galapagos remained islands, surrounded by tossing see.
he now strives to leave behind all that is defined–
to recognize no limning beaches–
now wetted from the calming sea.

without

common sense.
uncommon sense.
without,
you’d still be looking
up at average.

one’s internal constituencies

it is those ubiquitous voting irregularities
that continually maintain
one’s internal constituencies,
(not suppress them).

if the grass grabs your ankle

no particular value in the paradoxical.
if the grass grabs your ankle,
it simply shows you acknowledge
you and grass and all you’s and all grasses.
relative stuff in front of us is our only source
of the absolute.
we are stuck when we expect everything to
mean something.
it means, but not anything particular.
stuff just stuffs, more than plenty
for most of us.

ever

what you see,
is not what you get.
ever.