“a tree knows its work”…“des arbres et vents” my poem

“a tree knows its work”…“des arbres et vents” my poem

talk trash to the wind

 

 

des arbres et vents

 

The trees do not seek the wind,

but they grow where it goes.

A tree knows its work:

a tree stands in rain

   and growth happens

      time after time,

and a tree stands in snow

   and holds it aloft

      for us to see,

and a tree welcomes critters

   who need a high place to live.

 

Every tree tempts the breezes

   and taunts the wind,

boughs do not break

   as they beckon all winds,

the limbs slide and sway

   and push the wind aside,

the trees eat the wind

   under sun and stars,

each tiny twig, each lazy leaf

   talks trash to the wily wind

      that knows about the detours

         in great worlds of open air,

but won’t give up the endless gift

   of giving the trees

      a reason to bend

         as they turn the wind

            into wrinkles that slump and hide,

among the unseen nests

   of the birds and squirrels.

 

May 23, 2024

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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2024 All rights reserved.

 

84, Charing Cross Road (book review)

Helene Hanff, on reading good books…

click here

Writing Rainbows: Poems for Grown-Ups with 59 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”

 

Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.

*   *   *   *   *   *

“…my final future…”…   “now then…” my poem

“…my final future…”…   “now then…” my poem

I realize new truths…

 

 

now then…

 

The unknowable future

   has been around for a long time,

it is,

it will be,

the mystery is what, not if.

 

I realize new truths.

I’m closer to my future

   than I used to be,

I’m closer to my final future.

I think more about tomorrow,

I think more about today.

 

Sweet futures can become sweet nows,

the nows I can know.

I can choose my next now,

I do not know tomorrow’s future,

I will live it in good time.

 

May 11, 2024

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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2024 All rights reserved.

 

“Tear it up,” says Kurt Vonnegut

“Write a six line poem, about anything…

click here

Writing Rainbows: Poems for Grown-Ups with 59 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”

 

Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.

*   *   *   *   *   *

“faintest breaths…”…“another thing,” my poem

“faintest breaths…”…“another thing,” my poem

what’s it all about?

 

 

another thing

 

j’ever notice

that they never look up

to look at the phone?

 

head tilted down,

the obvious sign,

body still,

thumbs awhirl,

faintest breaths…

 

how often have you seen

  someone pumping a fist

    and shouting “yeah!”

      after scrolling down

        one more time?

 

Try talking to that guy

  in the waiting room

    who hasn’t looked up

      from his phone

        since he sat down…

 

think about being him…

it won’t take long.

 

May 9, 2024

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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2024 All rights reserved.

 

1491 by Charles Mann (book review)

…lost American legacies

click here

Writing Rainbows: Poems for Grown-Ups with 59 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”

 

Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.

*   *   *   *   *   *

“a dancing wight”…“Another time,” my poem

“a dancing wight”…“Another time,” my poem

a chime in the dark

 

 

Another time

 

That single chime,

sometime in night,

there is no rhyme,

try as I might

   I cannot conjure

      a dancing wight

         who sings that tune,

no song sublime,

no twist of rune

   that I can write.

 

I let the chime expire,

I savor it entire,

perhaps Great Pan

   may favor it

      to puff his pipes,

and thrill the mime

   in pagan rite,

in distant time.

 

May 8, 2024

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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2024 All rights reserved.

 

Book review: An Empire Divided

King George and his ministers

wanted the Caribbean sugar islands

more than they wanted the 13 colonies…

by Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy

click here

Seeing far: Selected poems with 47 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”

 

Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.

*   *   *   *   *   *

“we think dirt is dirty…”…my poem

try whispering to your dog

 

 

Say what?

 

We’re not as special as we think we are…

 

We don’t really rule the earth,

we can’t fly,

or snooze at the bottom

   of the deep end of the pool,

and we can’t even roll over when we’re born,

we tend to be messy

   when we’re not paying attention,

most of us think wearing shoes is normal,

we think dirt is dirty,

we don’t like to admit

   that we eat dead things,

and we think a horse whisperer

   is some weird guy,

we think reading and writing

   is our thing,

and we think “Sparky, here boy!”

   is the right way to call the pup,

and we ignore this mystery:

 

What if your dog can talk,

   but he won’t?

 

April 19, 2024

I guess you’ve thought about it…

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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2024 All rights reserved.

 

Book review: The Bartender’s Tale

Ivan Doig’s story, I mostly loved it…

click here

As with another eye: Poems of exactitude with 55 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”

 

Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.

*   *   *   *   *   *

chat with a chippie?…my poem

chat with a chippie?…my poem

think like a chipmunk…

 

 

Busy

 

The chippie halts on the second step.

I’ve seen him there, he will not stay,

his hole is close, he will not stray,

he skips across my little yard

   but not too far.

 

I want to ask him, just this once,

if he’d like to scout a cozy place

   he’s never seen,

he stares at me, no fear,

I’d like a little chat, I think,

I’d like to hear his thoughts,

but I can see

   he has no time to talk.

 

October 23, 2019

 

Inspired by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer’s “Following Mr. Berry’s Instructions,”

as published October 23, 2019, on her website, A Hundred Falling Veils

 

“You have to be able to imagine lives that aren’t yours.”

Wendell Berry

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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2024 All rights reserved.

 

Book review: The Bridges of Madison County

If you’re looking for

  highly stoked eroticism

    and high-rolling lives

      that throw off sparks when they touch,

then look elsewhere.

by Robert Waller

click here

In other words: Poems for your eyes and ears with 64 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”

 

Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.

*   *   *   *   *   *

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