HOME Ramblings about “Places”
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The weather’s quite oppressive,
Hot and hazy
every day
The people are too numerous
Crowd the
streets, the roads, the way.
Exceptionally polite, they are
They help, they do, they please
Warm is not a word I’d use
Or a description
on which I’d seize.
The city is devoid
of trees
Except on
roofs and parks
The feeling is quite sterile, you see
Efficiency’s
not a lark.
The subways are magnificent
So easy to be
used
They remind me of fast forward film
When rush
hour, the people fused
The Bullet train is very fast
Something
special to behold
Silky smooth and quiet, it is
As the miles
beneath are rolled.
This place is very foreign to me
Not the
faces, just demeanor
Like entering a future world
Life is faster
and much leaner.
The habits of antiquity
Still
practiced here and there
Give way to modern technology
New ways,
life’s fabric tear
In many ways, it’s like at home
There’s so
much we could learn
In many ways a caution warns
Progress, a
place must earn.
New Zealand is a pleasant place
Green beyond
belief
The people are quite friendly here
My visit was
too brief
The Geysers are spectacular
At Rotorua
there
Sheep abound in hill and dale
And
Greenstone’s everywhere
The Maori people are unique
Their story
interests me
A warring boat and Totem carved
I’ve sent
home, memory
Auckland was quite hilly, it
Challenged me
a bit
Perhaps when I return again
I’ll be more
physically fit
The food was good, the oysters fresh
Our appetites
did bare
The steaks we had were Oh so large
Feed an army,
on our fare
To tell the truth I didn’t see
A growing
kiwi fruit
The National bird is Kiwi too
Unseen, its
picture’s cute
The language spoke is English
Which made me
feel at ease
The idiom is different though
Same enough
to please
We took our leave much too soon
To see much
of this land
Another trip another day
We’ll have
more time at hand
I’m told the place I sleep tonight
Was once a
great bordello
I try to envision happy women
Making love
to any good fellow
Wrought Iron balconies, pink walls and carpet
Curtains, lace and perfume
What went on behind these doors
One can only
assume
Hand carved wood, player pianos
The finest
money could buy
The more to lure the gentlemen in
And hint of
pleasure nigh
I think perhaps the story’s myth
To give this
place cache’
All the same I think I’ll dream
Of bygone
days and play
Down a dusty road
At long
journeys end
A sight lies in waiting
Setting sun’s
rays do bend
Sentinels of history
Silhouetted
by the sky
Against the orange majesty
Their
darkness strikes the eye
Remnants of a distant time
When early
man was here
Deciphering their mystery
Not an easy
thing, it’s clear
Eight hundred rooms in quantity
With Kivas
half in ground
Sophisticated structures here
For the
period, rarely found
Roofless, now that time has ravaged
All that once
was wood
Our eyes invade their sanctity
Silent walls
have time withstood
We can almost feel the heartbeat
Of lives
lived close about
Sense the shadowy figures gasp
As the high
priest rises out
From under passage to the center
A mystery
shrouded entrance
The purpose, silent walls contain
But utter not
a sentence
A multicolored backdrop
Sheer cliffs
of stone reside
Huge chunks as big as houses
Crashed down,
destruction wide
Though empty untold centuries
The
devastation seems
A sacrilege continuing
This place of
awe does deem
We walk about the ruins
Quietly
stepping, ears too keen
As if to keep from waking
Or disturbing
Shapes unseen
We almost sense a presence
As the
centuries melt away
Trying to know the secret
Vanished
culture, Walls wont say
Shadows long, by setting sun
Dark of
light, and mind
Clues strewn all around
But Chaco keeps
us blind
Night has fallen, ruins recede
Return by a
dusty road
But once eyes see that awesome sight
Imagination
it does goad
Connected now forever more
We merge with
what was there
Should time destroy every single stone
It lives in
memory clear
The clues would say Anasazi ceased
To be, one
ancient day
A Hopi said “We’re here” to me
My mind with,
he did play
What ever is the answer we’re
Likely not to
know
Forever now a part of us
The mystery
will not go
The truth perhaps is that we just
Expanded
conscious level
Opened doors into our minds
Logic it does
bedevil
We have absorbed some new found thing
We do not
understand
We’re part of some continuum
Unexpected
and unplanned
The more we look, the less we know
The more we
feel the hand
Of some great force of which we’re part
Connecting
man to man
She sat in the home, occupants gone
Surveyed the
canyon hither and yon
Many a family lived here about
Perched under
the edge, to enemy rout
Centuries gone, she contemplates
An agrarian
world, tries to relate
Masters of farming in drought on terrain
To challenge
the fittest so they can remain
Unable at last to resist a connection
She rises to
make a closer inspection
Hands on the walls, checks for a clue
How did they
live? up high, walled in view
Thirsty for knowledge, how did they exist?
Fingers
examine each crevice and schist
Suddenly ancient impressions are felt
Of hands of
another, the centuries melt
And just for an instant together they stand
Connected by
ethos and love for the land
This place seems sacred, so quiet and still
Sounds of
birds and animals fill
The air with their purity, while the river does rush
At the bottom
of canyon, through greenery lush
An oasis of green cut into the desert
Protected by
predators human from hurt
Time seems to stand, still in its tracks
Here in the
canyon immune to attacks
No past and no present she drinks in the taste
Of cliff
dwellers living without any haste
Tries to imagine the values of then
Of course it’s
impossible, beyond her own ken
Dwelling to dwelling she goes quickly now
Tries to
recapture that instant somehow
It’s not to be done, she discovers at end
The moment
has passed, ripped time cannot mend
Logic would dictate that moment, imagined
Convincing
her though would leave one chagrined
Explain if you can the change to her soul
The touching
of stone, surely had role
There’s more in this world we cannot explain
Discard
normal logic, understanding don’t feign
We’re linked one and all, through time as a variable
In proper
perspective the link is a parable
A non ending story of man and his journey
Magnificent
puzzle, to learn his long way
But out of the study comes inner reflection
And purer
perspective of our chosen direction
Their past is now ours, one collective existence
Our future is
theirs, their dreams manifest hence
Once into this canyon we venture to step
The physical
rigors deprive us of pep
But never again see the world in same way
Invigorated beings,
new thoughts will hold sway
Like a breath of fresh air we emerge in the sun
Much lighter
we feel, though eight centuries we’ve run
Forever a part of our psyche, will be
This memory
of man, one large family
Night gives birth, a new day comes
Soft light
announces day
The birds in chorus welcome me
Great to live
they say
The undulating hills are green
In several different hues
Try I might to take all in
Much escapes
my view
An ever changing shifting scene
The senses
overflow
Fields of flowers, fig and olive
Another world
do show
I’ve come much more than miles I see
As around me
history speaks
There is a sense of timelessness
From fields
on hills and peaks
Of brilliant minds whose work we see
Who perished
long ago
Accomplishments that lived beyond
Inspire today
we know
A subtle ancientness pervades
“Forever”
fills the air
Priorities set straight for life
In living,
joy is there
Work is part of living here
It nurtures
mind and soul
Prepare a meal or tend a field
It’s all a
part the whole
A blending life and land in one
Dependent
love affair
Reduced to pleasures few and simple
Entrusted to
our care.
Like the bosom of our mother, earth’s
Hills do
breathe and roll
A thousand living things are joined
In chorus,
cleanse the soul
Clean and fresh each day begins
Too vivid to
be real
Our eyes behold a tapestry
That bears
the masters seal
Somewhere between the sky and ground
Reality
distorts
I see a place unknown to me
Understanding
soon aborts
I long to be within the scene
From where I
stand without
To be much more and yet much less
Of desire
there is no doubt
I study all the elements
My eyes and
ears discern
Desperate for a meaning that
Is much to pure
to learn
Of greens that I have never seen
And houses
without time
Set into a landscape painted
Unfathomly
devine
At first I want to close my eyes
Just listen
to the birds
.But look I find I can’t resist
To explain I
have no words
I’ve tried in vain to see and tell
What engulfs me here
But all I’ve written comes to naught
As I listen
and I stare
A house appears from out the mist
Nestled on a
slope
A city rises from a peak
My mind is
pressed to cope
Each ridge I see cuts another
A geometry
sublime
And just beyond the mist I sense
Discontinuance
of time
My eyes do look upon a scene
Centuries
beheld
The mysteries of life do lurk
Behind each
hill upswelled
Subtle pastel buildings and
Trees an artist
daubed
Surreally on a landscape which
Entirely us
absorbed
Everywhere each simple view
Conveys a
thought profound
It speaks in silence without words
It beckons,
home is found
The fields are green, yet they’re not
A splash of
red, bright and hot
Scattered yellow, here and there
Strange new
colors everywhere
Poppies wild, in the field
Giant roses
unconcealed
Figs arriving in the trees
On a hillside
in the breeze
Olive leaves cast their hue
Blue green
mist affects the view
Peace hangs over a landscape wide
The land is
speaking, tells of pride
Centuries spent with the earth
Of hard work
there is no dearth
People smile, there’s food and wine
Life goes on,
all is fine
Life flows down the narrow streets
A meandering
ballet
Cars and people, motor bikes
Move and
joust and play
“Buona Sera”, “Como Va!”
“Hello” and
“Gooten Tag”
The river of life bubbles along
And every
street does clog
With smiles on faces browned by sun
Uncountable
little shops
Pastel colors, cobbled streets
The movement
never stops
Up above from out the rock
Each stony
mountain yields
Houses perched like mountain goats
And terraced
lemon fields
Hills too steep to contemplate
Support a
world unreal
Brilliant sun, sparkling sea
Call to us,
appeal
Restaurants tucked here and there
No place to
park but view
Return we must this lovely place
Relive,
recharge, renew
The car is small the bus is wide
As around the
turn we go
There’s only room for one we know
The rule, of
course, is slow
A thousand feet to death below
The sign says
rocks do slide
Exhilaration without end
The fear we
take in stride
Each turn is blind, some do pass
No choice but
roll the dice
A ride not for the faint of heart
But yet it does
entice
The sights explode into our view
From top and
left and right
Combined, it all intoxicates
Overcoming
each new fright
Wind along the chiseled edge
Hold on with
knuckles white
Impossibility becomes the norm
Look down
from dizzying height
Drive where wise men fear to tread
Have lunch
hung from a cliff
Absorb the scene with bread and wine
Of flowers,
catch a whiff
Thirty miles, the nerves are raw
Yet strangely
tempered strong
Heaven if you do it right
Forever, if
you’re wrong
Cattle car in the air
Headed for
the tables
Dreams of riches in their heads
For most it
will be fables
Shows galore at sky high prices
Magicians,
circus, singers
Pay your money, have two drinks
The pain of
losing lingers
Entertainment is the name
Casinos put
on it
It’s just a business taking money
From those
who can’t afford the hit
Children, parents, pools, gift shops
A camouflage
supreme
Keep the tiny
occupied
While elders
chase their dream
It teaches children gambling is
An acceptable
solution
That success comes not from working hard
Harms our
valued institution
Of working ethic, values won
Struggles to
achieve
The tempering of character
Principled
fabric that we weave
Gambling now, the mindset new
Pushing out
the old
Addiction fostered by the pusher
To him all
lose their gold
Escape but briefly from the world,
Euphoric
dreams of wealth
Come crashing back to earth again
All lost,
return with stealth
Dream about the next time
A chance, the
odds to beat
Diverted from life’s real rewards
Yourself you
now must cheat
The only winners are, you see,
The peddlers
of the dreams
No matter how they dress it up
No matter how
it seems
Their job is just to separate
You from your money though
You need it more for food and clothes
Then
shattered dreams and so
It’s music and the glitters
Sounds of
coins falling out
Free drinks and pretty women
Nearly
winning hides the doubt
That any useful purpose can
Be served by throwing away
All the hard earned money you
Have brought, the games to play
(Tuscany)
Everywhere the birds are singing
The air is
fresh and clean
The sun kissed hills are breathing softly
Not a person
can be seen
Sheep gently eat their fill while
Over looking
fields
Where plants are growing in the sunlight
Many tables
wait their yield
Gentle breezes tousle trees
Like maidens
tossing curls
Far out in the distance mist
Over
mountains creeps, unfurls
Here and there a poppy flashes
Red among the
green
Daisies white and buttercups
Dance in
between unseen
Tile roofs and stucco walls
Cypress
guards defend
Resting on a landscape as
Nature might
intend
It seems I am a guest here
Nature is my
friend
A living invitation sent
Through
visions that all blend
Into a life experience
That heals as
well as lends
A message can be passed on
Through the
peacefulness it sends
Birds are flying to and fro
Lizards hide
and seek
Roses blooming fragrantly
I am humbled
I am meek
Occasionally a cloud will drift
Across a
light blue sky
Unhurried life is doing what
Science
cannot try
What is the secret formula
That calms my
soul while here
Perhaps I sense the presence of
A greater
force that’s near
Sun and wind, grass and tree
Brother
sister, you and me
All related don’t you see
We coexist in
harmony
Church bells ringing from the town
Across the
hills they call
A conversation to all that hear
To those
beyond the wall
I look into the distance as
The chorus
from the earth
Invites my mind, its stock to
Of what
life’s gifts are worth
Pleasure comes from simple things
Most are free
to take
Nourishment the land can give
Love, a life
can make
The house is quiet, all are gone
The silence
can be felt
A fly is buzzing ‘round the room
No escape to
him is dealt
Through a window, beyond an arch
Over an olive
tree
Pale blue sky and cotton clouds
The things my
eyes do see
Atop a tree a large birds sits
Not aware of
me
Black in color, breast of white
He poses
regally
Every bird on the wing
Moving
gracefully
And the grasses, flower and tree
Seeming
ordered, planned yet free
Every nuance, each detail
All my eyes
have found
Olive leaf or artichoke
Appear
somehow profound
Importance seems to shout at me
From every
sight and sound
A place so different words must fail
Yet the
meaning’s all around
Common sights every one
Found
throughout the world
Put together in a way
New meaning
here unfurled
Thoughts drift back to where I sit
Within these
thick brick walls
Soon my eyes are caught by light
Outside the
landscape calls
Silence is not isolation
This place
takes grip on me
Empty, I cannot make my mind
All around I need to see
And yet A kind of peace descends
As if it all
will come
Understanding flees from me
Makes my mind
go numb
Again and yet again I know
The peace is
from within
Surrounded by so much in balance
Myself
invites me in
To know from whence true joy will spring
To feel the
truth sublime
In fertile ground miracles grow
With love,
with care, with time
(Tuscany)
On the landscape that I see
Is the
master’s tapestry
Tossed across each rolling hill
The vast
expression of his will
Brilliant beauty, much to bear
It seems
unreal it can’t be there
In the theater of my life
A painted
backdrop, palette knife
Is stretched across my horizon
Distorting
all my mind relies on
Separate the day from dream?
My senses
fail me in this scheme
I cannot tell if I’m awake
As eyes and
ears absorb, partake
I feel the sun and see the scene
Try to take
all I can glean
But when I’m gone and do recall
What I saw
here, beyond the wall
I am sure that it will seem
I saw forever
in a dream
When first I saw those wondrous hills
In far off Tuscany
They seemed unreal, a world apart
Beyond the
reach of me
But now that I must recreate
The scene
from memory
There seems to be a normalcy
That lives
quite real in me
I can hear the birds that sing
With the
birth of each new day
I can see the winding roads
On which I
made my way
I can hear the silence spread
All across
the land
I can feel the breezes warm
As the
grasses all are fanned
I can see the poppies red
All along the
road
Or splashed across a field of green
Or by a row
that’s hoed
I can smell the roses rare
That burst
upon the scene
Climbing aver walls and gates
Red and
yellow cutting green
I can see the olives their
Lives
beginning fine
And clinging to the distant slopes
Tiers of
grapes upon the vine
And if I look quite carefully
A fig or two
I see
Or perhaps a purple artichoke
Showing
royally
I can feel the expectation
In the mist
each morning brings
Or hear the bells walled cities have
Continuing to
ring
I can see within my mind
That place so
real today
What was too much to comprehend
Came away
with me to stay
In a sky of blue, with clouds of white
Seagulls
swoop and fly
Families strolling with their children
Little babies
cry
Sun is bright, birds take flight
Charters come
and go
Ripples from the channel make
The boats
rock to and fro
Sailboats by the hundreds, point
Their masts in to the air
Rarely are they in the ocean
Owners happy
sitting there
Little shops, restaurants
Coffee and
ice cream
Tourists and the regulars
Talk and eat
and dream
An easy kind of din surrounds
Shade tables
in the sun
Life is pleasant by the water
For each a
different fun
Children dripping ice cream on
Their shirts
and on their chins
Dogs on leashes everywhere
Roller
bladers doing spins
To the West tall cliffs arise
Sport few
houses on the hill
Across the water to the East
Europe’s
landscapes eyes do fill
Inside the rock breakwater, sunburned
People kayaks row
Here and there boat owners make
Ready gear to
stow
Lovers walking hand in hand
Fishing boats
return
Pelicans gather in the water
Of dinner
wait and yearn
Smells of salt and fish abound
Seagulls ply
the air
Stories passing, no one sees
Each, their
own take care
Bicycles and strollers mix
With old men
and their dogs
Every kind is found here walking
Some in brand
new togs
Life is flowing seamlessly
Some living
and some looking
Sometimes you might even see
Barbecues, on
moored boats cooking
On the beach the surfers paddle
Out to meet a
wave
Let it pass big one coming
Need a story
they can rave
Everywhere life goes on
For each a
different way
In this place where land meets sea
All enjoy
this day
(USA)
No one can cross this wondrous land
And fail to
be impressed
The vastness and the beauty, overcome
Us, East or
West
Mountains stretch their snow capped peaks
Try to reach
the sun
Pastel canyons slice the earth
Where rivers used to run
Wrinkled hills like elephant skin
Run to meet
the plains
Breezes blow the golden grasses
The tumble weed
and grains
There are valleys lush from frequent rain
And some
quite dry as bones
Fields of grass the cattle eat
And others
naught but stones
Skies that circle round about you
In endless
panorama
A hemispheric slide show from
The heavens
giant camera
Places you can be alone
Not see
another soul
Feel the bond to earth and sky
That somehow
makes you whole
Places where no rain does fall
And beauty
petrified
Artifacts of lives long gone
Cliff
dwellings where they died
Mysteries enough to last
A lifetime or
a few
Beauty more than eyes can see
Unique from
view to view
And each time that I cross again
I’m always
shocked to find
The beauty is more stunning in
Life than in my mind
All who see must come to praise,
Each of us in
turn
A lifetime spent describing scenes
Give to
others passion’s burn
Ansel used his camera, told
A story
without end
Pete did sing his story songs
And Willie
rounded bends
Countless souls have tried their best
To tell what
they have felt
The beauty humbles all of us
In homage all
have knelt
If I spent a thousand years
Writing of my
views
I’d still be just beginning to
Describe the
shades and hues
But on I go as others have
Searching
words in vain
The beauty and the majesty
Bring me
calm, and keep me sane
Somehow when I’m lost within
The vastness
of this land
I’m closer to the answers
That I sense,
not understand
Each crossing is a lesson, taught
By looking at
His work
Restores in me perspective
From the
landscape where it lurks
We all are His creations, water
Mountains,
desert, man
When we contemplate the beauty
We’re
connected, feel His hand
And I can say with honesty…
I really love
this land