Plank Road

gravel fills the road

autos, farm trucks, graders carve

bicycles gambol

 

Way Stations

each place has its graces

animals outside the doors

natural light, flowers & trees

hiking & biking close by

& each has faults — old stove

or no stove at all, lumpy bed

stiff sheets, too steep stairs

windows that don’t open

doors that don’t lock, damp

& decrepit sofas, lamps

too dim to read by, a copper

sink that doesn’t drain

so many tchotches, dismal art —

when a rental ends

I’m always ready to pack

load the car, load the map

head for the next stop

Ein Ganzes Leben

ripples of a sunshot lake

wooden dock

twig of a red-haired girl

bare throat, arms, knees

stick for a pole

the line between her fingers

twirling a small fish

somewhere in Georgia

— after Rilke

Off-Roading

let the bicycle be a flexile boat

feet not pedaling but paddling

the trail a flowing snaking river

studded with spiky growths

hold the line, maintain momentum

cause if you don’t, the dream

will end, the earth will meet you

not fluid, not yielding, but hard

after Liu Xie

mantis, we pray you devour

the hordes of mosquitoes

lunge & snap & swallow

one after one, bless us with

chillier walks in coloring woods

without the slapping hands

speck-sized corpses

streaks of sullied blood

the scratching, the scabs

Tender

John retrieves paper money

strewn in the putrid gray slime

puddling the floor of the Middlebury

Transfer Station dumping bay.

Three bills, folded, crumpled

under his boots as he drives the van.

Home he washes the bills, a five

& two ones, one of the ones

only two thirds of what it once was.

What hand, what pocket or wallet

dropped them? I hope

they weren’t lunch or the gallon of milk

someone meant to bring home.

Flattened, faded, one five one

dried flakes on porch planks.

Trust John to turn tender to art.

 

Carving Dragons

heron, egret, crane

three toes carving

through marsh, a road

outlining, rerouting

where bills grope

for diggers & swimmers

footprints the hollows

tidal flows erase

feet lift, wings ruffle

ocean breaths exhale

after Li Bai

ripe for change

for gray skies

& cold rain

for warm clothes

long nights

hard freezes

silent snowy walks

 

after Zhang Ji

to beg lodging

wish for a friend

a pale night sky

no locks, no bars

moon by morning

after Jia Dao

the hermit’s gone

to gather chanterelles

alone & lost the guest

samples amanita

 

after Li Bai

graying hair

east west south north

cycles of sorrow

frost spangles fallen leaves

a thousand shades of red