Monday, June 01, 2015

Maine

lights ‘f portland harbor,
th’smell ‘f paper mills – the sea breeze
takes it th’other way
(2-16)





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tide’s out, schoodic point
th’clam digger, hands deep in th’muck,
sore back, easy smile
(12-17)



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up th’coast t’bar harbor,
hoping t’feel th’cool ocean breeze,
but’t won’t stop raining
(2-18)










sebascodegan
th’dock, th’sunset, ‘n’ th’woods – th’island’s gulls
seem t’criticize it
(12-17)





maine trucker, home f'r fourth -
grinding gears through town, needs t'share
the taste of moxie
(12-13)








got th’moxie ‘n’ sparklers
way down east, feels like he got
‘s far away ‘s he could
(11-16)







butt’ry ‘n’ delicious –
what he heard, ‘n’ thought th’bath lifeguard
‘s talking ‘bout th’lobster
(12-17)







th’whiskey jack, th’songbird
great bacon thief ‘f th’ vast maine woods –
campers have t’go t’town
(11-16)







campers in th’maine woods –
surprised th’whiskey jack, th’songbird
would steal their bacon
(2-16)








penobscot loggers
mad ‘t th’waitress f’r th’imagined slight,
take it out of th’tip
(3-18)










th’way he says “bangor” –
young kid at th’farmer’s market
been here all his life
(7-17)






kenn’bunkport waitress –
th’way they say ‘lobster,’ how well
they tip, ‘r’ unr’lated
(1-17)







from th’other portland,
th’couple finds it hard t’make friends –
warm day, cold ocean
(11-16)







th’cold sea ‘t bar harbor
th’tourists feel th’pretty village
‘s some kind ‘f protection
(10-16)








acadia hiker,
stops to fish and swim, halfway
halifax t'd.c.
(3-10)






rests th’pack on th’bath sign,
ocean breeze, torn off hunk ‘f bread –
he has what he needs
(1-17)








th'way she says "lobster,"
bath lifeguard knows where she's from,
in this case, out west
(12-14)







rockland t’wiscasset,
truckbed ‘f crates ‘n’ painted buoys –
he calls her th’lobst’rman
(6-15)







she’s married t’th’ocean
currents – he paints th’buoys, ‘n’ she
takes him t’th’lobster fest
(6-15)







“messy ‘n’ delicious,”
on one, th’ocean breeze ‘n her hair –
“so always wear th’bib”
(6-15)



 




grew up in th’midwest,
likes th’life ‘f th’rockport lobsterman
‘n’ th’ocean spray ‘n her hair
(9-17)








last tourists have gone -
leaves litter bar harbor streets,
sea breeze brings a chill
(3-10)









from katahdin, south,
he’ll follow th’peak of th’colors
‘til th’first snows catch him
(7-16)










gives me demaupassant –
we’re ‘n baxter, ‘n’ i’ll see his friend
long before he does
(10-16)











monson's fifty miles,
fallen leaves cover the trail -
moose watches from bush
(3-10)






still days from monson,
th’moose, half drunk on apples, not
inclined t’move either
(10-16)







six shades of orange -
bricks, leaves, sunrise reflection,
banks 'f th'androscoggin
(7-05)








banks ‘f th’androscoggin
th’leaves’ are turning, th’fish’re hungry,
they, too, fear th’deep freeze
(10-17)









house against th’vast woods –
they don’t know ‘bout th’senate race,
they know th’androscoggin
(10-16)







aroostok woodsman
understands apple-drunk moose
but not clearcutters
(7-05)









frost, brick streets ‘f saco
never thought ‘f th’kind ‘f odor
th’shoe fact’ry would have
(10-16)







twelve steps into maine -
crunch of leaves fills woods for miles,
winter's silence looms
(4-10)








path to katahdin-
last leaves fallen, pack weightless
breath vapor vanished
(10-09)





an aroostok moose
eats apples this time of year
gets drunk and surly
(10-08)






drunk aroostok moose –
not clear on why you’d want t’hike
in his patch of woods
(7-17)







victorian lit
on th’hiker’s mind – th’drunken moose
protective ‘f baxter
(9-17)






close to katahdin,
through-hiker, basho in hand,
envisions fuji
(12-13)







single road snakes up
into quebec - monson store
closes for saints' day
(9-10)







th’wood stove’s crackling fades
with th’saint john’s valley folk song,
sturdy boots, wood floor
(1-16)








homeschooled ‘n th’rocky woods –
‘roostok kid’s learned how t’save th’horse
‘n’ survive th’nor’easter
(3-18)








sturdy boots, wood floor,
th’harsh winter ‘f saint john valley
th’voices’re th’instruments
(11-16)





‘n th’saint john valley th’boots
take th’long path through th’snow t’ th’cabin
then stomp th’beat ‘f th’french songs
(9-17)







bitter nor’easter
small shops ‘f bar harbor, closed tight,
th’locals dug in ‘t home
(10-17)





pond near waterford
whole weekend playing hockey,
wood fire ‘n’ cocoa ‘t night
(12-17)







warm pizza, old bug
icy saco road driveway,
vacationland tags
(1-07)








hockey on thin ice
some danger ‘n th’maine winter, but
least it’s not th’ocean
(1-17)





train station feeling -
in saco, downeaster,
bitter front stall out
(12-13)










frozen gravel pokes
tired feet, a salt-lined pack leans
on bath exit sign
(1-07)









'roostok cabin fire
's burned the same wood for eight months
no dent in the pile
(9-10)








blue sky, red brick streets –
all th’old mill towns along four
th’trees’re starting to bud
(10-16)







may ‘n pumpkin island
jump from th’rocks into th’sea, then
lunch ‘t thread ‘f life channel
(12-17)







‘kitt’ry t’caribou’
she points out th’roadside lupines,
little wild, like her
(11-17)










woke up one june night,
small french town, st. john valley,
still not sure 'twas real
(12-14)










quaint bar harbor porch –
even ‘n june, th’tourists need t’hide
from th’angry sea breeze
(11-16)






loves th’purple lupine
grew up ‘n th’maine woods, ‘n’ glad t’see
they too have come home
(2-17)






bath shipyard moment –
whole winter ‘f assembly,
ready f’r this summer launch
(9-17)





bath shipyard in june -
years to build and prepare it,
one day to embark


e pluribus haiku
(12-13)

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