Sunday, February 24, 2013

mice with eggs


The image of mice with eggs
That woke you up from your dream:
So incongruous, so wrong
That it sticks in your memory

Like it sticks in my memory
And might stick in the memory
Of anyone who reads this:
Crossing over into consciousness.

There’s a part of your brain that’s awake
Thinking while watching your dream:
Mice can’t have eggs:
Mammals have placenta!

When I think about this image
I remember a childhood golden book story:
Bunny rabbits with colorful painted eggs:
This could be a dream of spring.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Friday, February 22, 2013

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

making do




Starting the long descent down the mountain
You needed a walking stick.
With miles ahead on the wet steep rocky trail
The jungle is no place for a fall.

Usually you are the one who sees a solution
The engineer who makes it better
While I muddle my way making do with what is.
That day we shared a moment of happiness.

I saw the palm frond in the debris next to us
And found it would do perfectly
Easily trimming and breaking it to size
Creating a light but strong staff for you. 

Seeing your delighted smile
Such pleasure for me to solve a problem
To feel effective having skills.
This is a gift you give to me. 

silent images



Silent images come to mind.
Watching the scene asleep or awake.
Without words, what does it mean?
Images etched in my memory.

Sometimes in a dream someone speaks to me.
It’s a shock to hear their voice.
I answer back, agitated, and wake up
And remember the image of the person.

The images were ours before we had words.
In the beginning was imagination.
The words were ours before we had writing.
Our culture begins with oral tradition.

The memorizers construct stark images
Using a technique thousands of years old
Placing the images in remembered places.
Total recall revisiting imagined settings.

The rest of us remember less and less.
We have databases in the information age.
Of course we remember some things
Being aware of the past in the present.

People used to keep family photo albums.
Now the images are digital and online.
You can view my slide show if you like
Seeing the images holding my memories.

You can see what’s in my mind’s eye.
I can look again closely at a moment in time.
It works for me to keep this collection
Documenting the world around me.




Saturday, February 9, 2013