Thursday, May 14, 2015

Pennsylvania

morning sun lifts fog
from heart of state college - wall,
coffee, sticky bun
(7-05)





 

sticky buns ‘n th’summer
th’guy knows th’real nitt’ny lion
which, now, is extinct
(2-18)







long road t’state college
summer fog n’ th’endless valleys,
eyes on th’yellow line
(8-16)





cross this picket line
work summer in mills, escape
east pittsburgh alive
(~08)






pirate fan’s warning –
get th’job as scab in these mills,
my friends won’t like that
(9-16)



 

bridge ‘t th’susquehanna
th’note ‘n th’fisherman’s bottle shows
how remote, his world
(10-17)






lancaster postcard -
garden with order and grace,
not a weed in sight
(6-13)






riding down th’incline,
lush woods, view ‘f th’city – grandpa,
though, remembers th’mines
(6-15)








fires of centralia,
b’neath these hills, they’ve burned f’r years –
thou shalt not camp here
(6-15)



 




beneath centralia,
those fires, they say, ‘re still burning –
locusts fill th’silence
(10-17)






turnpike summer dreams
back of a station wagon
lights up in tunnel
(7-05)









old a-t hiker,
'round labor day, done in by
p-a's rocky trail
(10-14)



 




th’rocks’re piercing th’old boots –
through-hiker’s time ‘n th’p-a hills,
th’most painful ‘f footsteps
(8-17)








mouth ‘f th’fort pitt tubes,
rake, top down, points t’ th’ bridge t’nowhere –
went over it ‘n’ lived
(6-15)






camping in frick park,
th’fog lifts on th’lack ‘f coffee – then,
th’sudden sound ‘f bagpipes
(4-17)






williamsport lass’ tale –
two weeks ‘f little league baseball,
fifty ‘f nothing much
(11-17)






road to east stroudsburg,
what you get, hitching two-lanes -
harvest moon, crickets
(6-13)







busy with harvest,
th’shippensburg amishman says –
no time for th’hustle
(9-16)







deer racks, p-a tags -
antlers point all directions,
except back to woods
(8-05)







antlers ‘n th’pickup bed –
sunrise, mountains ‘f state college,
‘n’ th’blood makes her queasy
(9-17)






all th’years ‘f good football,
he says, ‘n’ all’f penn state’s image
lost in one scandal
(10-17)





from th’squirrel hill porch,
complaints of how th’years’ve flown by –
down th’brick street, th’shofar
(6-17)







clearfield’s fragrant pines –
th’sun dries th’dew on th’underbrush,
‘n’ th’hunters get serious
(8-16)






carnegie mellon
math prof’s done well – devil’s night,
counts on th’distelfink
(9-16)







dark and winding road –
long night, still hours from pittsburgh
th’or’nge leaves call from th’woods
(9-16)







fallingwater lass –
childhood’s adventures, ‘n these woods,
now the leaves have turned
(8-15)








her voice and the leaf
‘n th’bear run, beneath th’house,’n’ down
t’th’yaugheogheny ‘n’ beyond
(8-15)







fallingwater morn –
th’leaves drop, she’s grateful f’r th’chance
t’not go back t’pittsburgh
(8-15)










cross-country trip’s stalled
‘n th’wilkes barre fall eve – all th’rides
are just t’th’next exit
(7-16)




 
all’gheny mountains,
miles ‘f dark forests, ‘n’ in th’small town,
th’young witch trips on th’broom
(10-17)






from mount washington,
th’skyline twinkles, th’rivers glide –
stay f’r th’winter, she says
(6-15)




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inside th’mitten, th’hand -
th’main line lass has th’chip t’buy th’food,
got tired ‘f credit cards
(2-18)









blue mountain tunnel –
th’sudden light ‘n’ noise breaks up th’trip
‘cross th’icy mountains
(7-17)






lancaster amish –
steps out ‘n th’blizzard t’use his cell,
th’business’s worth millions
(10-17)







walks right through frick park,
from squirrel hill to cathedral
each day, all winter
(9-08)









truckbed 'f christmas trees
sold, he's gathered up supplies -
long ride up t'bethl'hem
(10-14)






johnstown water mark –
th’kid wants t’go christmas shopping,
grandpa’s stuck at th’line
(10-17)







eagles hat, scrapple
on his plate – he swears it’s been
a very good year
(1-16)







new year ‘t germantown
came back t’see th’same streets ‘n’ houses,
tot’lly diff’rent world
(11-17)







johnstown water mark -
even in january,
a chill in her spine
(4-10)







car broke down for sure –
nothing’s open in clearfield,
‘n’ miles ‘f barren mountains
(9-16)







discussing ‘n hochsdeutsche,
th’supplies they might need f’r th’blizzard
no use f’r th’inquirer
(3-17)






neon rolling rock
sign – roads’re icy ‘n’ the need th’place
t’get out of th’blizzard
(10-16)





pittsburgh’s krishna house –
free rice ‘n’ mystical incense,
snow ‘n’ spouse abuse ‘n th’porch
(8-16)





heats up all his dimes,
gets mad’t th’flyers every time,
throws them at th’goalie
(2-17)






bitter erie wind,
you come up from the city,
knocks you on the ice
(12-11)







bethlehem diner –
cabbie tells ‘bout th’night this cold,
delivered th’fare’s child
(1-17)







germantown store clerk
tells of war days - bitter winds
and spies at the door
(9-14)








streets ‘f castle shannon
eager t’find th’friends, ‘n’ forgets ‘bout
th’ice on th’steep brick streets
(1-18)









pittsburgh's krishna house,
hot bowl of rice in cold hands,
saffron robes on ice
(9-08)






warm van, raging squall
south at erie, or westbound
out o'er frigid plain?
(12-11)







‘nother penguin win,
his joy’s tempered, watching th’fans –
knows how they voted
(5-18)





slush and months ‘f bleak skies –
you’d think they’d be down, but no,
they’ve yarned th’warhol bridge
(6-15)








they yarned th’warhol bridge
city ‘f old mills ‘n’ skyscrapers,
so festive ‘n th’march wind
(6-17)







plays the poconos,
stirs passions 'til dawn, drives home
on glazed mountain curves
(6-13)







northern blizzard wind
blows off lake into erie -
southbound ramp looks best
(2-10)







spring on the schuykill -
bartram's flowers greet river
and its history
(4-10)






mem’ries ‘f th’ meadville pond –
they’d throw in th’peepers, watch’m jump
until th’fish got them
(3-17)







spring evening, carlisle
‘f all th’cloverleafs in th’world, you
just happened t’be here
(9-16)







back ‘n hershey f’r th’wedding,
he remembers too much – th’prom,
his date, and th’kisses
(6-15)







mount washington blooms
way below, th’two rivers meet,
each bringing their own
(7-16)





-->

love ‘n th’bright red statue –
talks about th’pride ‘f th’penn campus
while th’cherry trees bloom
(12-17)





spring ‘n th’mountains, ‘n’ he asks –
little mess ‘t th’liberty tubes
why folks stop at th’mouth
(10-16)





in turnpike tunnels,
wipers' pointless beat awaits
april rain's return
(9-08)






wakes up ‘n blue mountain
childhood dream, may rain, th’semi,
th’wipers’d put him t’sleep
(3-17)







anniversary
‘f th’johnstown flood – her grandson’s ‘bout
tall as th’watermark
(3-17)





marsh-pink on the schuykill
bartram came and named th’flowers,
they were here all ‘long
(2-17)







falling water dream
june weekends carried away
by river catfish
(4-10)








west goshen road rage –
spent his june on th’interstates,
one day he just snapped
(7-17)








ironweed’s purple
th’monarch, too, has found th’sunlight
‘n th’susquehanna glade
(1-18)


e pluribus haiku

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