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LEX
Well before there wasAristotle, there was aa,which comes as no surpriseto geologists who neverdoubted the historyand creation ofthis planet. Well after the zebrathere was the zygote,which a biologistwould tell youis putting the cartwell before the horse. The lexicographer will saythat he did not createthis disconnect, for heor she is a mere recorder,so you’d have to…
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AN AFTERNOON STROLL
There are three of themand they walk slowly along the sideof the road, proud yes, but are theyold men who see no need to hurry,or self-assumed royalty who dare not. Nor is it clear if they are the samegroup who gathered outsidethe ornate gateway into PGA Villagetwo weeks ago, perhaps tired ofthe endless greens fees…
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FELIS CATUS
She says just think of it,when the cat is twentyyou’ll be 87 and I’ll be 92. I never thought of itquite that way, of the catbeing twenty, I mean. My cats all diedin their teens, and thoughI missed them terribly, I assumed it wasjust their time, just howlong they should live. I’ve now thought of…
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IN THE WETLANDS
Walking through a nature preservelike Wakodahatchee Wetlands youmust always keep a sharp eye. The birds are everywhere, they areunavoidable and even the alligators,imagining themselves coy are soon enough easily recognized,snouts appear just above the surfacewary eyes scanning the shore. Here you are also surroundedby poems, but they are far moreable to hide, among the eggs…
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TWO MONKS ROLL UP THE BLINDS 無門關 二十六
Both are askedto bring more lightinto the hall. Together eachrolls up his shade.One’s action is gainone’s action is loss there is only one shadethere is only one light. aA reflection on case 26 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate) koans.
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GROUNDED
it was so much easier when I could stillimagine myself a bird, untetheredand free to take flight on a whim. In dreams I often flew, no Icarusbut a raptor, peering down, seeingwith a clarity the earth denied me. Now my roots have taken holdin the enmeshing soil plunged deepand spread tendrils anchoring me, and even…
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THIRST
A man stands on the peak of a hill,staring down into the valley below him,but it is not clear what he is staring at. Standing in the valley, by the bankof a slowly flowing river, I stareup the tall hill to its peak, and see the clouds gather around the manas if soon to swallow…
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A DAY
a day,clouds drop rainreplacing tearslocked insidestones and clothred and blueunseparatedstill worlds apartorderly ranksall at attentionand silencethundering angera mad worldsoaked in peaceonly untilmidnight. Publsihed in New Feathers Anthology (Summer 2020)http://www.newfeathersanthology.com/a-day.html
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CUTTING THOUGHTS
My wife pauses by the placardin the nature preserve and tells methat what I have been calling grassesare in fact a sedge known as sawgrass. She points out the warning thatit’s serrated on the edge and earnedits name from those who graspedit without knowing or thinking first. I feign listening but she knowsmy mind is…
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PRAYER
We bow our headsand utter wordsnot to the cicadaspeaking througha spring nightor the beetlecrawling slowlyacross the leafsearching for the edge.We bid the crowsilent, the cat mewlinghis hunger and lustto crawl under a porchawaiting morning,the child to sleep.The stream flowsslowly by, carryinga blade of grassand the early fallen leaf. Published in The Raven’s Perch (August 3,…
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an old writer and his words 