a wise cat who ignores you

Dan Dinu

Today arrived with a dawn rain 

the world felt clean and new 

I stood dry on the porch with my doggo 

and we looked each other in the eye 

I said this is nice 

and she just wagged and sat down 

next to my foot 

*

When life is nice, be nice.

When life is hard, be nicer.

*

Up past midnight writing small poems 

goofy old man go to bed 

you'll just be falling asleep 

all day long tomorrow 

*

A cloudy night 

no moon or stars to be seen 

it seems good to me 

to go outside and stare 

into the darkest shadows

*

-for poet C. G. Macdonald, 1956-2006

Charlie, sunrise is a three-legged mongrel dog,

going deaf, already blind in one eye,
answering to the unlikely name, 'Lucky.'

The sky, at gray-blue dawn, is a football field painted
by smiling artists. Each artist has 3 arms, 3 hands, 3 legs.
One leg drags behind, leaving a trail, leaving a mark.

The future resembles a cloudy dream
where the ghosts of all your life
try to tell you something, but what?

Noon is a plate of mashed potatoes and gravy.
Midnight is an ugly chipped plate
that you only use when you are alone.

Sunset is a wise cat who ignores you
even when you are offering food; her conception
of what life is, or isn't, far exceeds our own.

This moment is a desert at midnight,
the hunting moon is full, and owls
fly through a cloudless sky.

The past is a winding, green river valley
deep between pine covered ridges;
what can you make of that?

Night is a secret plant growing inky black against the sky.
When this plant's life is over, then day returns
like a drunken husband who stayed out until breakfast.

A smile is a quick glimpse at the pretty face of hope.
Hope's face is framed by the beautiful night sky.
Hope's face is framed by the gray-blue dawn.

This is your life, these seconds and years
are the music for your only dance. Charlie,
This is the eternity that you get to know.

*

The loudest answer of all?
Often, it's silence. 

*

-James Lee Jobe 

JESSE COLIN YOUNG, Ridgetop

Yes, Virginia, you can support this blog safely and online. There is a Buy Me A Coffee link at the bottom of this page, way down yonder. Thanks! 

Not creating delusions is enlightenment.

-Bodhidharma

The earth is not dying, it is being killed. And the people killing it have names and addresses. 

-Utah Phillips 

If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything. 

-Mark Twain

The Buddha’s mindfulness has one purpose—the end of suffering. It encompasses all of life in order to purify the mind and bring wisdom, love, and equanimity to the center of our lives. 

-Phillip Moffitt, “The Mindfulness of the Buddha”

Source Unknown

LINKS:

Self-Portrait as Lilith, a poem by Elizabeth Acevedo

Digital Archive, a poem by Jennifer Kwon Dobbs 

12 Poems by Asian American and Pacific Islander Poets

Art by A. Kleon

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Thanks! -jlj