SURVIVING US

Before we evolved,there were volcanoes,earth changes
perhaps a reversal of poles-definitely climate change(Ice Ages)
and then we turned up.We tended not to recognize the sovereignty
of previous species and indigenous inhabitants.We were war,fire,spear,club,killers.
Still are.Our economy weapons.Our relations untrustworthy.
"Human nature"presumes we know what both those words mean
This is the only space we have.No other planet wants us.
Arks only carry two of every creature.There are 7 billion of us.
Unless and until we can relate not just to ourselves
more for the many before and after us with divergent wisdom
We will only be a short fable.It will start "ONCE UPON A TIME"
It will not end up"AND THEY ALL LIVED...

BUY MY NAME ARTIGARCHS!

I am DAMIEN HIRST! (Diamond skull-best known for
the Art of Selling Art.Did I learn from Salvador Dali
who signed blank pages for his apprentices to daub above?
I am Pablo Picasso ,marketing my wares according to stages
and the gullibility of agents.I am not Van Gogh-destitute,unsold
(unless you count those Japanese boardrooms that burst million dollar Sunflowers!
Even BANKSY ,aware of contradictions,embraces marketry
Poor CHRISTO needs patrons to package this planet river by river
Ai WeiWei under house arrest still trades under his fame name game
You will buy me if my name is Gerard Richter and you are rich and Russian
You will buy me if my name is NEO RAUCH,WENGECHI MUTU,JOHN CURRIN
or if you remember RICHARD PRINCE from the 1970's
If I am dead(or dead famous-you will exchange your loose cash
for a Rembrandt,a Durer,a Gustav Klimt even.
My friend JOHN HOWLEY earned a living painting robots
How prescient! The New Guernica!Facing the buyer with reflection
Daubing in oils what market forces Saatchi and Saatchi to make more millions
This is not art-it is a markup market.Value means more than values.BUY NOW!
and watch as dollar declines,while art becomes (again)-the new collectible..

our occupation

displaces others.Think pre-us- how the silence
broken only by bird cry and tree snap
crunch of leaves beneath indigenous
Those birds migrating
away from airports and noise,cars and pollution
Some drop from the skies like old satellites
Some fall @our feet like beggars
We own the land,the law,the fences
Put birds in a cage for their song
wonder why the gold yellow blemishes
Ugliness a business of building over indigenous
no birds will sing in a pine plantation
If we were birds,when will we release
all that is squashed via our occupations?

before,during,after

i am one feather of the world bird
flying migration through space and time
one grain of sand on time's beach
tides sweep in bodies out of reach
one flash of lightning in dark space
gone instantly,without trace
one drop of water on a desert face
when all thirst for oasis-so when
we claim Empires(hear laughter?
That is earth,beneath us
Skies above us.Invisible air we rely upon
giving us life-before,during,after...

LOSS OF LIFE GAINS A LIBRARY

it started before Chip Ross' brother left us
with a mountain of art,videos and books
most of which are still unseen/unread
(life is a short story and a briefer film)
He was rich in art and notebooks of scientific wisdom
all handwritten,like his correspondence with scientific luminaries
all unread-theories awaiting validation

when Susan Bright died,her husband contacted
asking if we could buy any of Plain View Press 's library
I am skilled at giving and begging-but not buying and selling
so he passed on her personal library -which found its way
into the recycled arms and minds of Austin's poets

now Deb has gone,and Don is passing boxes of her books
so i can pass to others what she loved.She loved LOTS!
Literature deep,wide,wise awaits redistribution like a politician
Electorate of poet lovers still cries for her fallen

A library is gained from the ashes of passed
The future a book still unwritten

OTHER WORLDS CALLING

Hear them in art ,song,film,smiling
Connection to a sweetness and a garden
Sunshine and bright optimism
Signals beam intermittently
like some radio on high cat frequencies
Wise to dream one's way through this whirl
selecting visions as in an art gallery
4G ,3D and HD all @once-vivid ,vibrant
bright as one million stars
one ancient moon,and a sun that keeps on shining
seasonal as spring through winters
Emotions are orbits,too-
best to seek safe passage through

i woud not rely

upon art surviving me
whiskey will still be on the shelf
long after my USE BY date has expired

my father used to drink
long working days and violent nights
i am so very grateful for him
saving my life

as for Munch-i went to his cottage
in Oslo-where a madman in his clothes
impersonated him for tourist dollars
did you know he made copies
of SCREAM and WOMEN ON THE BRIDGE?

life is what i lust for-every diamond tear smile
every commingled flag emotion-every dance of Wu Li particles
as long as blood flows and feelings know
i will be attuned with moons and stars and dashing poets
putting their life to music
so they can see new stars!

DREAMING DARKNESS

welcome to winter,when the dark creeps in early
swallows light,and leaves us all alone
with only night and cold and rain and past to chew upon
drinking rain thoughts and chilled emotional reminders
my past resurrects as clear as mirrors
I see those i grew up with-those i love
they now have flesh ,and voices-stories
return from some deep space i dare not explore by daylight
Night covers all-and shares secrets
Dawn comes late-allowing a dream inn
where guests can check in or out by choice
i know some of them-i learn more
by allowing their dreams in to mine
Night is long as time.There is enough
i will wake up like Rip Van Winkle
when winter releases her cold love touch

because i do not know

i send rescue dogs in to the snow
to retrieve any signs of life
buried in the storms

Certainty is a contract
one can sue upon
Our daily doings disappoint
when we cannot measure up

On we go!Days dissolving doors
open in to a field
where right and wrong no longer apply
"I will meet you there"

S easonal A ffective D isorder(SAD)

Rain.Cold.Dark.Chill
time for flu and colds and ill
ness follows where sun cannot
(Wear your sunshine on the inside-
Time to turn from narcissist to altruist
To be of use to others/not just ego
What if this world did not have you?
It did not(once)and will again
While you are here,in cold and wet and rain
time to be of sunshine and of Light
Remember every day changes the dice of night

HOW TO MAKE HUMAN ERORS

Apgar Score for newborn infants has 5 criteria-
heart rate,breathing,reflexes,muscle tone and color
Dawes Formula for marriage survival is simple-
frequency of love making over frequency of arguing
Both formulae have higher success rates than intuition
the quick brown fox that makes snap judgements ,then rationalizes them
Were we to examine evidence before passing opinions
we would expend energy,attention and time
without a necessary belief in that processes' efficacy
Daniel Kahneman gave us ILLUSIONS OF VALIDITY
ENDOWMENT EFFECTS and AVAILABILITY EFFECTS
He avoided the works of Freud and James-even when they were complementary
We are human.We make mistakes.Minimizing these requires attention to processes
and the more scientific they are,the more accurate the results.
This goes against the whole grain of "first thought=best thought" Zen
and requires a rigor that gossip columns,paparazzi photographers and tabloids lack
Rush to judgement impales Sarah Palin and Herman Cain,as it did Clinton
Trial by media is as real as tomorrow's headlines.Ignore astrology.Trust nothing.
"The unexamined life is not worth living".LIVE!

cycles and seasonings

i count my days by who is lost-
those lovely folk who are not here with us
today i found the image of a friend
who will not be here again

and those on lip of leaving
getting silent as the grave
dark nights are made for grieving
to the seasons we are slaves

i have neither mind nor power
to change what rules over
our tiny ant Imperial Empires
laughable from Space

we are so small(hardly count at all)
yet Festivals remind us-we are seasons...