9/02/2007
8/13/2007
Ocean Poem
Blue Ocean Institute was good enough to publish my poem "Ocean." See it here.
Ocean
Sometimes you need to write
but you’re stuck in traffic
or the baby is screaming
so loud your head is about to explode
or you have no pen or paper
so you run into a Royal Farm convenience store
and buy pen, paper, and coffee
but the coffee spills all over your paper
it happens
poems get burned by fascists, too,
great poems better than any I’ve ever written
it happens
in the end it may be how you treated your family
that determines how your poetry does anyway,
so don’t neglect them for that poem
when you’re no longer around,
they decide what poems are worth preserving,
and which go over to the dump
keep that in mind
the next time you just want your family
to go away so you can write that poem
it’s like the baby about to be born
whose mother cries out
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHGHGH
but instead of childbirth
it’s 495 traffic
301 traffic, 50 traffic
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHGHGH
I scream, trying to keep in mind
there is birth at the end of this journey, too
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHGHGH
and just when the mother
thinks her body will break
and the pain that rips her very being in half
and just when I think the traffic will bring
me to road rage break
something opens ever so slightly
the head has popped out surely,
the road has begun
to glide by in actual miles
and
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHGHGH
the body bursts forth
from the water of the womb
to the womb of the ocean
and here
renewal is granted
through the baptism
of brine and salt goodness
to clean away all these suburban sins
and as new as the idea of solid land
was at childbirth
is the newly-realized fact that here
is the precious ocean
the holy water of the holy water planet
the only water planet we know
bow down as at birth
to taste its full bounty
as humbly enter this sluice water
as the transparent water of your birth
realize how that first body
birth water was taken
from this salt water body
that is the ocean
grant, if for a moment,
how dependent your life
and the lives of your family
are on this water
as in a bad marriage
it is never too late
to begin the relationship again
once humility, love, discipline,
grace and respect come with you
to the gaps in the waves
OceanSometimes you need to write
but you’re stuck in traffic
or the baby is screaming
so loud your head is about to explode
or you have no pen or paper
so you run into a Royal Farm convenience store
and buy pen, paper, and coffee
but the coffee spills all over your paper
it happens
poems get burned by fascists, too,
great poems better than any I’ve ever written
it happens
in the end it may be how you treated your family
that determines how your poetry does anyway,
so don’t neglect them for that poem
when you’re no longer around,
they decide what poems are worth preserving,
and which go over to the dump
keep that in mind
the next time you just want your family
to go away so you can write that poem
it’s like the baby about to be born
whose mother cries out
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHGHGH
but instead of childbirth
it’s 495 traffic
301 traffic, 50 traffic
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHGHGH
I scream, trying to keep in mind
there is birth at the end of this journey, too
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHGHGH
and just when the mother
thinks her body will break
and the pain that rips her very being in half
and just when I think the traffic will bring
me to road rage break
something opens ever so slightly
the head has popped out surely,
the road has begun
to glide by in actual miles
and
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHGHGH
the body bursts forth
from the water of the womb
to the womb of the ocean
and here
renewal is granted
through the baptism
of brine and salt goodness
to clean away all these suburban sins
and as new as the idea of solid land
was at childbirth
is the newly-realized fact that here
is the precious ocean
the holy water of the holy water planet
the only water planet we know
bow down as at birth
to taste its full bounty
as humbly enter this sluice water
as the transparent water of your birth
realize how that first body
birth water was taken
from this salt water body
that is the ocean
grant, if for a moment,
how dependent your life
and the lives of your family
are on this water
as in a bad marriage
it is never too late
to begin the relationship again
once humility, love, discipline,
grace and respect come with you
to the gaps in the waves
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park in Garfield County, Utah, is about as close to another planet as you will visit on this one...and most visitors speak a foreign language...French. It is located in Garfield County, Utah, which does a wonderful job of promoting it. Find their link here.
Here are a few pictures we took of this other-world. .
Here are a few pictures we took of this other-world. .
Hoover Dam, Pat Tillman Bridge
Although we only had a half day at the Hoover Dam, it was well worth the visit, even in the 113 degree heat from hell. My gratitude to the men who. during the Great Depression, worked and died to tame this mighty river to the benefit of generations of Americans.
Click any picture to enlarge it.
O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge
Not that the government can ever make up for what it did to the Tillman family, but at least they are naming a bridge, and not just any bridge, after him. The Hoover Dam Bypass US 93 reflects his character in its generosity, span, talent, and indomitable spirit. For a variety of excellent reasons, it is going up right above Hoover Dam.
It is stunning to see up close what is required to build this bypass, as stunning as a multimillionaire professional football player giving up the money and fame to go to Afghanistan to make the ultimate sacrifice. Were that there were more professional athletes like Pat Tillman, but sadly he is the rare and one in a million. Here are some photos of the O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge as it is being built.
Not that the government can ever make up for what it did to the Tillman family, but at least they are naming a bridge, and not just any bridge, after him. The Hoover Dam Bypass US 93 reflects his character in its generosity, span, talent, and indomitable spirit. For a variety of excellent reasons, it is going up right above Hoover Dam.
It is stunning to see up close what is required to build this bypass, as stunning as a multimillionaire professional football player giving up the money and fame to go to Afghanistan to make the ultimate sacrifice. Were that there were more professional athletes like Pat Tillman, but sadly he is the rare and one in a million. Here are some photos of the O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge as it is being built.
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