Putah Creek

The jism that we call America is armed to the teeth. 

To stay, this is empty, the least of footsteps, the museum of shallow breathing. 

It is your own death that you’re watching play ball in the street. 

Satan’s boot  

Putting the novel down.

What am I?

You cannot know what I was, or how I lived. 

This isn’t how you repair broken things. 

[photo: David Dulop]

Your mind is tuned to a radio station in hell. 

I dream of the people who have forgotten me in the way that roses forget those days without water. 

sundered

Young Couple from Rusadla, Alphonse Mucha

“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”

I can sleep in peace now that the fires of hell have burned out. 

THE AMERICAN DREAM

My Jazz Playlist.

I’M TIRED OF PAVING ROADS WITH THE OOZE FROM MY HEART. 

I am dreaming that George Clooney leaves the hoof prints of a horse as he walks.

A TRUE STORY Fifty years after the Battle of Gettysburg the survivors gathered again on the…

“There is the view that poetry should improve your life. I think people confuse it with the…

Did you ever think that maybe Lazarus wasn’t really dead? 

John Ashbery’s Navy Beans

The ad said : RUSTIC CABIN FOR SALE.

The relationship is somewhat one-sided. 

The eyes of Saint Francis. 

Late Ripeness

Sacramento Valley. Dusk. Another sunset. Up and out from under the causeway, The bats take flight….

Death is king in the world of men.

Han Shan, 8th century

A nice piece on jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery.

DEATH DID NOT IMPRESS HIM VERY MUCH. 

“If I knew the way, I would take you home.”

Morning arrives and we awaken to discover that we did not die in the night; some of us are pleased…

BEFORE THERE WAS A LANGUAGE PEOPLE JUST GRUNTED AT EACH OTHER. The rivers and the fields were…

Putah Creek. Summer Solstice.

YOU LIVE AMONG THE GREEN TREES of the forest, and sleep on the bare earth. Your dreams rise up from…

THERE IS A BEAUTY IN SALT AND WATER, a balance, a life spent here with you. A life together that…

THE SUN NEVER SETS ON THE AMERICAN EMPIRE; there is never a moment when the troops stand down. Like…

THE NEW MOON OF APRIL IS HERE and the stars are waiting for a train. They just want out, and who can…

Time is what it is, and so is the world. What could I ever do about that? I am getting older. Spring…

If your plate is empty, bring it to me, and I will fill it. Should you be cold, I will light the…

LIFE IN THE DARKNESS 

THE VIEW OF THE EARTH FROM THE MOON is lovely, but we had hoped for better rooms. These are so small…

All kinds of spring Herbs and Grasses - Paula von Goeschen-Rösler , 1917.

What a yutz. What a schlemiel.

Keep the fire burning for the gods you love the most. The most private of prayers burns in the most…

Get random.

The morning of the poor.

If you’ve been brutally broken but still have the courage to be gentle, then you’re a badass with…

thehopefulquotes: “If you’ve been brutally broken but still have the courage to be gentle, then...

AMEN 

Down To Seeds And Stems Again - The Commander Cody Band

Near my house there lives an owl. Night has come. Let me not disturb the sweet and fine solitude of…

 The crowhanded man.

USING YOUR TIME

Here are the rules. 

THE MURDER OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR

Reason #214 why I love my wife, Alex.

Breaking News:

THE COUNTDOWN 

Here is the difference between Dante, Milton, and me. They wrote about hell and never saw the place….

morning. and then.

Hands, working together.

Georg Trakl, "Mourning"

Whither goest thou, America, in thy shiny car in the night? -Jack Kerouac

CHANGING SEASONS 

Just wait, you’ll see, it’s all a circle. 

The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and…

CHIN UP, THEN.

“CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR DEPRESSION?”

BONES

poignancy, popeye, and cooking some chicken.  

an ant in a rain storm. 

Would you like that sent ‘special delivery? 

We are all a little broken. But last time I checked broken crayons still color the same.

We leave the porchlight on at night  but I am not sure why - no one is coming  this light weakens at…

mountain woke up in the morning  alive with beings and sunshine 

Once we recognize that all things are impermanent, we have no problem enjoying them. In fact, real…

‘Someone Will Remember’

I am here to help the angels fill the world with something that cannot be seen. 

VALUE 

YES, THIS LIFE IS YOUR OWN

PLANS Somewhere towards the end it all adds up, That which was and that which is, The old and the…

Thre’s no such thing as an obscene poem. A poem either works or it doesn’t work. That’s all.

My Personal Graveyard

Life is a church, not a contest. 

I have been riding this train since before I died. My first arm is stunted from dying, and my second…

YES, I HAVE MORE THAN ONE JOB. THAT’S ALRIGHT. 

“Books must be the axe to break the frozen sea inside me.” – FRANZ KAFKA

Does poetry build extra rooms

“The bad news - you’re falling through the air with no parachute. The good news - there’s no…

A STRONG URGE TO PRAY 

the late evening crow of deep autumn longing suddenly cries out

To recognize suffering is the beginning of healing. Dr. Bokin Kim

Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of…

A pre-emptive strike against corporate capitalism.

“Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky, We fell them down and turn them into paper, that we…

sunshine on sunshine  it builds up like snow  the light grows deeper and brighter  as the day goes…

“When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like…

If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is…

man, I love this…

My path is the path of stopping, the path of enjoying the present moment. It is a path where every…

WHAT ABEL SAID  

The earth knows you from the seeds that you plant, flowers, fruit, and vegetables. A simple garden…

The more I see the less I know for sure. 

“There is no such person as a stranger. Everybody needs compassion.” –Yoko Ono

the endless pale heavens call to me again reminding me that i am alive and free now  this moment

GROSS INCOME 

my country is the sledgehammer that we use 

“We are not born to survive. Only to live.” W. S. Merwin

Don’t be in a hurry to condemn others because they don’t do what you do or think as you think or as…

Checking the Administration’s veracity.

Monkeys! Aah — the madness!

Horizon. That place where the earth meets the sky. You can try to get there but you never will. It’s…

GOING FORWARD 

A poem by Farah Habad

“Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.” Dōgen

one of my teachers I don’t remember which one

“We all have an animal that’s trying to get out from inside of us, we’re all bears wearing the skin…

Bring life to the planet  help to heal that which needs healing  teach the children  feed the…

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can quietly become a power no government can…

Please DON’T reblog these pics of the Idiot over and over just to mock him. Would he mock you?

I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon.

There are children in cages and it makes you want to scream until you vomit. Children, kept by…

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” ― Carl Gustav Jung

“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your…

identity loss

I have sworn that I used the doggy shampoo…..

The instructions said to plant the seed in moist soil 

That moment when the very first raindrops 

“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” ― Hunter S. Thompson

“Fuck ICE”

———

I don’t think about time. You’re here when you’re here. I think about today, staying in tune. John…

WAITING FOR PEACE 

by Brenda Hillman

a poem by Dorianne Laux

a prose poem by ada limon

first lines from some rather old poems

The silence after the bullet is fired is a hollow thing. 

I want to be totally still now

this soul is not from here. this soul

A poem by Ester Lim

Try to live just for today.

Not engaging in ignorance is wisdom. Bodhidharma

There are three side effects of acid: enhanced long-term memory, decreased short-term memory, and I…

-from AUTUMN THOUGHTS

THE END 

The earth would die if the sun stopped kissing her Hafez 1310-1379 (it is believed)

Untitled poeman odd and somewhat mystical gate opened and...

IT’S POSSIBLE THAT WHILE WE WERE DREAMING 

THE SAD EMPTINESS 

THE ROMANCE

541 words on my practice of writing and editing poems.

THE BUS STOP IN THE HOT SUMMER SUN SEEMS EMPTY AND LONELY.

PATERNAL 

‘What We Wanted’

Nobody can be exactly like me. Even I have trouble doing it.

tRUMP won’t be happy until they’re putting the poor into the furnaces.

Trans/figuration a poem by Sanam Sheriff

OF COURSE, I WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE A WARRIOR.

POSHMARK, a poem by Erin Marie Lynch

“Are you the new person drawn toward me?”

Yusef Komunyakaa’s fine poem.

#Poetry from David Hernandez

Aperture, a poem by Elise Paschen

LET GO

I FIND THAT WHICH IS DIVINE EVERYWHERE.

GOOD NEWS ON YOUR DEATHBED.

BARTER 

Happy birthday to me - 69 years are complete.

LIVING; IT ISN’T SO BAD. 

ALONE DURING THE DESCENT TO THE LUNAR SURFACE. 

THE AGING POET TAKES STOCK OF THINGS AT SOME POINT.

WE TAKE STOCK OF THAT WHICH IS GOOD. 

REALLY, I AM NOT A CLOCK WATCHER. 

WAKING UP, I TAKE A QUICK INVENTORY.

IN MEMORY OF YOUR MEMORIES

WE CROSSED THE OLD BATTLEFIELD AT MIDNIGHT. 

I WOKE UP IN AMERICA AGAIN.

exhaled-spirals: « Dawn comes later and later now, and I, who only a month ago could sit with...

I DECIDED THAT I DO NOT RESPECT TEXT MESSAGES.

I THINK I WILL SET AN EXTRA PLACE AT THE TABLE FOR IMAGINARY VISITORS.

BEING BORN IS BUSY WORK INDEED.

Protester sings Rammstein’s DU HAST for 4 straight hours at the National Guard.

THE SECRET PSALMS OF JOBE

A DREAM, A PRAYER; THE SPACE BETWEEN THESE THINGS.

WHILE THE REST OF YOU WERE LEARNING TO LIVE NORMAL LIVES.

THEN WHAT? 

SUNSHINE AND EIGHTY DEGREES TODAY.

LOYALTY

My body, like my plans, are worn down, and are now as rounded as an old mountain top. I still have…

SILVER 

freedom

GABRIEL’S HORN

DREAMS CAN ONLY TAKE YOU SO FAR.

DEAR READER, 

Dog secrets. Earth secrets.

PRAY FOR US SINNERS, NOW, AND AT THE HOUR OF OUR DEATH. 

THE CELL I keep all of my poems locked in a room inside of my head; prisoners in a crowded cell….

‘just try to love someone’

I AM DREAMING THAT I AM A CARTOON MAN IN OUTER SPACE, and you are a comet that is kissed by the star…

LET THERE BE A RIVER

I slept well and was up at dawn, rested. I opened the curtains and looked out, waiting for a prayer…

GARDENING Look at you, White-haired and sweet In the garden, Pulling out weeds. Forty years? That…

THE WINTER POOLS The last pools of winter are splashing against the door. They gather like the…

MY FATHER’S COFFEE

HOPES AND TRUTHS I want the army to lay down the rifles and missiles and then dance to mad Cuban…

DREAMS BUZZ AROUND MY MIND LIKE BEES AROUND THEIR HIVE.

“the world required nothing in return”

You’re asking who knows the truth. 

Right now I’m having amnesia and deja vu at the same time… I think I’ve forgotten this…

Once, the instructions for living were much simpler.

“When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team’s…