Su shi

reading entry for Su Shi,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
(click link for "poems")

"find a dentist you'll love -
live-help 24/7"

when looking for tide pools
best to know something
about tides.

(neckbone, 2009)
....................

Pt. Reyes Na. Seashore

dead seagull:

no eyes
no ears
no brain
no guts
no heart -

scavenged
by wily vulture.

(ji bo, 2009)





..................

slide down 101 through Sausalito
onto Golden Gate Bridge
city spread eagle
like illogical garden
of bleached whale bones;
pay toll, cut onto 19th Ave
Golden Gate Park
one inch ahead
of rush hour snarl.
I-280 South - Exit 92
Half Moon Bay to Peet's for caffiene;
when buzzed, further south on Route 1
hug coast to Pescadero -
artichoke ground zero.
Duarte's Tavern sits there
like a Hollywood set
waiting to fill your belly.

be hungry!*


*see suggested menu

(neckbone, 2009)
..................

suggested menu/Duarte's Tavern

sour dough bread (hot)
local table wine (no name grape)
red snapper (grilled)
mashed potatoes
broccoli (steamed, local)
fresh apricot cobbler (a la mode)

[Duarte's Tavern, Pescadero, California]

in high-slope California field
bull chews cud, fat
and lumpy torso-being:
Land Whale,
black hide tarnished
by dust of passing cars
on road to wind-blown beaches.

the Flip-Flop Brigade of tourists
sees Boss Bull with golf ball testicles;
says, "Hamburger on the Hoof!"

the road curves, with space;
they drive on.

(ji bo, 2009)

..................

want to experience
deep Zen?
wander off the path!

(for G. Snyder)

...............

Pioneer Tree Trail

up-creek, redwood sun poles;
hummingbird in unidentified sapling;
brush poison oak with pants leg,
climb switch-back, down glade,
young redwoods begin life here -
ferns, trillium, wren sounds warning:
"my home; beware!"

somewhere, far-away
a garbage truck
shatters the day.

(neckbone, Sam Taylor Park, 2009)






.................

six egrets fly south
over salt marsh;
white question marks
in my binoculars.

(neckbone, Inverness, CA, 2009)

...............

road trip blues

so much time
making decisions,
when the road
always decides
for itself.


..............

The Great Bear State

Iron Mountain Poets trek -
Point Reyes National Seashore;
visit Earth edge.

While trek in progress
poet master Gary Snyder
read from new book,
"Tamalpais Walking" -
audience on hay bales,
doors open to soft breeze.

White pelicans, lupine, vultures,
egrets, kelp art.

no problem.









............

man on jet plane
wears hand-made sign
on string around neck.
sign says -
Relax
Enjoy life.

...........

Mojave Desert
spotted with cloud shadow -
hard rock ridges
snow on peaks.
somewhere below
a mule deer looks up
sees jet plane.

man waves.

(ji bo, 39,000 feet, 2009)

............

Pt. Reyes National Seashore

10,000 cows
1 million yellow flowers
18,000 purple thistles
200 pelicans
big lagoon
hard wind out of west
blows hat off
just for fun.

(ji bo, 2009)




................

walk sand trail:

meet quail, flowers,
a snake, jumping spider.
distant ocean sounds
like freight train.

"looks like Ireland," man says.
"looks like Scotland," woman says.
"looks like here," crow says.

crow swoops on wind
disappears into passing cloud.

(ji bo, 2009)

..............

new/old idea

bodhisattva of place,
not just people
ants, birds -
entire ecosystem.

...........

the joy of travel

first glimpse
of unfamiliar
woodpecker.

...............

Traveler's Prayer

Dear Immune System:
please remember
to do your job,
at least until
I get home!

cloud edge
slices New Mexico
down
the middle.


..............

hippies in pickup trucks
millionaires in denim rags
yoga by the minute
tourists swim like fish
on sidewalks paved
with fool's gold
in Santa Fe.

(neckbone, 2009)

Summer Symphony in the Park

.........

look up! -

City lights swallowed
by giant earth-eating storm:
trees dance, drunk with wind;
music stops, all eyes on winged-Leopard.

too late - rush for safety
as Leopard sweeps paws across Park,
uprooting reality, snapping Friday night:
breaking glass, ancient roots torn,
tangled webs, galaxies of debris,
rain like buckshot, angry hissing wisps.

Leopard swirls across City
inhales power lines,
one street after another
darkening dominoes;
café patrons sip wine
in candle-glow, dreaming.

no magic spells, no rattle-bones;
a Leopard uncaged is free
to roam the Universe

just get
- out -
of the way.

(neckbone, 2009)

rain so hard -
even the chickadees
are swimming.

...............

to taste eternity
try to outrun
approaching tornado.

.............

turn right, see crow
turn left, see crow
look up, see crow
look down, crow shadow.

imagine standing in corn field;
one million crows appear in sky -
best to bring umbrella!

(ji bo, 2009)

.............

raccoon
looks in window
wonders -
who stole
bird feeder?

(neckbone, 2009)

........

famous politician
head like cantelope
smiles in camera
teeth like whale bones;
shuck/jive
news at 5 -
utter no word
to hang hat on.

old saying:

"you get
what you
pay for."

(neckbone, 2009)

.....................

2,000 violins
can not stop
1 thunderbolt.

(symphony critic No. 5, 2009)

....................

yellow stone philosophy

nature needs no excuses;
bears are a law unto themselves;
wolves are as tolerant as human beings;
roads are land-scars;
walk, don't run;
the night sky is poetic/
stars are words sprinkled in space;
even the tallest mountain is moving;
rivers are music;
sleeping on the ground is innately human;
chaos/order - two sides/same coin;
the idea of karma means nothing,
to a moose;
time is the arc of the sun;
wilderness needs nothing,
especially philosophy.

(neckbone, 2006)

walking in griz country

keep to your self
watch your step
don't be a fool
you are not alone
you may be killed
be alive as possible
respect the turf
death is not the enemy.

(neckbone, 2006)

girl with black eyes
stands on sidewalk
cigarette in tow.
the Gothic look
is back
from a brief vacation.
in 200 years
no one will remember.

(neckbone, 2009)

...............

1,200 miles east
of the high desert -
not one raven.

...............

special announcement from NASA

due to mass and density
caused by overpopulation
of human beings,
planet Earth has become flat.
use caution when approaching
the horizon.

(ji bo, 2009)

................

Tips on traveling light

Tip # 18

when on the Road -
go to UPS store
pack all dirty laundry
in big box
send to yourself
to arrive 2 days
after you return home.

Tip #23

when both t-shirts
are too skanky
even for hippie food co-op
buy cheap tourist t-shirt
and follow advice in Tip #18.

Tip #6

if trip is to desert Southwest
of USA
leave umbrella at home.
3 rain drops
never hurt
anybody.


(neckbone, santa fe, 2009)

...........

The Night China Invaded The Moon

America was watching reruns
Russia was drinking vodka
India was off to Bollywood
Japan was soaking in hot tub
France was on strike
Italy was playing soccer
Argentina was dancing the tango
New Zealand was filming the Hobbit
Israel was fighting its neighbors.

at 3:32 a.m.
the moon became a colony of Beijing
at 4:49 a.m.
the moon became a big strip mine
at 4: 52 a.m.
the moon became unhappy
and turned off her light.

(ji bo, 2009)

anthropologists scratch heads
study ancient desert artifacts:
did Anasazi make music?

Coronado heard flutes
at corn grindings,
three part chants.

corn is vibration
desert is vibration
moon is vibration
galaxy is vibration
Universe is vibration.

anthropologists -
time to remove head
from computer.

(ji bo, 2009)

.............

when in Santa Fe, New Mexico:

eat 300 tamales
drink 200 Margaritas
say "hello" to Jaime at Tia Sophia's
fart at Plaza
bushwhack through desert
talk to lizards
commune with Kokopelli
dance naked with drunk goddess
smell desert rose
offer water to cacti
sing to Meadow Lark
sleep in ancient kiva
avoid television
beware of fake Navajo jewelry
set swamp cooler to "maximum"
always choose green chilies.

(neckbone, santa fe, 2009)

how many people
can sit on the pin head
of planet Earth?

..............

"don't paint the Devil
on the wall,"
said the Raven.

.............

best yoga -
loosen
the mind.

.............

when zen smoke clears

"I'm looking for old redneck
Indian medicine man
and some peyote;
find the flow
right where I stand;
best to figure it out
for yourself."

(ji bo, 2009)

...........

Bandelier National Monument

climb tall ladder
to ceremonial kiva,
ballet of swallows,
lone squirrel at lunch;
ancestral Puebloans
missed the boat -
1,000 years too early
for tourist dollars.

(neckbone, 2009)


................

beep beep!
man answers telephone,
dial tone on other end.
man says, "thank you."

woman wakes up,
says, "who was it?"
mans says, "robot."
woman says, "i love talking to robots;
didn't you ever watch the Jetsons?"

(ji bo, 2009)

..............

Galisteo -
little town
in big desert.

................

snake crawls
through skull's
eye sockets
on ebony field;
stars flame out,
galaxies collide,
insects sing of fate.

twinkling lights
roar of motorcycles
roadside café
on edge
of desert.

time plays
out
beneath vertebrae
of Sangre de Christos
on Old Taos Highway.

(neckbone, New Mexico, 2009)



..................

drive to desert
sit in shadow
listen to meadow lark
watch clouds
dream of Coyote -
crickets say,
"Let go; be free."

(ji bo, 2009)

big dipper
solar orb
wind/impermanence
wheel/time
circle/life

Iron Mountain Poets in New Mexico.

one week in desert.
very thirsty!
many red rocks.
hot tamales, tequila,
blueberry pie.
ancient people's art.
mystery Kiva ceremony.
talking lizards.