While Waiting

I was waiting, watching, wondering

The red-tail was floating in flat circles

her feathers fashioned full against the pale blue sky

A sudden shift softly sent the silky sailer soaring higher

then, quickly a downdraft dive

deceptively delicate, demanding her full attention

Talons extended, wings held high
she touched down briefly
then glided low and disappeared slowly across the scrub

My stance shifted sideways

and without moving a feather

took a step

stood on the wind

and went where I was wondering

The Cypress Forest

(The Frozen Ballet)

They once swayed to a fanciful ballet

bending at the wind's pleasure,

limber and willing to follow every measure.

Now, dusted with a rusty algae

wind-polished to a silver sheen

they are twisted, and left to lean

in an orchestrated direction

of random, frozen, perfection.

The Crystal Castle

Rising in all its splendor

from molten depths once rendered,

the stone is forged and lifted.

A mighty shield held high and strong,

with a victor's cypress crown.

Far down below,

with secrets they know

the waves caress the rock.

And the waves caress the rock.

The cold waters lick

and randomly pick

the solid, crystal locks.

Too soon, this proud fortress

will be taken by the mistress

with each sweet and salty kiss

of the wicked waves.

Washing and playing

transforming and spraying,

until this rocky cliff

lies on the shore,

-- once more.

Golden Web

The golden web

ties the branches

to the sun

and binds me

to the path

as I watch the sticky

handiwork, shimmer

and ride the sweet vibrations

of the afternoon breeze.

Monterey Gray

It's cold and gray in Monterey,

but we like it that way

for it helps keep the tourists at bay.

There is just no way

we can let them all stay,

and we've run out of water, anyway.

We know it's a pity

they'll head back to their city

and all of that traffic and grime.

But for me that's just fine

cause this way it's all mine

and we pray, that they spent their last dime.

They didn't bring sweaters

so this works, so much better

than explaining, that we think, it's divine.

I know it's not fair

they say we should share

but where they live, there's no there, there.

So, it's gray in Monterey

and we like it that way,

just don't go out, for a swim in the Bay.

Abalone Songs

No Bones

Though the mollusk is not a pretty sight

and not one to stir your appetite,

would you rather have a fish that's bony

or shimmy down an abalone.

Snail Mail

Though email is the latest fashion

snail mail holds my deepest passion.

It's not the fastest way, I know

and heaven knows what makes them go.

But if your message must ring true, not phony

always choose an abalone.

Abalone Songs were invented by George Sterling and his fellow cronies during the early 1900's in Carmel, California usually at Pop Ernest's Cafe. Contributors included Sinclair Lewis, Jack London and others. Look 'em up they're delicious.

Quarks

The sound that a Night Heron makes sounds like "quark - quark", which is the name given by the theoretical physicist Murray Gell-Mann to particles that are the basis of atoms. The name was taken from a passage in James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake. This unusual and intriguing relationship led to the inevitable attempt to name one of the Black-crowned Night Heron chicks in the Point Lobos Reserve after a quark.

According to Brian Green in his book The Elegant Universe, everything we see in the terrestrial world and the heavens above appears to be made from combinations of electrons, up-quarks, and down quarks.

In addition to "up" and "down" quarks, there are four more quarks found more recently that are named: Charm, Strange, Bottom and Top Quarks. These four, however, are not constituents of anything we typically encounter and exist only ephemerally when produced through high-energy collisions.

"Quark" seemed the logical choice for our baby bird. One of the dozen or so Black-crowned Night Herons born during the Spring of 2009 in Point Lobos Reserve, now has the distinction of that very quarky name. May he (or she) charm visitors for years to come.

Six Quarks

Some folks find it alarming

that some quarks are charming

while others are really quite strange.

Some are nearly forgotten

as they hide on the bottom

or become up's and get rearranged.

But there's two that get our attention

cause they're in our dimension

and cause all our known ups and downs.

As we go through our lives

I can only surmise

that quarks may be much too profound.

As they continue to collide

I'll just step to one side

and hope I have more ups than downs.

Fog

Parting fog

patch of light

passing by

then gone from sight

Dense gray fog

hides our view

dissipates

and starts anew

Drifting fog

through the trees

slithers by

the trembling leaves

Blinding fog

around my head

evaporates

on the road ahead

Heavy fog

rests on my shoulders

disappears

as I grow older