"Life is the thing; everything is in it,
and life is movement." Auguste Rodin

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

July 15

"pulled in a Chevron in Arab. Had
actual (real) flowers in the restroom.
Miss Lizzie about fell out - praised
the lady behind the counter - nobody
has real flowers anymore.
And in Arab!

(from Journal of the Neckbone, 2006)

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

haiku written in commemoration
of moon watching, May 9, 2006

old leather
shoes
squeak.

...........

bird sits in tree
sees man pushing
loud lawn mower.

bird flies in circle
lands on man's shoulder.
man stops lawn mower,
says, "what do you want?
bird says, "big secret -
stock market crash tomorrow!"

man walks inside
calls stock market,
says, "sell everything!"

next day:

stock market
goes up 1,000 points.
man very angry,
walks outside, sees bird,
says,
no more advice!"

bird flaps wings,
says, "no more lawn mower!"

(ji bo, 2009)

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

TV murder No. 4325
 
Gunsmoke
The Evening News
Blood Simple
Barnaby Jones
Night Line
Make My Day
Thunderdome
Psycho
Saturday cartoons
Zapruder re-runs

(neckbone, 2006)

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

astronaut flies rocket ship
to moon,
sits in crater, waiting
for cosmic vision.

one month later:
astronaut receives message
from NASA -

"Houston to Apollo,
you are directed
to build 1st McDonald's
on site of future Lunar City.
Congratulations!"

astronaut points rocket ship
at Crab Nebulae -
disappears
into Deep Space.

(ji bo, 2009)

Ryõkan
waited
all winter
for one
footprint
in the snow.

(neckbone, 2009)

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


to fall
asleep
reading -
exquisite
luxury.

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

sit on couch
look out window
count leaves on trees:
1,321,087 leaves

sky boot heavy
not yet ready
to rain.

how many rain drops
in one cloud?
small cloud: 892, 303 drops
big cloud: 5, 712, 654 drops.

sun falls asleep
western glow
stars blink
ink blot space.

how many stars
in galaxy?
12, 582, 395, 187 stars.

how many galaxies?
how many stars?
how many moons?
how many minutes?

just one Universe?

(ji bo, 2009)

moon samadhi -
pierced
to core
by autumn light.

(for Rengetsu)

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

old proverb

a bird in hand
is bad
for bird.

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

planet Earth

oldest species - bacteria
newest species - computer
smartest species - cockroach
fastest species - photon
slowest species - mountain
loudest species - politician
deadliest species - mosquito
funniest species - clown

unknown species - other side of black hole

(ji bo, 209)

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

middle of road
snapping turtle;
put in beer cooler,
reborn on mud flats
of iron mountain.

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

when hungry
eat noodle bowl;
when thirsty
drink green tea;
when tired
go to sleep;
when happy
laugh with world;
when lonely
call friend;
when bored
get on airplane;
go to desert
talk to cacti
listen.

(ji bo, 2009)

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

there goes
old "flying legs"
in his haste
to deliver
the mail.

(for Hakuin's Daimyo Procession
Passing Mount Fuji)

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

global warming

is global warming
real?
is planet Earth
real?
is Empire State Building
real?
is Great Wall of China
real?
is bottom of ocean
real?
is Hubble Telescope
real?
is Black Hole
real?
is Universe
real?

turn off TV
work in garden
drink tea with friends.
no more global warming.

(ji bo, 2009)

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

old proverb

dusty mirrors
reveal
no flaws.

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

late night
ghost -
o'possum.

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

girl wakes up
walks through house
in underwear.
"smells like bacon
in here," she says.

mind is everything.

(neckbone, 2009)

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

dog barks at shadow.
shadow says, "don't blame me!"

dog barks at cloud.
cloud says, "just passing by!"

dog barks at Albert Einstein.
Einstein says, "bark is relative!"

dog barks at Buddha.
Buddha says, "bark is empty."

dog quits barking
wags tail.

shadow disappears
cloud disappears
Albert Einstein disappears
Buddha disappears
dog disappears.

no problem.


(ji bo, 2009)

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