Category Archives: Blogroll

Facing Christmas

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Where is hope, this time of year, as some are wont to shed a tear,
wondering if it exists, in a world that leans and lists.

As if you have the wherewithal to stay above the means at all;
emotions ragged, fractured too – thinking all depends on you.

Hope against itself to win the inconceivable, again
your hope- against all hope will be your dream, your joy, a victory.

Remember this – a tale of old – of a child born in the cold
in a tiny stable there in a town where no-one cared.

Thus began a simple life, bound with hardship- full of strife.
Yet in his story, we can see a dream, a joy, a victory,

all encompassed in a soul who loved his fellow man, in whole
or maybe just in part, because he knew what difficulty was.

Who knows best that love is blind to all our faults, and we will find
that when we stop to ponder this, emotions that we can’t dismiss,

we are bound to seek the aire of happiness at Christmas, where
in a world gone wild, disgraced – we find it on a child’s sweet face.

A simple smile with wondering eyes, full of sparkle, no disguise
will stop us from our self-defeat and bring us back to where we meet

the once-young child in each of us. We celebrate the hopefulness
with inner peace, contentment grows, something that our smiling shows.

And all it seems your heart desires – no more than anyone requires –
is gained by giving of yourself in ways that open others’ hearts and sways

their temperament to one of cheer -especially this time of year-
and bringing forth a simple smile that’s worth the effort and the while.

***********************

flipping records

record
it is when
all you hear
is a bumping sound
with a few short bursts of
crackle,
that you realize
the songs have all ended.

you must flip
the record to side two
or change out the record
to hear new songs.

-it doesn’t just switch itself-

neither can you pick and choose
your music with play-list ease,
without the drop sound of the needle scratching

-abruptly-

the music must play from beginning to end,
the way it was meant to be heard.

Drifting

Some day soon-
when we have nothing left
to say,
-while gulls hover and caw-
we might scavenge the shores
for bits of dropped sandwiches,
crumbs from families on holiday.

Looking away from broken branches
spooning just below the water line
of last season’s storms,
we might see the sun rise
over the copper and green tree tops.

Dancing in the unconquered sun,
we would unfold and float
out to meet one another
among the water lilies
-if the fates allowed.

Venting

An empty calzone-it’s ingredient free-
and one and one is apparently three.
The tap water washes the soot all away,
forgetting that kittens can continue to play.

Roots spread out sideways instead of down
and warblers and magpies,they don’t make a sound.
No cheeps, or wee-zee-zees, or wenk-wenk-wenks either.
No noises from outside, we all take a breather.

Now, the yeast in dough mix is bubbling to rise,
and a circumspect pumpkin hides out in the skies.
Wearing a mask and velveteen cape,
its serpentine movements provide an escape.

While the red sauce is rolling, doubled and boiled,
with smoked mozzarella-its well-olive oiled.
The calzone sits there empty, ready to eat,
soaking up smells from the painted concrete.

rehearsing

There is a cellist
in the garden
practicing that one piece
about a swan.

Nearby, a swan glides
forward and back
across the pond
between the cattails
and the bulrush.

She focuses on her technique,
less bow pressure
staying close to the fingerboard.

And the floating swan,
she nods in rhythm,
fluid in her liaisons,
to avoid harsh changes in direction.

Travel: Catch as Ketchikan

This summer, my wife and I took the best. vacation. ever.

I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska. It ranked up there with Ireland, Maine, Switzerland…you get the idea. I am smitten with vast wilderness, mountains and fields of green and rock.


We took an Alaskan Cruise, which I highly recommend if you are looking for vacation ideas. Along with my parents (who had done the Alaskan cruise before) and my brother and his wife, we set sail from Seattle to head up the Inside Passage of the Alaskan Panhandle. A beautiful setting that words and even pictures don’t do justice. It is 360 degrees of wilderness. Pristine. (And so much more than I can describe in one post)

Our first stop on the cruise, after one day “at sea” was the town of Ketchikan. Our ship docked and we disembarked to explore.

Did you know that Ketchikan gets an average of 162 inches of rainfall a year? That’s an average of 13.5 feet. Yes…It was raining.

Climate is just one of the things that I think Alaskans just accept and deal with. The people we met seemed to be very satisfied with their pace of life and adapting to the challenges that Alaska offers.

After helping my father find an eyeglass nosepiece repair kit… Note to tourist areas…Let some brand name pharmacy set up shop in your area, so that people don’t have to walk a mile and enter every little tourist shop and ask if they have [fill in the blank]. Now, I know they WANT you to go into every little shop. But if you are looking for something specific then it might be more beneficial to have an obvious drug store and people wouldn’t get frustrated… I set off exploring.

I’m not a shopping kind of person, so I wanted to avoid the tourist trap souvenier places. I walked past the jewelry and tee-shirt shops…all of them bustling with activity… into the town.

Up a hill and stone’s throw from the Episcopal Church, I discovered the Ketchikan Public Library and City Museum.

Did I mention that it was raining?

I decided to visit. The library was closed. I’m not sure why, it was a Monday morning. But the museum was open. I like finding little known haunts like local bookstores, museums, and restaraunts .

And, I like to stay dry…so,

I contributed my donation to the city of Ketchikan, and stepped into the history of the town.

The flow of the room went counter-clockwise, starting with various native artifacts of the Tlingit people, natives of the area. Small totems and various toys and tools carved from wood and whalebone. Native people are such experts at using available resources, and their attention to detail is amazing.

There were also items from the early pioneer settlers of the area and mementos from the heyday of the salmon fishing industry. Like this awesome gas mask to protect workers from the ammonia that was used in cold storage facilities.

I was fascinated by the pictures on the wall. The photo shown here, conveyed a baseball game played in 1912.  Because space was at a premium, they played games in the creek bed tide flats when the tide was out. The game would be called when the outfielders’ shoes got wet.

This, to me, was descriptive of the spirit of the settlers in Ketchikan.

Making things work.   Adapting.

Catch-as-catch-can.

Come, Sweet Faint

Come sweet faint, addicting slumber
keep the counting mind at bay,

let the forty sheep outnumber
all the things in matter’s way.

When a lonely darkness centers,
and a shadowed figure haunts

sole encounters in the winters
of the least desires and wants.

Darling fancy over fences,
traverse over fields of green.

Turn your face and so commences
dreams both perfect and serene.

Planting violets and white clover
on the paths you walk in sleep.

Share with me your dream world over
here, no promises to keep-

Interlaced with loving fingers
time with one to reign supreme,

as we touch, our pursuit lingers
in the warmth and glow of dreams.