Author: Gary Lindorff

I shake my head, And frown into A virtual page of white — This screen — That lights my face In this otherwise dark room That we have been trying to heat Against the storm That blows as if to extinguish Our little box of light. The white of the screen Mimics the white Of …

Continue reading “No poem tonight”

Ink blot Black butterfly Voice of the smallest Hear them ? Voices of Dogs and parakeets Hear the Voices of trees, clouds Forests, barns, Houses, little bridges (Listen to that little bridge You just crossed It is saying, Good You made it ) Now the mountain Is underneath us Whispering, Climb me I have something …

Continue reading “Black butterfly — New Year, new world”

  Ink blot test Cross burnings Into a corner Black butterfly Voice of the little Pinball machine Suburban garage   The fourth world Day four anyone Familiar names Dogs and parakeets There’s more to it Those who lived Sense of rage   Sort of thing Had a modicum Clings to your finger Pull the cork …

Continue reading “Akooh”

Sand through the hourglass. Sand in my eyes. Sleep don’t come easy. The moment is fragile. I heard him say, The moment is fragile. I heard him come in. I heard him say, Sleep don’t come easy. Too many lies. Rivers of lies. Sand of lies. Oceans of tears and lies. Cities are fragile. The …

Continue reading “The hourglass”

I was driving to town. I rounded a curve and jammed the brakes. There was a raccoon walking away Right in the middle of the road. I slowed down to the speed of her gait. I had a good chance to look at her.   I determined she was a she With a dark outer …

Continue reading “The judgment”

One morning, at breakfast,
Creator took a bite out of his toast.
He held it up to his wife proudly.
Moon, he said.
He took another bite.
Mushroom, he said.
His wife frowned.
He took another bite.
Anteater, he said.
And another: Acacia.
Now his wife glared at him.
Acacia!?
Creator was squirming in his chair.
He had to pee.
He took several quick bites,
Leaving only the trunk
And a big bulb at the top
Before he hurried from the table.
Human, he said over his shoulder.
His wife stared at his plate.
I feel sorry for that skinny thing! she said.
And that giant brain is only going to get him in trouble!
She nibbled the top much smaller and sighed,
Not looking forward
To when her husband returned.

Ok, now I’m ready.
I’m breathing,
I’m thinking.
I’m waving to you.

See?
See?
There, you see me!

Now let’s look at each other.
You, over there,
me over here.
Breathing,
thinking.

Now let’s wave to someone else.
Get their attention.
Shout if necessary.
Strike a cymbal.

There,
they see me.
Does your person see you?
This is great, isn’t it?

Yeah, this is great.

The soldier was tired of his bloody gun.
He saw a young stranger
And handed him the gun.
Here take this,
The stranger said,
I will take it, but what will I do with it?
The soldier had walked away.
I will give this gun to the ocean.
He gave the gun to the ocean.
I will take it but what will I do with it?
The stranger had walked away.
I will wash the blood off this gun,
I will give it to the depths.
Ocean gave the gun to the depths.
I will take it but what will I do with it?
The sea had closed its ears.
The depths held the gun for a hundred years.
I will give the gun to time.
Time said, I will take it
But what will I do with it?
The depths had closed its heart.
Time gave the gun to the reef.
I will take it, said the reef
But what will I do with it?
Time had passed on.
The reef held the gun for a thousand years
And then a thousand more.
Now the gun said,
I am tired of being a gun,
But what will I do with myself?
I will give myself to peace.
Peace said to the gun, I will take you.
I know what to do with you.
Peace held the gun tenderly,
Tenderly, tenderly,
Because the world had finally changed.
 
 
    –Gary Lindorff

 
 
This is an open letter
to those whose egg shell chest
cracks
under the pressure
of their breath
breathing down borrowed air
like they aren’t worth
the photosynthesized miracle
of carbon and oxygen
 
This is an open letter
to those whose sense
of “this is who I am”
is up for grabs
at the hands of too many
unsecured moments
and people
fluttering in and out of their lives
like migratory birds
or rainy seasons
 
This is an open letter
to those whose childhood was marked
by the mental health of their parents
whose ability to survive
relied on accommodations
they made to another’s mind
like
feeling out a form in the dark,
and learning
how to dance with it
 
This is an open letter
to those whose bridges
never felt sturdy enough
who never learned to take the chance
to walk across
even our most dilapidated
of structures.
 

 
 
There is a world coming that should be.
I can see it.
It’s close to being the world we have
But different in some important ways:
More food for the hungry,
More love,
More honesty,
Less gas and oil and meaningless death and wars,
More love,
Oh, I already said that, more love.
 

And let it be soon
Before it’s too late
And the door closes
For the creation of would-be worlds.
But whether there is a new world
The time for the end to this old world has arrived
With a clap of thunder,
So loud it makes your brain go numb.
It makes your ears ring
Like the great gong
In the courtyard of a Buddhist temple
To an ant climbing on the gong,
When the gong is struck 33 times
For the 33 faces of the Buddha.