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

The Geology of Life

Walking the dry creek bed
this cool morning,
my boots stumble
upon millions of years
of geological debris.

These countless rocks
washed how far
by current and storm?

Born of fire and water,
broken by time and motion,
shale and limestone splinters
testify mutely
to the potent
anonymous forces
that shape and deposit us
on this ground
where we stand,
unsure how we arrived.

We are rocks in this stream,
our lives shaped by powers
We cannot know,
do not understand.

Creek bed, debris,
fragments, shards
and morning chill:
the ineluctable,
unknowable reality
of what is now.
- mce

A Mystery

Heroin, war,
marriage, divorce,
madness, freedom:
who knew the last
would be hardest
to survive?
- mce

The Cookie Question

When your heart
is broken repeatedly
does it become stronger
or does it just become
another crumbled cookie?
- mce

The Road Does Not Take Questions

At sixteen
I said fuck it
and ran away
from home.
Forty-one
years later,
I'm still running.
Forty-one years
still seeking
the answers
to that
wayward kid's
questions
and not
one step closer:
from what,
to what?
- mce

But This Is Hard V 2.0

"The poem reveals itself only to the ignorant man." - Wallace Stevens

Become a child again;
indulge yourself
in ignorance and wonder;
be open to paradox,
uncertainty and amazement.
Recall the very first time
you noticed fireflies
blinking out rapturous glory,
the mystery and grandeur
of that innocent instant.
Return your heart to that state
of spontaneous marvel.
The world will reveal itself,
transformed and articulate,
into small, exquisite fragments
manifested as poems,
a wholly fresh vision
of the same old universe
experienced through
the welcoming eyes
of an idiot.
- mce

Dusk on Spring Creek

Ed Abbey said
that freedom begins
between the ears.
He was right,
but the questions remain,
where does it lead,
how does it end
and can we endure
the journey?
- mce

A Simple Question

What happens
when every road
is a detour
and you are
too tired
to keep driving?
- mce

A Morning Meditation on Fire and Loons

The loonier you get,
the more you write.

The popping flames flare
in your wobbly, burning head
igniting each random word.

Your brain catches fire
and becomes a furnace.

Into it, you heap more words,
make it blaze
ever brighter, ever hotter.

Then you reach
into its glowing coals,
snatch out some
untempered syllables
and beat them
with the hammer
of your imagination.

From this raw molten stuff,
you forge the shape and form
of these poems that tell you:

you are still alive,
you are still here,
you are still you.

It is a process
as simple and complicated
as madness.
- mce

The Old Trees Preach A Sermon On The Curious Notion of Posterity

Just at dusk, when the birds settle
and the light has nearly fled,
gnarled and broken fruit trees,
weeds reaching to their hips,
covered with phosphorescent lichen,
loom in the overgrown, abandoned orchard
glowing faintly in the gathering darkness
like forgotten, malnourished ghosts.
- mce

Unexpected Blessing

It is good
to be a curmudgeon,
even better
to have been committed
at least once;
nonplussed,
the hooples
giggle nervously
and leave you
in peace.
- mce

Coming Suddenly Upon A Wal-Mart In Rural Tennessee

The real America
died at Wounded Knee
where this plastic,
shit-coated monstrosity
we now call home
was born,
appropriately,
in a hail of bullets.
- mce

An Incomplete Set Of Simple Rules For Living

Avoid interstates and airplanes
whenever possible.
Never clean your shotgun
while listening to George Jones
and drinking whiskey.
Visit between the thighs of women,
but do not become stuck there.
Remember that gold is only a color.
Consider that while drunk
is sometimes absolutely necessary,
sober has its virtues, too.
Assume that you are wrong
and you will probably be right.
Believe in birdsong and blueberries.
Know that when the chips are down
water is usually thicker than blood.
Doubt the lulling attractions
of usury and power.
If there is any way to stay clear
of marriage and war, do so.
Make your own list, take it to heart,
and never consider it finished.
- mce