What we could say
is hidden
behind our words
EL SEBBO
Monthly Archives: May 2008
heavy wind, but no rain
Tonight
a violent wind
blows the city
to dust
Trees bend
people squint
as if in bright
sunlight
A haze
envelops the streets
women wrestle their skirts
hair tossed
every which way
A violent wind
shreds the city
tonight
Palm fronds litter
Sunset Boulevard
the homeless huddle
like refugees
in the entryway
of a long abandoned
nightclub
The weather
is the one thing
this town cannot control
(D. James)
Japanese lawnmower
I am mowing the lawn
a blackbird keeps me company
– almost a haiku
EL SEBBO
dead-stop
Spun out
with nowhere
to turn
Looking for
a piece of mind
Knowing it’s
what we make of it
that matters
But still holding back
giving in to frustration
and wasting countless hours
(D. James)
Precaution
I am wearing shades
because I am afraid
my eyes might exist
EL SEBBO
self-referential riddle #1
If I told you
I wrote this
for the sake
of writing it
Made it up
just now as
the words for
their meaning
and nothing
more
Would it hold
weight …
respond to gravity?
Or do we have
to assign some other
definition to make it
a poem,
something greater
than what it is?
(D. James)
TRACERS (To R. Rauschenberg)
Robert Rauschenberg has passed away
unfortunately death is not transparent
EL SEBBO
silent mind
Searching for things
I cannot find
for what
does not exist
All chatter
and clutter
with no way
to turn down
the sound
or change
the channel
(D. James)
No one transmitting
internet line down for 5 days
stuck here with my own words, munching on my dead
EL SEBBO
write what you know
nothing
dreaming of silence
Talk talk talk …
words without meaning
phrases that go nowhere
What does any
of this accomplish?
I’d discuss it
but that only
leads us back
to the beginning
(D. James)
Perfection
sun goes down moon comes up
I hold one in each hand
EL SEBBO
weather crimes
Los Angeles is pointless
under clouds
and cool temperatures
The palm trees
and imported cars
need the glint
to show their worth
It’s harder to defend
this almost-city
when the weather
plays the hostile witness
(D. James)
Double lines
the apple-tree is blossoming
the songs of the birds again have meaning
EL SEBBO
bring a flashlight
How far down
do you go
before you find
the bottom of your soul?
How deep is it,
how wide?
And why is there no light down here?
(D. James)
Periphery
I am writing a poem in my garden
the sun at the periphery of my thoughts
EL SEBBO
Nowhere, actually
They talk
and talk
then talk
some more
Saying the most
benign things
about the weather
or what someone else
has already said
I look for silence
But still they talk
and talk
without really saying
anything
In the end
I wonder …
do these words
really get us anywhere?
(D. James)
Orpheus
closed lips
a possibility of infinite
EL SEBBO
Liberal
I want to live
in a god-less
world
A place where
common-sense
and logic
triumph over
greed
insecurity
fear
and hate
A world that
puts humans
above corporations
where government
works in the interests
of the people,
all the people,
instead of against them
I want to live
in a world
where the truth
is a good thing
where knowledge
outweighs ignorance
Because frankly
I’m tired of hearing
these fantasies rooted
in gross unrealities
of heaven and hell
And I don’t think
it’s possible to move
to a better world
without forsaking
these fallacies of
nationalism
patriotism
and worst of all
religion
You can attack
me all you want
but the truth
will bear out
(D. James)
Fall
When things fall
objects happen
EL SEBBO
