breathing the play of muscle deer tracks in the dirt in mind an isometric of possibility water KNOLL stone in a tree’s shade moss and lichen smooth red madrone and crisp dead madrone leaves the pleasure of being uncomfortable and being grateful for useless perception being hungry being here being careful being expansive like the mountains across the valley foliaged “a dead chinaman in the branches of a tree” Snyder the breeze childhood roots family tree the beer can whistles in my hand swinging alone like an owl up on a hill hot ears sonoma strength valley sake tree-berry toad dry, leaf steep the blessed surface of things thank God spider eggs fly wings dandelion—DANDELION, DANDELION! (thistle & ant) pebble fly road bend drone sky blue between the leaves green lizard, mulch mountain fracture gravel and tree rubble the friendships of the body the friendships of the birds walk stop stretch with the nakedness of the tree the body of the hill where ass and branch meet— the trunk of things tree-fruit smell leaf bite naked nibble bark starch spit the skin shadow through the trees the hair on the breeze (vertical pleasure organic vertigo earth penis stump ecstasy mother juice) In the weavings of chance everything is in the same cloth beetle pebble and me.
4 October 1975