Rickety Gibberish [Free Verse]

A long time ago,
 I listened to the audiobook of
    Kerouac's "On the Road."

In that format, 
   I became aware of how often
     Kerouac used the word
       "rickety." 

Almost as aware as I became
   of how often Twain uses
      the N-word in Huck Finn
      when I unwisely listened to 
      that audiobook while driving
      through downtown Atlanta
      with my windows rolled down. 

I'm now reading Hunter Thompson's
   "Kingdom of Fear," and I've become
      aware that Thompson had a love
      of the word "gibberish" almost on par
      with Kerouac's love of "rickety."

And I think about how much beautiful
   rickety gibberish I've read from those
      authors, and what a fine 
      thing it is if one can write 
      rickety gibberish that stands up 
      under its own weight. 

Foo Dog [Haiku]

guardian dogs,
sculpted or painted: how do
they fool the spirits?

Boats in Motion [Haiku]

boats rise & roll
with constant motion; as
gentle waves lap ashore.

Out of the Cave [Haiku]

up ahead,
 light washes into the cave,
  and I stagger out. 

Buck Vigilant [Haiku]

vigilant buck:
 aware of photographer
  as others feed.

Cloud Break [Haiku]

weeks of cloudy skies.
 then one morning: warm gold light
  around the curtains.

Five Wise Lines from The Book of Thel by William Blake

Can Wisdom be put in a silver rod? / Or Love in a golden bowl?

from Thel’s Motto

I am a watery weed, / And I am very small and love to dwell in lowly vales: / So weak the gilded butterfly scarce perches on my head. / Yet I am visited from heaven and he that smiles on all / Walks in the valley.

from Part I

Then if thou art the food of worms, O virgin of the skies, / How great thy use, how great thy blessing

from Part II

every thing that lives. / Lives not alone nor for itself

from Part II

Why cannot the Ear be closed to its own destruction? / Or the glistening Eye to the poison of a smile!

from Part IV

Flat Fog [Free Verse]

Stationed in East Anglia,
   I remember layered fog,
     fog so thick one couldn't
     see past the hood's end,

but, given a slight rise, 
   one could see all the way
   down the runway -- as if
   it was a cloudless full moon eve.

As one might expect of an airbase,
   (having been built around a flat runway)
   there wasn't much topography.

But sometimes life is like that:
   a tiny rise in perspective 
   allows one to see the world clearly,
 
but a minor dip puts one in a
   soup of unfathomability.