A MERRY-GO-ROUND POEM

ARE WE THE ONLY ONES ABOARD?

A MERRY-GO-ROUND , THE MOTION, THE MUSIC, THE MEMORIES. TO BE ON THE MERRY-GO-ROUND JUST ONE MORE TIME, ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE, WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER THAN I AND I WAS YOUNGER THAN YOU, DAUGHTER, WIFE AND LOVERS ONE AND ALL LONG GONE, WHILE YOU REMAIN, SPINNING WITH ME FOR ONE MORE DAY AT A TIME. AROUND AND AROUND, FOREVER GOING, SPINNING, YET NEVER QUITE ARRIVING AT WHEREVER WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FOR MORE CARNIVAL AND LIFETIME FUN. THE MUSIC PLAYS AGAIN AND AGAIN, HOLLOW SOUNDS IN HOLLOW HORSES HEADING RIGHT AND AROUND AND ROUND. WHY MUST THIS MERRY GO ROUND EVER STOP? WHO SAID IT WOULD OR IS IT ONLY RUMOR? THE MUSIC THRILLS MY SOUL, AND YOURS? DO YOU LIKE CALIOPE MUSIC OF THIS SORT? OR IS IT TOO CARNIVAL, TOO MUCH FUN FOR YOUR MIND? WHO IS THAT GHASTLY AND GHOSTLY FIGURE WITH THE CHISEL? THE NOISE FROM THE CONSTANT BANGING, CHIPS OF GRANITE AND MARBLE FLYING, A RINGING HOLLOW SOUND, A KIND OF FINAL MELODY, NO HYMN OR DIRGE, A CIRCUS MARCH OR MILITARY PARADE MUSIC. WE ARE MOVING UP AND DOWN LIKE WE DID WHEN WE WERE HERE BEFORE. WHERE ARE WE NOW IF WE AREN'T HERE? KEEP CHISLING IF HE MUST BUT BIRTHDATES ONLY, LEAVE THE OTHERS BLANK.

GRANDMOTHER WOULD BE SORRY THERE IS NO PALESTINE

GRANDMOTHER'S FONDEST WISH WAS TO SEE THE HOLY LAND SOMEDAY BEFORE SHE PASSED AWAY. BORN IN THE 1880S, HER VIEW OF THE LAND EVERYONE CALLED PALESTINE WAS QUITE A CONTRAST TO WHAT HAS TAKEN PLACE SINCE THE DAY SHE DIED IN 1963. OLD SUNDAY SCHOOL PICTURES OF A HOLY AND PEACEFUL PLACE WERE IMAGES SHE CONSIDERED SACRED IN HER DAY AND LIKE THOSE OF HER GENERATION, SHE NEVER REALLY KNEW THERE WAS NO PLACE CALLED PALESTINE, EVEN AFTER BALFOUR AND A FEW OTHERS SIGNED SOME PAPERS THAT CHANGED OPINIONS AND WORLD HISTORY IN A MOST FATALISTIC AND UNREALISTIC WAY.

NO LONGER SECRET BUT STILL SPECTACULAR

AMERICA'S B-2 BOMBERS , SKY
SCULPTURES , A KIND OF SORT OF SECRET ABSTRACT SKY ART EXHIBIT. MORE THAN MERE ELEMENTARY MOBILES TO SERVE AS SECRET STEALTH EXAMPLES, THESE LETHAL AND LOVELY SHAPES THAT FLY HIGH AND LOW ARE ALWAYS ARMED AND READY TO GO . WHEN AND WHERE THEY GO NOBODY BUT THE PRESIDENT AND A FEW AIR FORCE GENERALS KNOW.

THIS BIG BLUE WINDOW IS NOT IN PARIS

THIS PICTURE WASN'T TAKEN ANYWHERE

NEAR FRANCE OR ON THE CONTINENT WHERE GRADUATES ONCE WENT FOR THEIR FIRST GRAND TOUR. IT'S NOT IN JAPAN, BUT THE TREE WAS A DEAD GIVEAWAY WITH SPACE ON ALMOST ANY TOKYO STREET SELLING FOR ALMOST A MILLION YEN FOR ONE SQUARE FOOT OR LESS. BUT WHERE IT IS ISN'T WHAT MAKES EVERYONE ON THE STREET BELOW STARE UP AT THE BIG BLUE WINDOW, IT'S WHAT HAPPENS ALMOST EVERY NIGHT WHEN THE WINDOW SHADES ARE RELEASED FOR ALL TO SEE WHAT'S INSIDE THAT IS SO SECRET IN THE DAYLIGHT. YOU SEE, BESIDE THE TREE THERE IS A BENCH MADE OF IRON WHERE PEOPLE REST AND TALK, LAUGH AND POINT AT THE BLUE WINDOW JUST BEFORE THE SUNSET. VENDORS WITH WAGONS LOADED DOWN WITH SODA POP AND SALTED PEANUTS, POPCORN AND CANDY WAIT ANXIOUSLY FOR THE SUN'S FINAL RAY TO DISAPPEAR BEHIND THE CITY SKYLINE. LADDERS ARE NOT ALLOWED. AND CLIMBING THE TREE HAS BEEN AGAINST ALL CITY REGULATIONS SINCE THE SUMMER OF 04; EVERYONE KNOWS WHY BUT THAT'S ANOTHER STORY WHICH REMINDS OF ANOTHER CITY WHERE BLUE WINDOWS HAVE BEEN STRICTLY AGAINST ALL CITY AND COUNTY REGULATIONS SINCE...

HOTEL ROOM OUT WEST 1960S STYLE

I JUST FIGURED OUT I'M STILL A REGISTERED GUEST IN SOME OLD HOTEL ROOM OUT WEST. I FOUND THE ROOM RECEIPT AND THE KEY IN THE BOTTOM OF AN OLD SUITCASE. I FEEL PRETTY FOOLISH NOW, BECAUSE IN THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE ROOM RECEIPT THERE'S A SPACE MARKED NUMBER OF GUESTS. THERE'S A CHECK MARK IN THE SPACE MARKED "TWO." WHAT BOTHERS ME IS MY MEMORY; TRY AS I MIGHT, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHO THAT SECOND GUEST WAS, BUT THERE'S ANOTHER CHECK, BESIDE THE WORDS "DEPOSITED ONE DOLLAR FOR A SECOND KEY."

JADE CAT AND GOLDEN LAMP

THE TWO HAVE BEEN TOGETHER FOR MANY SEASONS, THE GOLDEN LAMP AND
WIDE-EYED CAT OF
JADE.
IT IS A MOST COMPATIBLE AFFAIR, A PERFECT AND MOST CONGENIAL RELATIONSHIP.

CONTEMPLATING THE ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

CONTEMPLATING A FEW ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

USE OF SOME COMMON SENSE WHEN

DISCUSSING THE CREATION OF ANY KIND OF IMAGE OR DESIGN OF VISUAL

ENTERTAINMENT THAT WILL BE KIND

TO OUR SENSES IN RESPECT TO ALL

WHO WILL BE LOOKING INSIDE OF OUR HEARTS AND MINDS TO SEE WHAT TYPE OF THINGS, SHAPES AND COLORS MOTIVATE OUR TALENTS TO ILLUSTRATE WHAT WE ARE ALL ABOUT, HEART, HANDS, EYES AND SOUL