Solstice 2008

snow ice clear white
short day long night
day sun ice melt
night freeze re-ice
shoes crunch snow
feet slide ice
hope bright sun melt
soon come rain clean
children warm play sleigh
grandpa watch
      in cold feet

Listening to Sarabande from Bach's 2nd Cello Suite

Casals growling strings
green cypress branches windblown
      outside kitchen window
1936 recording reaches me in 21st century
from Abbey Road London to Stroud Avenue
       Seattle
gray December afternoon
       peaceful

Denial

Climbing out of the pool
had no clue
another ten laps
to prove I am invincible
     in old age
and then my heart betrayed me
     in the shower
clenched my chest
twisted my arm.
Don't listen
It's not so bad
my lunch is coming up
acid reflux
over swam.
Heart attack say the medics
Heart attack says the intake doctor
Heart attack says the surgeon.
Cannot be says I
I am in shape invincibly.
Now six pills a day
and slow to walk
and slow to swim
to face the betrayal
     of my artery.
This wasn't supposed to happen to me.

Windows of my Childhood

Windows of my childhood
had women leaning out
    arms crossed
patiently waiting
for gossip to appear
and be passed on.
Windows of my childhood
had eyes looking out
    watching me
waiting for some mischief
    to report.
Windows of my childhood
recorded the lives
    below
through the eyes
    of beholders
judging people's progress
    beneath them.
Windows of my childhood
    bore flags
with silver or gold stars
    bearing witness
    to missing or dead
    sons or husbands.
Windows of my childhood
    bore witness
    to lives within
       and without.

Mirrors

The mirrors on the walls
     of the yoga class
facing each other
repeat themselves into
     infinity
and the old man sees himself
     quintuplicated
     and old-looking
He moves to a far wall
where he does not face
     the mirrors,
     the old man,
     the wall clock
so he can stretch out
feeling young inside himself
     and timeless

Cabin Fever

frozen snow falls
like crystal dust
tree limbs cracking
ground crushed underfoot
but crows fly
perch on cedar branches

oh for the feathers of a crow
to fly through a blizzard

mind awake/mind asleep

snow falling
faucet leaks to fix
poems to pages
calling friends
things to do
keep me present
while mind wants
    to slip away
except at bedtime
when it stays awake