Category Archives: Poetry

While Reading Ouspensky

Posted on September 27, 2011 by sputterpub

He gave a book to me to read him in, as if it were a key to see his heart, as if it were a magic talisman to treasure, that can wedge the rocks apart to plumb the reach of … Continue reading →

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Backtitled

Posted on September 23, 2011 by sputterpub

I watched a striving author try to write a novel once, a score of years ago, except his search for perfect title quite disabled him. His story wouldn’t grow until he had initiated it with words he mined, and screened, … Continue reading →

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Bureaucracy

Posted on September 20, 2011 by sputterpub

The escalator ribbons up, the while a young man keeps his place by walking down. He practices his rap and makes us smile who weren’t yet awake enough to frown. But here’s a BART announcement in the air: The disembodied … Continue reading →

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After Rain, Quakes and Slides

Posted on September 16, 2011 by sputterpub

It appears that I started this sonnet in January 1993, after two close quakes and too much rain. I remember that the second earthquake was so abrupt it shook the water out of my nightstand drinking glass but left the … Continue reading →

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Snails

Posted on September 13, 2011 by sputterpub

I posted Snail Trails on January 12, 2011. It carried a report about the morning I was the scourge of Berkeley snails. I just reviewed a sonnet I wrote about that experience. To tell the truth, I think the number … Continue reading →

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Nonsense

Posted on September 9, 2011 by sputterpub

Acceleration, in the rodent race, is treasured by electrons, fossil fuels in oxidation, more defined by pace than bullets, and as coveted as jewels. The run is competition for an end that no one known to any has acquired. I … Continue reading →

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The Collector

Posted on September 6, 2011 by sputterpub

Amazed at images of light, he must progress to oil after four pastels, advance from clay to filigree of rust in eighteen metal pours. He never sells his acquisitions; yearly he’ll adjust his wiring, add a shelf, pull walls apart. … Continue reading →

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Spider

Posted on September 2, 2011 by sputterpub

A thousand spider webs depend on eaves, enjoin the plants, embroider autumn air. September drinks the chlorophyll from leaves while I walk into webbing everywhere. A strand of stickiness across my face, resisting my impatient fidget twitch, annoying as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Critters, Poetry, Weather | 3 Comments

The View from Our Table

Posted on August 30, 2011 by sputterpub

I watched a couple dine last night, instead of paying strict attention to my host. I didn’t see the garden as I fed my eyes with her and him. They shared pot roast and dense souffle. Each drank a different … Continue reading →

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Metaphoraging

Posted on August 26, 2011 by sputterpub

Adrift I am, and starting to float free of old relationships I wouldn’t rock. I wallow from the harbor clumsily but as the distance grows between the dock and me, I find a purchase for my keel. I stretch within … Continue reading →

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