tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23840641393116445552024-03-13T03:31:47.116-07:00herbsunpoemsHerb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-44992680883665985142013-01-01T18:57:00.000-08:002013-01-01T18:57:05.381-08:00Crow washing face in lake<br />
dipping in, shaking<br />
dipping in, shaking<br />
flapping wings<br />
<br />
I would join him<br />
but bundled up<br />
this cold and sunny<br />
NewYear's Day<br />
<br />
Crow doesn't mind<br />
cold or rain<br />
won't trade places with me<br />
for even a moment this day<br />
Crow prefers being crow<br />
washing face in lake<br />
<br />
Short Take<br />
<br />
Crow washing face in lake<br />
me cold nearby<br />
New Year's Day 2013Herb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-88874970215974067852012-12-09T21:07:00.000-08:002012-12-09T21:07:11.039-08:00Solstice 2008snow ice clear white<br />
short day long night<br />
day sun ice melt<br />
night freeze re-ice<br />
shoes crunch snow<br />
feet slide ice<br />
hope bright sun melt<br />
soon come rain clean<br />
children warm play sleigh<br />
grandpa watch<br />
in cold feetHerb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-65215099191315403412012-12-02T22:08:00.000-08:002012-12-02T22:08:19.078-08:00Listening to Sarabande from Bach's 2nd Cello SuiteCasals growling strings<br />
green cypress branches windblown<br />
outside kitchen window<br />
1936 recording reaches me in 21st century<br />
from Abbey Road London to Stroud Avenue<br />
Seattle<br />
gray December afternoon<br />
peacefulHerb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-34056006715013942172012-04-18T19:48:00.000-07:002012-04-18T19:48:52.531-07:00DenialClimbing out of the pool<br />
had no clue<br />
another ten laps<br />
to prove I am invincible<br />
in old age<br />
and then my heart betrayed me<br />
in the shower<br />
clenched my chest<br />
twisted my arm.<br />
Don't listen<br />
It's not so bad<br />
my lunch is coming up<br />
acid reflux<br />
over swam.<br />
Heart attack say the medics<br />
Heart attack says the intake doctor<br />
Heart attack says the surgeon.<br />
Cannot be says I<br />
I am in shape invincibly.<br />
Now six pills a day<br />
and slow to walk<br />
and slow to swim<br />
to face the betrayal<br />
of my artery.<br />
This wasn't supposed to happen to me.Herb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-78755984585117567462012-03-04T10:39:00.000-08:002012-03-04T10:39:59.219-08:00Windows of my ChildhoodWindows of my childhood<br />
had women leaning out<br />
arms crossed<br />
patiently waiting<br />
for gossip to appear<br />
and be passed on.<br />
Windows of my childhood<br />
had eyes looking out<br />
watching me<br />
waiting for some mischief<br />
to report.<br />
Windows of my childhood<br />
recorded the lives <br />
below<br />
through the eyes<br />
of beholders<br />
judging people's progress<br />
beneath them.<br />
Windows of my childhood<br />
bore flags<br />
with silver or gold stars<br />
bearing witness<br />
to missing or dead<br />
sons or husbands.<br />
Windows of my childhood<br />
bore witness<br />
to lives within<br />
and without.Herb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-2367949854470917822012-01-29T20:07:00.000-08:002012-01-29T20:07:44.033-08:00MirrorsThe mirrors on the walls<br />
of the yoga class<br />
facing each other<br />
repeat themselves into<br />
infinity<br />
and the old man sees himself<br />
quintuplicated<br />
and old-looking<br />
He moves to a far wall<br />
where he does not face<br />
the mirrors,<br />
the old man,<br />
the wall clock<br />
so he can stretch out<br />
feeling young inside himself<br />
and timelessHerb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-5586920666084655822012-01-19T20:05:00.000-08:002012-01-19T20:05:27.421-08:00Cabin Feverfrozen snow falls<br />
like crystal dust<br />
tree limbs cracking<br />
ground crushed underfoot<br />
but crows fly<br />
perch on cedar branches<br />
<br />
oh for the feathers of a crow<br />
to fly through a blizzardHerb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-39787798884575800802012-01-16T17:56:00.000-08:002012-01-16T17:56:51.720-08:00mind awake/mind asleepsnow falling<br />
faucet leaks to fix<br />
poems to pages<br />
calling friends<br />
things to do<br />
keep me present<br />
while mind wants<br />
to slip away<br />
except at bedtime<br />
when it stays awakeHerb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-78357382840470229582011-12-31T22:16:00.000-08:002011-12-31T22:16:45.451-08:00SolsticeAt the solstice<br />
Bikinis in Brazil<br />
Snow Shovels in Wales<br />
Foggy rain in Seattle<br />
There's no center of the universe<br />
We are all scattered togetherHerb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-65139809741250635282011-12-13T16:41:00.000-08:002011-12-13T16:41:16.791-08:00Told Her A Thing Or TwoWell wasn't he born <br />
out of wedlock?<br />
<br />
Out of, in of, what does it matter?<br />
He was born<br />
Hallelujah<br />
and he don't regret it.<br />
Why should you?<br />
<br />
Well, I'm just saying...<br />
<br />
Well don't be just saying.<br />
God said go forth and multiply<br />
and didn't specify<br />
exactly how<br />
in the beginning<br />
and even allowed Lot's daughters<br />
to do it with their daddy<br />
in a cave<br />
so's they could go forth and multiply<br />
and then there's whole pages of begats<br />
from those two girls<br />
and God said nary a work about that<br />
so why should you.Herb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-34452843566426927412011-12-09T19:23:00.000-08:002011-12-09T19:23:56.058-08:00Reading Murakami's "After Dark" while under the influence of morphinewaitng waiting<br />
for the morphine to override<br />
pain<br />
in my penis, my bladder<br />
piss dripping down the catheter tube<br />
<br />
Murakami's sleeping Eri<br />
wandering sister Mari<br />
TV sets blurring the story<br />
my eyes slip downwards<br />
close and enter TV<br />
snap awake searching the page<br />
for lost words<br />
lost sisters<br />
book slipping away<br />
my dope enduced fantasy<br />
blending with Eri Mari<br />
Murakami's words fuzzing <br />
into my dream<br />
book slipping to the floor<br />
head jerking awake<br />
eyes closing into dream<br />
bye bye Eri<br />
bye bye painHerb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-39670533976704377872011-12-07T19:27:00.000-08:002011-12-07T19:27:44.388-08:00red suede bootsin red suede boots<br />
she strides laughing<br />
tosses her hair<br />
music in her ears<br />
talking with her thumbs<br />
but does not see<br />
the trees around her<br />
the leaves beneath<br />
the long-haired youth<br />
eyeing her from across the streetHerb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-16063847029711845902011-10-22T22:12:00.000-07:002011-10-22T22:12:02.124-07:00Alzheimer FantasyWhen my memory fails<br />
I will be like Richard<br />
who reads and reads<br />
but doesn't remember what he reads<br />
but keeps reading<br />
and we will meet in another dimension<br />
and not remember each other<br />
but carry books<br />
and we will read to each other.<br />
<br />
"What are you reading," he will ask.<br />
"I don't know. What are you reading?"<br />
"What you are reading."<br />
"So it's the same?"<br />
"I don't know. What is it?"<br />
<br />
So we will go on<br />
happily not knowing<br />
what the other doesn't know.Herb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-70108018262767931122011-10-06T21:38:00.000-07:002011-10-06T21:38:24.120-07:00Just before day breaks<br />
when it's still dark<br />
finally you melt into<br />
a warm sleep<br />
<br />
toilet flushes<br />
rain on the roof<br />
someone saying<br />
better wake him up<br />
it's almost time to go.Herb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384064139311644555.post-18785962267897202822011-10-06T15:29:00.000-07:002011-10-06T15:29:26.463-07:00What About Afterlife?Surprise me.<br />
It'll be easy.<br />
I'm not expecting anything.<br />
<br />
Wow! I never expected this!<br />
I'm speechless.<br />
About time, you say?<br />
Oh, I get it.<br />
That's the surprise. <br />
I don't get to say anything <br />
forever.<br />
Yeh, that'd be hell for a poet.Herb Sundvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080133691661881530noreply@blogger.com2