A Final Note

 1

i am a older gentleman

65 years

long pass the springtime of

my years

i headed with glee towards the floral exhibits

not knowing how long i would hold

the knowledge of the exhibitions

 

2

 

my knowledge of color and design

stronger than any

horticultural wisdom

i could muster

made the lush green grass

of the FDR park as pretty as the floral

designs that graced its ground

 

3

my hunger was as great as

any young child let loose

upon an amusement park

the many-colored flowers decorating

the gazebo

pulled me like a magnet

even though I

forgot to read the sign

and til this day

i do not know the name of

the flowers that adorned it

 

5

 

i do remember someone mentioning

something about  Frederick Olmstead

the desperate need to use plants as

an integral part of architectural design

this was in his day an aesthetic move

we did not know that such a plan

might be the only one that

might thwart climate change

and the ecological ruin

and save the planet

 

 

6

 

habitat

the word spelled out

upon  the grass

the huge flower design

the reds, oranges , greens , purples

yellows brightening with

a word i had

only thought of in reference to space

a place to build a home away

from home

a place to be put upon the moon

what i had learned in that brief moment

that habitats had to built

first here on earth

before we ever 

constructed one on Mars

 

6

we can live

we can live anywhere in the universe

as long as we take our

trusted flora with us

they can provide decoration

and sorely needed oxygen

we need physically

and psychologically

to survive

 

7

 

perhaps that’s why they had a kangaroo

made of plants there.

a mammalian symbol

of life the pouch of stuff

that keeps humanity

well fed

well clothed

and alive

 

 

                               7/11/2021

Poem 4

 

It is a beautiful

pistol

it’s a black Colt 44

with a long barrel

the cross sabers

etched upon the barrel

so well preserved

the weapons of a war

fought so long ago

the long barreled

rifle that took

so long to load

the Spencer

and the repeater

weapons used toward the end

then there was the one

that resembled

a coffee grinder

it spit out bullets with the crank of handle.

Poem for Lawrence Ferlinghetti (March 24,1919- February 22, 2021)

 

you are the poet i never met

but always admired

through the pain the rain of not

knowing the problem

of the bank account never

being strong enough to allow

one to move or travel from the east coast to the west

 i

could never meet the one who

was the one poet

 who was one of the most important

not so much for rescuing Ginsburg

and the HOWL

but for rescuing us

all

every poet in the U.S.

for we

can

say

ass, tits ,penis and genitals without fear of losing our

poetic resolve or our hope of ever being seen in print

for i remember standing holding a sign for

the end of apartheid, the end of war, and a better America

with Jesse Jackson and June Jordan and Allen Ginsburg they spoke well that day

most poets do

but poets never know the power

of their words

for they spoke

of an America

a good land

a land determined to build a

future for its people

erase the negatives of its past

rid itself and the world of racism

and

plot a future of peace

 

                   3/19/2021

 

 

 

Liberty, Equality, Sisterhood and Brotherhood

 it comes

the natural thing

it must be for humanity to survive

the move cannot be made without the inner feeling

it is the only way to correct the mistakes

a necessary form of love and agape feeling for

your fellow human being

you will love him or her like a sister or brother

you will do this not only just to live but to love

and you must have this love to live

you must have this love to be free

you must have this freedom

to be equal

 

                                                               

                                                      5/13/2021

                                                        

R.B.G.

 

when Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed

i almost became as skeptical

as Joe Stalin did

When FDR died

i thought the woman

had been poisoned

but i calmed myself

and

after reading

found that she

had succumbed to

metastatic pancreatic cancer

the coffin and service

was lovely

she lie in state

the flag draped over the coffin like Lincoln and others before her

they said she was the first Jewish person

to receive such an honor

supreme court justices serve for life

despite my obvious paranoia

people generally don’t

decide the hour

of their death

RBG was very human

and definitely no

different than most

 

a beloved

old woman

whose wisdom

will be missed

 

my problem

in all this

was a simple request

 

a dying wish

one to keep the union

whole

 

If we wait and put

politics aside

hold our election

 

vote!

 

and avoid the sword of

Damocles that disunion

and dictatorship

may bring

 

                                                          9/27/2020

                                                             

Tribute to Lucille Clifton (1936-2010) an American Poet

 

in the summer

of my years i wrote

they said someone in D.C.

might care

they had rioted there

because black oppression had

been too great

the great cities had gone up

in flames

for black men and women

have been duped about their freedom

the voice of Solomon Northrup

had risen from the grave

 

                                   5/23/2021

Uncertainty

 

 

more winter warning

and forgetfulness

and the exercise

doesn’t help the lack of sleep

causes a drain

of strength the sugar

goes down because of

the strenuous exercise

and then back up

because of the late night

soup and the over-indulgence

of nuts and crackers

that added to my uncertainty

in taking the medication

memory weakens with

age

 

                                             2/13/2021