Five Poems from HUMAN / NATURE

7.1 upturned curve of pine branch against grey whiteness of sky in upper right foreground, dried hemlock stalk slanting up across from it, sound of waves breaking in channel                                                     Cary Grant answering the phone, asking Katherine Hepburn, "is that you"              Rumsfeld claiming he wants to clear Taliban out of Afghanistan and the Saddams out of Iraq, adding "if you want to call that 'a quagmire' do it, I don't" silver of sunlight reflecting off the windblown blue- plane of channel, width of fog behind pine on point 7.2 song sparrows calling from tobacco plant branch in upper right foreground, grey-white sky behind it, drops falling into watering can next to glass back door                                              woman on right recalling finding The Countess from Minneapolis in New York, whose exploration of space still holds her attention                                                         woman on phone admitting she's still in her pajamas, having started to read Hemingway last night, wind blowing so hard yesterday the tennis ball seemed to slow before it got to her                                                                          white water moving in across the grey-green plane of the channel, wingspan of pelican flapping across toward point above it 7.3 streaked sparrow perched on curved copper bar above feeder in left foreground, light green of hemlock stalk against grey-white sky above it, sound of jet passing overhead man in black sweatshirt recalling the man from Detroit talking about his commute, 80 percent of the city trashed woman with hair pulled back sending large box of lavender from the garden to a 72 year old woman in Mobile, Alabama, who died two days after they arrived                                         line of grey-white fog bank moving across horizon to the left of the point, blinding circle of sun in cloudless blue sky overhead 7.4 red house finch pecking up seeds from table in left foreground, motion of tobacco plant leaves and branches as wind moves across it, sound of waves breaking in channel man at left end of table noting "nobody likes Brahms like I do," woman in pink thinking he said "bombs"                                                 Mahmoud Abbas claiming "killing and destruction do nothing but plant hate," adding "even if we are required to make painful sacrifices, I am prepared to make them"                                grey-white sky's reflection in the grey-green plane of the channel, wingspan of gull flapping toward the circular green pine on tip of point 7.5 silhouette of hummingbird perched on dried hemlock stalk in right foreground, high thin white clouds in pale blue sky above it, sound of helicopter moving across it                                                       man who rides bike across mountain passes noting "I've never owned a motorcycle, because I would have killed myself" trumpet player recalling driving in van to Steamboat Springs, writing horn lines to someone else's song, patch of black ice landing the band in debt                                                line of white cloud in pale blue sky above point, sunlight flickering off blue-green wave to the left of GROIN sign

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