reminds us that summer's end is just a short
walk in the sun away... and, while the heat
will still persist for a month or two, the cooler
evenings will lower the temps of all the pools
that have not yet closed for the season... this
is the time to venture down to an east coast
resort as most of the tourists have packed up
and left... and while the rates have dropped
a little too, it is just nice to walk along the
coastline with your lifelong partner beside you.
22 July 2022
who have come to pay tribute to Geb and to
honor the union to Osiris of the underworld
and to their child Horus who, for all these
many years has lived in the shadow of his
parents... and, who now stands before his
creator and begs to be released from her
control... with both feet firmly planted on
either side of the Nile, and with outstretched
arms begs for her forgiveness and the siblings
he has killed with his bare hands... his honor
is no longer present on his countenance as
he is dressed in foreign garments that are not
known to anyone standing near him... although,
many have fled to other parts of the city as
they were informed of his approach... he begs
Isis to reconsider her refusal to share her magic,
tempting her with the death of more children...
And, with one swift motion, she takes hold of
the moon and casts it down onto Horus, knocking
him into the water and with a slight grin she
watches him sink below the surface as he had
never taken the time to learn how to swim.
22 July 2022
of the day like an old lover tries to hold
onto the exuberance of youth only to
find that youth has vanished... but the
night has different plans and soon day's
light has disappeared into the hearts of
all the black demons unleashed at dusk;
a curtain lowers to the floor of the stage
cutting off the actors from the audience
as a blanket of darkness covers the land
unable to contain all the light as the stars
begin to illuminate the heavens and the
moon shows a crescent smile as it watches
for flying saucers that are more visible
than the tails of shooting stars... we sit
on the clouds, gazing down at the hidden
land and all its inhabitants that do not
suspect the visitors have arrived and
would not really care if they knew since
strangers bother them not in the least.
21 July 2022
me and my cats and a companion
who claims to know everything...
we hunt for our food in the water
and on the land, surviving by our
wits and the fickled nature of life;
we walk all the time and everywhere
not realizing how importance our
mobility really is until unless it is
somehow damaged by fate and
we are left not walking at all for
a spell... longer than we care to
remember... red skies at night
and red skies at dawn give us clues
for the day and while some of these
clues are accurate, many are not,
and we fumble around ourselves
trying to explain... light gives us
hope and darkness gives us sleep
and while each day is different, we
look forward to them all, except
the day our cats died and in grief
the companion committed suiide,
leaving me here to take care of it all
without any help from our friends.
19 July 2022
like a sweater on a winter night but these
mornings are summer induced and the only
creatures venturing out of their homes are
the birds, squirrels, and rabbits whose fluffy
tails draw unwarranted attention for the felines
who prey upon their innocence... we are the
creatures of habit and recourse, planning and
distribution and rule with impeccable style
when we want to be seen... in the meantime,
we remain inside, sheltered away from it all
as if we were too fragile a thing to come out
and play for a while... the leaves on the trees
and bushes bend upwards indicating more
rain will fall from the sky or at least that is
where we perceive it to originate from our
logical perspectives but who knows... what
kind of life this is or what kind of reality,
since we can prove neither exists in any sort of
definitive way as to be believed by everyone,
but all life comes to an end one way or another,
although some believe there is another one.
19 July 2022
in an endless loop from one side to
the other as if oblivion is a meaningless
concept to our captain who paddles
all the time without tiring... our hull
is our unconsciousness that floats
aimlessly inside our consciousness
as if it were conjoined... our sails
unfurl with each thought, catching
the wind that is created by our mental
exhausts... we are cosmic in origin,
not belonging to anyone but available
to everyone who trespasses on the currents
of our ideologies, not fully understanding
or appreciate the nature of our blessed
sentimentalities... we are anchorless and
rudderless as we roam the mind's river
not really caring whose mind or whose
river in which we are sailing... only that
we are there with all the others who see
the strings of nature and who are bound
by nature's strings... we dismiss idle
knowledge and the speculative format
of theory but we are acutely aware that our
ability to think is not always who we are.
18 July 2022
but the day seems to get in the way...
a legacy of a hundred thousand years is
brought before us in a panorama of
history, unveiling all the miseries that
all the years have caused on the planet...
we sit juxtaposed to each other in an
effort to understand the thoughts that are
transmitted between us without the slightest
understanding as to why or how... only
that it is the way and the way has always
been and no one questions the way or if
is morning or evening, just that another
day has been given to us both... we are
serene in our glistening appearance...
the garment is tailored to fit and when
it does not, we are recalled, and our parts
are disassembled and given to others who
have no clothes at all and appear to be cold.
18 July 2022
you want me to be...
authentic and bold and
questioning everything...
I was who I was but not more
and when that transformation
came to pass, I was who I was
always meant to be...
and, nothing more... we are who
we were meant to be and not
what we wanted to be...
around the corner from when or
why especially after the when
since it was always meant to be...
I am who I was but not before
when there was only you and I
and all of those who did not want
to understand why we were...
we came to understand it all when
they did not understand us at all,
and when it was over, we knew both
of us had become that which they
had always wanted us to become.
17 July 2022
around like a bad odor... we peer into
the night with cat eyes, hearing more
than we actually see... clinging to
night sounds as if they were the lyrics
of poets floating around in a cosmic
consciousness... rumors beget rumors
but we only listen to those thoughts
that manage to break through evil's
dark shadows that lurk inside the
crevices of our dormant personalities;
we slide into night's waltz like strangers
whose dance card is vacant... rooms of
gloom parade by us while we walk the
halls of someone else's imagination
that has invaded our space... silos of
contentment looms over the moods that
we dress in hoping that recognition breeds
more satisfaction than we have given up
in lieu of waiting for the morning sun.
17 July 2022
as a new day always appears... it flows
around rocks and trees and off a cliff
sometimes like a waterfall... it flows into
the valley at the feet of the mountaintop
from which it had originated... and in the
lowlands forms creeks that turn into streams
that turn into lakes and used for recreation;
around the lake the locals have parked their
campers and erected their tents and made
their campfires on which to cook the food
they are hoping to catch in the lake or stream...
some of these visitors go hiking around the
trails while others made their own path...
some go swimming in the cold waters while
other float on the water they must move
with their own physical strength... others
lay on blankets in the hopes of changing the
color of their white skin of which they appear
to have grown tired... and, when the light of
day narrows into darkness, these visitors
huddle around their campfires telling stories
of how it used to be... and, how it used to be
always seems more glamorous that how it is
today... right here and now... in this moment.
15 July 2022
into our lives each day...
sometimes with sun,
sometimes with clouds,
sometimes with cold,
sometimes with rain... we bask in the
knowledge that it is ever changing,
forward looking to the next one,
not wanting to sleep
because of the anticipation... and yet,
when it arrives, it is just another day,
with all of its pros and cons...
and it always appears that the good days
move faster than the bad ones...
we yield all our thoughts and actions
to the day and while its activities and
situations cannot be anticipated, we
always know it will be there every
morning when we awake even though the
morning is never rally announced as the
assumption is that it does not need to be.
15 July 2022
just like the day of our birth - without approval,
and after burrowing inside begins to influence
our reactions to the various stimuli of the day...
we wonder if our thoughts somehow have
been infiltrated by some unseen presence as if
we were being possessed by some alien... but,
we do not really believe in such incarnations
no matter how plausible the evidence... we
cannot bang our heads against the door as
there are no doors inside our minds what with
all the renovations of openness... as with all
the walls that have been removed as well...
we had no need of privacy until now and
wonder if we can simply hit the back button
returning everything to the way it was... we
have had enough of the way it could be or
might have been if things were different...
things are not different and our consciousness
has no tolerance for all these absurdities.
13 July 2022
butterfly held down by the humidity, we
walk around the community as if it is of
no concern, knowing our lungs are working
overtime as are our hearts pumping blood,
but we are invigorated by the opportunity
to push our bodies to the limits... meanwhile,
our neighbors sit inside their air-conditioned
homes grumbling about the increased costs
of utilities... the sun hides behind the clouds
from the evening before when thunderstorms
blew through the valley like tornados but
without all the property damage other than
flying debris from the incessant winds...
we pay the price each morning that we awaken
since it is another day of increased costs and
fewer products to buy at the grocery stores...
we wonder about our ancestors and the price
that they had to pay while not concerning
ourselves in the least about any and all future
generations and what they might face... we
are as hypocritical as our politicians, learning
to become like them rather than fight them...
and the transformation we do not see at all.
13 July 2022
uniquely designed for me
I surmise... as there being
a unique one for you...
my path is sometimes wide
and sometimes narrow,
it is sometimes easy and
sometimes difficult...
or so it is perceived...
and yet, it is the path I
must take whether I want
to or not... not unlike my
birth to which I was never
consulted... and, here I am
without consent, walking on the
path I did not choose, although
I do make choices, some good
and some bad but regardless
my path is uninfluenced by
simply my actions alone...
and when years have passed
and I can hardly walk... will
it be explained to me why
this is the path I had to take?
11 July 2022
and the humidity, lowering the water in
the pool by two degrees... enough to make
it a little more slower sliding into the water
to begin my afternoon walk... and, while
the threat of dark clouds is on display
above my head, it never rains again and
my forty minute exercising is uninterrupted;
sitting on the porch, the rain fall gently,
no rain is blown through the screens as was
the case the other day when it rained... the
quiet rain is pleasing to the ears and in a
way is as mesmerizing as meditation to
those of us who are in a mood to relax...
the smell of fresh cut grass flows through
moisture, reminding us that the mowing
we did earlier was just in time... and,
while reflecting on the generosity of this
thought am unceremoniously remindcd
that the mowing was performed the day
before and as I mellow in the notion that
age has penetrated my mind in a most
undesireable way, I am thankful that I
can still remember my back surgery...
9 July 2022
around the strings at both ends effortlessly... the
frets are used to alter the course of their meaning,
and the sunken eyes in the head of the man leaning
against the wall shimmer as he recalls a distant
memory that had once given him pleasure... the
strings are loosened and tightened to change the
implications of the sounds and a cup sits beside
the artist, winking at each and every coin that is
dropped into its open belly... a constable walks
out of the alleyway that connects two major
roads together for pedestrians and as he hears
the music filtering through the air smiles at
the artist and asks for his license... the artist
picks up the cup and hands it to the man leaning
against the wall, packs up his guitar, and begins
to walk away... the constable calls out to him
but to no avail, as the artist boards a transit bus
and disappears... a crowd forms around the
constable and tightens into a smaller circle
until the constable cannot breathe, takes out
his pistol and fires it into his head... the artist
returns the next day and begins playing but
first leans the constable up against the wall.
8 July 2022
even though we cannot see the sun, we
know it is getting close to the horizon...
and as the light diminishes in the valley,
we sit at the table with our family thankful
with what we have been given and grateful
for that with which we have been blessed...
it is a spiritual time for us this time of day
as we regroup and return to our homes,
mindful of the weather and that we have
mowed our grass before it rained and the
valley cooled right before the humidity
was in the process of choking... we cooled
our minds and bodies inside while our
thoughts remained outside with no fear
of sunburn... and when the door chimes
sound and our neighbor two doors down
hands us a bottle of Mexican Sangria and
as we smile broadly he says, "Thought you
might enjoy... I've been meaning to come
down for days but you know how it is?"
"Not to worry," I reply. "I've been sick
anyway... won't you come in?" He declined
my invitation and as I drank from the bottle
I reminded myself that friends are, sometimes,
better than one's own family who never calls.
8 July 2022
each morning when I awake from a
troublesome sleep although with each
moment there is some sort of clarity
that did not exist before... down and
dirty cards have been shuffled, dealt,
and played by me as my mental fortune
seems to dissipate a little more with
each hand... crystal clear are the visions
that flow through the veins of my sub-
consciousness as they twist and turn
ahead of the blood... righteousness logs
sit like patient hounds behind the eyes
waiting to be sawed and burned in an
effort to stave off illness during each
game, as my senses, are depleted and
my desire to live no more is tested.
6 July 2022
one foot in front of the other
one leg in front of the other
extending the stride as far as I can
as the water keeps me perpendicular
and balance is not needed by holding
onto the metal sides of the pool...
out of water, it is different... I walk with
a limp on one side as I steady myself
with a cane or touching the surface of a
nearby wall... and, the stride is about
half what it is when in the water... I walk
for therapy and to heal the trauma that
was perpetrated on my lower back and
while it was with my permission, the
aftermath is not without its complications...
so if I were to seize the day, it could only
take place if I were in the water as on land
my body is far from being back to normal.
5 July 2022
hundredth time or more and as
I gaze at the wasps that are trying
to figure out how to get past the
screens, my mind does more than
just reflects, it ponders on all the
deeds and misdeeds that brought
me here to the valley of Tennessee
where the farmland flows northeast
and the Smokys provide shade to
all the marijuana plants that thrive
in her rich soils... it ponders all the
make-shift stills that are hidden in
her caves and crevices away from the
eyes of the revenuers who seek them
out for whatever reason... it ponders
the eagles, falcons, and hawks that
fly the currents of her skies without
having to pay tribute to the landlords
down below who are perched on fence
posts and rocks with rifles to hunt them
down for sport... it ponders the influx
of immigrants from Texas who have
journeyed this far to the east coast and
who have decided to stay and live off
the land as share-croppers... it ponders
the end of life that comes to us all and
it matters not what we have accomplished
as within a few years, it is all forgotten.
4 July 2022
like an avalanche, reverberating off the
foothills of the great smokys... rain pellets
the ground as if released from sawed-off
shotguns mounted on clouds in the sky...
still under cover churn out the product
distilled from the knowledge of decades,
while the literate drink to fill their bellies
since their minds have become immune
to the constant change of life... customized
chariots transport elixir to all points of
the state but not outside to avoid the feds
who have set up camp at state lines...
distant thunder rolls through the valley
and only the keenest can determine if it
the weather or the roads that are responsible
for all the noise but most know it is highly
unlikely that we have that many storms.
3 July 2022
follows the previous day and the previous
days formulate our past upon which we
look back to ponder our choices,preparing
for the next morning... it is a cycle that
continues until we die as the future is
always moving forward even though we
never seem to catch up to it... reflections
allow us to forecast and forecasts gives
us the ability to feel reasonably certain
of our predictions... and yet, there is
always the one in a million situation that
does its best to flaw the process... we
are creatures of our own intellect and
stupidity making our way across the
galaxy in the hopes of finding our own
destiny before it finds us and returns us
to our various points of origin once again.
3 July 2022
the various seasons while societies flirt
with their residents through wars... and if,
global wars were not enough we fight
agmost ourselves for control of a street
or a neighborhood, a city or a state... we
seem to love violence and killing as a
society but we are unlike nature completely
we don't just kill to survive, we like to kill
and derive much pleasure from the behavior;
we collect ourselves into groups, and elect
a leader to make all our decisions... then we
follow blindly as if not to do so would mean
rejection and possible suicide... and, as we
grow older to the end of our days, we crawl
on hands and knees to beg forgiveness to
all those we have harmed... hoping that this
act alone will give us everlasting salvation.
2 July 2022
rub over them as if writing cursive,
and while tightly shut, I see in my
minds colored lines and shapes,
forming, vanishing, and reappearing
in different shapes and lines similar
to the explosion of fireworks on the
fourth of july... if my fingers press
differently on my eyelids, the images
change but when a constant pressure
is maintained, there is a kaleidoscope
firing and misfiring as the arrays
appear and disappear uncontrollably,
in and out like thoughts... but when
the images disappear they are gone
and I cannot remember what they
were as I try to sketch them out on
paper but the colored pencils that I
used are never as vivid as what I saw.
1 July 2022
at the same time as perfect warm
weather with no trace of humidity,
chance of rain, or falling evening
temperatures... and, the blue skies
are free of clouds or any debris
passing by on its own... they say
for some, those conditions are
between sixty-five and seventy-five
on a consistent basis to ensure it
is not a phenomenon... and, there
is only one place in the world where
I know those conditions exist and it
is not in the city of Cairo, but in the
city of Honolulu... tourism is a basic
source of income for both these cities
and yet the tourists who visit the
latter city would prove this to be true
as well... since the conditions in the
former city are most often recorded
with barely any humidity at all...
and we all know that only a certain
degree of humidity is always required
in order to have the perfect blue sky.
29 June 2022
thunder precedes the storm and
the storm precedes the rain... it
is the routine of the valley to bear
this out... and to all those working
outside they know this for true...
but recently weather patterns have
fluctuated and what we thought
we knew for true turned out to be
not that true at all... continuity
and consistency has been lost on
this last generation who reads not
the sky or the environment but
instead relies on charts and maps
and forecasters to navigate their
daily routines.... as if they have
someone else to blame for their
inherent shortcomings... we know
these truths and we know them
well as we have lived with them
for several decades... but the truth
no longer dwells in this valley and
I am sure it dwells not elsewhere.
26 June 2022
around the concrete floor I walk
one step at a time... slowly and
with a cane to steady... back
muscles tense and ache while the
knees hold steady and firm... my
free arm acts as a balance as I
glide around the inside balcony,
looking over at the old folks
playing some kind of paddle ball
and then realize I am an old folk
too... not so much embarrassing
as it is why I lived this long and
for what purpose was this existence;
memories flow in and out as around
this rink I walk, feeling the air on my
face as other walkers, faster than me,
pass me by without so much as a
glance in my direction to see how I
might be doing with my slow walking,
and then take pity on me as if I were
some old man with a cane... dozens
of years I walked unnoticed, around
the neighborhood, up and down the
maze of interconnecting roads through
the community... and, not once did
anyone pay attention as I passed them
by, letting them feel my wind in their
faces... life has a way of hunbling
both the best and worst of us, as we
find ourselves getting closer to our
own sunset... but today, I am walking
slowly with a cane in the hopes that
in a few short weeks my labors will
be rewarded - my life will resume.
24 June 2022
cover the blemishes on a hardwood floor,
staring at both for most of the morning,
I have come to the conclusion that life
is full of circumstances beyond one's
control as well as within one's control
as long as you have the cleverness to
see it in the rug's criss-cross patterns;
we wait until the skies grow dark before
we turn on the lights even if we can see
clearly from the blaze of the livingroom's
fireplace... and yet, we live unnoticed
inside our homes waiting for a package
from the postman that never arrives...
we are tended by strangers who call
themselves family, removing money
from our wallets when they think we
are not paying attention... the painting
was completed with acrylics because of
the toxins associated with oils but we
cannot hang it without a frame... the
window gives me afternoon light and
the cat gives me friendship in an aloof
sort of way but better than nothing I guess.
22 June 2022
with pretty little trinkets that
we collected over the years
when on vacation... some of
them we gave away, some we
threw away, and some we kept
in case we discovered holes
that needed to be filled... we
bow our heads to the sun god
for providing us with perfect
weather... we bow our heads
to the night god for giving us
the ability to fall fast asleep...
we try and ignore the food god
because our crops have not been
all that plentiful these last few
years... and perhaps it is the
rain god to whom we should
be talking as there has been
precious little of it... we mix
and match our clothes so it will
not seem like we are wearing
the same clothes each weeks but
there is really not much to choose
from, telling ourselves that it is
what it is and pay attention to
something else... we cook on an
open fire pit and use the forest
as our toilet, bathing in the clear,
clean water that runs by very
close to the house... our house
of clay bricks and sticks has no
lessons to be offered other than
it was all my family ever needed...
I am American and I currently live
on a reservation on the land just
above what was known as Colorado.
20 June 2022
as does the day... noonday
provides us with warmth,
midnight with cold... we
stalk each other like wild
animals hoping to mate
whether more than once
is irrelevant... our blood
flows whether we do or not
and eyes give us a chance
to see what we missed which
never happens... we hear
the enemy in our backyard
and prepare for battle without
any knowledge of our foe
but expect victory since we
live atop a mountain... and the
the only road up to the top
is lined with pitfalls, not of our
own making... we peer over
the side once in a while to see
how everyone else lives but
have no desire to engage in banter
or mindless conversation... the
path to glory is our isolation and
that we are higher and closer to
our goals than anyone else... we
are mimicked by those who don
t understand and hated by those
who do... we are the only hope
and future for our poor country.
19 June 2022
humidity penetrates the air like a
winter chill that seeps through the
cracks in our mental foundations,
thick air surrounds our bodies...
unseen and unheard but felt each
time we take in the air... sitting or
standing, the movement is ever
so subtle and suffocating... we are
careful where we walk and where
we place our feet so as not to trip
over the weeds that thrive in these
conditions... moisture pours out of
our bodies as if we have just stepped
out of the shower and are reaching
for a towel... our nostrils sense a
pending rain, perhaps a storm with
thunder, rain, and hail... or perhaps
just a gentle summer sprinkling of
rain to release steam from the soil,
but there is something coming and
it is not winter, just more of the same
and we are not yet out of spring or into
summer as indicated in the Almanac.
18 June 2022
