Gogyohka 12.30.09

When I saw those two
talking about heroin addiction
in that movie
I knew they were once lovers
and not yet ex-es

Gogyohka 12.28.09

our little Christmas tree
in the window
with the sun setting behind it
gives me comfort
like a mini Mt. Fuji

If you lose someone
it hurts
but everyone else seems closer
The darkest sky
has the brightest stars

pretense
that old whore
wearing costume jewelry
and talking in reruns
a bad game of make believe

Gogyohka 12.26.09

went skating at Bryant Park
and fell down
now my upper butt hurts
on the train going home
bright faces wishing Merry Christmas

or

last night
went skating
and fell down
now my butt hurts
on Christmas morning

want to write a poem
to stop your heart
make the blood dance
shut your eyes
and let your wings grow

Gogyohka 12.23.09

What's called civilization
sounds like a sum of agreements
"It's not that easy
You can't just snap your fingers"
Time's old trick of permanence

My father stood up
and said no
to a room full of men
leaning back in their chairs
still full from lunch

Gogyohka 12.22.09

America, please--
be beautiful again
This December
filled with smiles and sparkle
can last

my youth dreamed up ideals
sneered at imperfections
whatever washed away my castles
now waves are enough
and more

Gogyohka 12.21.09

washing the dishes
temper breaks
glass shards on the ground
rage won't resolve
only circulate

you can rebuild
a building
but
you can't rebuild
a tree

the cleared pathway
has a skim
of snow
polka-dotted
with pee

don't tell
Mr. Kitty
sleeping in the snow-reflected sun
about the splash and slush
of the melted sidewalks

Gogyohka 12.20.09

These accumulated over the past week like the snow piled up on the sidewalks in Brooklyn:

Already know I'm back
Go down the stairs
to the train platform
and hear steel drums
playing "White Christmas"

Driving to the airport
we see the border signs
from South to North Carolina
Once in the air
the only lines left are highways

the city street's mood
the moment between two songs
playing on a jukebox
the trash cans are wearing
tall white fur hats

Sneaking out late
Buttoning my coat
and zipping my boots
to wrap myself
in nature's blanket

blowing snow
turns a city night amber
the only sounds
a set of wind chimes
and the old school's industrial heater

This snow!
Fluffing up the spiny branches
and weaving a blanket
to rest in the temporary death
of Winter's sleep

Gogyohka 12.12.09

On the train platform
50 whiskey-breathed Santas
chanting "Ho. HO. HO!"
On the train a prophet--
"When the Word came, it was like a sword..."

the husband stands
in the winter sun
scrooging his face
his wife coos at an infant
down the sidewalk

Collected Gogyohka 12.7.09-12.11.09

Nationalism

New flag
just out of plastic
run straight up the pole
and waving alone
in the winter wind

"He's the kind of guy
who looks at his shoes
when he trips
over his feet."
"Oh yeah?"

Getting
older--
practice
for the moment
ready?

The fracture line
between thinking
and believing
Don't need no flowers
to feel the Spring wind

Climb a tree
when young
to paint the tree
in perspective
then become the tree

In this cold
the sidewalk
looks like
a future chipped tooth
an icicle falling

Another Guest Gogyohka Poet

This one is Peter Fiore, author of the first published collection of American Gogyohka Poetry, Text Messages. Peter has been a wonderful companion on the journey of promoting Gogyohka in this country, and since meeting in October his advice and energy has meant a great deal to me.

[Peter and his granddaughter Linda Fiore, who also writes Gogyohka]

in misty rain
I see my children
looking out the window
waiting
for me to come home

our first time together
I last 3 minutes, you get pregnant
40 years later
we have 7 grandchildren
and live 3000 miles apart

in the morning
we ate apples and cheese
by the river
my children and me
voices rattling like kites

You can read more poems and thoughts by both Peter and Aidu at Gogyohka Junction.

Guest Gogyohka Poet, Aidu Taro

Hi everyone,

If you follow my blog regularly, you remember I posted a poem by Mont. Well, you can call him Aidu now, and here's another Gogyohka I especially like from his English body of work.

after picking white roses
in our small garden
I set them secretly
in my wife’s pillowcase
an evening of May

[a photo Aidu took of a white rose growing in his garden that didn't make it into his bedroom]

You can visit Aidu's blog by clicking from the list on the left. His is called "The Lovely Earth".

Gogyohka 12.06.09

Does anyone
hate prison
more than
Johnny Cash?
Born with bars

Still haven't
finished
the mix tape
of my heart
not enough tracks

The birds perched
on the highest branches
of the tree
outside the housing projects
are singing in unison

I don't live
near whites
I live
in a slice
of chocolate custard pie

Gogyohka 12.04.09

my outward expressions
have been made
so many times now
they're lined into one
heart's river keeps flowing

such a razor's edge!
cynicism's sneer
or staying not naive
seeing the wounded bird
forgetting the wounded bird

December Brooklyn
People singing
and dancing
even if
they don't know it

Gogyohka 12.03.09

we asked him what he wanted
to do for a living
"I want to lay in a hammock
with a glass of wine
listening to jazz"

The bright blue sky so warm
it makes me delirious
I set my head down
walk fast on the sidewalk
Past the drunk fingering his bottleneck

Gogyohka 12.02.09

The bare botanic garden
lets me see the reflecting pool
Seems so much closer--
an oncoming winter
promises intimacy

Something she likes
standing before the emptied pool
with an island
of dead cat-o-nine tails
Something the scarfed old woman likes

Lost in a waterfall of faces
and wanting to be
Only one way to avoid
achieving yourself
Easy to hide shouting alone, too

Walking the streets
could get hit by a bus
for all I care
Facing strangers without fear
Filled with riches none can rob

the sweet reeking potpourri
of brown leaves
gathered by hand
stuffed into shopping bags, tied tight
just like my landlord wants

Gogyohka 12.01.09

outside
I see my breath for the first time
smell the sidewalk drying
mixed with the heating oil truck
Apples rotting on the tree

Spraying the tiles
thinking about
which store sells
the cheapest bleach
I fell down in the bathtub