new york

-
past alb'ny, the woods'
cool lake - swim, fish, camp and sew
a patch in his jeans
(6-13)





canal hist'ry buff,
rusted erie lock hardware,
flowering ragweed
(2-10)






soho loft vixen -
good life from summer art trade,
yen for open road
(4-10)

ad'rondack campfire -

metro section t'read, stock page

for th'woods, th'rest t'burn

(12-14)

squeegie people swarm
car at houston street red light -
say "hewston", pay more!
(7-05)






bridal veil falls - its
water whiter than others' -
hits rocks just as hard
(7-05)






yankee stadium
jackhammers beyond left field
october's shattered?
(7-08)





civil war statue
ignored by midtown shoppers
gathers fallen leaves
(12-11)

sundown, east village,

constant noise, too much traffic -

and then, the shofar
(9-14) 

falls customs agent -

wary eye on leaves in pack:

"welcome home, my friend"

(11-14)

 

beneath brooklyn bridge,
immigrants shooting baskets -
fresh fall breeze from sea
(3-10)





neighbor of stonewall:
openly gay's not a crime -
steel-toed boots kick leaves
(12-11)

souls' day, tompkins park -

passionate warriors debate

what const'tutes a foul

(11-14)

turkey, bronx kitchen -

on the wall he sees jesus,

his competition

(11-14)

christmas tree farmer -
truck bed down to pine needles,
lured by soho's wares
(1-12)





n train incident -
somewhere in brooklyn, a man's
vanished at christmas
(4-10)







throgsneck hitchhiker -
snow, baggage tag on worn pack,
going to peru
(9-05)






tonawanda drifts -
snowplow'rs smash into parked cars,
unable to see
(2-10)

drizzle mist frozen

on th'walk - she tries t'get good view

of th'bridal veil falls

(12-14)

soho chocolate -
farm kid watches passersby,
feeling toes again
(4-10)






like th'ice 't goat island
we float canada 'r th'u.s. -
either way, might crash
(7-05)

central park skater -

as th'snowflake lands in her hair,

she hurries t'catch th'bus

(11-14)

coin off tappan zee -
icy hudson won't want it
st. christopher will
(7-05)

deep b'neath grand central,

he curses th'bitter winter -

disoriented

(11-14)

falls customs agents
dismantling truck's wheel housing -
march sleet ices tires
(2-10)

union gen'ral, in

sakura's cherry blossoms -

means less than you think

(11-14)

cursing 'spring forward' -

long island commuter's lost

precious hour of sleep

(11-14)

steps on kerouac,
shuts pickup door against rome's
spring rains - this, his home
(12-11)






on train from quebec,
spring blooms fill hudson valley -
she catches his eye
(6-13)






stranded hiker waits,
at schenectady off ramp
june's songbirds note dawn
(1-10)


-

north carolina

road pastor's sermon -
locusts, moses, commandments -
rocky mount exit
(5-10)






what would buddha do
sticker stuck on duck beach van -
drifter peels it off
(5-10)






'bout back to lejeune,
after short leave over fourth,
but stopped for a drink
(10-08)






fly through hole in screen -
have post boxes here in Kyle?
"fahn thank you how're you?"
(8-05)





outside wilmington
girl explains to soldier, ways
of venus flytrap
(3-10)






rain pounds outer banks,
vacation becomes card game-
motel, belowdecks...
(7-05)





rolls a cigarette,
inhales humid blue feeling
of winston-salem
(5-10)






o'coker's brogue - she'll
tell tourists about blackbeard
n'hoi toide all summer
(5-10)






tourists 'v'all cleared out,
got this choppy sound t'ourselves -
okracoke ferry
(5-10)

rain pounds th’outer banks –

winter ‘f impassable roads,

he’ll drink himself t’death

(1-15)

cape fear beachcomber -
knows where and when each ship sank,
many winters back
(5-10)






light snow dusts raleigh,
traffic slows to fearful crawl -
now hear my footsteps
(5-10)






"should stop trav'ling," she
says, "'n' settle down along th'shore..."
lent'n rains pound nag's head
(5-10)






waiting in franklin
march snow, a-t hikers pounce
on diner placemats
(1-07)




cold spring rain and fog
hide smokies from clingman's dome -
a hazy kingdom
(1-07)




gentle wind on beach,
uplifting sense of hist'ry -
kitty hawk in spring
(5-10)

charlotte waitress, spring

rains - if she'd meant th'four hikers,

she'd've said 'all of y'all'

(12-14) 

creative spirit –

strength and renewal, may breeze,

lejeune welcome signs

(1-15)

came back down t'raleigh,
brought her a fresh bouquet of
her neighbor's dogwoods
(12-13)

north dakota

-

from white butte outward,
wide plain slopes for miles - nearby,
prairie smoke blooming
(2-10)






bismarck yard camper:
"burlington northern owner
was once one of us"
(8-05)






fargo yard boxcar
good f'r th'long ride - wait 'n th'weeds,
when th'train starts, jump on
(8-05)





arb'retum camper,
shadow of th'state capitol,
found a patch of woods
(11-13)






after west fargo
no interstate junctions 'til
billings - frost on boots
(12-11)






bowen ave denny's -
they make the pumpkin pie last
'til salt trucks are done
(11-13)






fargo boxcar drunk
doesn't know which way is south -
frosted weeds witness
(2-10)





a town called minot,
nothing but prairie around -
one winter, i left
(5-11)






new year with folks in
zap - sounds a bit livelier
than it really is
(5-11)





stranded in bismarck -
roads keep drifting over, and
it's thirty below
(2-10)

plugged in to th’meter,

th’car is safe in bismarck, he says –

tongue might freeze, though

(6-15)

you don't understand
how these devil's lake winters
make faith an issue
(12-11)





drift prairie marsh geese,
oblivious, cold - just in
from manitoba
(2-10)

likes t'catch his walleye

when th'weather breaks't devil's lake -

they jump right in th'boat

(11-14)

may day, halfway lake -
forgot where he started out,
or where he's going
(11-13)

fargo's flow'r gardens -

she likes th'wild prairie roses

in the back alley

(12-14)

-

ohio

-

erie driftwood beach
pebbles, sand under bare feet
nuke plant fades from view
(7-05)






t'ledo streets were once
covered with elms - all summer,
they held our secrets
(3-10)







hit ev'ry yard sale
in holmes county - we english
have t'go to walmart
(1-13)

a ways down straight street,

some weeds out there, but you’ll find

th’cincinnati yards

(6-15)

t'ledo zoo panda
fresh bamboo flown in daily
held up in detroit
(7-05)







turnpike rest stop dawn -
rock star spotted near bathroom;
august's lively beat
(4-10)






sea of red 'n' silver,
pitcher spilled on hiker's pack -
must've beat michigan
(5-13)






athens professor
lost pretense of refinement
too drunk for turkey
(5-13)






black shiny carriage,
wooden wheel on cracking ice -
holmes county backroad
(1-10)






hoarse, thirsty blades fans
celebrating new year win -
champagne on lake floes
(9-08)






maine t'california,
roadsigns blurry, roads icy
'round ashtabula
(~10) 




in akron th'road forks -
through icy falls to th'north,
or straight east t'new york
(11-13)





outside toledo
frozen slush falling from truck
makes glazed road deadly
(7-05)

cleveland bus station,

offered hard drugs t'beat th'cold - wait!

I was born 'n this town!
(12-14) 




from catawba shores
truck tires cracking snow on ice -
some will sink in spring
(1-10)

"th'ice 'n th'middle'll hold you,"

he says, driving from c'tawba,

"'s when it pulls from th'shore"

(12-14)

blizzard hides white lines
truck lights dance t'ward troy exit
no such thing as brakes
(2-10)

elmyra trucker –

nine gears, ice ‘n’ gravel, slope,

wouldn’t pass him by
(1-15)




near cincinnati,
truck jackknifed in icy lot,
driver calls and quits
(5-13)

“rock’s th’savior ‘f th’common

man” – she gives th’hall’s tickets

t’one of cleveland’s own

(5-15) 

north coast spring dawn –

fine ear f’r music, th’sharp insult

for th’cities on th’tour

(6-16)

 





good fishin' in may -
old man can tell you when that
river caught on fire
(12-13)





serpent mound story -
body lines up with solstice,
happens to be now
(4-10)





serpent mound solstice -
they tracked the sun precisely,
and then they vanished
(12-13)



-

oklahoma

-

grand lake downpour blinds
all but those who know by heart
road to fishin' hole
(9-08)




his fourth - tales of old
ragtown, anadarko, tribes
whose lands were taken
(11-13)




dog days in lawton
'f you thought soldiers would be out
you were mistaken
(12-11)





okemah native
knows well your sultry welcome -
completely ignored
(12-11)





blazing lawton sun
keeps folks off streets and hiding
in army's air-con
(1-07)





ain't the first outlaw
these ouachitas ever hid
on a summer night
(8-05)





near judy ranch - dusk,
marsh grass - southbound whooping cranes
also stop to rest
(11-13)

road to stillwater -

sunset on rust-colored fields,

hawk scans for his prey

(1-15)

piercing eyes, pumpkin
patch, anadarko back road -
our worlds, so different
(11-13)





lifted weights in barn,
play'n for th'sooners, tornado
took all but the weights
(11-13)





near ada, coffee's
weak, stuffing's dry - in a booth,
an old man says grace
(11-13)

clinton mcdonald's -

exchange of hot tea, cold hiker

'n' cheyenne arapahoe

(1-15)

panhandle ranchers
on windswept plain - another
bag of sand in truck
(8-05)

kaw nation's coffee -

at th'border sign, he spills some

on th'icy gravel

(1-15)

kids with happy meals,
below, m'ssouri-bound cars
swerve on sleeted lanes
(11-13)




rest stops near tulsa
march tornado blows semi
westbound to eastbound
(1-07)






'don't drive through smoke' sign
asks what kinds of fires you'd see-
spring in green country
(1-07)





ouachita mountain
backroad leads down into fog -
blossoms still hiding
(9-08)





may rains grip tulsa -
docent listens to tramp's tale
of storming auschwitz
(12-11)





bois' city founders
sold dreams with no more substance
'n these spring tumbleweeds
(1-13)

june wedding – guymon

groom shows th’cowboy boots he’ll wear,

‘n’ th’bit he made for th’bride

(6-15)

-

oregon

-
sun takes solstice west
to asia, leaves rocks in tide
on oregon coast
(8-05)

saltspring t'san miguel -

five rest stop, midnight coffee

t'celebrate the fourth

(10-14)

way back to five,
stumbles on old believer,
gervais flowerbed
(11-13)





to stop in ashland
for a shakespeare production -
or hitch on and camp
(4-10)







portland law tickets
bicyclists with passengers -
even labor day
(4-10)






wet shady beaches
seem like another planet
in desert near bend
(1-07)






bottle with note floats
into dunes campsite - driftwood
fire, history, dreams
(8-05)

used t'be a hipster,

old port t' th'west end - now he hates'm,

spends his days duckhunt'n

(12-14)

grim reaper costume -

portland kid blinded, his scythe

caught on 'don't walk' sign

(10-14)

from her window, hood -

steady, the hand on the knife,

sage goes in onions

(10-14)

cold winter forest
of a blue oregon funk -
find coast, take a breath
(8-05)






posed my bride on rock -
puts egg nog on portland bar -
a big wave came in
(4-10)






corvallis side streets -
van fills with smell of coffee,
march rains relentless
(4-10)







dad, grandpa logged hood -
take that nesting spotted owl,
crush it in my fist
(4-10)






eugene anarchists
fill city streets on may day -
can't pick a leader
(4-10)






thirty years fishing
tillamook, seen some wet mays -
logs crack in fireplace
(4-10)





chinook coming up
the umpqua - i wait all year
to get a big one
(4-10)






wife's a legal aide -
spend my spring days on the rogue
haulin' in chinook
(4-10)





lush shady valley
june evening gently falls on
road to corvallis
(1-07)





-