Trees & Flowers

Roses

Because I do not know
what a hendecasyllable is
and words is all I have
to transubstantiate and give,
within me I hunger for a tongue
of my own, unpronounceable
flavors worth a thousand madeleines
(Monsieur P.) as hunting-horns spiral
through my belly and I say:
Schmorrn muis kneidl tirschtlan
guglhupf schluzza friggl prennsuppe
hoadana kneidl hoadanO plente
schaitohaufn kiochlan unt niggilan
faignkaffe kropfn unt Töpfnudl
so rich so good and tasty the speck
smoked wurscht and roast chestnuts

Lemon Tree

A tree that grew in the Garden of Eden
a tree of innocence called
the Tree of Good and Evil. It was harmless

as opposites are in balance. It was also
tasteless,
the taste of innocence before it is betrayed.
When God removed the wall

he gave the lemon thorns and bitterness because it had
no hostility.
It is a taste we want most to subdue. It asks
to be left alone.
We use it with fish and tea. We sugar it.

Haiku Journey

i. Spring

the tips of each pine
the spikes of telephone poles
hold gathering crows

may’ s errant mustard
spreads wild across paved road
look both ways

roadside treble cleft
feeding gopher, paws to mouth
cheeks puffed with music

yesterday’ s spring wind
ruffling the grey tips of fur
rabbit dandelion

ii. Summer

turkey vulture feeds
mechanical as a red oil rig
head rocks down up down

Sanoe

Listen, Sanoe
Dewy lehua bud
Here I am
Waiting for your voice.

The answer comes
I am satisfied
Softly, sweetheart
You excite my whole being.

My body is waiting
Waiting there in yearning belief
How are we to fulfill
The desire of our thoughts?

Calling to you, my water lily
Budding for the two of us
Here close by is a compliment
The manu comes to deliver.

The Queen is listening
The aroma of the scents comes together
Mixes and rises upward
So similar, so alike.

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