31 july

while you sleep
let me say
I feel like
feeling is better
sometimes
even as I do
most times
and believe in it
-- doing, I mean --
because meaning
and meaning well
are made mostly
of interior
not clockwork
something else
more like heartstrings
if such parts existed
were not in such short supply
did not break so easily
called not for constant repair
flickering in and out of existence
teetering on the edge of belief
and I might say
given the chance or not
I'm taking the chance
total disregard for inventory
seeking instead invention

30 july

it occurs to me
reflection at such a level
causes magnification
let us observe
let me tell you
thick water sheets as the sky slices down
distraction, deflection --
leftover fireworks charge so little
daybynight hourly wilds turn wilderness east
keep going stop thinking move your hand
without overanalyzing how each
word will land there is no audience
but this page and never is there nevermind

29 july

a finetooth comb on sand
right ahead with anymight
there is no reason why not
skypools cloud the highway
road straight through to north to east
even as the wheels
turning odd zones upright
now I lay me down to wonder
plunder of imaginings
crickets question dusk

28 july

either cautious or disinterested
slices of eitherboth
slivers splintering otherwise total
certainty that cannot be logicked
let me not ask
not regret asking, pushing
no reason to believe
no reason to expect
and yet - even more -

27 july

while my sleep arrived
i was elsewhere
more productive
a turn to take
a wheel to turn
check the boxing glove
love is a manycelled window
peering straight through to wonder

26 july

to be served
saying
this is for you
chosen carefully, placed
a tender angle, beside
no return expected
to give, not to receive

how can it not invite
curiosity
hunger

25 july

scraping the words together
a sandwich
spread thin with sense
heavy on wonder/thump all together
a taste would hold for now
so much to try
and yet
a bitter turn
regret at the wrong bite, wrong step
let me start again i meant to say
i meant to be and will try harder
naturally

24 july

you would think
now i would sit up straighter
brush my teeth twice as
golden my hair
say my prayers
whistle while i work
and the last - at least - is true

23 july

whisperwild tumbling
everglad toward the next list
cautious as a marigold
let us not into the - breach -
scripts diverge and branches trail
rivers to ford and wagons to train
no logic to skip but to my loo -
all around the wonderwhy bush

22 july

let's talk about something else
i can see the pothole ahead
steering around should be --
too late already

21 july

realizing
something like a mirror
when the lights stay off
we can wonder wander whisper
planet of the acorns
nobody here but us oaks
looking the other way
whistlestop more tea to play
let me turn a different page
which one had the ninjas
where the soup ran out
catch the rice, the bowl

20 july

jumping
only halfway
in my head
means landing
all the way
in between
lines and spaces
dashes and dots
zeroes and ones
choosing and
rather than or
waiting for a step, breath

19 july

and it's a good thing
depending on how you look at it
how it's presented
the angle of attack
we are hanging the frame but
can't quite picture the pieces
where the stream is lined
there i will cut the cords and fire the wood
let us not to the barrage of
true neighbors find impediment
fences and borders tumbling down
golden crowns and geese and all
yours until the cattle call
no more my steps stop the line

18 july

it seems to me i may have skipped
some crucial piece in the pie
we may have been making
puzzle pieces out of a maze
fitting the picture together
come it into focus
poke us in the eye and squint
sprint to the outcome
shout to all mountaintops
these are all the reasons why:
I HAVE NOTHING ELSE
pets or meat or alcohol
pile up the else

17 july

leveling out
cannot tell which step to take
head into clouds
easy enough to bow out
roll over and play else
let's catch our turtledoves and whistle
these are the situations
those are the neighbor nations
meat unified and vegetables fall
one sky up to cover them all
sleep and flash and wonderwhy
brighter way to turn

15 july

gate change
rearranging lines
there's a tangle of minds
refining borders, crossing fences, dotting eyes
surmising that there is no back
forward is better generally anyway
consider the evidence

14 july

the deep questions
steeped in sleep suggestions
whether my eyes are closed
predisposed to disagreement
a fee spent on indignation
nations disunited by goals
unfolding and unfounding
the promises we have in mind
undefined extensions
call and let me now
i think i meant to - even if -
as the wheel turns sun the sky
moon to rise and rivers fly

13 july

where respect is made of action
skills turned to reals
we are the makers
we screen our days in technicolor realtime
no dress rehearsals casting curtain call cattle
let me have my two
second chances notwithstanding
not for standing down from
let us rise and fall
tie the tides to weights
no man i land onward, angel - home
look! marvelous the undertow
let us go and sow the shallows
we ourselves will turn the current past

12 july

where going back
seems like else
wherever
and also i wonder
how can we help ourselves
the hope to seek
maybe to be found
if not to find

11 july

convenience
all for the sake of your comfort
let me tell you how
when you order
there are separate checks
cross and tabulated
we have rated all the players
worry the game
freeze the frame
part the hair and comb the over
oven baked stakes too high
while away the hourglass
healthier, please
remote hopes for telescopes
bottoms up and dive!

10 july

fever dreams
scaling the attempts
recompense for ought to
leftovers of might have
instead piles of posture, performance
smiles for the lift, carry the 5
always de-magnetizing
lessons to learn from bollywood
nobody cares: just move
but looks are pretty good, too
and still there are hours to go
so

9 july

because it's easier to make wrong choices
a comfortable pattern
fall into, fall over
spill up, fill over
all along the watched boiling
pottering along
a wheel reeling in

8 july

it's what you make of it
they say
having stepped back
having let go
dropped in
just stopping by
nice to see you
a delight to pass by
not right not to try - but -
what else to do - but -
shoe the horn
cob the corn
another row to hoe

7 july

holiday arbitrary wary are we
watching as the hours power through
true enough but also tough
whistle while we work it
no diggedy dogs that day
catamaran and tyler too
that's a plane and not a zoo
parks for more than children, too
could someone please set the table
wandering away while the waiter is able
how can i contribute
can i be the witness
only gandhi is allowed on the money
and at what cost - at what cost

6 july

gradually i will have less to say
fading into routine
if this is my life
quietly along the road home
hello and thank you
know no words no names no signs
welcome stranger
rearranger with quiet high-fives
unacknowledged in some sense not worth mention
cannot tell why what matters - export
man has his hair dyed on the night street
ready set go holiday

5 july

take care of yourself
if the moon doesn't come
there's work to do
and anyway more of the same to change
let's rearrange what we had in mind
add to the list as we tear up the plan
where is the sand as it slips beneath
all the king's horses in the streets
a man on the corner getting a shave
another sits down to hotel breakfast and barks
for god's sake at least let me sit first
as the coffeetea offer scuttles away
men in the seats and row and roads
leading the goats and honking their horns
staring and nodding and wideeyed somehow
there is a space and i'm here to get done

4 july

it's true that independence is
one of the things i value
most? maybe. certainly a great deal.
tell me more about yourselves.
an exercise in exercising.
the opposite of introvert
converting work into lists
crossing off all the items
with abandon does not mean to abandon
we were thinking of something else
last time we had agreed no numbers
last time we agreed no names
i agree: no names to leave with strangers
no one is numbered a stranger here
those on ships with no internet
sail back to salt and pepper ports
deputizing tour guides to lead:
there is nothing to see but sea itself
should not have had the buffet
can never understand costs
the loss of sense
the sentences we seek to shorten
at least to include the right words
(in love with a smile and purpose)
let me do what i can to be of use

3 july

the popularity of chinese food notwithstanding
sit down as we drive through
carry out and also pass by
sometimes there will be rain
and also let us note
possibilities of intense overwhelm
traffic still
as if still is warranted after such a short
do you know your way
hold a hand
star the bucks
which are sometimes rupees
count chickens - not eggs - before they hatch
watch the clouds before they hatch
a sea wall that does well to stand by
mosque sea tossed but not tempest
potential for missed steps
no money changed
no spree free to catch on to
what would i buy if i could try
green of leaves and fresh of sea
layers of culture known and unknown
ease and confidence in a maze of amazement
not for sale - sailing

2 july

monsoon accessory carnival
just the ticket to ride
when you forget to lift
the elevator with a pass key
when entering the wrongside car door
there are no traffic rules
but traffic rules
and water wets waitly
break fast before again
scan for sandals and hold for boots
awaiting delivery hardly prime
twice the ticket in half the time
these are the pieces we do without
boutique offices chandelier the lovebirds
porch the aquarium for receiving
backstaff frontstairs blacktea greentea
tell me how you'll ask for your
chinese lunch with rocky road paneer spice
banter bounty extra nice
shared exchanges twinkle tangle
work wraps some to-do list to wrangle
count the peanuts and plug the phones
dry off the shoes and unbuckle your bones
ghazals in the brochures
coconuts in the trees
honking through the nightdark
ocean - sorry, sea

1 july

the feedback
primarily
would be
the most patient variety
well done, all
flexible to the extreme
bend and bend and bend
there is no break
for the weary
< i cannot help you >
the plane has not arrived yet
we'll be taxiing a while longer
the toilet is dysfunctional
the paperwork is incomplete
the paperwork is still incomplete
is there anyone on board with medical training
is there a doctor on board
chicken or vegetarian?
eggs or vegetarian?
your bags have not arrived
can you get more help?
do you have any gold?
oh this is your first trip to india?