Looking Away

Looking Away

On the farm too long I guess
Now missing the sound of wind
In tall grass and stronger in pine trees
Missing the slow sunset the orange dirt
After the trucks stop, after a rain
The smell of heavy dew at dawn
And a ruckus of birdsongs
In the city too long I guess
Those rumbling hours of day traffic
Sirens, mufflers and car stereos nightly
How I yearned for those signs of life
Looking from a farmhouse window

JM

For Boo

For Boo

I told gramdpa kitty
I'd be just fine, see
I've been in the woods.
From shadow to shine to city
I've seen the various kinds of vine
The good the bad and the deadly
Don't worry for me old man
And he purred and tried to explain
The danger and wonder
So I listened a while, though I think
He knew
And we shared a homemade moment or two

JM

Know: Ah

Know: Ah

A rainbow was a promise
This poem is prophecy
I am building without plans
One to come, home two
All to hear, three, four
Few before then after
Safety under the arc
Not yet appeared
Yet not unseen
A prophecy from between
My words to future hope;
Some water will be clean

JM

ROTC

ROTC

Is there a safe school
To send my child to
Where dealers don't push violence?
A drug that promises honor
Uniformed thugs who smile
Obvious liars
Really Obvious Terror Creators
Reeking with pride
Pretending they are a better Dad
Slimy grins and secret handshakes
Lies and bribes enticing
New adults to learn old war
Rotten to the corps
Give us safety from you

JM

Not Quite Dry

Not Quite Dry

The sun wobbles in a puddle
Close to the curb outside
Jumping in slivers on the wall
Next to my door I stand
I am not inside just now
Curving my neck to the sky
As many clouds go by and one
Near the sun and the puddle,
When I look back down, is only water
Shallow on a bed of street soot

JM

Over Sleep

Over Sleep

Before there was a day ahead
Before I got behind
The hope of every morning rising
Rested in my bed
That graceful pat of comfort
Lightly on my hair
Enough to send my dreams again
Asleep without a care

JM

Search

Search

Looking again for the middle
I must be edgy
Why is this not comfortable
Where I spend my life
Somewhere else, not edgy
Seems like what I need
And looking ceases when I see
The everywhere is here
The middle is not running

JM

Forever

Just one more thing
There is no real end. Just overriding beginnings.
This spring will be nice.
Gardening, hiking and birdwatching.
ENJOY!

Pivot

A time to leave again
A feeling of not still here
Not yet there
And this is when, right now
The sense of time is slow
The sense of space is deeper
With more details
A feeling of short, shrinking air
Returns at dreams of yonder
Or dreams of leaving behind

JM

February 8th

A pencil breaks in cold weather
My back is sore again
Unkind cold, unkindled pile,
Snow on the scrap wood
So inside is where this is
With socks under my legs and radio
Sunken like a wet log but dry
Into the cushions where soon
My legs will itch to walk outside...

Damn the wind chill
I brace into the crunching tracks
The wrinkling face of winter

JM

Travellin' Lately

Hi from me.
I've been keeping my home in a few suitcases this past month.
I left the fair city of Omaha on February 1st. The new house of hospitality there is in the capable stewardship of my Catholic Worker friends. Spent some time in Iowa City at Kitty Nation, a house with five bossy and irresistable cats.
This is my second week in New York. It's a nice change from the quiet of the midwest but I've been able to find plenty of peace and serenity right here local. I love being able to walk to shops and mini attractions. There is too much to do here and that suits me fine. I have another week before the train is scheduled to trundle myself and my good friend back to Iowa.
I have a bunch of poems but none strike me as chopready quality, whatever that is.
Happy March forth. (fourth)