Cuttings - November
By Mike Garofalo
Red Bluff, Tehama County, Northern California
November Collection I November Collection II
first rains fall,
russet and scarlet leaves
fill the grimy gutters
Counting
calories–
for the umpteenth time
failing at subtraction
Stumbling, coughing, stoned on pot;
A grinning clown, but smart he's not.
A webpage of koans
puzzle the
browser -
GPF.
the toad
hop by hop towards
home
Billions of sharp sunbeams
Cut the cracked glass sky
Splitting shadow after shadow
Down, down the ancient elms,
Down the red and black brick
Walls of Laxon Hall.
The clarion sounds–
the sun's pace is
traced in shadows.
Two dogs here, two dogs there
sharing noses–
men chat at
the fence-line.
God banned him from Heaven,
The Devil banned him from Hell;
So Jack the Trickster was reborn a ghost,
Flickering in pumpkin shells.
an ugly grin–
the carved pumpkin
sags into itself
For a hot breakfast
a homeless woman begs–
a wallet opens.
The frosted lawn, so white, born at dawn's light;
Limp basil leaves, so black, killed last night.
The library fills
with more chattering children,
the rain falls.
Bellowing teacher
loud classrooms–
seeds under the tree.
withered
Fall blossoms
drop in the downpour
Windshield wipers
back and forth, counting miles
and miles of dark rain.
preaching the Dharma
incessantly:
the suchness of things
[A
heartfelt gassho to R.H.
Blyth]
Here on vacation
scanning the Big River's edge
a great Blue Heron.
Seeing my love's white hair
Above my black gravestone
Troubled me; one spared of cares,
Ageless and alone.
Twenty one guns salute
walkers at the River Park,
some limping veterans.
shelves of Books
Dumbstruck
without the Readers
A touch of green
amidst the brown dry grasses–
rain of late Autumn.
Monday Night ...
overtime game
in the Green Bay rain.
Apricot leaves
orange in the Autumn sunset -
saying "Goodbye."
the naked garden rests
the unemployed scarecrow stares
the rain drizzles
tiny onion sets
down in the soft ground
barely moonlit
Glorious sunset
No bugs about now–
Ah, Ah, late Autumn.
The magic wand of rain
raised the inchling grasses;
Autumn here, a second Spring.
She sniffs, he sniffs,
He mounts Her–
Renewing their race.
A few plants short of a full flat,
something stolen, tit for tat;
The dullest knife in the drawer,
something inferior, used by the murderer
to settle a score.
wet earth,
my dog and I
inhale deeply
Hot story
at midnight–
the lightbulb burns out;
Rolled
joints
Rolled condoms
High hopes.
the alluring
scent on her blouse,
unbuttoned
Brown mares bolt
back to their barn–
the rain thunders down.
The terrified kitten
cornered in the culvert–
Growling dogs.
Prowling dogs–
motionless ducks
at center pond.
Scatter my ashes over the compost pile;
Mix well, let us become one awhile.
Blackbirds fly
from field to field–
autumn seeds.
broken-hearted
t e a
r s
down the
c
o
ff
in's side
Lady Liberty streaked with soot,
Uncle Sam kicked in the balls;
We all duck when terrorists
shoot,
And when we rise, they will
fall.
The earth turns
towards the sun–
the shadows move.
Peaceful neighbors:
some
orange some red
pyracanthas
Country lanes
littered with pecans,
careless trees.
A wet stiff possum
past its last Surprise - Dead;
panting dogs nearby.
Ths kaotic mes av spllg Englesh
Wrds, ovr n ovr, tll correct.
The beer cans were piled by our feet,
And chip bits were stuck in our
teeth.
We cussed Denver's scores
Cuzz the Broncos scored more,
Another smash mouth Raider
defeat.
running out of time
for catching up
with the future
now
Birth Dates, Death Dates,
chipped gray marble gravestones–
forgotten faces.
four magpies
feast at the feeder–
good omens
You shared the spark,
You fanned the flame,
You fed the fires,
You passed the Names.
For all those known and
For all those unnamed,
We raise this toast,
With thanks this day.
The dog's teeth
Gently around my big arm–
We trust, we play.
Yellow willow leaves
drop in the mud–
steaming dog shit.
divorce final–
his alimony check
bounces
the particulars,
minute particulars–
revealing Nothing
One gate leads to another:
some open, some closed;
some we jump over.
cat
tpr
sin
til
gar
soil
foo
int
the
led
den
Nose twitching, tail held high,
A donkey shits a nest for flies.
Clearing away
spent tomato vines–
the cold earth.
green chilis
turned soft black–
third frost
Tai chi moves
in the fog–
cloud hands.
bitter pills 11
Stripping away the self exposes the soul, and kills both.
Cracking up prevents crack ups.
When the divine knocks, don't send a prophet to the door.
One evil preacher is worse than a hundred hooligans.
Independence is a fish out of water.
The One True God is way over-priced.
Religious liberty is not a hallmark of religious politics.
A real enemy helps many feel alive.
Doing unto others has often been
more reason for others to do you in.
Cuttings: September October November December January
November Collection I November Collection II
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Months and Seasons |
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Copyrighted © 2008 by Michael P.
Garofalo.
Green Way Research, Red Bluff, California.
All rights reserved.
I Welcome Your Comments, Ideas, Contributions, and
Suggestions
E-mail Mike Garofalo in Red Bluff, California
Cuttings: November, Collection II
Haiku, Concrete and
Short Poems by Michael P. Garofalo
First
Distributed on the Internet WWW in September 1999.
Months, Seasons: Poems, Quotes, Sayings, Lore, Celebrations, Myths, Gardening Chores
Cuttings - Haiku, Concrete, and Short Poems by Mike Garofalo
Months, Seasons: Poems, Quotes, Sayings, Lore, Celebrations, Myths, Gardening Chores