Raindrops On American Wood

1.
A rick of wood
Suggests both charcoal
And
Spring flower buds.

You look at me
And I see
Both
American Colonists
And
Spacemen
Living on Mars.

In your eyes
I see
Past, present and future
Collapsed
Into a single
Blink.

Of American wood
The whole story Is composed.


2.
Thirty years ago
I went into the woods
Near Bonner
And sat beaming
Beneath
An ellum tree.

In Eastern Kansas
The forest then
Was the same as now
Even though now
The summer's gone.

All that
I've left there
Will soon return.


3.
Leadbetter Beach
Long walks
Beside the rolling blue water
In June
Replay in my memory
Even in December
Near Humboldt Bay.

Beach sand remains bright
And golden rays toast my skin
Warmly in the sun-burst
Of a day-dream.


4.
Young
And
Near home plate,
Gulls gather
On the lawn of
Arcata Ballpark
In December
Just before
The next big storm
Blows in.

Yes,
And often
For many a storm-tossed
Winged breast,
Arcata holds such
A
Providential
Care!


5.
When life
Looked bleak
Even the colored
Christmas lights
Cut me
Like cold steel.

I walked alone
Along the streets
Of Arcata
In late December
With nowhere to go
But further
Down.

Damn.
The lighted trees
Shone bright
But
There wasn't
Even one church
In town
With its door
Unlocked.


6.
Cold fingers
At the Holiday season
Make many a homeless man
Remember
Boyhood's Christmases
Beside some
Warm hearth fire.


7.
As historians,
Today
Let us explore
The unfortunates.

We'll all
Play baseball
And get hit by
More than spit
In the eye.

Damn.
It's as though
Christ
Walked
Out of
Holy Cross Church
Today
And saw
A whole nation
Of Blinded People.


8.
All
The formulas
And facts
I learned in school
Didn't bring me
Success in life
So I had to make
Money
Selling
Sweat
Dreams.


9.
Looking at
Billy and John
One sees two boys
Who don't appeal
To other children.

What's hip
Isn't on their minds.
Their thoughts
Are centered on
The Battle of Hastings
Or Aralia elegantissima.

A picture in an old book,
Or exotic plants in a
Local nursery
Compose wonders and thoughts
Which fill them
With rare delight.


10.
As the
Stresses in life increase,
These schizoid boys
Become even more withdrawn
Socially.

Whenever
The rich fascination
Of unusual youths
Finds no currency,
Their amazing talents
Aren't invested
In any common bank.

Run out of college years,
Such rare minds find
No safe haven
Far or near.


11.
Because their
Faces and voices
Aren't very animated,
Most people pay them
No attention
At all.

Some
People even
Hit them with
Harsh words or
With unkind
Gestures.

And where
Men celebrate
War's appeal,
The unusual men
Are hit hard with
Cold steel.


12.
Years later,
At the hospital
Many sensitive men are kept
To incubate
In a private quarter
So many rich scenes
Telling of a
Less troubled age.

The academic mainstreaming
Is over now.
The school agenda is forgotten.
And what wasn't thought
Really so important
Has become
The glorious
Main Theme.


13.
Glory be
(Come on, smile!)
To the Father
(Joke and laugh!)
And to the Son
(Relax. What's wrong with you?)
And to the Holy Spirit
(Christ! Loosen up!)
Now and
Forever-
More.
(And the new Christians
Are all feeling,
Thinking and acting
Like the old Romans.)

(contributor: John L. Waters)

---

---

Read more raindrops!

---

Home

Submit your raindrop!

TOP