The Bohr Model

one proton,
one electron,
hydrogen.

two protons,
two electrons,
helium.

three protons,
three electrons,
lithium.

and so forth,
everything in concentric circles,
or so we learned
in high school chemistry.

in retrospect,
neither the proton
nor the electron
have very much at all
to do with an atom.

in retrospect,
it is the space between them,
the cloud of possibilities,
fading in every direction,
the lobes of uncertainty,
mirroring each other like
so many lungs,
the rings of chance,
circling like an embrace,
that give the atoms
their character,

and we continue
to find them
even more beautiful
when understood
than when imagined.

Floral Photography

if ...
(and this i can safely recommend)
... you want to photograph a flower
in the studio,
you should cut it
at the base of the stalk,
just before it opens itself to the world.

when you arrive
back at the studio
cut it one more time
very close to where you cut it before,
and place it in the light,
which may now be modified
in infinite variety
to meet your expectations.

if ...
(and this i cannot safely recommend)
... you want to photograph a flower
where it blooms,
you will have to wait
as the sun rises
and illuminates one side,
as the sun sets
and illuminates the other,
as the full moon
softens the shadows,
even as the early snow
spreads its ever-thickening veil
across the landscape.

in this way,
you will be ready
when the petals come to terms
with the day,
with the night,
with the palpable air,
which grows colder by the second.

Rush Hour

i'm in a hurry
and my hurry
is more important
than your hurry.

as a matter of fact,
if your cash-for-clunkers hurry
would slow down for a minute
and check out my
fully-upgraded,
hybrid hurry,
you'd see
there's no contest.

or, by analogy,
if our hurries were playing poker
with everyone else's hurries
(everyone from this six-lane highway is invited)
my hurry would have a full house,
aces over tens,
and your hurry would be looking up,
sheepishly,
deciding whether or not to call.

i'm sure it would never occur to either of our hurries
or any of the other hurries around the table
that everything need not add up to zero.

my hurry
could just buy your hurry a drink,
perhaps,
and they could have a good time
on their way home.

Moon in the Light

moon in the light.
moon in the light,
your very bright,
and sometimes not
in sight at all.
moon in the light.

- to Leslie Merriman from her little brother Sean (age 11?)


mount hood
not alaska by any stretch,
but the closest i can compare.
our camp squeezed into the narrow way
between two inclines,
one leading up,
one leading down,
each at the angle of repose.

cold,
dreaming,
now and again,
of sand dragons.

3:15,
3:30,
3:45,
4:00,
ante meridiem,
and a moon the size of
my open mouth.
fumbling through buttons and dials,
everything in monochrome,
but the picture.

the short days
and the long nights
were not so different,
then,
except in my mind.

The Evening

i look to the evening,
hopeful,
knowing i will find nothing there,
but hopeful none the less.

i look to Neruda for words
and find them,
but every word is ancient
and i sink deeper
and my mouth narrows
and my brow narrows

and i know there will be no peace
until the words come ...

... if the words come.

The Mercury Cafe

when you enter
the mercury cafe,
you don't know

that through the curtain
to your right
lies are just barely audible
over the whir
of a cappuccino machine

that through the curtain
to your left

and downstairs,
poets are preaching the truth
to an audience
that will never understand

and upstairs,
dancers are doing the same
with their bodies.

when you enter
the mercury cafe,
you are an impostor
and you know
what every impostor knows
but you may tell
no one.

Make Your Own Facebook Quiz

who were
you
in a past life?

which sex and the city character are
you?

what weapon best suits
your
personality?

what if the question
is ill-posed?

what if the answer
is x?

what about
a pen?

not a moment too soon,
i found out that i could make my own quiz.
this one doesn't have any questions, though,
it just sends you an anonymous message
with your number:

1-0-1-0-1-0-0-1
1-1-0-0-0-0-1-1
1-0-1-1-0-1-1-1

and you can do with it as you wish.

One

how many stories
could the night tell you
about the sun?

how long is the line
that separates a moment
from itself?

what does listening say
when it speaks?

what does speaking hear
when it listens?

Untitled

among astronomers and dancers,
who understands the way a body moves?

among philosophers and priests,
who understands the way a mind moves?

among surgeons and widows,
who understands the way a heart moves?

is it better to take things apart,
or put them together?

(Revised in coordination with Katie Richardson-McDaniel.)

Conundrum

the senses struggle
to sedate ... can anyone
show me how to see?

Ageless

an untethered wind
sings in the tall trees as leaves
forget their colors.