5-7-5

#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