Words that speak of justice, that work towards peace,
that give hope lifts all of us and we are then truly human.
awakening
when i hear words like this
there appears to be new texture
even bird song seems elevated
when i hear words like these
it occurs to me the dawn has an aureate glow
that the ocean sings in celebration
a heart on mute beats again
on pause wings again
from heart to heart like music in a round
into every dark corner like sparrows in a thorn bush
people will feel the chalice of humanity again
that is their gift to the world
Fire on Water is the first section in my new poetry book of the same title.
The first poem I dedicated to Michael .
The first photo is of our wedding day Saturday 24th September 1973.
The second photo is breakfast Saturday 24th September 2018 45th Anniversary.
forever
for Michael
caught by the gossamer of the moment
wrapped in seductive arms
we yarned and sang ate marshmallows
danced soaked in laughing rains and played
with rainbows frolicked naked in the sea
loved setting suns drank wine to the moon
thought this is forever
see on a lonely stretch of water
a wind choreographed dance
of black swans
noble stance
elegant moves
they dabble in brackish shallows
close in amongst the reeds
was it a shifty wind
that blew them in
was it the algae and duckweed
that`lured them
rare on this side of the lake
they dip their red beaks
then their long curved necks
like question marks
lift and stretch
sometimes not so elegantly
they up-end
bottoms in the air
black tutus flounced
some lift off fleetingly
with a wonk wonk wonk
running on water across the lake
their wide white-tipped black wings
bellow-beat the water
and with a whistling sound
like ballerinas glide back
how I’d like to get closer
even for a moment
let them know I am their friend
they are aware of me
and with each of my forward steps
they languidly glide further out
with dawn
into my view
on the wing of the ocean breeze
up-wind riding
came an air-faring mariner
wingspan in full command
on the lightness of air
with tail fluting ripples of gold
a frisson of dawn-light
shimmering
it hovered like a sky-cheetah
in search of its prey
and held me
then away on air currents it soared
leaving me lead-footed
in wet sand
there is nothing poetic here
a language I cannot understand
faces I cannot read
ways I do not comprehend
only the cicadas I know
yet even their stinging ring
is alien to my ear.
Tokyo, Japan – The bustling Tsukiji Market, is the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. Although best known for its seafood, the market also sells vegetables, fruit, beef and poultry and sweets and sweets and sweets. It handles more than 400 different types of seafood and employes more than 60,000 people. Together with two other Tokyo wholesale markets Tsukiji Market handles an incredible 675,000 tons of marine products a year.
tokyo markets
1
jammed with strolling locals
baskets and bags knocking and nodding
bustling shoulder to shoulder
the markets absorb
and huddle the people
here it’s about the splurge of living
here life pulsates
under swaying red lanterns
a lively buzz and brackish tang
lures me
to a cool sea-wash briny world
octopus tuna and sword fish
on rock salt and ice
eyes stare blankly
lobsters tap panic-like the glass of the tank
mackerel beat their tails in a shallow dish
crabs crawl and clamour over each other
a gasping fish with throbbing gills
waits on a sacrificial wet grey-scale altar
deep guttural cries of skilled hands
in wet galoshes and plastic caps
tout their wares sharpening their knives
a willow of a boy in the corner
with kokoro and pride in his stance
chants a mantra to buy his shrimp
his shrill soprano voice
in harmony with the rhythm of the sea
catches me as water sloshes underfoot
2
vendors flaunt boxes of sweets
their chants like a rehearsed choir
blend in harmony
pasted deep red azuki beans
coloured in chestnut hydrangea blue
cherry blossom peach and grape
are jellied and displayed to allure
the pied pipers of the food markets
in coloured caps cry out oishi oishi
and woo with samples on bamboo toothpicks
from sizzling pans and hot plates
crisp aromas that waft
crowds swarm like bees to a hive
at displays of tempura teriyaki sushi and soba
each on a bed of fringed green plastic leaves
i am immersed in the chaos of humanity
and feel at home
kokoro: with heart feeling energy
oishi: delicious
azuki beans: red skinned sweet beans, basis of most japanese sweets
