MIA

Some evenings,
the voice
you don't hear
cries out
in your heart.
- mce

The Bitching Blues

Bored shitless,
pottering about the shack,
chain-smoking,
nothing compelling to read,
out of beer,
too early
to get high,
no one to talk with,
same birds and trees,
even the creek
sounds repetitive.

Oh, these mad,
unsettled days:
how they do wear.

Sometimes the desire
just to drive
until I am out
of gas and money
becomes a mania.

Contentment,
what did you say
your address was?

I'd like to visit
for a while.
- mce

Chewing The Cud Of Memory And Divorce - For Uli

Our marriage
began with laughter,
lust, hopes, plans
and the desire
to last until
death parted us.

It ended
with harsh words,
icy silences,
disdain, contempt
and flight.

Between the two
a lifetime leaked away.

Was it worth it?

This question,
and what went wrong,
will haunt me
to my death.
- mce

A Very Real Disease

Money makes men mad.

Caught in the dollar,
they lose touch
with the real values
beyond the cash nexus,
forget that love and loyalty,
friendship and honesty,
outlast worldly treasure;
forget that green
is the color
of more than currency.

They know the price,
but not the place;
the cost of living,
but not the worth.

Iniquitous Mammon,
twists the souls of men,
infecting most,
exempting few,
reducing life's joys
to the tedious,
inhuman bottom line.
- mce

Please Barmaid, Not Another Round!

So much rain.

I feel more and more
like a drenched mammal,
less and less
like a human.

And yet it continues.

Branch and creek surge,
tree leaves drip tears,
blueberries burst,
everywhere sticky mud.

The earth cannot
absorb this
this fluid bounty,
precious and necessary,
but too much,
too quickly.

As with life's often
painful torrents,
this would be easier
to sip than gulp.

And yet,
we are bound
to drink up
all we are served.
- mce

The View From The Dump Truck

The beauty
of high summer
just past its apogee.

Iron weed, bull thistle,
chicory, goldenrod.

Fields mown earlier,
left alone since,
restore themselves
to abundant,
tenacious life.

This moment explodes,
ripe and fecund,
warm and verdant,
green and glowing.

Yet, even now,
autumn whispers
its soft hello
as winter,
just behind,
looks upon the scene,
patiently waiting.

Seasons upon seasons,
change and renewal,
never ending.
-mce

For My Son, As His World Changes

"Courage is the virtue upon which all other virtues depend." - Socrates

The world consists
of daily fire fights
and constant skirmishes.

Beginning
and beginning anew
require the most personal
type of valor.

Loss and change
can drain
even a hero's spirit.

Just showing up for life
sometimes demands
more courage
than you think
you can muster.

Look within.

To be a man
demands a warrior's heart.

I know there is one
beating in your chest.

Listen to it.
- mce

A Moment's Decision

Sometimes
the dice
simply cry out
to be rolled:
pass them bones
over, God;
baby needs
a new pair
of shoes.

_ mce

One More Princess Poem

I peered into the dark moat
surrounding your heart,
no bridge in sight,
recognized the danger
and leaped in anyway
hoping to swim safely across.
Only you can know
what happened next.
- mce

The Nocturnal Predator

Loneliness
came hunting
last night.

Carefully, it stalked my cabin,
searching every black corner,
knowing it would find me
awake and solitary in the darkness.

It did.

- mce

Post-Coital Tristesse

If, in the afterglow of passion,
we two, spent and glistening,
cannot fall back and gaze
into our best friend's eyes,
what do we really have?
- mce

The Y Chromosome Decoded

Should women
truly learn
men's hearts,
convents
would flourish.
- mce

Invocation And Entreaty

Sing, Muse,
the broken dreams
of an aging man.
Even in my ruin,
lend me your voice.
So much yet to say
in these waning days.
Share with me
the divine fire
of inspiration
that I might breathe
a few final words
before I must move on.
Sing, Muse,
do not abandon me yet:
let your songs be mine
a little while longer.
- mce

Old Man, Early Morning

The older I get, the more difficult
each awakening morning.
Tired and achy,
dazed and wondering,
another day arrives
on the heels of nightmares,
fragmented dreams,
disturbing visions.
Sleep, I know, however fitful,
but oh, Sweet Lady Repose,
will you ever visit my bed again?
- mce

Enjoying My Winnings

The unexpected sound
of creek water flowing
in the still of morning;
better by far
than winning the lottery
or, maybe,
in a sense,
the same thing.
- mce

Alienation

If you don't know
your watershed,
the names
of local trees
and plants,
who grows
what you eat,
where your
waste goes,
and what
generates
your electricity,
how do you know
where you are,
much less
who you are?
We are local
or we are nothing
at all.
- mce

The Great Misreading

"Dominion over all the earth..."

This was a gift granted
that we might,
through nurture and husbandry,
earn our way back to Eden,
never a command
to ravish
and ruin the earth
for profit and ease.

When a god
kindly provides you
a fresh creation
and a second chance,
be aware that
the work of your hands
engenders providence.

What you make of it,
you make of yourself.
- mce

Job/Work: The Contrast V 2.0

Leaving this valley
to make some money.

The cacophony of toil
in the wider world:
air break blast,
traffic blare,
hydraulic whine,
compressor knock.

Ears and heart assaulted
by the necessary noise
of getting things done.

But later, back
in the patch,
blueberries
repose in stillness,
fat, indigo droplets
awaiting the touch
of my gathering hands.

At most, the earth sighs,
the breeze whispers,
the birds intone
songs ever fresh.

Real work
without din
or commotion.

The perfect blend
of effort and silence;
meditation, not drudgery,
quiet and complete;
the healing consolation
of honest sweat
and human doing.

This is possible;
this is nearby.

Blessed relief.
- mce

Petition

Come to me, love.

Put your body in my hands;
let your heart snuggle in mine.
Be the voice in my throat,
my warmth against the chill.

Together holds delights
solitary cannot imagine.

Let us sing, love, a duet
sweet as this morning bird song,
notes intertwined, filling
the day's freshness with harmony.

Only trust, love, and let the music begin.

We will teach each other songs
unimaginable alone.

Only sing with me, love.

All of this and more awaits.

Shooting Craps Or Karma?

Once, desperate
for freedom
I quit the game,
walked out the door
and didn't look back.

Now, reduced to a car full
of basic belongings
and a little cash on hand,
I have accomplished
the bare minimum
I thought must suffice.

No woman,
no kids,
no mortgage,
no boss,
no chains.

Fine.

But in the marrow
of emancipation,
something stirs.

The needs
for community,
companionship
and home
tug at my heart's
hard won, but
lonely freedom.

Somewhere,
the road must end.

Somewhere,
the end
must become
a beginning.

Perhaps
it comes down
to making
a choice.

Could this be
the time
and the place?

Only one way
to know:

shake them bones;
roll them dice;
get back
in the game;
take a chance.
- mce

4:30 Am Darkness

Why do I
always wake up
exactly where I am,
uncertain where
exactly that is?
- mce

A Morning Visitor At LZ Serenity

Blueberry Bhikkhu

Picking berries
for a buck and a half
a pound;

scuffling
for minimum wage
day jobs;

selling my shit
on Ebay
to make the rent:

the amazing
creativity
and hustle
involved in
just being poor.

Step outside
the hoople
safety net
and you notice
the details;
you scour
each moment
for every dollar.

Want bites
and makes you
pay attention.


Rich folks
must spend
large amounts
on Birkenstocks
and mindfulness
seminars.

I just wake up,
and wake up:

a mendicant monk
in a hungry world.
- mce

Kindle Prices Reduced - Ned Ludd Responds...

Dear Sirs:

Send me no more offers
for your unnecessary, $300,
bullshit electronic gadget.

Nothing fits the hands and heart
better than the heft
of a printed and bound book.

Nothing ever will.

Contemptuously,
Ned.

- mce

Not In War Only

Times show up in life
when a man must decide
to face the fire or to flee.

They have visited me before
with fabulously mixed results.

Now again I hear,
if only in imagination,
the sound of bullets,
the whine of shrapnel,
the drone of rotors,
whispering to me:

Your life; your choice;
stand your ground
or run away.

May my heart choose wisely.
- mce

Fatherhood

Not an easy thing
to be the father of sons.

Inevitably, you must
disappoint them;
inevitably, they must
turn away from you.

Embrace the necessity
of this distancing.

Do not become
an impediment
to the world
they must inherit,
the world that
you can never know.

Be joyful.

Trust that what
you have planted
will flourish
beyond your reach.

Dream the futures
you will never see.
- mce

The Magic of Vaccinium Corymbosum

Sunshine slowly warms
my aching, Yankee neck.

Disappointments
and failures slip
far away, seem vague.

Stretch, touch, pluck,
gather and enjoy.

Experience enchantment
in a handful of blueberries.

Nature's healing charms,
cast widely, within reach,
available for the picking.
- mce

"Not Universal Love, But To Be Loved Alone."

Be my lover
and I will bring you
blueberries and love songs,
smiles and sunshine.

Let the mad world
spin violently
out of control
as it always has,
as it always will.

Blueberries and love songs,
smiles and sunshine;
respite within chaos.

Only take my hand, love:
no better life is possible.
- mce

Be Here Now

An unexpected chill
kisses this soft, July morning:
a delectable shiver arouses
my still sleepy body.

The world delights
in providing tiny,
precious surprises,
if only we notice,
and appreciate.

Awakening involves more
than simply getting out of bed.
- mce

No Need To Kiss More Frogs

When you reach
that unexpected point
where you understand
that no magical person
will be showing up
to save you,
life suddenly becomes
very interesting,
indeed.
- mce

Simple Gifts - for Steve and Nadine

A few beers,
good friends,
shared food
and conversation.
These little things
provide shelter
from the storm.
These little things
are not so little
at all.
- mce

Spring Creek Surprise

The rushing sound
of creek water
punctuates the quiet
of morning:
God murmurs ecstasy.
- mce

I'll Be Ready In A Minute...

A night of storms,
thunder, lightening,
downpours.
Woke to four feet
of water racing down
the creek bed
dry for over a month.
Nature: a woman
who changes her clothes
and her mind
in a minute.
Treat her like a wife;
tell her she looks fine;
stay out of her way.
- mce

Walking In Tennessee, Remembering Greece

Frost heave,
water wash,
root pull:
implacable forces
of nature,
ever patient,
never sleeping.

This WPA erosion wall
built of heavy,
hand-placed stone,
not seventy years old,
now crumbling.

Knossos, Mycenae, Troy:
what remains
but rock, roots,
ruins and rubble?

Ever striving,
we imagine
ourselves the masters
of what we touch.

We craft the world,
mark it grandly
with great skill,
shape it
to our design,
but only for awhile.

No matter the effort,
our best creations
devolve to
random heaps
of broken masonry
trod upon
by clueless tourists.

In the end,
only the earth abides.
- mce

(Click on the above photo to see it full sized.)

An Eternal Question Regarding Progeny

Children: why do they arrive
with such a huge price tag,
but no instruction manual?
- mce

The Erotica Of Awakening

Morning elegance:
birdsong and sunlight
radiate potential;
this bright day
renews an offering
of hope and desire.

I don't deserve it;
no one does.

A bird does not
deserve the sky;
a tree does not
deserve the earth.

Existence, God,
fate and people,
owe us nothing.

No matter that
I am a flawed man,
an impure concoction
of good and evil
stumbling like a drunk
through this tainted,
gorgeous garden
of Creation.

I will take life
into my arms like a lover
for as long
as she will have me,
caress her, whisper to her,
embrace her, enter her,
cleave unto her,
penetrate her mysteries
with all the energy
I can muster.

And when
we are both spent,
our ephemeral coupling
inevitably over,
the climax of being
finally reached,
I will die satisfied,
breathlessly content,
thankful to have been
simply a man,
simply in the world.
- mce

No Saints, No Monsters - for RME

Life is not
a black and white
photograph.

At our best,
we are never
innocent;
at our worst,
never guilty.

Reality comprises
infinite shades
of gray.

Fumbling through
the fog of life,
we hurt
and are hurt
in turn,
love and are
loved in turn.

Neither feels
from inside
as it appears
from outside.

You can never know
another man's blues,
never feel
another man's pain.

Accept that.

Be slow to judge,
hope your sins
are forgiven,
forgive those
who have sinned
against you.

If you wish to be human,
there is no other choice.

Compassion, that most
demanding virtue:
absolutely difficult,
equally necessary.

Practice, fail, continue.

There is no other life.
-mce

Humility

"Say it plainly, the human name doesn't mean shit to a tree." - G.S.

Stumbling the rocky falls path,
two large trees,
hickory and sycamore,
fallen to the last thunderstorm.

Soil and stones
festoon their naked roots;
leaves still fresh,
green, not wilted.

I clamber over and continue.

Now an obstacle,
in the cool of autumn
we will return
with chain saws, axes,
cut and carry this wood,
transform it into heat
for winter.

Walking, falling, cutting, burning:
all magical steps
in the inescapable process
of age, death, decay and rebirth.

The earth provides
and points the way.

We do what must be done,
following her lead,
taking our place,
in the process,
not so different
from grubs or termites
as we might like
to imagine.
- mce

Near Life Experience

On Tuesday I drove near
my ex-wife's house
for the first time
in almost three years.
At just that moment,
in just that place,
my car's clutch blew up.
Curse or coincidence?
Spooky to think about.
Hard to say.
- mce

Caveat Emptor

Do not mistake
the poems for the poet.

The exquisite grace
of a panther
stalking the jungle
in blackest night
renders it
not one iota
less dangerous.

Enjoy my words
at a safe distance.

Never, dear reader,
confuse the words
with the man.
- mce

Hejira

Interstate or airport,
every journey leads home.

Odysseus sailed to Troy
and discovered Ithaca.
Ahab found domicile
in the mouth of a whale.

All roads lead back
to the self;
no other destination exists.

Arm yourself, pack, go;
you cannot get further
than who you are.

Welcome home.
- mce

The View From LZ Serenity's Rear Deck

Looking Forward

What is the smell
of yesterday,
the color of pain,
the taste of love?
How many blueberries
in a second?
Are women
really human?
Does death
make a sound?
Are cats truly smart
or just pretending?
Will those I've
loved and hurt
ever forgive me?
So many questions
to answer
before I can depart.
- mce

Aphorism

The ultimate arrogance:
believing you can live a life
without consequences.
- mce

A Short Comment On Patriotic Holidays

At once
the great strength
and likely tragedy
of America:
stubbornly
and sincerely
believing,
against
so much evidence
to the contrary,
in the home
of the brave
and the land
of the free.
- mce

A Pickle Poem

The threat of death
makes a wondrous
condiment.

Eighteen months ago
my dolorous doctor
announced that my liver
might have
but three to five years
left on it.

Time passes.

Now I notice that
birds sing louder,
trees grow greener,
and strangers
smile more.

Every day,
a present
to unwrap.

Thank you, Doc,
for shaking that
unexpected spice
onto my life.

The closer
to the end,
the more alive
I feel.

- mce

Ode to Chiggers

Chiggers: a truly
southern-fried
pain in the ass.
Invisible;
inescapable;
inevitable.
Still,
the torment
of this
constant itching
reminds me
that beauty
always comes
at a price.

- mce

Picking The Patch On A Grey Day

Blueberries:
a double whammy
of delight.

Lovely
to look upon;
delicious
to taste.

How these little,
indigo globules
manage not
to explode
from goodness
astounds me.

One more
curious mystery
to ponder.

- mce

A Sunday Prayer

Another new day, God.

Make me large enough
-like Buddha, like Jesus -
to accept and overcome
the wrongs done me,
the wrongs I have done.

Help me to rise above
the shallow selfishness
of my mortal concerns.

Grant me the courage
and the compassion
to be a better man.

The time is short, God,
but the road is long.

Directions are welcome.

- mce

Preparing For A Journey

I have forgotten
what it is like
not to travel alone.

No big deal,
just another
lonesome highway
leading back to myself;
just another reminder
of how long
and inevitable
and solitary
our journey must be.

Get gas. Add some oil.
Check the tires.

Life is an Interstate;
death, the only exit.

Keep your foot
on the gas.

Pay attention.

Drive.

- mce

Why It Is A Wonderful Or Terrible Thing To Be A Poet

When you write it down,
you relive it.
- mce

Mykonos - for H.M.

"Memory is a kind of accomplishment." - William Carlos Williams

Forty years later
I still see you
standing on that
dazzling Greek beach
wearing nothing
but your bikini bottoms
and an innocent grin.
A vision like that
can last a man
a lifetime.
Where are you now
smiling Venus?
- mce

A Question Of Risk

If every door
was a portal
leading
not to a room,
but a new world,
would you
hold my hand
and cross over
with me?
- mce

A Kind Of Immortality

If death should
turn out to be
complete unto itself,
it is enough
that my mortal body
rot to humus
and nourish the fruit
that are yet to come.
- mce

Blueberry Madness!

Another Princess Poem

Only what is worth losing
is worth reaching for.
- mce

One Small Step For A Man

Sunlight, rain,
mist or rainbows;
walking out
on my deck
each morning
opens up
a fresh glimpse
of Eden,
the possibility
of a world reborn.
- mce

Optimism

Place your hand
inside my chest
and touch my heart.
It beats
for the possibility
of you alone.
- mce

Olfactory Orgasm

The simple smell
of new mown hay
on a cool, dry morning:
ambrosia for the nose!
- mce

The "Show Up For Life" Poem

Remember:
the chance
you won't take
is the life
you won't live.

Pull on your boots.
Be open
to possibility.
Saunter forth.

Trust God
and curiosity
to manage the rest.
- mce