MARCH 28, 2010 -- 5:29 A.M.

Raelle

for the first time
I saw my grand daughter’s eyes
beautiful soft
full of peaceful astonishment
looking around
at the light over the sink
at the blue of my shirt
at her grandma’s face
at everything she could take in
for the first time

__

March 28, 2010

5:29 a.m.

MARCH 26, 2010

as always
the rain draws me to the window
its fingers playing the roof
the wind snapping its tail
the blessed hiss of wet
on spring buds

I never know quite what to say
beyond the fact
that I must say something

___

4:39 a.m.

MARCH 23, 2010

before the first shaving of light
there is only
rain in what I know are the trees
in the dark
and the light is turning slowly
and the birds keep their beaks
folded beneath their wings
and the rain sighs in the branches
sigh of relief
as slowly colors bloom
lifting their faces
to the wet dark

___

March 23, 2010

4:44 a.m.

March 22, 2010

oh how the planet whirls!
and we whirl with it…
-a father is being erased
-a grandchild is born
-a daughter is ill
-a grandson sits before me
smiling brightly
as I read some lines
I wrote for him…
all in a day
all in a day
how unimaginable
the truth

March 22, 2010
4:53 a.m.

Welcome to Bohemia -- March 20, 2010

Thanks to Heather Groenstein, Greg Garcia, and everyone involved in this evening of art, music, dance, and poetry. The studio at Billings Forge, over on Broad Street in Hartford, is a beautiful room and last evening it was filled to the ceiling with joy.

Keep an eye on the Libertine Collective's Facebook page for future "Welcome to Bohemia" nights; you will not be disappointed.

Last night's artists included The Kelvins, Hannah’s Field, Kate Callahan & special guest appearances. There were spectacular original paintings by Gary Jacobs, Corey Pane, and H.L. Groen. And I had the honor of sharing poetry responsibilities with Nancy Otter and Summer Tate. Sugati not only danced for those in attendance, but at one point, she had most of those in attendance belly dancing with her! On turntables, bringing the heavy thunder wrapped in consciousness, DJ Krypt (my old friend Bryan Tosun).

Thanks to all who attended, and special thanks to Heather, Greg, and everyone else involved in coordinating this spectacular evening. Can't wait for the next one!

MARCH 15, 2010

the rain stops
the wind dries the land
the dark fades nearly silently
thin ribbons of wind
spiral shyly
we mend for a while

___

5:35 a.m.

MARCH 15, 2010

ebb and flow

of wind
its heavy tide
its single bent note pet snake hissing whistle chilled hiss
branches crack

in the exalted squall

and in here

head cold vice grip

cement in the sinuses

sneezing wheezer

mouth breather

tearful hacker

half-staff eyes

threadbare back bones

maybe the wind

can bluster my head open

March 15, 2010 -- 5:46 a.m.

March 14, 2010

Wherever I am

I am what is missing.

Mark Strand

if one's perception is that

beng present

actually feels like

being absent from

your presence

then being put upon to

be present

is really

only an interruption from actually

being present

so that you can

remain absent

struggling to

pretend to

be present

distracted the entire time

by thoughts of leaving

the chaos of

the present

you entered absent

and returning to

the absence

of the present

you left behind

_____

March 14, 2010

5:44 a.m.

MARCH 13, 2010

THE WEATHER BEFORE DAWN -- March 13, 2010

inside vestiges of deep night

the wind has something to say
branches shed rain

the sound of the wind chime

is the sound of my voice

asking quietly

in the dark

in the rain

for a song

___

March 13, 2010 -- 5:33 a.m.

MARCH 10, 2010

single light

in the distance

and the low rumble

of a plane

moving slowly away

in the blackness

I can hear it forever

MARCH 9, 2010

black stillness absolute

the rubbery hum

of trucks in the far dark

implications of spring

everywhere

subtley

___

March 9, 2010

4:53 a.m.

MARCH 5, 2010

stumbled home after

sleep study

at the hospital

wires

on my head

neck

face

chin

chest

legs

wire

10 feet long

wrapping around me

belts

around my waist

plastic case hung

from my neck

mask

strapped to my head

and covering my

nose

mouth

me

plugged into the wall

above the bed

a camera

a microphone

a disembodied voice

sleep well

_____

March 5, 2010

5:01 a.m.

MARCH 4, 2010

THE WEATHER BEFORE DAWN

they're out there--

high-pitched wisps of wind

one darts here and there in the dark

snakes through the wind chime

as it should

flys through the screen

and onto me

wrapping me in its coolness

as in the trees

another is wrapping up branches

March 4, 2010

4:57 a.m.

MARCH 3, 2010

I opened the window

to hear the birds

the breeze

and instead

all I heard

was the silence of night

quietly gathering

its dark clothes

and moving silently away

___

March 3, 2010

4:44 a.m.

MARCH 2, 2010

the brightest thing out the black window

this predawn

is the reflection of my hands

out there in the cold

resting in the dark



4:57 a.m.

3/2/2010