blizzard

snow screams swept sideways
curled drifts cocoon detail
chrome white impasto clogs wonder
sound sight touch leaden deaden
muffled homogeneous numb
retreat stay nestle succumb
we prayed all summer and fall for this

[podcast]http://riverwriter.ca/podcast/blizzard.mp3[/podcast]

Posted in Poetry, scapes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

baritime

Take apart a barbershop chord:
hear those singers croon and moan;
craft the harmonies we adore:
Lead, Tenor, Bass and Baritone.

Lead is the singer who sings the tune
sweetly, gently long and true

Tenor is the one who adds the sparkle:
right at the top where the birdies warble.

Bass is the basis for the masculine sound:
plants his feet on solid ground.

Then we come to the Baritone:
Bari notes can make you feel stoned.

Let me explain before you get mad:
Baris get the notes the other guys need.
Baritone notes are kind of sad:
the Bari part sounds like a crow on weed.

Barbershoppers tell an old joke:
it’s about Baris and it goes like this:
if you sing Bari there’s something broke;
garbage notes are a Bari’s bliss.

Yes, I sing Bari, and I have found
bari is the part that makes the rest ring
when you sing Bari you hear the sound
from the heart of the chords—it’s how we sing!

Take apart a barbershop chord:
hear those singers croon and moan;
craft the harmonies we adore:
Lead, Tenor, Bass and Baritone.

[podcast]http://riverwriter.ca/podcast/baritime.mp3[/podcast]

Posted in barbershop singing, fun, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

teetering on the window sill

Why does the street-trash Christmas cactus
which mooches all year in a dumb clay pot
between two larger, dazzling, talkier plants,
suddenly dress up, make a pink media splash?

You’d have to say it’s the ultimate bi-polar plant:
down drooping in the dumps day after dreary day
slumping on the window sill as sorry as you see
between two showy scintillators smiling so at me.

I have to wonder if there is some parable applies
the plant saves up all year so it can give us a surprise
and open beauty when the rest are slowly giving up
and give us all a jump-start like a happy birthday pup.

If you wonder what the heck is causing all this fuss
click on this link and tell us that you won’t get back to us.

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , | 1 Comment