Tailings

“Heart Wave” by Adam Brett

 

abandon what cannot be kept
of the valuable fraction
for two thousand years

land’s end a conceptual
folly for land never ends
it just dives on its whim
beneath oceans the real end
is water incessantly slapping
intending to renovate faith
formed of bedrock and truth
left unmarred by philosophy
leavings of sand and stone
steadfast sufficient with gravity
footfalls for passage of men
who believe in the unanswered
answers that consternate
unwilling skeptical hearts

here at water’s edge froth
oversimple convictions
cool improvisations by
affable atheists fluid of
reason in wave after wave
of procession recession
progressing regressing
yet ever so fluent of doubt
in the ebb and flow language
of moonrise and tides
foaming arguments surge
then collapse under weight
of their very creation

for two thousand years
of the valuable fraction
abandon what cannot be kept

 

(From my book Pieces of Wine)

Old Waters

 

“Water Abstract” Digital Photo by Carlos

 

in the belly of seas
ancient rains
once washed
truths taught
by myths
of Olympus
gave glisten to
Greek golden age
under Pericles
bathed the
inquisitive impulse
of Socrates
seeking for answers
to questions
that in themselves
elevate man
and morality

in the belly of seas
down and deep
the same waters
that nourished
antiquity mix
with new fluids
the discharged
remains of the
modern democracy
drained by neglect
of minds moved
to an arrogant
dryness of dogma
truths fixed by
presumptions of
self-proclaimed
demigods

River of Eels

“Eels” by Ginney Deavoll

time slips

through my bones

like a river of eels

taking bits of me

scavenging scraps of

abandoned identity

churned with a mass

of electrified flesh

rushing madly

in need of the sea

the cold comfort

of deeps with no

competent memory

Night Music

“Moon Over Ocean” by Barbara Harmer

the sea speaks to dreamers

rolling blue rumors

a rhythm of murmurs

suggesting how life

might have been

and might yet come to be

driving sleep along paths

only minds have the means

to negotiate guided by

swells and deep swoons

of a basso profondo

enchantment the sonorous

voice of the ocean at night

reimagining meaning of

motion and motives

in light of the moon

Sea Smoke

“Sea Smoke 9: Duluth, Minnesota” by Derek Montgomery

frigid fog lifts

from the new

morning surface

surprised as odd

turbulent spirals

form cold burning

hallmarks of nature

in moments extreme

conflating the traits

sworn to fire and ice

and ocean and sky

under watch of a

suddenly diffident sun

View From Under the Sea

 

“Tornado School of Fish” by Caine Delacy

 

 

ugly featureless bellies
aligned for their swim
through the food chain
the race to the swift
for the hesitant all will be lost
best to keep to the center
carried along by the throng
as every half brain is aware
there is safety in numbers
little need for decisions
or thoughts of one’s own

funny how it all
looks the same
up above

******************************

“The opposite for courage is not cowardice, it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.” – Jim Hightower

 

 

From my books Onionskin and Legacies (vol. 2)

 

Moongold

Image by Mike Gorton
From photo4me.com

highborn element
melts in a midnight blue sea
ennobling the dark

Heavy Weather

 

“Stormy Stormy Sea” by Larry Martin

 

 

seas wounded by winds
purpled swells bruise the moonwash
tides ache underneath

 

 

From my books Small Noise and Riverthink

 

Matters of Faith

“Sea Fog” by Elizabeth Lazeren

 

 

fog sits on my eyes
it obliterates truth
every place I can look
a miasma of gray
hides the blue of the sky
and the green of the sea
but I know they are there
the blue and the green
and the knowing makes
all of the difference

 

 

From my books Music of Scars and Legacies (vol. 1)

Tailings

“Romantic Sunset Surf”
Painting by Connie Tom
From fineartamerica.com

abandon what cannot be kept
of the valuable fraction
for two thousand years

land’s end a conceptual
folly for land never ends
it just dives on its whim
beneath oceans the real end
is water incessantly slapping
intending to renovate faith
formed of bedrock and truth
left unmarred by philosophy
leavings of sand and stone
steadfast sufficient with gravity
footfalls for passage of men
who believe in the unanswered
answers that consternate
unwilling skeptical hearts

here at water’s edge froth
oversimple convictions
cool improvisations by
affable atheists fluid of
reason in wave after wave
of procession recession
progressing regressing
yet ever so fluent of doubt
in the ebb and flow language
of moonrise and tides
foaming arguments surge
then collapse under weight
of their very creation

for two thousand years
of the valuable fraction
abandon what cannot be kept