Friday, August 31, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 31


Birds
in this heat,

wings
lifted by fire.



Thursday, August 30, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 30


Summer heat
like too much love.



Wednesday, August 29, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 29


Somewhere water.
Here only heat

and wind and rough
ground which loves them.



Tuesday, August 28, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 28


It is
hot and

still the
earth has

tilted
back towards

winter.



Monday, August 27, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 27


The trees
saying No

to the storm,
saying No,

saying Maybe,
saying Yes, Yes, Yes.



Sunday, August 26, 2012


THREE fromTHE OLD POET SAYS


“The poem
which has not

confronted its own
ignorance

knows nothing.”

*

“When you have nothing
to say, there's never

a good time to say it.”

*

“I'm giving up
poetry, and

taking up
accordion.

It doesn't
pay better

but it's not
so lonely

and people
don't wonder

what you do
all day.”



Saturday, August 25, 2012


THREE fromTHE OLD POET SAYS


“These little
poems, all

pieces of
the bigger

puzzle.”

*

“Some days
are like that -

all going
nowhere,

getting
nothing.”

*

“You close up
shop, lock

the door,
pull the shades

down low -
a poem is

sure to come
rattling your

doorknob,
wanting to do

some business.”



Friday, August 24, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 24


Wind
enough

to suck us
dry.



Thursday, August 23, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 23


Summer morning
turning to

afternoon -
no hurry

to get there.



Wednesday, August 22, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 22


All the
green

miles, the
heat and

promise.



Tuesday, August 21, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 21


Mowed hay,
a high sky.

Summer,
and summer's

farmer.



Monday, August 20, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 20


Tight
curl of

the corn's
leaves in

vicious
summer

heat.



Sunday, August 19, 2012


THREE fromTHE OLD POET SAYS


“There is a line
between

simple and
simplistic, and

I don't always
know

where it is.”

*

“See – that's how
it works.

You push
til something

pushes back.”

*

“I don't know
when it might

go off.
I always

treat it
as if it's

loaded.
Sometimes

it is, and
it won't stop.”



Saturday, August 18, 2012


THREE fromTHE OLD POET SAYS


“If they
spoke to you

as they do
to me,

you'd see them
too.”

*

“Take a big
helping of vowels,
chew them well, and

someday, sonny,
you'll be a poet.

Trust me on this.”

*

“Turn the ON
switch ON and

start running
make-ready.

Keep the good
copies if

you get some.”



Friday, August 17, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 17


Another church,
another empty bucket.



Thursday, August 16, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 16


Morning
sun, un-

dressing.



Wednesday, August 15, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 15


Steeple catches cloud
in low morning sun.

Cloud catches morning and
morning has a church.



Tuesday, August 14, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 14


I've got my billyclub. Now
who's in charge of sorrow?



Monday, August 13, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 13


Another grey
morning. Which

day is this?



Sunday, August 12, 2012


THREE from

THE OLD POET SAYS


“If it were
a lesser world,

I'd have to tell
greater stories.

As it is, this
will be enough.”

*

“One would be enough.
More is a great blessing.

All these make me rich!”

*

“It might look
like work to you,

but it's not -
it's what I do.”



Saturday, August 11, 2012


THREE from

THE OLD POET SAYS


“How many more
are you going to
do,” they wondered.

“How far are you
going,” he asked.

*

“That's what we do -
we chew words,

masticate them, and
hope, eventually,

they'll be digestible.”

*

“Spend enough time
talking to yourself,

you might be surprised
at what you say.”



Friday, August 10, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 10


Morning,
my ritual and

the sun's bad habit.



Thursday, August 09, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 9


The lake of
morning. Let us

sail away.



Wednesday, August 08, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 8


Dress the morning
or undress her -

either way,
the sun comes up.



Tuesday, August 07, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 7


The problem with
Wisconsin -

too many cows,
not enough

stars in our sky.



Monday, August 06, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 6


Night sky but
a pale wash

to the east,
as if morning

is more than
wishful thinking.



Sunday, August 05, 2012


THREE from

THE OLD POET SAYS


“I've always been
the quiet one -

now I talk
to strangers.”

*

“When they're coming good,
sometimes I cannot write

as fast as I can write.”

*

“It's all
in the vowels,

in how you chew
the vowels.”



Saturday, August 04, 2012


THREE from

THE OLD POET SAYS


“Another poem,
another

message in a bottle.”

*

“Oh, poem-
catcher – don't

count those
poems, put

them in your
poem sack

and catch
some more.

*

“Poem
making is like

horse
racing – you don't

say Whoa!”



Friday, August 03, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 3


Hmm. That star is
landing at an airport.



Thursday, August 02, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 2


City at night -
so much light,

not enough sky.



Wednesday, August 01, 2012


LINES FOR AUGUST 1


Light chipping
the eastern rim.

You have a story
to tell.



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