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Sunday, October 19, 2014
Sunday, October 12, 2014
sundial time
Imprecise but nice enough to tell the hour
Nice to have this sundial reconstructed
Placed to advantage in the midday sun
Aligned with the north star at night
Wide copper band parallel to the equator
Numerals cut out to display highlighted
Gliding across the reading surface
Silently crossing the center line axis
Marking high noon moving up and down
As the seasons turn, following the analemma curve
Adjusting sundial time to match clock time
As the day-over-day duration changes
Constructed with a geocentric understanding
When the sun revolved around the earth
As out of place in our digital world as a slide rule
An analog approximation, an ancient awareness.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
moving day
I comment wearily “My life in a box.”
As I see yet another wheeled towards me
By the worker unloading the truck on moving day.
He hears me say this and replies
“Mi vida en una caja.” translating for me.
English is his second language.
My move is local in the same county.
His move is long distance from another country
To another language and discrimination.
I am moving a few miles further away
Planning to enjoy senior citizen free time.
I will unpack and settle into my easy life.
He is an immigrant seeking work
Hoping to make a decent living here.
Today our lives cross in passing.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Quiet Serenity
In the stillness of the redwood grove morning
We are alone. You sit
quietly, listening to the hush.
I photograph you next to the quote from Shakespeare
“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”
The giant trees spread their greenery high above us
On trunks that rise up and up all around us.
We have come here from far away to admire
Their majestic presence enduring here.
These old trees were here before the settler invasion
Now lingering remnants of the great coastal forest.
We breathe in the clean air, speaking few words
Absorbing the calm, forming a memory of this place.
Walking to the nearby river running clear and pure
Walking the path up the creek under all these trees
Standing uncut, towering higher than any we know
Back home, where everything has been cut and cut again.
This place is awesome.
The only sound our footsteps
Softly padding on the deep humus forest floor.
Looking about I see the outlines of strange creatures
Formed by the huge burls on the trunks of some trees.
My imagination animates those figures and I want to hear
What these ancient forest denizens might say to me.
You are so grounded your thoughts do not stray
Seeing these trees for the magnificence they are.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
back to school day
Back to school day in Wyckoff starts very early
For the new fifth grade teacher in her first class ever.
I take photographs of my daughter as she departs
Ready to greet the children in her class.
Back to school day fills the sidewalk here
In Leonia as I walk to the market early morning.
Children with their parents excited and happy
Greeting friends going to the next grade.
The crossing guard at Fort Lee Road is on high alert
Shouting at a driver who fails to heed his stop sign.
I imagine the arrival scene at Coolidge School in Wyckoff
Thinking good thoughts about my daughter’s first day.
My friend’s wife sees me and calls out as I wait to cross.
Her husband is away now for some months on business.
We talk about how hard it is for her and the children.
Later he texts me that he had some talk with them last night.
Tonight over dinner we will hear all about the big day
Then resume packing for our upcoming move in three weeks.
Tomorrow looks to be another good day.
It’s good to be together and sharing out lives.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Monday, September 1, 2014
oregon 2014
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