POEM - Baby Mangoes and Cotton Trees

The corner market
Was not on the corner
Perched against the shore
The backwater thoroughfare before it
Acres of rice paddies behind
Lush green endless and beautiful
The narrow embankment a tranquil hub
Advertising juice and seafood
Ensconced in mango trees
The diminutive green undeveloped fruits
Just within reach
Provided a tart green treat
Dabbed with salt
Eaten whole
The impossibility of the adult seed
Forgotten in these immature replicas

The next shore in the journey
Had its own unique trees
And it took a while to understand
Certain of some misunderstanding
Certain that cotton doesn't grow on trees
At least not back home
Must be a mistake because we have only a bush
But soon it was evident
This was not something lost in translation
The intrinsic support confirmed
This was also a source for cotton
With its massive green pods
And the silky soft fiber exposed a revelation
Verification of a newly learned truth

Every day a new something learned
Afloat in a strange land
A slower peaceful land
Of trees of wonder
And backwater cruises
Sun setting amid a humid mist
Smiling faces chew thoughtful
On the warmth of fried bananas
The sweet embodiment
Of the delectable day

POEM - Sips of Soda Water

Twisting in the missing in between of times

Fostering solemn deepening thoughts

Betwixt sips of soda water and lime

The ineffable mysteries bubble and churn

It is this way when we let the moments gather 

Potential energy of fantastic possibilities 

And it forces a daydream 

Wandering thought

A doodle in the margins

A page filled with practice scribbling

Demonstrating contenders for a new way

Of writing the letter ‘A’

For when I am undercover

Spying on the other guys

A perfect chameleon 

Or just closed eyes

Remembering unsuccessfully 

Just exactly how the ocean breezes

Coming off the Pacific 

In late spring visits to California

Felt just so

As they danced across my sun kissed cheeks

Saturated in ocean fragrances

With hints of seaside eateries

In intoxicatingly anesthetic perfection

Teasing out impossible thoughts

Alluring sirens song

Calling me to forget 

Lay here endlessly in sandy Eden

And abandon all pressing matters

Become still as driftwood

Knurled and smooth

Then high tide laps across me

Bumped and knocked

Slowly ocean bound

To drift aimlessly 

Rolling and churning

Sometimes tossed on another shore

Other times dragged back into the fray

Never to act

Only an interesting result

Of wind and water and sand and sun and time

And all of it caught

Between the briefest of thoughts 

An eternity of results

Bubbles in soda 

Slipped slowly 

With just a hint of lime

POEM - You Can Quote Me

Whenever I draw my mouth like this
Give a look like this
And drop some sassy knowledge
About the latest gossip
Buddy gets some props
A parenthetical quote
In physical comedy form

And when I get into a discussion
Deep and philosophical
With a random stranger
I hear Fletcher’s voice
Mirror his action
Play the game he taught me

My inner salesman
With the winning charm
And engaging small talk
That person I call Barz

When I am kind and I listen
Think about my actions
About others first
And the happiness of the less fortunate
I am Linda all the way

When I do what I should
And I look at the situation
Think before I act
Keep a cool, even head
And act with maturity
I am Merv for a few minutes or more

And sometimes I am lunatic
And odd and queer and peculiar
A frustrating cunnundrum
Of blurring contradictions
Where I take all of the quoted personalities
Throw them in a metaphysical blender
And pour out a tall drink of me
A little bit of everything
Rearranged and adapted
In a mostly awkward way
Writing my story
Borrowing heavily
From past matters
Many footnotes
A large and growing works cited
Forward yet to be assigned
Dedicated to my lovely wife
Who put up with me all these years
And to all the people along the way
Who didn’t trip me up
But lent a hand
Gave me an ingredient
Became a part of the whole