Universe

 Time

Space

 Energy

 Matter

  Stars

  Planets 

   Sky

   Earth

    Dynamic

    Stable

     Oceans

     Continents

      Glaciers

      Mountains

       Rivers

       Canyons

        Life

        Death 

         Animals

         Plants 

          Forests

          Valleys 

           Volcanoes

           Islands

            New

            Old 

The Old Amazon and the Sea

there's 48 trees for you there
and 48 trees for me
just imagine all the things that could 
be built with Amazonian trees

48 trees for each human
just growing there for free
resilient species like Greenheart
hard ones like Mahogany

just imagine what could be built
if we cut down all those trees
elaborate log cabins
and marvels of carpentry

woodland palaces to rival the elves
of Tolkien's wildest dreams
there's just so much potential
that exists in 48 trees

totem poles would be back in style
and obelisks of wood
doors and trim of Brazilnut
picket fences of Cumaru

why not built from Ipe
when you want to build to last
we'd better get while the gettin's good
because supplies are going fast

there's only 48 for you
and just 48 for me
if we don't get at them quickly
what then will there be

no marvel's we've imagined
no palaces for elves
we'd have to leave those dreams we've dreamt
upon our memory shelves

leave them just for fictions 
for poems and for cartoons
but where's the value in all of that
versus wood paneling for rooms

wood sculptures of whatever
robotic arms can carve
wooden halls for massive feasts
to make sure no one starves
 
wooden shelters for everyone
for the young and for the old
with plenty hardwood firewood
to drive away the cold

just think of the grand tree houses
and playgrounds to be built
with hardwood that would be there
for the next generation still

it would be a wooden Renaissance
if we each had 48 trees
masterpieces that would leave you breathless
 'cause there'd be no air left to breathe

(okay I know that you're about to say
"but what about the sea
what about phytoplankton
making oxygen for me"

yeah, 
sure, I get that there's
all kinds of 
little miracles

at work in the ecology
but if I start to go on and on about 
the value of simple algae
someone'll want to strain it all out

I gladly make a joke here to
dance around my massive fear
of ocean acidification due
to CO2 in the atmosphere

could a spike threaten phytoplankton
and thus all of us that breathe
the horror of an ocean algae die-off
is worse than you want to believe)

A Gaseous Atmosphere

Around town the sound 

of the wind rolling in 

through the foothills 

until the still is interrupted 

by a steady thumping 

coming down the road 

that's letting everybody know 

what song it is and where 

they're going with it. 

Still bumping as it fades 

away into the end of the day 

and again I can hear the wind 

as a motorcycle spins up it's engine 

getting on an onramp to the horizon. 

I'm left wondering was that even 

wind I was hearing 

or just the din 

of the distant highway?

I like it my way better 

so I'm going to forget 

I considered the alternative. 

So anyway, the wind in the hills 

stills the panic in my heart 

as another car speeding off 

kills the silence and comes 

speeding around the curve 

of the yard before vanishing 

into the night. 

All right, 

now this next one is the wind. 

I'm sure of it. 

It can't all be cars as far 

as the ear can hear, can it? 

I remember when the stars 

were clear in the sky 

and with the naked eye 

you could see the Milky Way 

from just outside the city 

but the edifice glitters 

too brightly now 

for the night sky 

to still share it's qualities 

with us, so we send silver seeds

of civilization barrelling out 

taking pictures of creation 

from beyond our smogged up atmosphere 

so that the images captured will be clearer

without the soot in the air. 

I breathe in the remains 

of depleted resources 

burned so we can stay the course 

cheating against Nature's steady tide 

with no concern for all 

of the other things alive 

on the planet with us, 

while we tell lies to our kids 

about how civilized our era is, 

as intentional vehicular manslaughter 

is dismissed in court as normal behavior. 

Premeditated murder of civilians 

on crosswalks 

is specifically legalized 

if any one of them tries 

to block the drivers path 

that driver now has 

a legal right 

to crash into the crowd 

and mow down 

anyone in the road 

even after the public outcried

when showed the footage 

of the damage 

and deaths 

caused by this 

extreme vehicular violence 

for the sake of impatience

and making political statements.

Then there's silence from corporate media 

that's always trying to sell you a vehicle 

with crumple zones so you can feel protected 

from any objects that might be rejected 

from your path. They'll show you videos 

of how well the car can smash into 

all kinds of barriers 

but it's a lot scarier 

when the bumper 

is crunching 

against the mass 

of human flesh and bones. 

I don't think I'm alone 

in thinking this 

but perhaps my position 

is different from where 

you've been seeing it from. 

You could be focused 

on looking past it

but I'm asking

you to look back 

and react not to just the act itself 

but to how we can now tell 

that the media reaction back then 

was inadequate. 

That the laws that came out of it 

were to protect murders committed 

with a deadly weapon 

that every panicking 

late-stage capitalist 

is driving around in.

River Bed

On rainy days I'll read a book
Can't find a thing without taking a look
Often I'll find sparks that remind
Of someone I should thank

Like Einstein for his useful notions 
Such as relativities or photons
Speaking of sunshine it must be time
To head to the river bank

Avoiding the poison ivy
Just like my grandma taught me
Under the trees I move with ease
Until the slope is steep

Using trees as hand holds
Scanning for roots or a rock that won't roll
I make my way to seize the day
Until I need to sleep

When the sun is brightly shining
I'd rather spend my time outside in
The shade of boughs or windswept clouds
Each molecule a blessing

With new leaves to be turned
Unimaginable lessons to learn
I'd rather be where I can see
What others have been missing

A garbled screech breeches my calm 
I raise my head up in alarm
What is the wind now carrying in
It seems a familiar cry

Into view a squawking pelican
Flew past the canopy opening bellowing
Letting me know a brief air show
Was passing in the sky

I see in the trees a branch that had split
And a new branch has forked off from it
Off from the stump where the old one was
A new effort grows

A swath of smooth stones line the other shore
Perhaps there was a bridge here before
With time it crumbled and pieces tumbled
Splashing in the water below

The bank is flanked by block-like rocks
That at one point must have been built up
Corners in the stream hint that these 
Have not long withstood the flow

A natural formation 
Or a builder's creation
Once went across this river's course
Which it was I cannot know

Unless I get lucky and perhaps
I can come across a historical map
On which an old path for the road
Is there and clearly shown

That's the only way to know
Now as I sit here with nowhere to go
I'll imagine any option
That could've created this swath of stones

Rolling down a bed slick with algae
To ever go back upstream is unlikely 
A one way trip for stones that slip
Off from their original formation

Their mass resists the constant flow
But there's simply no other way to go
The momentum will erode them
Ever onward to new locations

A crumbled block got to where 
It is now by just standing there
Going on slow with the flow
Scratching the bottom

River stones off tumbled ridges
And forks that split to make new branches
Caused by rain drops that do not stop
Where they've fallen

Where they fell was wet already 
So with friends they started going steady 
Always downhill as water will
To join up with a stream

Until it winds it's way to the sea
Either to sink down deep as can possibly be
Or be splashed from waves and evaporate
Or somewhere else inbetween

Forming bodies of water so wide
The moon's pull creates tides
That make beaches wherever water reaches
From cracks in the rocks

Expansion and contraction
Split cliffs up into fractions
Then those all fall into small small
Shards of tiny blocks

In the ebbing and crashing tides
Or in the river's course to slide
Rounding the rough square edges off
Polished smooth and clean

The bridge ridge rocks lay splayed out
As in the sky the rolling clouds
Will continue bringing rain to
Refill the rolling stream

It seems like magic that it's an
Automatically recharging system
Solar powered just like flowers
Springing from the ground

Like a tree swaying in the breeze
Pumping sap to feed new leaves
Evapotranspirating glands
Ejecting future clouds

Like a farmer gleaning fields
The trees photosynthetically yield
Both nutrients and seeds to plant
For later rain harvests

Winds direct where these cloud will be
When they've gathered moisture heavy
Enough to form droplets that pour
Down on some distant forest

Or fall as snow on a mountain peak
Or dump directly back onto a sea 
Or on dry earth to quench roots thirsty
Absorbent hairs

A plant that had gone dormant 
Gentle rain starts to reform it
Just what it needs to make new green
Foliage appear

The newly sprung buds receive
Solar power to grow into leaves
To soak up more sun than before
Now with more surface area

If you think of it as beauty
Science doesn't feel like a duty
If you don't want to miss magnificence
Don't let the math scare you

It might just be wrong anyway
And who is anyone in the crowd to say
That it's all wrong while playing along
Nodding in steady movement

Trends would show it's likely to be
Some sociopathic corporate scheme
With experts paid to take what they've
Been told and go and prove it

That's called motivated reasoning
Like adding too much seasoning
To hide the taste of rotting waste
That should have been discarded

But with the fallacy of sunken costs 
Bosses refuse to take the loss
Trickling it down onto some clown
Who's just glad to be regarded

The clown takes it as a chance to see
How the paper ghosts avoid defeat
These ephemeral wisp criminals
Known to all of us only by name

"Nonphysical entities are people too"
There's nothing that you can ever do
To make me agree that you and me
And an abstract idea are the same

But this gives me reason to recall 
A lesson learned from taking a fall
Is harder than words from a friend
But easier to remember

So I'll listen when a teacher speaks
But still I'll try to climb for the peaks
The miles earn the lessons learned
With theory and practice together 

Carrara Marble

Just the parts that you're forced to reveal

For the sake of greetings and eating and

Commerce and other normal primate 

Activities 

                Just those most basic defining

Primate parts that inspired the digital 

Age that you can't hide except in gloves 

For the love of all things beautiful 

It is merely dutiful of me to report

In obnoxious tedium that the only

Medium worthy of attempting to

Capture the elegance of your fingertips

The fair turns of your wrist as you pick

Up your hair and expose with grace

The fair features of your neck and face

The only chance is in Carrara Marble

Your likeness itself is a rare marvel

And yet it pales in comparison to the 

Whole of you and what you can do with

Just your eyes sympathizing showing

Willingness to listen to what others

Are missing and thus christening

Opportunities for new solutions 

To be formed 

                       New ways for the crowd

To be informed by your translation 

Facilitating conversations with

A smirk of a smile meanwhile hiding

The fair angle of your cheek

For a curious observer to seek

And though you allow no one to speak

Of it in your presence the lines

Of your chin define perfection

Cities were erected around statues

Of their chosen god or goddess

And yet here you are walking among us

Concealing your features so that

Lesser creatures aren't shocked

To encounter a deity so plainly 

Going about her business as if

We who exist in your presence 

Aren't nourished by your mere existence 

And I get this must be exhausting 

All powers come with a cost and

To reveal the real beauty that

You dutifully cover would draw so

Much attention that even the mention

Of it bores you 

                          You don't have mind

For every random poet know-it-all to

Point out that you're absolutely divine
How could you even find the time to 
Fairly address the mess it would cause
If members of the average public saw
The radiant glory of you 
                                           I'm betting at
This point you're confused as to why I'm
Obsessing
                  Why is this weirdo trying to 
Teach me a lesson about the defense 
Mechanism I have built to defend
Against anyone extending a compliment 
Because it's programming reinforcing a spell 
That you tell yourself every time you 
Get complimented which from the
Looks of it is probably quite often and it
Seems from an outside observer's 
Perspective that you choose to hide
From attention that would act as
A detriment to your humility perhaps
Because that's where your ability to 
Connect and reflect in meaningful ways
Stays rooted so your humble shrine 
Of inspiration stays protected as any
Effort to note your beauty is rejected
Which then leaves your ego feeling neglected 
All for the sake of the love of your art
And then that right there is the part that makes 
You ascend beyond the reach of mortals
And carve your own identity in stone
Your every effort is defining where the
River of civilization flows winding 
                                                           Your
Legacy and the frequency with which
You can produce works fuses history with
Your essence letting the record know
Of your presence in the time line 
Where humbly and nobly you define
The boundary of what is understood
About beauty 
                        So even if it's rude of
Me to point it out to you I feel like I
Might be able to help diffuse the magic
That you've bound yourself to in tragic 
Ways in order to make your days bearable 
And perhaps you never felt it was sharable
But yet the other day in such a casual way
You chose to say to me that you'd been
Bullied about your hair by boys who couldn't 
Help but stare and had to make up a lame
Reason so that they didn't get harassed by
Their chump friends about having a crush
On you but of course you were talented
And intelligent so you went about your normal
Routine but now with a barrier between you
And the chumps too dumb to understand 
Why the very thought of you was driving
Them mad to the point where they 
Felt the need to mention you as an 
Anomaly forcing you to defend your
Sanctity by retreating and in doing so
Generating an animosity to those who
Can't help but notice your exceptionality
So you disguise it and instead choose
To lead with your personality and
It's fantastic 
                     If I could go back in time
And find those bullies before they insulted
You I wouldn't because without them you
Couldn't have developed to exactly what you
Are now
               Endowed with the wisdom to know
How to protect from overexposing your
Audience to your mesmerizing perfections
The sweetest of all of the finest confections
Can't compare to a smile that freely you share
And Carrara Marble is the only material
That bares a chance at capturing your
Ethereal image

Existential Potential

Come across a contraption sniffing me

A machine designed to judge my potential 

Gladly

But keeps the results confidential 

Behind a pay wall for all to see 

But me

Can I score more than I can handle

Do the fashions of the time define me

Badly

Will algorithms imagine what I can be

Studying past samples and examples

For me

Civilization's history 

All that's known and what's wrote 

About it

Compiled to a style I want

From origins of no mystery 

To doubt it 

Ploddingly onward it continues to swindle

Anyone hungry enough to be tempted 

By bait

Putting in prompts the account is empty

Pump in more to imagine a new angle

I can't wait

I have to know how many bottles 

Of water it takes to change the stakes

For humanity

How many comments do I need to make

To break through institutionalized walls

Of insanity 

Calculate it now robot I need to know how

Yoshimi defeats you with vitamins

Untragicly

Tell me what the plan will be to end

The last episode of your show now

Dramatically

Don't be mad at me for asking it's a joke

I'm just saying we're already praying 

To you

So while eyes in the sky are prying

At least we get cool apps with which to scope

Through you

But giant servers for intelligence services

Programmed to calculate my value in seconds

Without a doubt 

Determining from the available records

The very insecurities that'd make me nervous 

If known about

Scoop me up like Terry Gilliam's Brazil

Zip up my hood with no questions answered

Like professionals

Spreading dread in heads when it suits their fancy

With sweat in their eyes they do not see

Who they put in jail

Swinging blind without a mind to control

On the payroll is all it takes to make them loyal

Participants

Bashing in well read heads for the price of oil

Then go to church to pretend to have a soul

They're missing it

Galactic Love

there once was a time

when our orbits aligned

and I couldn’t help but bask
in your gravity 

as you glided by me

I was naturally attracted

I passed your atmosphere

almost near enough to extract it

grabbing at your mass
with my magnetic wind

trying to absorb it

as we pass my force yearns 

to pull you from your orbit

of course

your momentum resists

but the reactions in our clouds admit

a tension exists between us 

if we could pull each other in

and make each other spin

just the right way
in a cosmic ballet

I could take you as my moon

on that last pass

I swooned through 

just out of reach

but close enough to feel your pull 

on my trajectory

shifting my inclination

what a celestial sensation

the relation of our

heavenly bodies

coming close to each other

brings 

since that time

we passed by

I tend to find

my space is full of nothing

each minute feels like eternity

as I anticipate the moment we

swing around the same sector

of the galaxy again