ONE FIFTY AND COUNTING
In the dream
Hal and I are sitting on the curb
at the corner of Time and Wisdom
having a nice long chat
It is one of many dreams
with Hal and Sidra in starring roles
If they were to charge us for this time
(as they sometimes threaten to do)
I mean even at their standard rates
never mind 2.5 for nights and weekends
how many many thousands would we owe
If they charged for the wisdom
the national debt would seem low
150TH BIRTHDAY LIMERICK
The Event
In October 2007 a number of Voice Dialogue teachers and friends gathered in Boulder to celebrate Hal’s 80th birthday and Sidra’s 70th birthday. I was honoured to be asked to write a theme poem, then Larry said, “But not a Limerick”.
The Limerick
There were two therapists from Thera
Who were so wise they would scare a ya
The were so darned smart
They could take you apart
And you couldn’t hide hide nor hair a ya
FAMILY TREE
My father took the roots into the ground
And the tree of my mother
began to fall
An oxygen hose tethered her some
a forest of family and friends
slowed the fall
She tore off some leaves
as she fell
GRANDFATHER’S MOUSTACHE
The moustaches
of my grandfather and Carl Jung
(Twins separated at birth)
have lives of their own
Jung’s stays in Switzerland
combing the unconscious
My grandfather’s travels to Brazil and Canada
gathers rainforest moisture, dirty thirties dirt
and remnants of strong cheese and pipe smoke
(Carl’s certainly contains some of that too)
When grandfather sneezes, I get to share it all
SEASONS
My grandfather came to Canada
trailing the civilities of Europe
Planted ten thousand trees
on the bald-assed prairie
Plenty of produce for a family
and acres and acres and acres
of flowers as well
On the other side of a depression
and the rationings of war
every plant like every animal
on my parents’ ranch
had to pay its way
At our house in Austin
we have only flowers
DNA
And what of the unwinding
of the windings we have wound
round our double helix, Felix
Bones, ashes, memory’s wake
or, two-four-six-eight
how much did we propagate
On that long and winding road
9-11 2007
It is the anniversary of the attack
seems like they have one every year
Wreathes are laid, videos are released
spin doctors spin, dead in graves spin
Deaths in reaction dwarf deaths in the action
I mean in numbers, others decide on value
I am grateful when a friend sends me
a poem by Hafiz
GARDENING IN THE MINEFIELD
An errant tap root
tapping a triggering device
can quickly juice a careless carrot
The force of cabbage growing
may result in coleslaw fireworks
And the blood of beets
hardly distinguishable
from that of small boys
with hoes
GONE IS GONE
A just war, an unjust war, or just war
A midnight arm, flung
across an unmade bed
Half empty or half full
NEXT
Cindy Sheehan has spent
enough time in a tent
It is time to let her rest
other mothers can be found
Last month a hundred or more
made it through the qualifying round