#robertcreeley
But not yet still
green
the leaves are that
of Summer
we wish and we must
be careful
what we wish for
and look beyond
what is strikingly
beautiful
and at the time
never
here to stay
Sep 9, 2024
Sep 9, 2024 at 5:05 PM UTC
I know that
if I am true to my art
my craft it will give
back and be true to me
truths are always that simple
every 44 to 120 minutes
Old Faithful
from its joyous maw
spits wet pure
celebration at our
spacious blue skies
simple direct
profundity
whit howland © 2019
Jul 29, 2019
Jul 29, 2019 at 5:54 PM UTC
A curt goodbye
no good luck
just hard stares
and harder bargains
78 degrees today sun
cloudless
in our neighborhood
lawns freshly fertilized
cut
and green like dollar bills
walls stripped bare
now cold
papers shredded
family photos
trophies
some silver some
gold
all tucked
snug
in banker's boxes
whit howland © 2019
Jul 30, 2019
Jul 30, 2019 at 3:55 PM UTC
Hotpoint
magnet
refrigerator
white
we pray
for rain but poetry
never comes
words
birthday suits only
whit howland © 2019
Jul 29, 2019
Jul 29, 2019 at 2:57 AM UTC
A phonograph
or
an object
more poetic
say
a Victrola
a metronome
accordion
a Dictaphone
whatever the device
you're in there
pulling wires
plunking keys
blowing wolf tones
anything to skunk up the works
and if I were smart
I'd brace myself
for your ghostly visit
your
attempt to cramp
my style
to drag me clawing
gnashing
to the junkyard of naked language
to make me face
the paint and music
like you always did
but there's a problem
it's small
but very significant
I don't believe in ghosts
nor do I think you
to be one
and if you do come
it won't to by the light
of a beastly moon
nor will you be bathed
in spooky green
glowing paint
but
with a presence
better than the one I knew you by
one with
even more depth
and perception
and you will
bear
just a soft
new brush
fresh cans
of paint
simple
nothing more
nothing less
© Whit Howland 2019
Sep 26, 2019
Sep 26, 2019 at 3:02 AM UTC
It rained last night
and the flood waters
washed away
a pair of kids
red rubber boots
a four square ball
and a lecture
no one needs to hear
Sep 10, 2024
Sep 10, 2024 at 3:32 PM UTC
through a streaked window pane
I watched life
get washed like flotsam and jetsam
into a storm sewer
and realized again
that
it's all about days like these
and the quotidian truths
they reveal
Sep 12, 2024
Sep 12, 2024 at 10:51 AM UTC