Welcome to My Life

Poetic Insanity

I'm cleaning out boxes so that I can move. I keep finding hard copies of poem starts and ideas that I intended to make into longer works. Some of them I may have completed, but others I am sure I didn't finish. I think I must have encounter moments of poetic insanity in which I wasn't a danger to myself or any other human being, but to my muse. I'm surprise my muse is still speaking to me, but perhaps that is why my muse is a "Shape Shifter" . I found the following while I was cleaning out a box in preparation for my big move to a smaller place.

Lines for Poems

I

In the silent darkness
Into precious stones.
Day after day
Tests compress
Faith's children
Transforming
The molecules of death
Into the gem of life.

II

As I fly above Lake Mead and the Rocky Mountains
like of light
of the clouds are balls.

I'm not sure when I wrote this.

High Flight

Pollution spreads out below like the mud flats of the Mississippi delta.
Islands floating in a sea of darkness while clouds float on the brown muck.
Their cotton tops reflecting pure sunlight like snow capped peaks.
         I am flying above rain clouds now. Their tops are white reflecting the pure light of faith. The areas between the clouds are dark shadows. Deep ebony shadows indicating the brightness of the light. In the places where there are no clouds, pollution mars the view. Brown hiding a brown landscape -- brown on brown.
         The scene below is a patchwork of clouds and pollution. It is only above me that the clear blue of unmarred sky is visible.

Again I'm not sure when I wrote this.

The following was the inspiration for "In The Forest" .

The Forest

(1) You are in a forest. Describe what you see around you and what your are doing.

I am strolling along a footpath, which meanders among trees growing within an arms reach of either side. above me the leaves of cottonwood, elm, oak, box elder, and redwood trees cast flickering shadows across my path and the eons of leaf litter covers the forest floor. The path winds around the trunk of a gigantic redwood, I walk around the tree, and enter an oval clearing surrounded by more redwood trees. I stop and take a deep breath inhaling the aroma of decaying leaves, the musk of skunk, and the perfume of wild rosemary. Then I advance toward the center of the clearing, while birds fly out of the forest canopy, land on the ground in front of me, scratch for insects and flutter off as I approach them.

(2) While in the forest, you find a cup. Describe it. What do you do with it?

I pick up the white china teacup and examine it carefully, looking for any chips scratches or fractures. The lip of the cup is gold, and on its sides are painted nine tiny cobalt blue nightingales sitting on gold olives branches. It is undamaged, so I wipe it out with my shirttail. Then taking the lid off my canteen, I pour some water into the cup. I take a sip from the cup; the liquid is sweet as clover hone and cold as new fallen snow.

(3) Now a bear surprises you. Describe it. How do you react to the bear?

A bear, walking on all four legs, came from behind the trunk of an over sized cottonwood tree. Unable to move, I stared as the five foot tall one thousand five hundred pound brown bear approached me. twenty-five feat away from me, the bear stopped and stood up on its hind legs. Standing ten feet tall, the bear walked toward me with its huge front paws extended. Falling to the ground, I curled into the fetal position and waited for the bear to rip me apart.

(4) Now you find a wall between you, and the forest beyond. Describe the wall. What do you do once you reach it?

The wall in front of me was twenty-six feet high and made of baked red bricks, each ten inches long and five inches high. The wall extended as far as I could see in either direction, with deep green vines hanging from the wall about one hundred sixty-four feet apart. Taking a deep breath, I walked to the section directly in front of me. the vine hanging down from the wall was thin and felt damp to my touch. Turning to the right, I walked to the next vine, examining each foot of wall carefully for secret doors.

Wednesday, March 14, 2001 is the date I have on this.

I am looking forward to seeing what else I have put in boxes and trunks. Moving is becoming interesting for the first time in my life.