We claimed our independence from a sovereign, long forgot But we're all inter-dependent in what they call the melting pot Freedom: is it something that I myself have got? Exclusive of my neighbor's freedom: freedom this is not.
Flagella
Author: G. Paul Randall
Starfish Sutra is a poetry and writing journal, augmented by some photography and general blogging activity.
House Finch
They visit the sunflowers here every morning.
They’re awfully spooky for an urban population. I finally had to stake out the bush from the rooftop.
Mercifully cool early in the morning on July 4th.
Ever seduced by the cult of surfaces. Morning light is when they rally to recruit new members. The gallery of nobs above is a detail of a sculpture whose final appearance is still under development by the steady hand of time and weather.
Picnic
I admit that the place is not fancy
but why you object I just can’t see
yes, the kitchen’s a mess
but you’ll see, more or less
like a picnic, it’s rugged and antsy
Moved
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I’ve just this week moved from Galveston to Houston, taking a studio dwelling in a private artist collective up in the Heights. The complex is a work in progress, a prototype for a much more ambitious arts/community/living vision by its creator, Nestor Topchy.
The vibe here is terrific. Being still under development it has a post-apocalyptic utopian feel to it. Photos above all taken on the property which is strewn with large steel sculpture projects, miscellaneous construction materials and debris. The residences are stacked shipping containers, and the studios are quite small. Though more than adequate for a retiree and his cat.
The grounds feature a large excavated pond, called Crescent Pond, which is home to fish, turtle, crayfish, birds, dragonflies and at least a couple of koi. Some large trees and dense bamboo groves round it all out. Cardinals and Inca Doves in good numbers, and a variety of dogs and cats who reside here.
I’ve decided to designate my bird photography website as an archive and begin locating all my writing and photography here at Starfish Sutra. As always, thanks for following.
Sepia Hexadon
Albino
The cockroach stands alone. There is no other creature like him. If out of spite you wish to assail your enemy’s reputation by comparing him to one, you have erred. If your enemy was as vital, energetic, crafty, and quick as a cockroach he’d have vanquished you long ago. Show some respect.
Check
Winning Texas Hold’em against robots
with imaginary money is no substitute
for a full and productive youth
But the days are as long as
as a life is short, and the cards
gaze up at you from your hands
See right through that poker face
and catch you thinking of something else
Lisa | Apu 2020
I’m worried about what I should do
When my vote in November comes due
Don’t wanna pick Joe
Then stop and say D’oh!
I should’ve picked Lisa|Apu
The Economy and Me
It’s a burden we all lug around, yet
imaginary so it’s weightless, and held
oh so fast, so it fetters and constrains.
It is universally agreed upon as necessary
by those who control it, and by those who can find
no alternative but to participate in it.
Unspeakably cruel to those who cannot
or will not apply themselves to its rule.
It is almost tangible like anticipation
like the footed ground of our paths, or
the open expanse of our atmosphere.
Floating omnipresent in the air
between the hand that wins bread and
the guarded, vaulted bakery.
It grinds away at the bottom
where the toil in steerage trickles up
as privilege to the luxury suites above.
And life itself is unimaginable
without it, indeed, how would we buy
how could we pay, or without it, even be?
And thus, on we sail
from sea to shining sea.
The Tao that Appears in the Title of a Book is not the Eternal Tao
I have published a poetry collection via KDP for print and Kindle, available now on Amazon. Those of you who read me here will find nothing new, it’s a collection of my considered best poetry and prose gathered from the blog, and packaged with a cute title and a pretty cover. Please pardon my indulgence. What has two thumbs and finds itself scrounging about in a state of underfunded retirement in a wildly uncertain world? This dharma bum right here. <emoji>polite laughter</emoji>
The Tao is None of Your Business: Poetry & Prose
$9.99 Paperback 🛒 | $5.99 Kindle 🛒
“A poem may have no driving force other than its own willingness to stumble candidly into moments as they arise, with unguarded awareness and no clear design. As the wordplay begins, the intentions take form and that is the dance. Both wonder and calamity beckon: it is a hazard and a romance, a mischief and a drama, it dabbles in crisis, rests in curiosity.”
(Index to the print edition)
Poems
(g)love, 43
(w)hole, 42
21⁄2, 11
Acres are a Toss Away, 40
An Abundance of Halves, 78
As If It Is, 32
Bell Strike, 12
Belly Dance, 30
Biscuit, 37
Bokeh, 1
Book of Rain, 18
Cell Division, 66
Chika on the Tarmac, 76
Chit for Chat, 10
Confidence Game, 13
Conveyor, 29
Delicacy, 54
Dismissed, 51
Divination, 56
Elated, 52
Epigram for an Ego, 44
Existendencies, 26
Fly by Night, 3
Folly, 70
Hackberry Moon, 74
Heat, 28
How to Abide on Queue, 48
Lapin Agile, 53
Little Done, 19
Lost and Found in the Rings of Saturn, 9
Love at First Sight, 2
Making It, 58
Measurments, 23
Nomenclature for Dummies, 8
Ogle It, 64
Omerta, 79
Quiet Mischief in a Damn Fine Universe, 80
Seasoning, 36
Six Mile Snake, 72
Slam, 24
Stardate, 5
Steadfast, 68
The Chameleon’s Dish, 60
The Days, They Fall Upon, 59
The Fourth of You Lie, 73
The Guru Rinpoche Rehab Clinic in the Sky, 38
The Honerable Judge Mental, Presiding, 75
The Knees, 47
The Phone Intransitive, 39
The Tao is None of Your Business, 6
These Men, 46
Tonic, 65
Too Cool, 63
Unseemly, 4
Walk, 69
What to Do if You See a Bear, 55
White After Dark, 45
Why So Quiet, 50
Wrought, 57
Haiku
Pages 83-88
Prose
Reading Life Aloud, 14
Delta, 20
Flier, Flier, Pants on Fire, 34
Temping, 90
