Ice-Fishing

Down there, or was it up there?
There with out buckets,
some for sitting, some for holding;
line, lure, tackle, beer.
Caught fish trying to swim air,
choking to breathe our world.
Two buckets for this, one for more buckets.

Body of lake now face of ice,
water separates water separates air.
Less intensive recreation
upon a threshold of worlds
reserved for saviors or idiots.

Below an algaeic filter
slowly green, deep for the fish.
Time ebbs through our holes,
augured past my worried reflection.
Above blue and white nomadic,
snow drifts into short-lived dunes,
under a cloudless sky.
We wait unattending.

The sun bears down on the ice,
on our buckets, on our coats,
on the truck we park there.
The frozen lake comes alive,
Tension.  Echoes like steel cable snapping,
thunderbolts set in the instant
beneath and weaving under our boots.

I am too afraid to bother fishing.
I stare at the warning on my bucket
of a child drowning in its own,
and wait,

for the day to be done.

Brazil Nuts

I consider myself a polite progressive non-bigot.

I do however hope that in the quest for human equality that Brazil Nuts never loose that antiquated moniker that belongs only in Grandmother's kitchen.

Its terrible, but something about it makes me smile and think fondly of my elders.

Today's Poem

Randy and Melissa, sittin' in a tree,
'somethin somethin' somethin,' R.S.V.P.

Mess

Sometimes you just have to scoop yourself up off the floor with a dustpan, plop the mess on top of your shoes, and head out the door to work.

Step back and Zoom In

Step back,
way back.

Take a step back from your computer,
back from your phone,
out of your town,
out of your mind.

Step back into outer space,
Milky Way Back.

You see all that?
Space dust and dead space.

Out of time,
out of mind.

Now zoom in,
way in.

Zoom in on your keyboard,
in on your keypad,
onto your hands,
onto your fingers.

Really look at your skin,
climb into your wrinkles.

Further,
cellular microscopic,
down into your DNA.

Now tell me you know what it is or where it is,
tell me when it is or why it is.

Grains of Sand

Everyone knows that no two snowflakes are alike,
beautifully intricate and microscopically divine
they fall and stack with an unfathomable diversity.

Same though, for the humble grain of sand,
some volcanically forged crystals and elements,
others tiny past homes of tinier past creatures,
all purely one-of-a-kind.

So as our hourglasses pour out the daily minutes and seconds,
it is not unreasonable to believe
that the grains of sand
in all their originality
fit through the connecting tube
at different speeds, grasped a new way only once,
by the other grain falling beside it,
wedged for only a moment,
a moment shorter than you could ever know,
before the grains above finally shoo it down.

In essence, making some hours just a little longer,
or a little shorter.

So when your day drags on,
or gets away from you.
Think of the smaller things,
the flakes, the grains, the moments.

Northern Exposure

This prior weekend has marked the furthest North I have ever journeyed.  We ended at about 5 miles shy of the Canadian border.  Having never been to Canada before I can confidently say that I still have never been to Canada before.  Our destination was Eureka, MT.  We ended up turning off onto a very Montana road a few miles before Eureka, so never having had been to Eureka, MT before I can confidently say that I still have never been to Eureka, MT before.

Still, it was nice to get a little Northern exposure.