Caveat: Englyn #95

(Poem #200 on new numbering scheme)

The octopus was alive.
But then it began to have
problems in the soup. It strove
to remember... what is love?

– an englyn proest dalgron, referencing the Korean custom of eating raw octopus that’s still wiggling.

Caveat: Englyn #94

(Poem #199 on new numbering scheme)

I'm plummeting through life: down...
Voices on all sides: a din...
Days end; days begin: each dawn...
Without purpose - but not done.

– an englyn proest dalgron

Caveat: Englyn #93

(Poem #198 on new numbering scheme)

On that first day, just one step
starts the world's making. Top-
down it goes, never to stop,
quantum nodes placed on a map.

– an englyn proest dalgron

Caveat: Englyn #92

(Poem #197 on new numbering scheme)

Weirdos are chanting by threes, and dancing,
Yelling at the pine trees.
From the north there wails a breeze,
So their madness starts to freeze.

– an englyn unodl union. This strikes me a more than a little bit Dylanesque – not that that’s an assertion of quality – it just has that feel to it.

Caveat: Englyn #91

(Poem #196 on new numbering scheme)

On the shelf I found a book.
I pulled it down, took a look.
But sadly, the words shook: no meaning;
foaming gobbledygook.

– an englyn unodl crwca
[daily log: walking, 1km]

Caveat: Englyn #88

(Poem #193 on new numbering scheme)

The green gorillas will gasp
and dance below clouds. A wisp
of mist gropes the trees that grasp
the hills. The cool air is crisp.

– an englyn proest dalgron. It may be surprising to hear that this is based on a fragment of a vivid dream I had 36 years ago, in 1981, while still in high school. I recorded it then in a journal I had. But this poem was written without consulting that journal – it’s just an image/story/vision that sticks with me. The full dream ended with nuclear holocaust – recall that I was in high school during the age of Reagan.

Caveat: Englynion #85-#87

(Poem #192 on new numbering scheme)

On a long trip on a bus,
from Temuco's rainy moss
to Santiago's vast mess,
I read a small, torn book. Thus,
because of Neruda's songs
there took root a vague longing.
my inner poet grew wings.
Although maybe I am wrong,
since, in fact, I still long failed
at becoming more controlled
in habit, till I was told
perhaps this blog could be filled.

– three englynion proest dalgron

Caveat: Englyn #84

(Poem #191 on new numbering scheme)

To let them languish, and use
them for nothing? Thus I chose.
See, the saddest spoons are those
that sleep, unloved. Is it wise?

– an englyn proest dalgron

Caveat: Englyn #82

(Poem #189 on new numbering scheme)

White, red, black, and pale: masses
plunging among the grasses.
Hooves pound. There are four horses. You see them?
Now watch them join forces.

– an englyn unodl crwca

Caveat: Englyn #78

(Poem #185 on new numbering scheme)

Out between the apartments,
the kids spread their footprints
in the snow. At bat, he bunts;
the ball rolls; he slips; she taunts.

– an englyn proest dalgron

Caveat: Englyn #77

(Poem #184 on new numbering scheme)

The topology of clouds
conveys their unlikely needs.
Likewise, the feel of the words
in my mouth is changing moods.

– an englyn proest dalgron

Caveat: Englyn #76

(Poem #183 on new numbering scheme)

Like wet sand stuck in my mouth
the days bunch together with
broken rhythms and uncouth
echoes like stones off a path.

– an englyn proest dalgron
[daily log: walking, 1km]

Caveat: Englyn #74

(Poem #181 on new numbering scheme)

I was finished with my brain.
It began to slow its spin
and spill out like a pale stain
from my skull into my phone.

– an englyn proest dalgron

Caveat: Englyn #72

(Poem #179 on new numbering scheme)

Instead of snow, we got rain.
The streets outside are now clean.
The old snow's cleared and undone,
Snowflakes reduced to a line.

– an englyn proest dalgron

Caveat: Englyn #70

(Poem #177 on new numbering scheme)

The cold crawled along the ground,
creeping across without sound,
grasping at fragments it found, unfurling,
swirling slow, round and round.

– an englyn unodl crwca

Caveat: Englyn #69

(Poem #176 on new numbering scheme)

The monkey and the raven
contrived a fine plot, and then,
compelled by jealousy, ran
to steal the other beasts' fun.

– an englyn proest dalgron

Caveat: Englyn #67

(Poem #174 on new numbering scheme)

It's so late... I stay awake.
Now and then, sleep fails to make
anything but a brief, fake appearance -
a short trance - no real break.

– an englyn unodl crwca

Caveat: Englyn #66

(Poem #173 on new numbering scheme)

I like snow in the winter,
but this dawn's fall seemed bitter,
like some song flung forth in fear
by a reluctant choir.

– an englyn proest dalgron

Caveat: Englyn #65

(Poem #172 on new numbering scheme)

The empty shell of the state, sold to fools;
its roads, rules, and dire fate
compiled for transition... wait...
no... as of now, it's too late.

– an englyn unodl union

Caveat: Englyn #62

(Poem #169 on new numbering scheme)

I'm just really exhausted
this Monday evening. I had
six classes. For each, I stood
and talked. The kids sat and stared.

– an englyn proest dalgron

Caveat: Englyn #61

(Poem #168 on new numbering scheme)

You cannot escape the dust;
it marches through sunbeams, fast
settling on floors like ballast,
thus to sink life's ship at last.

– an englyn proest dalgron
[daily log: walking, 1.5km]

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