#1

 

feathers on the breeze

soaring above the seas with

ease to foreign lands

 

#2

 

she calls from afar

an angel’s voice in my ears

gentle muse come back

 

 

#3

 

two high curbs to cross

for an old veteran man

two broke legs, big heart

 

#4

 

He talked about age

He said it was what ails him

that and the old war

 

#5

 

plane crash in Japan

nineteen fifty three, the draft

chills a drunk Diné

 

#6

 

his aunt spoke English

she spoke to him in his tongue

that is Navajo

 

#7

 

he was mad when he

found out she spoke English good

he now knows his aunt

#8

 

he spoke English well

learned it in Indian school

all braves spoke English

 

#9

 

he learned Navajo

in a Texas Army school

when it was useful

#10

he learned Navajo

to become a Code Talker

not to please his aunt

#11

 

the raven watched us

meet in the gravel between

two high curbs to cross

 

#12

 

a walker rolls slow

in deep gravel real real slow

as the sun gets low

 

#13

 

five drunk humanoids

stagger through the gravel deep

the old man looked down

 

#14

 

the drink stops the pain

makes you want to take a dog

or ask for money

#15

kids laugh in the hall

walls in motel six are thin

after three days here

#16

empty walls of tan

lines of lighter tan between

the big black t.v.

#17

two high curbs to cross

we stood on the gravel there

six legs says he soars

#18

I regurgitate

the memories as I go

so much more to say

#19

pounding feet above

on the ceiling or the floor

children dance heavy

#20

I wrote a song to

to the joyful beating feet

it sounds like this one

#21

how could I complain

steal the joy from under them

churning over silence

#22

unencumbered flight

is not allowed here in earth’s

magnetic embrace

#23

depression is in

America is crippled

focus on the love

#24

locked in houses

watching the bad news unfold

turn it off right now

#25

back in the village

twelve years ago i lived there

in that old brick house

#26

uplift consciousness

connect the shimmering lights

scattered and dying

#27

sitting still is good

so is sweeping wooden floors

and doing dishes

#28

without everything

we would have nothing at all

that would not be fun

#29

 

change the story now

it’s the only time we have

it’s neverending

 

#30

 

work gets done by men

cigarettes hang in pursed lips

nails get filled with dirt

#31

she is merciful

she listens quietly and waits

wind takes her away

#32

these poems are for her

she inspired me to write them

she reads now she knows

#33

she knows i love her

no less than i did that day

when I heard her shoes

#34

this invitation

to live and let go be free

made me sad again

#35

tonight I thought once

a hundred poems is a lot

of sadness to write

#36

the prettiest bird sang

today in the sawed up wood

hiding from the rain

#37

she felt my sadness

she opened her wings for me

she sang soft and pure

#38

immersed in music

liquid lights with Bassnectar

pleasure in my veins

#39

stranded on the road

albuquerque took me in

made me feel at home

#40

i stayed for five days

waiting on the Pretty Lights

with some new old friends

#41

she is my mirror

crouching in the strong wind

in some far off land

#42

collective thinking

harmonious progression

evolving at last

#43

closing off our hearts

caused these ailments here on earth

open up for peace

#44

moving west to east

the artist old man winter

working with snowflakes

#45

a sharecroppers dream

two sun rises everyday

some food and warm clothes

#46

just enough money

to eat for a day or two

after bills are paid

#47

the first drops of rain

make loud clear crisp smacks on tin

wetting the surface

#48

submersing young plants

in a toxic neem oil bath

prevents bugs and mold

#49

circular structures

split the violent gusts of wind

produced in strong storms

#50

the ocean’s center

a place that is hard to find

always in motion

#51

a blank canvas

bent around a plastic frame

reveals nothing yet

#52

solitude sinks in

deep down to the core of self

nothing left but joy

#53

withdraw in winter

to analyze the inside

fix the holes and cracks

#54

take a dip and float

fancifully on funk from

The New Mastersounds

#55

lovely rainbow locks

low down in the dirty yurt

will we meet again

#56

ganja concentrate

some people call it hashish

makes me think a lot

#57

breaking the habit

modify cells one by one

renewal is slow

#58

drove ten thousand miles

over forty days and nights

some days i sat still

#59

food is medicine

one morsel generates life

combat scarcity

#60

the look in his eyes

bewildering hunger pains

flopped on the sidewalk

#61

tonight is the night

the supermoon equinox

synchronize the clocks

#62

flower farmers fuel

conscientious explosions

of freed emotions

#63

food farmers provide

nutrients and vitamins

vital to our lives

#64

only two roads in

one road covered by a slide

one road is holey

#65

i see stars above

shining brightly on us all

cohesive thinking

#66

the frogs say thank you

when i turn on propane heat

in the steel frame hoop

#67

coyote on watch

ear deep in the tall dry grass

the trickster crouches

#68

fire is our old friend

thousands of years passing by

warming humans up

#69

lost ocean in fog

wavering across the ridge

feeling for the shore

‎#70

radioactive
tears pounding on the rooftop
“no need to worry”

#71

rest easy dayglow
child the days are getting warm
live out your half life

#72

Yonder Mountain Strings

play Eureka theatre

we burned down inside

#73

historic hotel

five Presidents stayed inside

wonder how they slept

#74

Soulive and Lettuce

smooth riffery with good bounce

the horns blew me home

#75

the war is over

Osama Bin Laden killed

celebrate Murder

#76

oh why did Tang die

astronautical delight

sunshine in a can

#77

deaf and pissing dog

sleeping on the wooden floor

humbled by old age

#78

strategically

placed symbols made out of light

represent my thoughts

#79

naps in the garden

rejuvenate the body

after morning chores

#80

diffused by the fog

muted colors of sunset

pale green refraction

#81

she brought me coffee

traditional eastern pants

drama and romance

#82

loving illusion

blowing smoke spreading honey

she wanted money

#83

Jesus died for us

Jesus died for Judas too

now that is true love

#84

wide open pages

my soul laid down upon them

read my emotions

#85

uprooted to roam

with permission from myself

to go see and learn

#86

American made goods

are hard to find in the stores

one must search and search

#87

American made words

are freely passed between us

prepaid with dried blood

#88

futures are built

from ideas and culture

working together

#89

futures come to us

past consequence our burden

we can start fresh now

#90

action or non action

the only choice we must make

things always work out

#91

see act balancing

before the iris opens

it buds and grows up

#92

healing wounds take time

causing further injury

slows healing down more

#93

lift each other up

do not tear each other down

stubbornness divides

#94

life is hard enough

plants search for water with roots

animals have legs

#95

war creates chaos

wasting time and resources

people starve and bleed

#96

stop and take a look

what do you see around you

does it bring you peace

#97

needlepoint focus

is required to wrangle in

unraveled heart strings

#98

intentional life

the one we choose to begin

defy circumstance

#99

the divine within

animate inanimate

projecting outward

#100

warm willing able

bodies needed to suffer

for commerce and war

#101

seeking peace with you

that is all I want to do

now and hereafter

 

 

Wylder Chase  2010-11