I am writing
“Mark!”
frantically writing
“MArk!”
desperate to record
these fragile thoughts
“MARK!”
done. Back in bed,
she says,
“I thought aliens had abducted you.”
How can I hope
to be so imaginative? mjh
24Feb97
Listen to Merri! (22 seconds)
This poem is yet another true story.
We’ve been together 31 years (in October) and married 21 (in May). She is my muse and my best friend (cliché though that may be).
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)
I no longer support efforts to restore the lobo to its rightful habitat in the wildlands of New Mexico. Yes, the blood-thirsty, cold-hearted sons-of-bitches can have their way, just like well-armed babies. Yes, the late-comers who claim they own all public lands can deny the majority its will. Yes, a small number of cowardly dimwits can determine the fate of the ecosystem.
Now and then, ugly, stupid, mean, and wrong triumph. I’m tired of the slaughter of decent animals by indecent ones.
Does the Albuquerque Journal let political bias write headlines on the Business Page?
Buffet Rule in Play Already
Economists Call It The ‘Stupid Rule’
"The Buffett Rule, amongst economists, could also be called the stupid rule," said Kevin Hassett, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington group that supports free enterprise.
Did you see that "could" in a quote from a guy who isn’t an economist but works at at a leading Conservative "think" tank? You can hear the sniff as our senior fellow says amongst.
Still don’t think abqjournal is playing politics? Here’s the original Bloomberg News (by Richard Rubin) heading:
Top Earners Pay Higher Tax Rate Without Buffett Rule
Stupid abqjournal.
The coyotes
celebrated New Year’s Eve
down by
the frozen lake.
Their singing
at midnight
woke us
from a deep sleep
snug in our tent
piled high
with bags, blankets, and clothes.
I’ve never heard
so devilish a song
so demented an
Auld Lang Syne.
Just when you feared
they might devour us,
the coyotes drove off
in their red minivan
with the bumper sticker that read
“Eat More Sheep” mjh
Listen to Cold Lang Syne (28 seconds)
Of course, there’s a story to go with this…..
It was 12/31/94. We drove from Albuquerque to San Francisco to visit my brother and sister-in-law. Little did we realize that every federal property would be closed by the Gingrinch that stole Xmas during the first Shutdown.
We drove across the Sierras for the first time, convertible top down, newly patched radiator, heater full blast, snow 6 feet deep on either side of the road. That night we camped in a closed campground in sight of a ski resort across a beautiful lake. We built a nest of clothes, etc. And the coyotes did wake us. Too cold to get paper and pen, I repeated a line over and over in my head, hoping to recall it the next day. mjh
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)
A mile or two away
above the timberline
sheep spilled single-file
across a meadow
and pooled at a low point.
“If we can see them,” you asked,
“can’t the coyotes?”
At that moment,
we met the strangers
man and woman —
so familiar
so good looking
so foreign.
I know now
they were really coyotes
having a joke with
how easy it is
to be human.
How do I know?
Perhaps it was
the calm way they looked at us.
Perhaps it was
the way they fell on the currant bush
devouring berries.
Perhaps it was
all the wool they wore. mjh
08-25-1995
Listen to Graze (36 seconds)
There may be something fitting in the concurrence of the start of National Poetry Month and April Fool’s Day — something in this poem, as well. This poem is the first I remember writing while camping with Merri, many years ago, along South Mineral Creek, in Colorado. mjh
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)
In this dry year,
the cottonwood leaves linger
late in December.
They rattle
a parched prayer
or poem, perhaps.
Whispering, “rain,”
they stay long past
their fellows fallen
into mulch in the gutter.
Whispering, “rain,”
they cling to their post
on sacred duty.
Whispering, “rain,”
they cannot let go
as clouds gather.
Whispering, “rain,”
they will not drop
until they are answered.
Whispering, “Rain!”
mjh
12/16/02
Listen to Whispering, “Rain!” (35 seconds)
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)
