While doing file cleanup,

I couldn't bring myself to discard this old stuff, and it's inappropriate for my book.

I'm not overfond of poetry, but it's a good form for playing with when you have only a few minutes to write. Besides, it's mathematical (in forms I use), allows for abuse of commas -- and can improve one's appreciation for brevity and flow.

...

Lone Pine

A lone pine stands,
At desert's rim,
And keeps green sails,
In bold full trim.

A forlorn hope,
Of forest grand,
Or for the one,
A desp'rate stand.

One stands alone,
As best one can,
And builds a life,
Be tree... Or man.

...

last leg

darkness comes and i feel afar
the crushing weight of visions marred
so slow my walk and ponder stars
and feel alive til reached is car

to pick up cares as best i can
for this i've found though not by plan
to find eden first lose the man
then walk in wonder on the strand

...

Yellow Rose

One last blush upon the rose,
Radiant burst, petals gold,
Perfume sweet, but it's all show:
Life's last blossom, soon to go,
Peak of beauty... death of rose.

Or perhaps:

Burns so bright the rose,
Like a star falling to earth,
Spent in its own fire.

(Lest this should be considered overly grave, it was inspired by some yellow roses I gave to a friend (ok, more than a friend), shortly before she was to move away. The fading of those roses was timely of the fading of what we had together -- a brief, beautiful flowering, then nothing but memories.)

...

The Fall

Do not say
that you fell,
heaven's charms,
not fires of hell.

...

Monkeys with Fire

If the monkeys had fire,
Would it bring down God's ire?
Would they go out for hire,
And then long to retire?

If the monkeys had fire,
Would all things be so dire?
Would more billions be sired,
Then get stuck in the mire?

If the monkeys had fire,
Would mankind turn criers?
Would monkeys be buyers,
Or condemn us to pyres?

If the monkeys had fire,
Would they play on the lyre?
Would they great art inspire,
Or in skies fly higher?

If the monkeys had fire,
Would they evil conspire,
Be basest of liars,
Or to goodness aspire...
If the monkeys had fire.

...

Ice Lady

Smile, Ice Lady, and just relax.
To you I bring no searing flash,
To melt the hard ice of your mask.
Instead, I bring flames, bitter cold,
To warm the edges of your soul.
But if of me, you would not know,
It takes no more than saying so.
But don't to me, your palace close.

...

Clouds

Fair weather day, or is it foul,
What goes, stormy little lady?
The darkness of a brooding cloud,
Or sunshine of a tender smile?

Now let us will the sun to stay,
And join our hearts in solemn vow,
To share the light of love each day,
Together, forever, just this way.

Harvest Moon

Full moon slowly rises,
Far beyond a high ridge.
Pale echo of sunlight,
The cold moon it does give.

Last whisper of summer,
A sharp chill in night's air;
The coming of winter,
Harvest moon does lay bare.

Slow passes the twilight,
As moon climbs in the air.
Fast passes now summer,
To bring winter's dull cares.

Last vestige of sunlight,
The old moon it does glare.
Last vestige of summer,
It hangs lost in mid-air.

Clouds

Caught up in clouds,
In silence deep,
The world's so still;
Gently it weeps.

Mist like a shroud,
Somewhere sun sleeps.
Close air is chill;
Valley is deep.

Breath coming loud,
This slope is steep.
But on uphill,
My way, I'll keep.

For 'bove these clouds,
Maybe I'll peek.
But come what will,
This day's complete.

...

Night Drive

Long lonely road,
Flows through the night.
The whole world's bound,
By my headlights.

Road pulls me on,
To journey's end;
It makes my heart,
Steel cage transcend.

City lights seen,
While still quite far,
Dark peace of night,
They cruelly mar.

Now soon I'll leave,
This prison car;
But just to find,
More prison bars.

...

Shadows

Mountain's shadow,
Looms far and wide.
'Cross the valley,
Slowly it slides.

Below far ridge,
Now the sun hides;
As shadows crawl,
High up this side.

Soon now the sun,
Will end its ride;
Soon this feeling,
It too will die.

Last sunlight streams,
Cold, way up high;
Cresting the ridge,
Last gleam, it flies.

But this moment,
I will abide,
Blissful lover,
With earth my bride.

here are a couple more pics:

Link

Link

(I took pictures primarily in order to help me identify/trace landmarks, trails, firebreaks, cross-country possibilities, etc.)

(Oh, and the really good photo was also the neighbors.)

Death is feather light;
But duty a mountain looms.
Joys pass; pains remain.

...

Mitsunari surrendered* "tonight".

He was humiliated, decapitated. When a Samurai surrenders he gives up the right to (ie, the power to ensure) an honorable end.

*: He may have been captured. But it amounts to the same thing -- not fighting to the death or taking one's life in the face of capture.

It's either the act of a coward (a coward when the moment of greatest trial came) -- or a very brave man, one who defies convention -- and who risks the unspeakable.

And just maybe it's both.

In shadows to live,
And in shadows, there to die,
This, the Ninja way.

Snow on the ground,
Fire in the stove;
The world beyond,
Too well I know.
...
Too well I know,
To wish to go.

(place of doors)

fragile boat, rough seas
currents pull; waves crash; winds howl
peace lies in the deep

to serve, to be bound
eyes held closed; tongue stilled; hands tied
led on by the blind

the waves know not chains
nature drives them, even so
whither now, wave-man

from a mountain peak
all paths lead down; but all paths
don't lead the same way

(a celebratory post; what a lot of work!)

Chasing Clouds

Chasing clouds
is so grand;
'til, that is,
you hit the ground.

...

Distant World

Distant world
fades away;
only dreams
still remain.

and rediscovered this fragment, which contains a romantic view of love-evident... love-existential.

...that your eyes might be shining for me
When I came.

...

Hilarious.

And honest. ...

It was just a problem with my math.

(one-chance-in-a-billion) x (a-trillion-times-better-than-I-deserve) = 1000(/1)

A most excellent bet!

"the seven-pillared worthy house". (This wisdom reference is a given... problem.)

"To gain you Freedom" is fine; but "the seven-pillared worthy house" isn't up to the standard of:

"I loved you, so I drew these tides of men into my hands
and wrote my will across the sky in stars
that your eyes might be shining for me
When I came."

I think I'd just repeat the "that" (having two different meanings) and go with:
"To gain you Freedom, that worthy, seven-pillared house";
or maybe also change the next line to:
"so (that) your eyes might be shining for me"; repeating "so".

...

Being overly-technical can constrain the pursuit (the form) to where it becomes more like some strange word-game than an impressionist, creative, thing.

...

The point was that something like love can only be said to exist if it's evidenced (evident) in some (appropriate) way. That is, this thing, this "love", should perceivably influence, even drive behavior (perceivable behavior). (Just like a principle should -- if it's existential; if it exists.)

In the originally-referenced lines, this evidence (of "love") is seen as existing in a matter of (immediate) manner/bearing (to me, such a display could just as well be evidencing greed/lust/gratification, not love).

In my view, one looks for such evidence in matters of more substance, like significant effects on course (that "Freedom", etc), not on superficial, easily-faked/misperceived things.

Moreover, the nature of its effects (the related behavior; its delta-of-effects on behavior) illuminates the character of the (delta of) underlying influences/drivers. (Of course, when interpreting such things, one must factor in deception, character, past-course, culture, other holdings, etc. ... And consider whether the relevant influences can ever be mitigated, changed, softened in their effects.)

...

Yeah, I hear ya, dude.

Only it's worse than that.

Death was my servant on the road, till we came near
and saw you waiting
When you smiled, and in sorrowful envy he outran me and
took you apart
Into his quietness.

So our love's earnings was your cast off body to be
held one moment
Before earth's soft hands would explore your face and
the blind worms transmute
Your failing substance.

Men prayed me to set my work, the inviolate house
in memory of you
But for fit monument I shattered it, unfinished; and now
The little things creep out to patch themselves hovels
in the marred shadow
Of your gift.

I recommend pulling the drapes out of your windows (it's one way that the fire gets inside).

And if you have a shake-roof (wood shingles) in a threatened area, it might be a good idea to discreetly wet it down. However, if everybody gets the same idea (wetting stuff down), then it can drop water pressure to levels that are a problem for fire-fighting.

...

The fire in Malibu appears to be "bombing" downwind and starting spot-fires (very dangerous). If you're downwind, it appears to be time to flee.

dead leaves fall,
littering the ground;
unseemly, fate.

...

Punctuation is more than something applied to a text in accordance with some set of rules (as if there were only one set).

Punctuation is also a guide to (author-intended) flow, association, timing and phrasing. And it "instructs" on how to read something, how to speak it -- how to think about and understand it.

For example, in the above, the "unseemly, fate" not only dissociates "unseemly" and "fate" (using a comma), but it also indicates that when this line is read there should be a slightly longer pause between the two words than if they were associated ("unseemly fate").

On the other hand, in "nature drives them, even so", there is no such pause, but rather the comma is there because the phrases are essentially switched. (A good argument can be made for expanding the set of punctuation marks, I believe.)

On another note, "unseemly," is also the bridge between the two thought-lines (here, the (more) concrete and the (more) abstract... more or less), and it's meant to convey both that fate (how things go) in general is (can be) unseemly, and that this particular fate is unseemly.

Lost

Socks, rocks, clocks.
What the hell,
Am I looking for.

Through that door,
On this floor.
Like being at war.

Knocks, blocks, locks.
What the hell,
Am I looking for...

It must be socks.

...

Found

No, they weren't there.
This I will swear,
For oft-times there,
I went and stared.

They went elsewhere:
Into mid-air,
A demon's lair;
Then came back there.

What should I care,
Now they are there.
Still, it's not fair,
'Cause they weren't there.

...

Dinner with Friends

They watch and wait with bated breath,
To have my meal, or surely death.

...

Obviously a misunderstanding.

No worries.