<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" media="screen" href="/~d/styles/atom10full.xsl"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/itemcontent.css"?><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearch/1.1/" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" gd:etag="W/&quot;CUQBRXg8fCp7ImA9WhRUE08.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675</id><updated>2012-01-23T14:55:54.674+02:00</updated><title>Poems and Scribbling</title><subtitle type="html">Here's some poetry written over the last thirty odd years. I also edit New Contrast magazine and books, and MC Off-the-Wall poetry gigs in Cape Town.</subtitle><link rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://hahodge.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://hahodge.blogspot.com/" /><link rel="next" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default?start-index=26&amp;max-results=25&amp;redirect=false&amp;v=2" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><generator version="7.00" uri="http://www.blogger.com">Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>39</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles" /><feedburner:info uri="hahodge-poemsandscribbles" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/" /><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;CEQESHozeip7ImA9WhRUE08.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-551519650033600585</id><published>2012-01-23T14:38:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2012-01-23T14:38:29.482+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-01-23T14:38:29.482+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2433 - 2439</title><content type="html">bring me word&lt;br /&gt;
master of silence&lt;br /&gt;
of time before&lt;br /&gt;
time before I knew&lt;br /&gt;
ignorance is divine&lt;br /&gt;
knowing all cannot be&lt;br /&gt;
nothing further&lt;br /&gt;
than silence&lt;br /&gt;
is the first word&lt;br /&gt;
it is&lt;br /&gt;
2433.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;15 Jan 2012 @ 1311&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
reflect the Atlantic&lt;br /&gt;
in the tern's eye how&lt;br /&gt;
the pupil masters&lt;br /&gt;
an ocean in its tear how&lt;br /&gt;
the orbit of my mind&lt;br /&gt;
circulates each ebb and flow&lt;br /&gt;
of tern and turn about&lt;br /&gt;
2434.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;18 Jan 2012 @ 0654&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
the egyptian goose&lt;br /&gt;
is heavier than air and must&lt;br /&gt;
beat its tattoo to&lt;br /&gt;
the galley slave's drum&lt;br /&gt;
but the tern rises&lt;br /&gt;
to a zephyr's first kiss&lt;br /&gt;
and cannot wait on earth&lt;br /&gt;
2435.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;18 Jan 2012 @ 0704&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
does the seal pup know&lt;br /&gt;
who watches&lt;br /&gt;
deep in thought&lt;br /&gt;
his shallow acrobatics&lt;br /&gt;
beneath the superficial sky&lt;br /&gt;
the subcutaneous sea&lt;br /&gt;
bitter as salt&lt;br /&gt;
stirs nothing but kelp&lt;br /&gt;
2436.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;19 Jan 2012 @ 0643&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
sometimes I'm lighter than air&lt;br /&gt;
stars wave up at me&lt;br /&gt;
I smile&lt;br /&gt;
show my royal glove&lt;br /&gt;
swoop and whoosh higher&lt;br /&gt;
faster than a bullet&lt;br /&gt;
faster than superman&lt;br /&gt;
like a dreamer&lt;br /&gt;
2437.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;21 Jan 2012 @ 1637&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
a poet is looking for his poem&lt;br /&gt;
lost in an attic which&lt;br /&gt;
would be dusty&lt;br /&gt;
as you'd expect&lt;br /&gt;
if it were virtually anywhere&lt;br /&gt;
else but it's not so&lt;br /&gt;
he only needs reminding&lt;br /&gt;
2438.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;21 Jan 2012 @ 1646&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'm at the Galapogos stage&lt;br /&gt;
the neck goes first&lt;br /&gt;
surprise in the eye&lt;br /&gt;
then humping&lt;br /&gt;
the ungainly clash and jar&lt;br /&gt;
unsubtle in technique&lt;br /&gt;
inept scrabbling of hind legs&lt;br /&gt;
2439.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;21 Jan 2012 @ 1714&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-551519650033600585?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NZeq-SS-g5tAyF6ofUm0XUrvkRc/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NZeq-SS-g5tAyF6ofUm0XUrvkRc/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NZeq-SS-g5tAyF6ofUm0XUrvkRc/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NZeq-SS-g5tAyF6ofUm0XUrvkRc/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/ltgn7hLJuTE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/551519650033600585?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/551519650033600585?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/ltgn7hLJuTE/texts-2433-2439.html" title="Texts 2433 - 2439" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2012/01/texts-2433-2439.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;Ck4DQXw8fip7ImA9WhRVEko.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-8440804973414047089</id><published>2012-01-11T10:36:00.003+02:00</published><updated>2012-01-11T10:36:10.276+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2012-01-11T10:36:10.276+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2413 - 2432</title><content type="html">that poet who loves&lt;br /&gt;
who loves each flower&lt;br /&gt;
that crowds the amphitheatre&lt;br /&gt;
listens to the wind&lt;br /&gt;
combed grass sing&lt;br /&gt;
her lament the hymn&lt;br /&gt;
whose voice never breaks&lt;br /&gt;
2413.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;9 Dec 2011 @ 0927&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
it's dark matter mostly&lt;br /&gt;
each within another&lt;br /&gt;
containing another&lt;br /&gt;
the only rule&lt;br /&gt;
cannot contain itself&lt;br /&gt;
consumes its host&lt;br /&gt;
is itself consumed&lt;br /&gt;
this is the law of Hugh&lt;br /&gt;
2414.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;11 Dec 2011 @ 1046&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
the old man knows gravity&lt;br /&gt;
matches the years&lt;br /&gt;
his grandson's rubber legs&lt;br /&gt;
are weighted to infant earth&lt;br /&gt;
while his are anthracite old&lt;br /&gt;
one day a fall will shatter him&lt;br /&gt;
2415.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;17 Dec 2011 @ 0657&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Africa knows patience&lt;br /&gt;
she waits&lt;br /&gt;
time is not her measure&lt;br /&gt;
these are distances&lt;br /&gt;
feet cannot count&lt;br /&gt;
she waits&lt;br /&gt;
her part is the song&lt;br /&gt;
these are melodies&lt;br /&gt;
of many tongues&lt;br /&gt;
2416.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;17 Dec 2011 @ 0705&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
a poem came and left&lt;br /&gt;
a butterfly's jagged warp&lt;br /&gt;
and weft too quick&lt;br /&gt;
autobiography is my eye's&lt;br /&gt;
flight's shuttle weaving&lt;br /&gt;
the fabric of wings&lt;br /&gt;
but the poem's grounded&lt;br /&gt;
2417.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;17 Dec 2011 @ 0712&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
shallows of opinion&lt;br /&gt;
cannot move oceans&lt;br /&gt;
terns shriek awake&lt;br /&gt;
or sleep in the reef's arms&lt;br /&gt;
anemones caress love's dream&lt;br /&gt;
these shallow pools&lt;br /&gt;
reflect light's laughter&lt;br /&gt;
2418.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;17 Dec 2011 @ 0830&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
behind the year's tick&lt;br /&gt;
winks the naughty girl&lt;br /&gt;
licks her lips&lt;br /&gt;
with that universal tongue&lt;br /&gt;
always at the ready&lt;br /&gt;
the sentry guarding&lt;br /&gt;
no other minder&lt;br /&gt;
needed nightly x&lt;br /&gt;
2419.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;19 Dec 2011 @ 0655&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
a man is composed&lt;br /&gt;
the melody fucked&lt;br /&gt;
until the whole earth&lt;br /&gt;
blue green brown&lt;br /&gt;
like remains rotting&lt;br /&gt;
into opinion's compost&lt;br /&gt;
enriches the next&lt;br /&gt;
regeneration's song&lt;br /&gt;
2420.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;19 Dec 2011 @ 1319&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
message to a friend indeed&lt;br /&gt;
broken winged the spirit soars&lt;br /&gt;
how else do you see&lt;br /&gt;
the distance you travel&lt;br /&gt;
every day to wipe the tear&lt;br /&gt;
from this cheek of history&lt;br /&gt;
xxx&lt;br /&gt;
2421.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;19 Dec 2011 @ 1326&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jack Russell points out&lt;br /&gt;
interests with his penis&lt;br /&gt;
and led by nose&lt;br /&gt;
and mistress&lt;br /&gt;
and off the leash&lt;br /&gt;
for now&lt;br /&gt;
despite her ever louder&lt;br /&gt;
injunctions to come&lt;br /&gt;
doesn't&lt;br /&gt;
2422.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;20 Dec 2011 @ 0713&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jack never interrupts action&lt;br /&gt;
with opinion&lt;br /&gt;
nor does he find himself&lt;br /&gt;
coupled&lt;br /&gt;
to a train of thought expressly&lt;br /&gt;
due at Paris Nord&lt;br /&gt;
he himself a moment off&lt;br /&gt;
cum-uppance&lt;br /&gt;
2423.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;20 Dec 2011 @ 1454&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
is the pomegranate fruit&lt;br /&gt;
to amuse the poet in question&lt;br /&gt;
perhaps he licks his lips&lt;br /&gt;
or punctuates his words&lt;br /&gt;
with exclamations or marks&lt;br /&gt;
of content not averse to her&lt;br /&gt;
2424.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;23 Dec 2011 @ 1104&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
the vida parasites exclusively&lt;br /&gt;
its bitterness matches&lt;br /&gt;
the double americano&lt;br /&gt;
sipped by wrinkled lip&lt;br /&gt;
and narrow eye&lt;br /&gt;
of the sad poet matched&lt;br /&gt;
by unpublished rhyme&lt;br /&gt;
2425.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;27 Dec 2011 @ 1251&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
flat sea&lt;br /&gt;
horizon honed to its edge&lt;br /&gt;
all but the oldest kelp drowned&lt;br /&gt;
like puppies&lt;br /&gt;
a flotilla of duikers patrol&lt;br /&gt;
at periscope depth&lt;br /&gt;
terns rise to catch first light&lt;br /&gt;
2426.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;28 Dec 2011 @ 1119&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
interstitial time&lt;br /&gt;
superficial space&lt;br /&gt;
where I am&lt;br /&gt;
at dawn&lt;br /&gt;
my tongue the blade&lt;br /&gt;
to skin Africa&lt;br /&gt;
my eye to catch the Atlantic&lt;br /&gt;
in its gasp&lt;br /&gt;
I breathe shadows of terns&lt;br /&gt;
2427.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;29 Dec 2011 @ 0827&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
if I knew god as I know&lt;br /&gt;
god knows&lt;br /&gt;
I believe I would believe&lt;br /&gt;
creation is in the image&lt;br /&gt;
here before light&lt;br /&gt;
and if I prayed&lt;br /&gt;
I would pray&lt;br /&gt;
for light&lt;br /&gt;
2428.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;30 Dec 2011 @ 0606&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
the year barely decent&lt;br /&gt;
yet to potty-train&lt;br /&gt;
yet to train&lt;br /&gt;
rude and demanding&lt;br /&gt;
inarticulate and loud&lt;br /&gt;
selfish&lt;br /&gt;
infantile as the first smile&lt;br /&gt;
comes to my ear&lt;br /&gt;
as a prayer&lt;br /&gt;
2429.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;3 Jan 2012 @ 0643&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
once upon a time&lt;br /&gt;
before I became a man&lt;br /&gt;
I was as beautiful as you&lt;br /&gt;
time's lathe had yet to turn me&lt;br /&gt;
into something eternally useful&lt;br /&gt;
and ugly&lt;br /&gt;
had to spoil the rough stone&lt;br /&gt;
2430.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;3 Jan 2012 @ 0658&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
a boy who came first&lt;br /&gt;
won prizes&lt;br /&gt;
he who came after&lt;br /&gt;
forgot&lt;br /&gt;
why he also ran&lt;br /&gt;
my father came first&lt;br /&gt;
he reminded me&lt;br /&gt;
each second in minute detail&lt;br /&gt;
until at last I lost&lt;br /&gt;
2431.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;5 Jan 2012 @ 1130&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
a poem opens a can&lt;br /&gt;
of words lines up a few&lt;br /&gt;
clichés here and there for the&lt;br /&gt;
enjambment and bettered&lt;br /&gt;
croissant with cheesy petit&lt;br /&gt;
furs as aside&lt;br /&gt;
then rites it down&lt;br /&gt;
2432.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;9 Jan 2012 @ 1009&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-8440804973414047089?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xaRTKuC88hpJwZ3LNg_sJUfg-iw/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xaRTKuC88hpJwZ3LNg_sJUfg-iw/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xaRTKuC88hpJwZ3LNg_sJUfg-iw/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xaRTKuC88hpJwZ3LNg_sJUfg-iw/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/SYMcSGljzFQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/8440804973414047089?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/8440804973414047089?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/SYMcSGljzFQ/texts-2413-2432.html" title="Texts 2413 - 2432" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2012/01/texts-2413-2432.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DUIHQX44fip7ImA9WhRRGUQ.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-3853859416794978813</id><published>2011-12-04T13:18:00.002+02:00</published><updated>2011-12-04T13:18:50.036+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-12-04T13:18:50.036+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2398 - 2412</title><content type="html">what lesson misnames&lt;br /&gt;
the synonym fashioned&lt;br /&gt;
from learner&lt;br /&gt;
I'm old fashioned&lt;br /&gt;
ploughshare turning&lt;br /&gt;
sod in the black earth&lt;br /&gt;
its necklace worn thin&lt;br /&gt;
under the beady sky&lt;br /&gt;
2398.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;28 Oct 2011 @ 0920&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
so the old monk turns&lt;br /&gt;
the page&lt;br /&gt;
is it first last&lt;br /&gt;
turns the key&lt;br /&gt;
a circular argument&lt;br /&gt;
were he half mason&lt;br /&gt;
he would build on it&lt;br /&gt;
brick the windows&lt;br /&gt;
tax himself less&lt;br /&gt;
2399.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;31 Oct 2011 @ 1008&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
my skin fits loosely&lt;br /&gt;
about my neck&lt;br /&gt;
keeps me warm&lt;br /&gt;
and gravy off my shirt&lt;br /&gt;
a sort of bib&lt;br /&gt;
to allow me to disgust&lt;br /&gt;
myself as I dribble happily&lt;br /&gt;
into second childhood&lt;br /&gt;
2400.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;3 Nov 2011 @ 0939&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
my friend the poet&lt;br /&gt;
coins knew currencies&lt;br /&gt;
from paper notes&lt;br /&gt;
promisory bills laden&lt;br /&gt;
with exchange above board&lt;br /&gt;
so his passion is unlimited&lt;br /&gt;
by indiscreet banking&lt;br /&gt;
2401.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;3 nov 2011 @ 1228&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
in my dream I set the scene&lt;br /&gt;
characters are ice&lt;br /&gt;
houses are children&lt;br /&gt;
the flood of history bears down&lt;br /&gt;
sweeps us away&lt;br /&gt;
no Noah no dove no peace&lt;br /&gt;
no covenant nothing&lt;br /&gt;
2402.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;4 Nov 2011 @ 0921&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
the smudge of cloud lying low&lt;br /&gt;
over the candid sea telltales&lt;br /&gt;
tomorrow today here&lt;br /&gt;
under milkwood&lt;br /&gt;
the lady of shalott&lt;br /&gt;
rehearses her last voyage&lt;br /&gt;
to ulysses and penny&lt;br /&gt;
2403.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;6 Nov 2011 @ 1634&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
where does new light come&lt;br /&gt;
to find darkness?&lt;br /&gt;
infinite in the infant&lt;br /&gt;
his eyes unfocussed&lt;br /&gt;
draw mine&lt;br /&gt;
finite as my old vision&lt;br /&gt;
looking out over&lt;br /&gt;
infantile horizons&lt;br /&gt;
2404.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;11 Nov 2011 @ 1536&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk takes calls&lt;br /&gt;
on his smartphone&lt;br /&gt;
seriously you never know&lt;br /&gt;
who's on the line next thing&lt;br /&gt;
you hear from the main man&lt;br /&gt;
who's mighty displeased&lt;br /&gt;
and hung up&lt;br /&gt;
2405.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;16 Nov 2011 @ 1454&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
anew Cape Town train the saffa&lt;br /&gt;
old stations cross&lt;br /&gt;
ritual and remembrance&lt;br /&gt;
fruit salad country&lt;br /&gt;
hawking my heart&lt;br /&gt;
to the blind gospel&lt;br /&gt;
a penny for your thoughts&lt;br /&gt;
you&lt;br /&gt;
2406.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;18 Nov 2011 @ 1330&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
beware the hawker who is&lt;br /&gt;
innocent&lt;br /&gt;
his crust is the truth&lt;br /&gt;
of my lies&lt;br /&gt;
his loaf is my daily bread&lt;br /&gt;
trespassers forgiven&lt;br /&gt;
pavements are his road&lt;br /&gt;
to power and glory&lt;br /&gt;
2407.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;19 Nov 2011 @ 0717&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
my mother's voice&lt;br /&gt;
Hugh-boy&lt;br /&gt;
I hear at dawn's first chorus&lt;br /&gt;
rehearses tea cup synapsis&lt;br /&gt;
sweetness arising&lt;br /&gt;
and pap stirs&lt;br /&gt;
the intemperate yolk&lt;br /&gt;
shelled and executed&lt;br /&gt;
2408.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;20 Nov 2011 @ 1130&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
this winged chariot&lt;br /&gt;
punctually late&lt;br /&gt;
of worn habit and incensed&lt;br /&gt;
by chance or compass&lt;br /&gt;
lifts the demented eye&lt;br /&gt;
to the furious sky&lt;br /&gt;
livid and raging&lt;br /&gt;
as I rightly sigh&lt;br /&gt;
2409.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;21 Nov 2011 @ 0854&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
these are the mangled remains&lt;br /&gt;
of a poem a poet stitched&lt;br /&gt;
to his lover's arse&lt;br /&gt;
a reminder of better nights&lt;br /&gt;
to come and other symbols&lt;br /&gt;
or jokes he cracked seriously&lt;br /&gt;
2410.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;21 Nov 2011 @ 0859&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
after the sax the preacherman&lt;br /&gt;
tells us rapped&lt;br /&gt;
Jesus Loves You&lt;br /&gt;
each and every one of you&lt;br /&gt;
I believe he saves&lt;br /&gt;
best till last&lt;br /&gt;
detrains at retreat&lt;br /&gt;
bless my dark soul&lt;br /&gt;
2411.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;21 Nov 2011 @ 1402&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Simon's town station is barely&lt;br /&gt;
above high water&lt;br /&gt;
take the train to town&lt;br /&gt;
along the kelp muscular shore&lt;br /&gt;
ocean green and blue&lt;br /&gt;
deep veined true&lt;br /&gt;
without a false heart&lt;br /&gt;
2412.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;22 Nov 2011 @ 0854&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-3853859416794978813?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/PFZ-UA1pq-MxJR77kCa8AiIk0Is/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/PFZ-UA1pq-MxJR77kCa8AiIk0Is/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/Wa0VlOx1fWU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/3853859416794978813?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/3853859416794978813?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/Wa0VlOx1fWU/texts-2398-2412.html" title="Texts 2398 - 2412" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2011/12/texts-2398-2412.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;CUUHRX8_eip7ImA9WhdaFE0.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-8117120975524612517</id><published>2011-10-23T22:53:00.002+02:00</published><updated>2011-10-23T22:53:54.142+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-10-23T22:53:54.142+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2384 - 2397</title><content type="html">international departures&lt;br /&gt;
has little sense of voyage&lt;br /&gt;
no sinbad plugging his pipe&lt;br /&gt;
with navy cut&lt;br /&gt;
rough as his thumb&lt;br /&gt;
no sweetheart dabbing tears&lt;br /&gt;
no tugboat whistles&lt;br /&gt;
2384.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;6 Oct 2011 @ 1749&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
bawdy call coming&lt;br /&gt;
judging by glum faces&lt;br /&gt;
at this bar&lt;br /&gt;
should I worry they know&lt;br /&gt;
something I should&lt;br /&gt;
half of us are peeling keys&lt;br /&gt;
from our cells&lt;br /&gt;
last wishes perhaps&lt;br /&gt;
2385.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;6 Oct 2011 @ 1756&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk no longer believes&lt;br /&gt;
flying is closer to godliness&lt;br /&gt;
judging by certain expletives&lt;br /&gt;
he overhears&lt;br /&gt;
in the bawdy queue&lt;br /&gt;
in future he muses&lt;br /&gt;
he'll take a bus&lt;br /&gt;
2386.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;6 Oct 2011 @ 2125&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk understands&lt;br /&gt;
the meaning of patience&lt;br /&gt;
that time is not a measure&lt;br /&gt;
of self&lt;br /&gt;
or other&lt;br /&gt;
nor is rain the colour&lt;br /&gt;
of sadness&lt;br /&gt;
nor sadness&lt;br /&gt;
a vegetable garden&lt;br /&gt;
2387.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;9 Oct 2011 @ 1651&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
a poet sees posture in respect&lt;br /&gt;
the demand for it&lt;br /&gt;
devalues the currency&lt;br /&gt;
its gift&lt;br /&gt;
values the other&lt;br /&gt;
beyond melancholy&lt;br /&gt;
beyond the poet's metaphor&lt;br /&gt;
beyond our embrace&lt;br /&gt;
2388.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;9 Oct 2011 @ 1652&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
a property of possession is self&lt;br /&gt;
it is a variation of knowledge&lt;br /&gt;
and faith&lt;br /&gt;
love of self&lt;br /&gt;
is a property &amp;nbsp;of god&lt;br /&gt;
it is a variation of hope&lt;br /&gt;
and faith&lt;br /&gt;
know your love&lt;br /&gt;
2389.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;10 Oct 2011 @ 1220&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
what's to fear&lt;br /&gt;
in a god-fearing land&lt;br /&gt;
but men&lt;br /&gt;
men fearful fearsome&lt;br /&gt;
women in darkness shine&lt;br /&gt;
covered to reveal&lt;br /&gt;
themselves open men&lt;br /&gt;
puppet and puppeteer&lt;br /&gt;
handsomely&lt;br /&gt;
2390.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;11 Oct 2011 @ 0621&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
let the poet howl his stream&lt;br /&gt;
let me take rhyme&lt;br /&gt;
and feed it the eight ball&lt;br /&gt;
let each knuckle dust&lt;br /&gt;
sunset from night's laughter&lt;br /&gt;
let home wear&lt;br /&gt;
summer seas tonight&lt;br /&gt;
2391.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;11 Oct 2011 @ 0621&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
how little I differ how much&lt;br /&gt;
I translate dreams to poetry&lt;br /&gt;
illusive tongues&lt;br /&gt;
of men and moons&lt;br /&gt;
how the tide groans&lt;br /&gt;
with metaphor&lt;br /&gt;
the desert&lt;br /&gt;
like still life&lt;br /&gt;
similar&lt;br /&gt;
2392.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;15 Oct 2011 @ 1511&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
all good things come to an end&lt;br /&gt;
according to idiom&lt;br /&gt;
so at Persepolis boundless&lt;br /&gt;
and bare dust to dust&lt;br /&gt;
could they know&lt;br /&gt;
do we know&lt;br /&gt;
our splendid works&lt;br /&gt;
are soon ash&lt;br /&gt;
2393.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;15 Oct 2011 @ 1514&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk amused&lt;br /&gt;
by Persian poets visits&lt;br /&gt;
the tombs of Hafez and Sa'adi&lt;br /&gt;
night domes their stars&lt;br /&gt;
prayer mat gardens&lt;br /&gt;
rose scented&lt;br /&gt;
beneath children's laughter&lt;br /&gt;
2394.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;19 Oct 2011 @ 1141&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
the tomb of Hafez rests&lt;br /&gt;
under Shiraz's mascara sky&lt;br /&gt;
weary as the roses' scent&lt;br /&gt;
a long way spinning back&lt;br /&gt;
among the painted gardens&lt;br /&gt;
where the old monk waits&lt;br /&gt;
for me&lt;br /&gt;
2395.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;20 Oct 2011 @ 0704&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Seamus writes reads&lt;br /&gt;
his poem to me&lt;br /&gt;
I'm earful of the dew&lt;br /&gt;
its complaint of rough rain's&lt;br /&gt;
sodding spade&lt;br /&gt;
shoulders out metaphor's&lt;br /&gt;
Ted sheltered long&lt;br /&gt;
at Heptonstall&lt;br /&gt;
2396.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;22 Oct 2011 @ 0932&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
there's no prize&lt;br /&gt;
in the end first is last&lt;br /&gt;
the poet muses&lt;br /&gt;
at the gates of paradise&lt;br /&gt;
who cares who ran&lt;br /&gt;
you need the ticket to enter&lt;br /&gt;
nobody gives a fig&lt;br /&gt;
for pedigree&lt;br /&gt;
2397.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;23 Oct 2011 @ 1215&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-8117120975524612517?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/UsTpZb7KxOg05UIlg3PAzu7NsVo/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/UsTpZb7KxOg05UIlg3PAzu7NsVo/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/nKf2-ekY1to" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/8117120975524612517?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/8117120975524612517?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/nKf2-ekY1to/texts-2384-2397.html" title="Texts 2384 - 2397" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2011/10/texts-2384-2397.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DkYFR3syeip7ImA9WhdUFEU.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-1735442621309422187</id><published>2011-10-01T17:48:00.002+02:00</published><updated>2011-10-01T17:48:36.592+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-10-01T17:48:36.592+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2364 - 2383</title><content type="html">2364.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;11 Sep 2011 @ 0904&lt;br /&gt;
the poet quit&lt;br /&gt;
therapy for reasons&lt;br /&gt;
no more complex&lt;br /&gt;
than posture and discomfort&lt;br /&gt;
her analyst sits in silence&lt;br /&gt;
she writes&lt;br /&gt;
in pencil&lt;br /&gt;
sometimes erases lines&lt;br /&gt;
and smiles&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2365.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;12 Sep 2011 @ 0944&lt;br /&gt;
I like a bare arsed lie&lt;br /&gt;
beneath the soiled underwear&lt;br /&gt;
of deceipt&lt;br /&gt;
of lawyers' whispers&lt;br /&gt;
I like its invention&lt;br /&gt;
its absurd humour&lt;br /&gt;
its humanity when all&lt;br /&gt;
said is undone&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2366.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;13 Sep 2011 @ 0800&lt;br /&gt;
in the end&lt;br /&gt;
you have to start&lt;br /&gt;
somewhere on the page&lt;br /&gt;
turn the first sod&lt;br /&gt;
is a grave metaphor&lt;br /&gt;
I like&lt;br /&gt;
so often a poem becomes&lt;br /&gt;
a trench&lt;br /&gt;
a mine&lt;br /&gt;
pointlessly dug further&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2367.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;13 Sep 2011 @ 0825&lt;br /&gt;
over and above that&lt;br /&gt;
are allusions illusions&lt;br /&gt;
is thirty feet just rhyme&lt;br /&gt;
I need to sound out&lt;br /&gt;
it has depth aft&lt;br /&gt;
any old sailor&lt;br /&gt;
taking a turn his self&lt;br /&gt;
gravely watches&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2368.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;13 Sep 2011 @ 1008&lt;br /&gt;
and understand all mysteries&lt;br /&gt;
for instance&lt;br /&gt;
the malachite hummingbird's&lt;br /&gt;
extravagant feather&lt;br /&gt;
as we take the catwalk&lt;br /&gt;
by Snake's Head light&lt;br /&gt;
him too in full bloom&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2369.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;16 Sep 2011 @ 1815&lt;br /&gt;
should I dream of you again&lt;br /&gt;
where would it be&lt;br /&gt;
that blue green forest&lt;br /&gt;
the singer what's her name&lt;br /&gt;
again the rhyme the groove&lt;br /&gt;
always repeats&lt;br /&gt;
always night and day&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2370.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;18 Sep 2011 @ 0935&lt;br /&gt;
her eyes search my face&lt;br /&gt;
for some crack&lt;br /&gt;
some little used entrance&lt;br /&gt;
some weakness in design&lt;br /&gt;
some place unguarded&lt;br /&gt;
she probes&lt;br /&gt;
coils and uncoils&lt;br /&gt;
shows me her tongue&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2371.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;19 Sep 2011 @ 1823&lt;br /&gt;
how do you sound&lt;br /&gt;
your name in my month&lt;br /&gt;
a certain distance between&lt;br /&gt;
us as between friends who&lt;br /&gt;
think about what&lt;br /&gt;
cannot be said or imagined&lt;br /&gt;
except between&lt;br /&gt;
the lines&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2372.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;20 Sep 2011 @ 0915&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk is not gay&lt;br /&gt;
he looks to his muse&lt;br /&gt;
how she fills the amphitheatre&lt;br /&gt;
with sad song&lt;br /&gt;
a pair of pied crows&lt;br /&gt;
always restless&lt;br /&gt;
how they still him&lt;br /&gt;
to his prayer&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2373.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;21 Sep 2011 @ 1700&lt;br /&gt;
my cell reminds me today&lt;br /&gt;
my father died&lt;br /&gt;
eight years seem millennia&lt;br /&gt;
the old man not aged&lt;br /&gt;
a day compared to this fool&lt;br /&gt;
we become ever more&lt;br /&gt;
alike to end the same&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2374.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;26 Sep 2011 @ 1022&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk counts little&lt;br /&gt;
of value in coin or paper&lt;br /&gt;
his song is the melody&lt;br /&gt;
sung as a child&lt;br /&gt;
when in one voice&lt;br /&gt;
the choir breathes out&lt;br /&gt;
holds the note&lt;br /&gt;
open mouthed&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2375.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;26 Sep 2011 @ 1124&lt;br /&gt;
July comes and goes&lt;br /&gt;
for Thursday's Child&lt;br /&gt;
rambles among the foothills&lt;br /&gt;
of reason hopes ever&lt;br /&gt;
to chance on a moment&lt;br /&gt;
skittish as a klipspringer&lt;br /&gt;
this long drawn path&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2376.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;26 Sep 2011 @ 1156&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk reads the sage&lt;br /&gt;
on the architecture of faith&lt;br /&gt;
the unsupported dome&lt;br /&gt;
gives him perspectives&lt;br /&gt;
of the infinite&lt;br /&gt;
and solutions&lt;br /&gt;
to differential equations&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2377.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;26 Sep 2011 @ 1302&lt;br /&gt;
eight centuries do not dim&lt;br /&gt;
his light here&lt;br /&gt;
I am still lit&lt;br /&gt;
by verse illuminated&lt;br /&gt;
in its melody&lt;br /&gt;
in its script&lt;br /&gt;
this parallel text&lt;br /&gt;
incautious as the wind&lt;br /&gt;
even now&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2378.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;27 Sep 2011 @ 0706&lt;br /&gt;
faith's fuel's fear&lt;br /&gt;
its power burns&lt;br /&gt;
internal combustion&lt;br /&gt;
its auxiliary motor electric&lt;br /&gt;
all connecting rods&lt;br /&gt;
cams and valves engineered&lt;br /&gt;
with no particular purpose&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2379.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;27 Sep 2011 @ 0758&lt;br /&gt;
break bread&lt;br /&gt;
have faith the old monk prays&lt;br /&gt;
the almighty acknowledges&lt;br /&gt;
calls for the messenger&lt;br /&gt;
cassocked in red earth&lt;br /&gt;
and dust said&lt;br /&gt;
don't think twice it's alright&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2380.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;28 Sep 2011 @ 0641&lt;br /&gt;
this john masefield sea&lt;br /&gt;
and lonely sky&lt;br /&gt;
kelp heads jostling the early&lt;br /&gt;
surfer as young fans do&lt;br /&gt;
a pop star still engaged&lt;br /&gt;
with life in the wild&lt;br /&gt;
this beautiful day&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2381.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;29 Sep 2011 @ 0708&lt;br /&gt;
morning has woken&lt;br /&gt;
grew dawn breaking&lt;br /&gt;
the fishing boat sobbing sea&lt;br /&gt;
a pair of african&lt;br /&gt;
oyster catchers breakfast&lt;br /&gt;
on the tide's spoil&lt;br /&gt;
the wind's cold from the west&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2382.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;30 Sep 2011 @ 0717&lt;br /&gt;
at first there's nothing&lt;br /&gt;
then it&lt;br /&gt;
then its name&lt;br /&gt;
some think the word first&lt;br /&gt;
before its meaning&lt;br /&gt;
so will not pronounce&lt;br /&gt;
then the code&lt;br /&gt;
the esoteric control&lt;br /&gt;
its garment&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2383.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;30 Sep 2011 @ 0725&lt;br /&gt;
the surf does not tire&lt;br /&gt;
while the surfer sleeps&lt;br /&gt;
it rests in its depths&lt;br /&gt;
in its own darkness&lt;br /&gt;
and knows&lt;br /&gt;
the superficial nature&lt;br /&gt;
of the world&lt;br /&gt;
its concerns&lt;br /&gt;
are selfish&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-1735442621309422187?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/8WbfdXnGBZyhS0LLsbeHmyk7nfw/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/8WbfdXnGBZyhS0LLsbeHmyk7nfw/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/VRH17-b0k2E" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/1735442621309422187?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/1735442621309422187?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/VRH17-b0k2E/texts-2364-2383.html" title="Texts 2364 - 2383" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2011/10/texts-2364-2383.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;CEADR3Y4eSp7ImA9WhdWFUU.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-2802439325736240135</id><published>2011-09-09T17:39:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2011-09-09T17:39:36.831+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-09-09T17:39:36.831+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2347 - 2363</title><content type="html">2347. 16 August 2011 - 1726&lt;br /&gt;
the texture of paint&lt;br /&gt;
is the vision of song&lt;br /&gt;
how melody colours&lt;br /&gt;
breathes its dimension&lt;br /&gt;
photographs the posture&lt;br /&gt;
of stone turns image&lt;br /&gt;
to aroma and scaffolding&lt;br /&gt;
x&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2348. 17 August 2011 - 0847&lt;br /&gt;
is love vegetable&lt;br /&gt;
the way it grows&lt;br /&gt;
fed by the soil of hope&lt;br /&gt;
and heaven's tears&lt;br /&gt;
I suppose not&lt;br /&gt;
looking within my animal fears&lt;br /&gt;
the road I've travelled&lt;br /&gt;
to find you&lt;br /&gt;
x&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2349. 19 August 2011 - 1116&lt;br /&gt;
a poet knows rain&lt;br /&gt;
is not god's tears&lt;br /&gt;
the earth no longer weeps&lt;br /&gt;
it is now a dry humour&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk sits&lt;br /&gt;
under his cowl&lt;br /&gt;
listening to the song thrush&lt;br /&gt;
praise god&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2350. 19 August 2011 - 1220&lt;br /&gt;
a woman in the last age&lt;br /&gt;
of her beauty&lt;br /&gt;
embraces the moment&lt;br /&gt;
as a lathe emphatic&lt;br /&gt;
turned fine furniture&lt;br /&gt;
from mature timber&lt;br /&gt;
her upholstery shows such&lt;br /&gt;
delicate colour&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2351. 19 August 2011 - 1508&lt;br /&gt;
a poet recalls himself&lt;br /&gt;
a man less of content&lt;br /&gt;
than substance&lt;br /&gt;
more a man of dream&lt;br /&gt;
than nightmare&lt;br /&gt;
a man with six pack shown&lt;br /&gt;
rather than papsak hidden&lt;br /&gt;
a man like me&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2352. 21 August 2011 - 1655&lt;br /&gt;
a woman of many colours&lt;br /&gt;
unlocks first light&lt;br /&gt;
how frequency counts&lt;br /&gt;
a calculus of almost&lt;br /&gt;
the poet bewildered&lt;br /&gt;
his tongue in translation&lt;br /&gt;
unclothed and inarticulate&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2353. 23 August 2011 - 2247&lt;br /&gt;
a man as faceless as a porn&lt;br /&gt;
star sees himself approach&lt;br /&gt;
his beauty in the mirror&lt;br /&gt;
of misgivings&lt;br /&gt;
he pulls himself together&lt;br /&gt;
by habit turns his cheek&lt;br /&gt;
doubling intent&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2354. 24 August 2011 - 0838&lt;br /&gt;
does the scaffolding of a poem&lt;br /&gt;
remain invisible after&lt;br /&gt;
the air has cleared&lt;br /&gt;
and the poet breathes out&lt;br /&gt;
is this my church&lt;br /&gt;
broad as the plainsong&lt;br /&gt;
I sing to you&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2355. 25 August 2011 - 0748&lt;br /&gt;
the biography of a poem&lt;br /&gt;
leaves much to be desired&lt;br /&gt;
between the lines&lt;br /&gt;
sometimes a pretty moment&lt;br /&gt;
reveals as briefly&lt;br /&gt;
as spinning dolphins&lt;br /&gt;
broach the broad Atlantic&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2356. 25 August 2011 - 1147&lt;br /&gt;
the pathology of the poem&lt;br /&gt;
is the poet's&lt;br /&gt;
each verse the anatomy&lt;br /&gt;
of morbidity&lt;br /&gt;
each line venal&lt;br /&gt;
why write why live&lt;br /&gt;
each syllable now anaemic&lt;br /&gt;
a metaphor similar to&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2357. 28 August 2011 - 0937&lt;br /&gt;
I used to know joy&lt;br /&gt;
a place real&lt;br /&gt;
imagined I wonder now&lt;br /&gt;
which&lt;br /&gt;
a person you me&lt;br /&gt;
who lightens&lt;br /&gt;
brightens warms&lt;br /&gt;
otherness&lt;br /&gt;
to expand create&lt;br /&gt;
super nova starring us two&lt;br /&gt;
x&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2358. 31 August 2011 - 0633&lt;br /&gt;
is pornography&lt;br /&gt;
in watching and being watched&lt;br /&gt;
feeling your genitals moisten&lt;br /&gt;
ready for cunt or cock&lt;br /&gt;
is the image&lt;br /&gt;
feeling the other's hand&lt;br /&gt;
play one's instrument&lt;br /&gt;
x&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2359. 31 August 2011 - 0703&lt;br /&gt;
my ying yang tongue&lt;br /&gt;
would comfort your kitty&lt;br /&gt;
tonight or sooner&lt;br /&gt;
your prime cut&lt;br /&gt;
and proud easel&lt;br /&gt;
spread to arrive at a palace&lt;br /&gt;
of pleasure&lt;br /&gt;
to our satisfaction&lt;br /&gt;
x&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2360. 2 September 2011 - 1247&lt;br /&gt;
a poet wears his skin&lt;br /&gt;
as camouflage&lt;br /&gt;
to hide vulnerability&lt;br /&gt;
to banker and attorney&lt;br /&gt;
he is watchful&lt;br /&gt;
and treads carefully&lt;br /&gt;
along frail pretexts&lt;br /&gt;
his tongue recoiled&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2361. 5 September 2011 - 1028&lt;br /&gt;
sickle's compass&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
the poet is the fool in the title&lt;br /&gt;
looks for direction&lt;br /&gt;
or sign or bearing&lt;br /&gt;
any landmark or light&lt;br /&gt;
to reveal harbour and reef&lt;br /&gt;
hidden by the sirens&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2362. 6 September 2011 - 1730&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk thinks&lt;br /&gt;
he has no need&lt;br /&gt;
of technology beyond the rake&lt;br /&gt;
he uses to comb&lt;br /&gt;
leaves under the elm&lt;br /&gt;
the poet would send him texts&lt;br /&gt;
to enjoy&lt;br /&gt;
were he myopic&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2363. 9 September 2011 - 0924&lt;br /&gt;
to love the poet first&lt;br /&gt;
love emptiness&lt;br /&gt;
then you will know&lt;br /&gt;
the meaning of melancholy&lt;br /&gt;
how nothing is more&lt;br /&gt;
everything less&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk told me so&lt;br /&gt;
gazing out to sea&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-2802439325736240135?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/zeKDBLkHMpEMRe8JMEkvm_qibqI/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/zeKDBLkHMpEMRe8JMEkvm_qibqI/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/zeKDBLkHMpEMRe8JMEkvm_qibqI/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/zeKDBLkHMpEMRe8JMEkvm_qibqI/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/N3Dl3DlR3Bo" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/2802439325736240135?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/2802439325736240135?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/N3Dl3DlR3Bo/texts-2347-2363.html" title="Texts 2347 - 2363" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2011/09/texts-2347-2363.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;CkINQXYzcSp7ImA9WhdQFEw.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-1559077368588486956</id><published>2011-08-15T14:16:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2011-08-15T14:16:30.889+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-08-15T14:16:30.889+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2327 - 2346</title><content type="html">2327.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 28 July 2011 - 0812&lt;br /&gt;
it's exhaustion that drowns&lt;br /&gt;
the kitten in the bucket&lt;br /&gt;
to watch that takes a lot&lt;br /&gt;
I prefer a quick death&lt;br /&gt;
the garden spade to the neck&lt;br /&gt;
this lingering is killing me&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2328.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 28 July 2011 - 0817&lt;br /&gt;
I say marry your best friend&lt;br /&gt;
whatever the sex&lt;br /&gt;
after all at least you get to&lt;br /&gt;
talk about it over&lt;br /&gt;
marmalade and black coffee&lt;br /&gt;
this is the thing good sex&lt;br /&gt;
can't match&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2329.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 28 July 2011 - 0829&lt;br /&gt;
wise&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk only finds&lt;br /&gt;
certainty in ignorance&lt;br /&gt;
he knows nothing of prayer&lt;br /&gt;
instead his conversation&lt;br /&gt;
with god is to an infant&lt;br /&gt;
who speaks in tongues&lt;br /&gt;
wisely&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2330.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 28 July 2011 - 0919&lt;br /&gt;
the grammar of illness&lt;br /&gt;
nurses old grudges&lt;br /&gt;
some parts&lt;br /&gt;
of speech change tone&lt;br /&gt;
from demonstrative&lt;br /&gt;
to imperative&lt;br /&gt;
the pity is&lt;br /&gt;
playing doctor-doctor&lt;br /&gt;
isn't fun any more&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2331.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 29 July 2011 - 0817&lt;br /&gt;
cleanliness is godliness&lt;br /&gt;
but the old monk doubts&lt;br /&gt;
washing the soiled&lt;br /&gt;
cleanses beneath the skin&lt;br /&gt;
he prays for relief&lt;br /&gt;
thanks god for an angel&lt;br /&gt;
knows the devil's hand&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2332.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 29 July 2011 - 0852&lt;br /&gt;
Vladislavic 'reduced the earth&lt;br /&gt;
to sediment' a sentiment&lt;br /&gt;
to draw on&lt;br /&gt;
parched syllables&lt;br /&gt;
some oasis of language&lt;br /&gt;
some fontein dried&lt;br /&gt;
to parchment&lt;br /&gt;
to cemetery to dust&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2333.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 4 August 2011 - 0912&lt;br /&gt;
who knows&lt;br /&gt;
the exact weight of a poem&lt;br /&gt;
off the shelf&lt;br /&gt;
or second hand&lt;br /&gt;
at a rummage sale hidden&lt;br /&gt;
with knitted socks&lt;br /&gt;
and a nice cardigan also&lt;br /&gt;
one pearl one plain truth&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2334.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 4 August 2011 - 0927&lt;br /&gt;
is poetry a plague&lt;br /&gt;
the piper unpaid&lt;br /&gt;
still&lt;br /&gt;
he slips into the country&lt;br /&gt;
the odd man&lt;br /&gt;
playing with his little whistle&lt;br /&gt;
hoping to earn his keep&lt;br /&gt;
with the faintest smile&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2335.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 5 August 2011 - 0850&lt;br /&gt;
a poem is to mind&lt;br /&gt;
as piston to engine&lt;br /&gt;
each line another stroke&lt;br /&gt;
masturbation to coitus&lt;br /&gt;
looking for metaphors&lt;br /&gt;
to warm each inch&lt;br /&gt;
within specification&lt;br /&gt;
and tolerance&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2336.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 6 August 2011 - 8.42&lt;br /&gt;
Enola&lt;br /&gt;
gay as clear sky&lt;br /&gt;
who remembers the ashes&lt;br /&gt;
that year of infamy&lt;br /&gt;
me not more than desire&lt;br /&gt;
all the world busy&lt;br /&gt;
burying the dead&lt;br /&gt;
as if the child&lt;br /&gt;
was bombed again&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2337.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 8 August 2011 - 0908&lt;br /&gt;
the lost poem&lt;br /&gt;
calls for more wine&lt;br /&gt;
to forget the poet&lt;br /&gt;
who abandoned him&lt;br /&gt;
in forest glade&lt;br /&gt;
in dappled light&lt;br /&gt;
who went off&lt;br /&gt;
with a nightmare&lt;br /&gt;
who chanced by&lt;br /&gt;
in a dream&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2338.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 8 August 2011 - 0915&lt;br /&gt;
We stand trembling here&lt;br /&gt;
together, but what monster's&lt;br /&gt;
real. I need you&lt;br /&gt;
as you need me.&lt;br /&gt;
There is a road to peace.&lt;br /&gt;
There are kind people.&lt;br /&gt;
There is our beauty.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2339.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 8 August 2011 - 1742&lt;br /&gt;
the lost poet&lt;br /&gt;
knocks on doors&lt;br /&gt;
slam after slam&lt;br /&gt;
an evangelist&lt;br /&gt;
for the word&lt;br /&gt;
between the covers&lt;br /&gt;
a private voyeur&lt;br /&gt;
made public a line&lt;br /&gt;
of enquiry in parenthesis&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2340.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 9 August 2011 - 1742&lt;br /&gt;
a dog does not defecate&lt;br /&gt;
with nonchalance&lt;br /&gt;
it's deliberate and defiant&lt;br /&gt;
nor to chance&lt;br /&gt;
nor does it reveal grace&lt;br /&gt;
or dignity&lt;br /&gt;
or backward glance&lt;br /&gt;
or my indifference&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2341.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 10 August 2011 - 0830&lt;br /&gt;
life near death&lt;br /&gt;
glimpsed the divine&lt;br /&gt;
lost in the woods&lt;br /&gt;
knowing this he turned&lt;br /&gt;
became as divine&lt;br /&gt;
as lost&lt;br /&gt;
until at last he found himself&lt;br /&gt;
dying in his arms unafraid&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2342.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 10 August 2011 - 1200&lt;br /&gt;
grief's companion&lt;br /&gt;
lover of joy&lt;br /&gt;
trite metaphor amuses a poet&lt;br /&gt;
the man died of prayer&lt;br /&gt;
fell forward released&lt;br /&gt;
grief's hold&lt;br /&gt;
lasted a lifetime&lt;br /&gt;
he's happy ever after&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2343.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 11 August 2011 - 1314&lt;br /&gt;
the side street of life&lt;br /&gt;
is manacled&lt;br /&gt;
to the magistrate's court&lt;br /&gt;
by holding cells&lt;br /&gt;
relatives bemoan fate&lt;br /&gt;
from the sidewalk&lt;br /&gt;
arrested by accusation&lt;br /&gt;
and sorry denial&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2344.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 12 August 2011 - 0828&lt;br /&gt;
rain has tearfully paned&lt;br /&gt;
enough poems to add to and&lt;br /&gt;
gutted the visceral metaphor&lt;br /&gt;
does it work bowel better&lt;br /&gt;
with chamber music&lt;br /&gt;
a violin sonata bowed&lt;br /&gt;
with vigour&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2345.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 15 August 2011 - 0909&lt;br /&gt;
I've always been touched&lt;br /&gt;
moved by caress and kiss&lt;br /&gt;
intimacy of finger and wrist&lt;br /&gt;
her spine from nape to small&lt;br /&gt;
I miss touch&lt;br /&gt;
how rash to squander now&lt;br /&gt;
I'm skinned&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2346.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 15 August 2011 - 1020&lt;br /&gt;
a hog's back in the poet's eye&lt;br /&gt;
traces the line of reason&lt;br /&gt;
to the point of metaphor&lt;br /&gt;
I will walk with him&lt;br /&gt;
in simian chatter&lt;br /&gt;
to the waterfall&lt;br /&gt;
where the forest weeps&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-1559077368588486956?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/STf_XX19rh5yc7EG0sZ7SDPpAiQ/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/STf_XX19rh5yc7EG0sZ7SDPpAiQ/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/vQ63eke8Za0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/1559077368588486956?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/1559077368588486956?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/vQ63eke8Za0/texts-2327-2346.html" title="Texts 2327 - 2346" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2011/08/texts-2327-2346.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DkYDSH07eip7ImA9WhdSFk0.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-8939393060639522810</id><published>2011-07-25T16:29:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2011-07-25T16:29:39.302+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-07-25T16:29:39.302+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2313 - 2326</title><content type="html">&amp;nbsp;2313.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;6 July 2011 - 0645&lt;br /&gt;I also stand and wait&lt;br /&gt;blinded by the light&lt;br /&gt;of a great love&lt;br /&gt;that so corroded me&lt;br /&gt;I could not see you&lt;br /&gt;or your smile&lt;br /&gt;or your tenderness&lt;br /&gt;my very skin pitted in rage&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2314.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;7 July 2011 - 0738&lt;br /&gt;there is time and season&lt;br /&gt;to misquote&lt;br /&gt;heaven knows I've no kidney&lt;br /&gt;nor wit's grammar&lt;br /&gt;but plant now&lt;br /&gt;if you've mind to&lt;br /&gt;the air is foul this street&lt;br /&gt;the sentence long&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2315.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;7 July 2011 - 0758&lt;br /&gt;why count that&lt;br /&gt;it has no number&lt;br /&gt;nor weight that could help&lt;br /&gt;my rising nor my fall&lt;br /&gt;nor my wit&lt;br /&gt;which this morning&lt;br /&gt;lies fallow as winter&lt;br /&gt;without even frost's edge&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2316.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;9 July 2011 - 1624&lt;br /&gt;I sit here on ancient&lt;br /&gt;memory of forgotten storms&lt;br /&gt;looking at the winter sea.&lt;br /&gt;Such dreams as bring&lt;br /&gt;stone to life,&lt;br /&gt;turn time to sand,&lt;br /&gt;call me to untroubled rest.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2317.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;10 July 2011 - 2127&lt;br /&gt;back in the city&lt;br /&gt;gates close&lt;br /&gt;the matrix reconnects&lt;br /&gt;am I the one trinity&lt;br /&gt;then I remember watching&lt;br /&gt;your body's characteristic&lt;br /&gt;melody of the hip&lt;br /&gt;smart arsed sax&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2318.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;11 July 2011 - 0816&lt;br /&gt;a poet seized the day&lt;br /&gt;fought it&lt;br /&gt;pinned it down&lt;br /&gt;then with infinite patience&lt;br /&gt;and clarity&lt;br /&gt;he took it apart&lt;br /&gt;second by second&lt;br /&gt;until the heart of it&lt;br /&gt;stopped counting&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2319.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;13 July 2011 - 2114&lt;br /&gt;worn as I am&lt;br /&gt;this cliff without regret&lt;br /&gt;my soles thin in narrow air&lt;br /&gt;and below&lt;br /&gt;at my roots&lt;br /&gt;the drowning sea embraces&lt;br /&gt;shades that passed this way&lt;br /&gt;not unremarked&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2320.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;14 July 2011 - 0758&lt;br /&gt;Somerset Rd Green Point&lt;br /&gt;Limnos Bakers&lt;br /&gt;early bird stirs coffee&lt;br /&gt;still connected to dream&lt;br /&gt;of her body&lt;br /&gt;her perfect skin&lt;br /&gt;haughty kiss&lt;br /&gt;buttoned blouse unbuttoned&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2321.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;14 July 2011 - 0817&lt;br /&gt;what coin satisfies&lt;br /&gt;this pursed lip&lt;br /&gt;some farthing's wealth&lt;br /&gt;tied to stock by option&lt;br /&gt;but no saddleback grunt&lt;br /&gt;minding his bacon&lt;br /&gt;could ever nor would&lt;br /&gt;breakfast me&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2322.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;15 July 2011 - 0558&lt;br /&gt;your handful breasts weigh&lt;br /&gt;in my vision twin domes&lt;br /&gt;and me waiting to enter&lt;br /&gt;the knave my sword high&lt;br /&gt;the whole rump of you&lt;br /&gt;spread a feast&lt;br /&gt;for tongue and tale&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2323.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;19 July 2011 - 0743&lt;br /&gt;each day weaves its texture&lt;br /&gt;into another year&lt;br /&gt;this poem dyed a shade&lt;br /&gt;so subtle the weaver&lt;br /&gt;noticed only the sound&lt;br /&gt;as it pulled tight&lt;br /&gt;its tapestry moonlit&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2324.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;20 July 2011 - 0737&lt;br /&gt;news of the world&lt;br /&gt;occupies the old empire&lt;br /&gt;ashes of my fathers&lt;br /&gt;quiet as owls in churchyards&lt;br /&gt;by the moor its ravens&lt;br /&gt;calling from steeple and tower&lt;br /&gt;imperial echoes&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2325.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;20 July 2011 - 0816&lt;br /&gt;two bare foot symbols&lt;br /&gt;take a hike&lt;br /&gt;all puffed up&lt;br /&gt;a saviour washes each foot&lt;br /&gt;as a parable&lt;br /&gt;explains cleanliness&lt;br /&gt;to godlessness&lt;br /&gt;I overhear myself&lt;br /&gt;in this connection&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2326.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;24 July 2011 - 1234&lt;br /&gt;Africa beats south&lt;br /&gt;teeth bared to this gale&lt;br /&gt;we hold our breath&lt;br /&gt;expect to go under&lt;br /&gt;any second as slickly&lt;br /&gt;as dolphins blow&lt;br /&gt;watch strap-hanger gulls&lt;br /&gt;kite the surf&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-8939393060639522810?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Qzm2jrBGLUHIrbZ6Q6E-K_6L5ZU/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Qzm2jrBGLUHIrbZ6Q6E-K_6L5ZU/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/9EBctBDr88g" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/8939393060639522810?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/8939393060639522810?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/9EBctBDr88g/texts-2313-2326.html" title="Texts 2313 - 2326" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2011/07/texts-2313-2326.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;D0IHQH44eyp7ImA9WhZaF08.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-8904368005410381355</id><published>2011-07-03T22:38:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2011-07-03T22:38:51.033+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-07-03T22:38:51.033+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2305  -  2312</title><content type="html">2305.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;20 June 2011 - 8.18&lt;br /&gt;
the old poet no longer&lt;br /&gt;
fits his skin&lt;br /&gt;
his biggest organ&lt;br /&gt;
wrinkled and loose&lt;br /&gt;
hangs a shroud&lt;br /&gt;
to former glories&lt;br /&gt;
if only the mirror lied&lt;br /&gt;
as I look at this withering&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2306.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;20 June 2011 - 20.53&lt;br /&gt;
who is master&lt;br /&gt;
who mastered&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk shrugs&lt;br /&gt;
people ask more of god&lt;br /&gt;
than is&lt;br /&gt;
this is the reason the poet&lt;br /&gt;
writes god's weeping&lt;br /&gt;
is heard in the wind's&lt;br /&gt;
melancholy&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2307.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;21 June 2011 - 7.42&lt;br /&gt;
the old poet tends&lt;br /&gt;
his vegetables digs&lt;br /&gt;
the soil of imagination&lt;br /&gt;
roots himself in her&lt;br /&gt;
metaphors of mountain&lt;br /&gt;
and stream&lt;br /&gt;
later he explores her face&lt;br /&gt;
turns her over&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2308.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;21 June 2011 - 8.20&lt;br /&gt;
how do you taste&lt;br /&gt;
after noon the dessert&lt;br /&gt;
is the main course&lt;br /&gt;
it's on the tip of my tongue&lt;br /&gt;
to tell you how&lt;br /&gt;
the bruised grass&lt;br /&gt;
springs back&lt;br /&gt;
as a lover repairs&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2309.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;21 June 2011 - 8.37&lt;br /&gt;
the old poet dozes&lt;br /&gt;
in the afternoon&lt;br /&gt;
the sun still warm&lt;br /&gt;
he feels the light play&lt;br /&gt;
dappled melodies&lt;br /&gt;
as choristers rehearse&lt;br /&gt;
some benediction&lt;br /&gt;
to almighty gods&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2310.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;28 June 2011 - 7.52&lt;br /&gt;
Cape Town unslumbers&lt;br /&gt;
naked glories&lt;br /&gt;
the bruised night harmless&lt;br /&gt;
unbeds dawn&lt;br /&gt;
breakfasts on newsprint&lt;br /&gt;
enriched airs&lt;br /&gt;
rumour and truth&lt;br /&gt;
uncourtly odours seep ashore&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2311.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;3 July 2011 - 8.51&lt;br /&gt;
the poet wears her words&lt;br /&gt;
naked as womb days warm&lt;br /&gt;
to clothe her thoughts&lt;br /&gt;
the first I noticed this&lt;br /&gt;
the earth stopped&lt;br /&gt;
the trees walked&lt;br /&gt;
and the grass sang to me&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2312.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;3 July 2011 - 9.30&lt;br /&gt;
it is impossible to know&lt;br /&gt;
rainbow blade or axed dawn&lt;br /&gt;
the obtuse measures&lt;br /&gt;
neither desire nor sucking&lt;br /&gt;
nor the clinical poet&lt;br /&gt;
overseeing trafficked night&lt;br /&gt;
its odours&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-8904368005410381355?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/TD_d-1qdtD6zdVKU3gFcF5Z2jpQ/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/TD_d-1qdtD6zdVKU3gFcF5Z2jpQ/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/0-B-YE8iKrA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/8904368005410381355?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/8904368005410381355?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/0-B-YE8iKrA/texts-2305-2312.html" title="Texts 2305  -  2312" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2011/07/texts-2305-2312.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;D0QMSHk-fip7ImA9WhZbEkQ.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-1733178094406311708</id><published>2011-06-17T09:23:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2011-06-17T09:23:09.756+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-06-17T09:23:09.756+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2292-2304</title><content type="html">2292.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 19 May 2011 - 12.41&lt;br /&gt;
mountains of the moon&lt;br /&gt;
dragon flame or spice&lt;br /&gt;
herb gardener she sets&lt;br /&gt;
a table before me&lt;br /&gt;
I overflow my cups&lt;br /&gt;
the poet seeks mercy&lt;br /&gt;
under this thatch&lt;br /&gt;
finds her alight&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2293.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 21 May 2011 - 7.35&lt;br /&gt;
the path's scar is weary&lt;br /&gt;
as the kloof's memory&lt;br /&gt;
rain has patience&lt;br /&gt;
and the wind ways&lt;br /&gt;
reminds the old monk&lt;br /&gt;
god knows how&lt;br /&gt;
the path wears the season's&lt;br /&gt;
fleece today&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2294.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 23 May 2011 - 7.58&lt;br /&gt;
when people look back&lt;br /&gt;
when I am returned&lt;br /&gt;
to fossil and sediment&lt;br /&gt;
and all fame and ego&lt;br /&gt;
of millennia is not&lt;br /&gt;
a millimetre of strata&lt;br /&gt;
the tide will ebb and flow&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2295.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 31 May 2011 - 8.01&lt;br /&gt;
how to love a poet&lt;br /&gt;
remove wrappings &lt;br /&gt;
label and price tag&lt;br /&gt;
rip out spleen and tongue&lt;br /&gt;
he'll not need those&lt;br /&gt;
take his last word&lt;br /&gt;
chew each syllable&lt;br /&gt;
and spit out god&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2296.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 3 June 2011 - 8.34&lt;br /&gt;
the sacred ibis cassocked&lt;br /&gt;
offers measured gait&lt;br /&gt;
and silent prayer&lt;br /&gt;
to the morning chorus&lt;br /&gt;
and chattering terns&lt;br /&gt;
the interstitial jogger&lt;br /&gt;
chuffs by in breaking light&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2297.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 4 June 2011 - 9.15&lt;br /&gt;
all he has is not him is him&lt;br /&gt;
he prays for me&lt;br /&gt;
in return he smiles&lt;br /&gt;
there is no reward&lt;br /&gt;
in time&lt;br /&gt;
I am nothing he says&lt;br /&gt;
beyond paradox&lt;br /&gt;
beyond metaphor&lt;br /&gt;
beyond this rain&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2298.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 5 June&amp;nbsp; 2011 - 15.58&lt;br /&gt;
the poet watches women&lt;br /&gt;
seat themselves in the theatre&lt;br /&gt;
how one lowers herself carefully&lt;br /&gt;
another bounces in&lt;br /&gt;
one wriggles&lt;br /&gt;
or balances on one cheek&lt;br /&gt;
catching my eye&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2299.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 6 June 2011 - 9.14&lt;br /&gt;
the poet names her day&lt;br /&gt;
stitches her tongue&lt;br /&gt;
to the black-hearted rain&lt;br /&gt;
elbows aside equations&lt;br /&gt;
in the bicycle lane&lt;br /&gt;
I send her greetings&lt;br /&gt;
roses are inappropriate&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2300.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 7 June 2011 - 11.42&lt;br /&gt;
send a perfumed letter&lt;br /&gt;
wear gold on your right hand&lt;br /&gt;
nothing else&lt;br /&gt;
to distract me&lt;br /&gt;
do not smile&lt;br /&gt;
or touch your throat&lt;br /&gt;
you are not naked&lt;br /&gt;
yet your body is song&lt;br /&gt;
dances&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2301.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 10 June 2011 - 9.44&lt;br /&gt;
an angel flew in&lt;br /&gt;
on a metaphor's talon&lt;br /&gt;
hooking her vision&lt;br /&gt;
to storyboard script&lt;br /&gt;
rights for sale&lt;br /&gt;
a biological agent takes&lt;br /&gt;
the raincheck&lt;br /&gt;
cashes it similarly bonded&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2302.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 12 June 2011 - 8.12&lt;br /&gt;
her flower arrangement&lt;br /&gt;
extravagant petals&lt;br /&gt;
she tells&lt;br /&gt;
and narrow-necked vase&lt;br /&gt;
earthenware pink glazed&lt;br /&gt;
in this light&lt;br /&gt;
unseeded but not barren&lt;br /&gt;
and perfumed naturally&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2303.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 12 June 2011 - 9.30&lt;br /&gt;
her geological bag&lt;br /&gt;
reveals strata&lt;br /&gt;
fossils of the early anthropoid&lt;br /&gt;
period checkout slips&lt;br /&gt;
you would not credit&lt;br /&gt;
the retiring archaeologist&lt;br /&gt;
bedded and brushed&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2304.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 14 June 2011 - 10.18&lt;br /&gt;
a poet recites&lt;br /&gt;
his right hand wristless&lt;br /&gt;
sotto voce bows&lt;br /&gt;
the tearful punctuation&lt;br /&gt;
autumnal romances&lt;br /&gt;
half remembered sex&lt;br /&gt;
chocolate bittersweet&lt;br /&gt;
mumbles astutely&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-1733178094406311708?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ZTvn0dYjGeRGuHkz3dxu745mMaI/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ZTvn0dYjGeRGuHkz3dxu745mMaI/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ZTvn0dYjGeRGuHkz3dxu745mMaI/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ZTvn0dYjGeRGuHkz3dxu745mMaI/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/NVj_av3B2EE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/1733178094406311708?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/1733178094406311708?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/NVj_av3B2EE/texts-2292-2304.html" title="Texts 2292-2304" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2011/06/texts-2292-2304.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DE8BSXY_cSp7ImA9WhZWFkk.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-7249796153752768849</id><published>2011-05-17T17:40:00.002+02:00</published><updated>2011-05-17T17:40:58.849+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-05-17T17:40:58.849+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2276 - 2291</title><content type="html">2276.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 12 March 2011 - 07.53&lt;br /&gt;
Ships Log&lt;br /&gt;
weather is the instrument&lt;br /&gt;
faith lends rhetoric&lt;br /&gt;
showers as tears&lt;br /&gt;
the sea's fury divine&lt;br /&gt;
through which I plot&lt;br /&gt;
a course the metaphor&lt;br /&gt;
is the earth's terror&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2277.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 14 March 2011 - 07.14&lt;br /&gt;
all night the sea rumbled&lt;br /&gt;
to my ear's vision&lt;br /&gt;
black seas of my dreams&lt;br /&gt;
here the grey heron&lt;br /&gt;
like a gantry waiting a ship&lt;br /&gt;
before a rising sun&lt;br /&gt;
is another truth&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2278.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 14 March 2011 - 18.41&lt;br /&gt;
Note to a beachcomber&lt;br /&gt;
dark webs of the flood&lt;br /&gt;
cast adrift flotsam&lt;br /&gt;
are signs&lt;br /&gt;
of wellbeing&lt;br /&gt;
silence and no gulls&lt;br /&gt;
means you are stranded&lt;br /&gt;
or the ark has already left&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2279.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 16 March 2011 - 7.11&lt;br /&gt;
the old steam engine&lt;br /&gt;
a tangle of connecting rods&lt;br /&gt;
huffs and puffs up&lt;br /&gt;
the valley's incline&lt;br /&gt;
howls into the tunnel&lt;br /&gt;
emerges glass-eyed like a lover&lt;br /&gt;
from his dream&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2280.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 29 March 2011 - 17.23&lt;br /&gt;
note to a monkey&lt;br /&gt;
when the cage is big&lt;br /&gt;
enough you think&lt;br /&gt;
you're free&lt;br /&gt;
it helps to recognise&lt;br /&gt;
zoo keepers in the wild&lt;br /&gt;
they are the ones&lt;br /&gt;
with smiles&lt;br /&gt;
and ripe fruit&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2281.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 30 March 2011 - 12.39&lt;br /&gt;
the first poem&lt;br /&gt;
was a kiss&lt;br /&gt;
beyond reach&lt;br /&gt;
apple longing&lt;br /&gt;
in windfallen rain&lt;br /&gt;
and I look for a word&lt;br /&gt;
new to god&lt;br /&gt;
that a poet finds&lt;br /&gt;
beachcombing&lt;br /&gt;
still wet and hazel-eyed&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2282.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 31 March 2011 - 8.58&lt;br /&gt;
this ragamuffin morning&lt;br /&gt;
a crumpled sky&lt;br /&gt;
stubs yesterday&lt;br /&gt;
potholes my thoughts&lt;br /&gt;
and you also&lt;br /&gt;
see art clothe&lt;br /&gt;
the gorgeous tarmac&lt;br /&gt;
blush and roadkill&lt;br /&gt;
share the litter&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2283.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 1 April 2011 - 9.39&lt;br /&gt;
winter arrives&lt;br /&gt;
fresh as French kisses&lt;br /&gt;
under the summer duvet&lt;br /&gt;
my ass chilled&lt;br /&gt;
as cuvee brut&lt;br /&gt;
coins new language&lt;br /&gt;
bridges intellect&lt;br /&gt;
and lust&lt;br /&gt;
with hope and slope&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2284.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 10 April 2011 - 13.50&lt;br /&gt;
opposite speaks&lt;br /&gt;
in dilemma and paradox&lt;br /&gt;
to me&lt;br /&gt;
I held her up&lt;br /&gt;
to light&lt;br /&gt;
translucent as storm clouds&lt;br /&gt;
she was&lt;br /&gt;
the desert storm flowering&lt;br /&gt;
the oasis metaphor&lt;br /&gt;
delicate&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2285.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 19 April 2011 - 7.55&lt;br /&gt;
a man stands at the edge&lt;br /&gt;
of africa thinking of nothing&lt;br /&gt;
it is a parable&lt;br /&gt;
healing the man&lt;br /&gt;
healing the man watching&lt;br /&gt;
the man healing the world&lt;br /&gt;
by deep waters singing&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2286.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 20 April 2011 - 10.15&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk is vain&lt;br /&gt;
the peasant wise&lt;br /&gt;
they speak in camera&lt;br /&gt;
no need to alarm poets&lt;br /&gt;
with jargon and cliché&lt;br /&gt;
when the truth will do&lt;br /&gt;
as well as any&lt;br /&gt;
counterfeit note&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2287.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 26 April 2011 - 7.36&lt;br /&gt;
the effigy still wrinkled&lt;br /&gt;
as the hunter a sculptor&lt;br /&gt;
imagines with his short bow&lt;br /&gt;
and loins modest&lt;br /&gt;
as the hotel lounge&lt;br /&gt;
under the berg&lt;br /&gt;
unnoticed still&lt;br /&gt;
by humanity&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2288.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 27 April 2011 - 9.13&lt;br /&gt;
my eyes rust and murder&lt;br /&gt;
the brown cows who echo&lt;br /&gt;
the last agony&lt;br /&gt;
of the wind and pied crow&lt;br /&gt;
exulting on a fierce memory&lt;br /&gt;
the epigraphs that still reek&lt;br /&gt;
at Spioenkop&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2289.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 10 May 2011 - 9.50&lt;br /&gt;
your kisses are too&lt;br /&gt;
the grinding of locks&lt;br /&gt;
your smile the wake&lt;br /&gt;
of St Helena exiled&lt;br /&gt;
and becalmed&lt;br /&gt;
were I not of swine be&lt;br /&gt;
a goatherd who'd lost&lt;br /&gt;
his tongue calling&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2290.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 15 May 2011 - 13.07&lt;br /&gt;
wither on the vine poet&lt;br /&gt;
let fruit turn to syllable&lt;br /&gt;
your sugar eyes fermenting&lt;br /&gt;
windfall words and swine&lt;br /&gt;
snout there a simile&lt;br /&gt;
or cliché royalty&lt;br /&gt;
piss on his shoe&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2291.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 15 May 2011 - 14.23&lt;br /&gt;
sea pastures&lt;br /&gt;
kelp graze listless on the ebb&lt;br /&gt;
peer up at Lipizzaner surf&lt;br /&gt;
the boogie board rider&lt;br /&gt;
leans into the curl&lt;br /&gt;
of a lesser god&lt;br /&gt;
reins in inhibitions unsealed&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-7249796153752768849?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/jBGnDw24sew7meBNNgCgEVyNKic/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/jBGnDw24sew7meBNNgCgEVyNKic/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/ELdIkHohjlo" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/7249796153752768849?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/7249796153752768849?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/ELdIkHohjlo/texts-2276-2291.html" title="Texts 2276 - 2291" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2011/05/texts-2276-2291.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;A0MHQ3c4eyp7ImA9Wx9aFU8.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-6862034182931677198</id><published>2011-03-07T22:23:00.002+02:00</published><updated>2011-03-07T22:23:52.933+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-03-07T22:23:52.933+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2258 - 2275</title><content type="html">2258.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 18 January 2011 - 08.18&lt;br /&gt;
sleeping dog stones dry out&lt;br /&gt;
in the awakening sun&lt;br /&gt;
before the flood cormorants&lt;br /&gt;
mine shallow water&lt;br /&gt;
for anchovy and tiddler&lt;br /&gt;
this telephone out of keeping&lt;br /&gt;
records&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2259.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 18 January 2011 - 10.14&lt;br /&gt;
a negligee mist skirts&lt;br /&gt;
the coast the snake's head&lt;br /&gt;
light upright&lt;br /&gt;
a posture familiar to the tern&lt;br /&gt;
that beats along the updraught&lt;br /&gt;
of the swelling sea&lt;br /&gt;
and screams&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2260.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 20 January 2011 - 07.36&lt;br /&gt;
a bulk carrier passes the edge&lt;br /&gt;
of Africa where I sit&lt;br /&gt;
looking over the horizon&lt;br /&gt;
and my mug of rooibos&lt;br /&gt;
thinking of you&lt;br /&gt;
who you are&lt;br /&gt;
and our voyages&lt;br /&gt;
and intimacies&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2261.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 26 January 2011 - 09.59&lt;br /&gt;
who reads&lt;br /&gt;
the book of silences&lt;br /&gt;
the woman carrying&lt;br /&gt;
water from a far place&lt;br /&gt;
the man who watches&lt;br /&gt;
the wind and the spoor&lt;br /&gt;
it would be poetry&lt;br /&gt;
if I found my place&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2262.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 31 January 2011 - 07.18&lt;br /&gt;
the bellringer calls&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk to prayer&lt;br /&gt;
a solitary reflection&lt;br /&gt;
in company in common&lt;br /&gt;
his knees are weary&lt;br /&gt;
god knows&lt;br /&gt;
silence too has truth&lt;br /&gt;
the spirit willing&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2263.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 1 February 2011 - 21.09&lt;br /&gt;
the first sense is touch&lt;br /&gt;
it gives&lt;br /&gt;
and receives&lt;br /&gt;
taste, smell, hearing, sight&lt;br /&gt;
do not give&lt;br /&gt;
it is the sense of orgasm&lt;br /&gt;
of joining&lt;br /&gt;
of pain as pleasure&lt;br /&gt;
of all life&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2264.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 3 February 2011 - 10.30&lt;br /&gt;
eventually all languages&lt;br /&gt;
written on Earth&lt;br /&gt;
used the universal pictogram&lt;br /&gt;
and poetry at last&lt;br /&gt;
achieved critical mass&lt;br /&gt;
read with one eye&lt;br /&gt;
and many voices&lt;br /&gt;
of the shore&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2265.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 5 February 2011 - 07.06&lt;br /&gt;
Note to a late starter&lt;br /&gt;
live long&lt;br /&gt;
sleep naked&lt;br /&gt;
don't miss breakfast&lt;br /&gt;
except for good sex&lt;br /&gt;
sing in the shower&lt;br /&gt;
as happy people do&lt;br /&gt;
closer to godliness&lt;br /&gt;
kiss often&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2266.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 5 February 2011 - 20.54&lt;br /&gt;
Notes of forty years&lt;br /&gt;
ask after the beholder's sight&lt;br /&gt;
the wilderness is metaphor&lt;br /&gt;
if you refuse temptation&lt;br /&gt;
you will be crucified&lt;br /&gt;
you remain fortified&lt;br /&gt;
scored twice&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2267.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 10 February 2011 - 16.16&lt;br /&gt;
February knows nothing&lt;br /&gt;
of Autumn&lt;br /&gt;
long days south&lt;br /&gt;
long nights north&lt;br /&gt;
to Spring&lt;br /&gt;
but we walk hand in hand&lt;br /&gt;
coupled in our season's&lt;br /&gt;
hemispheres by inclination&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2268.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 15 February 2011 - 09.32&lt;br /&gt;
this colour of history&lt;br /&gt;
carved from deep water&lt;br /&gt;
like a statuette&lt;br /&gt;
of the minor god&lt;br /&gt;
found later in the rubble&lt;br /&gt;
with the empty skull&lt;br /&gt;
and ruins&lt;br /&gt;
see here lies a man&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2269.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 4 March 2011 - 07.25&lt;br /&gt;
is the year turning to&lt;br /&gt;
introspection and summer&lt;br /&gt;
not yet done&lt;br /&gt;
the fall, decay, death&lt;br /&gt;
the air bright with it&lt;br /&gt;
filled with&lt;br /&gt;
pretence like a favourite coat&lt;br /&gt;
of winter&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2270.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 4 March 2011 - 09.04&lt;br /&gt;
I don't write&lt;br /&gt;
I lie in&lt;br /&gt;
wait as the tide&lt;br /&gt;
I ebb and hold&lt;br /&gt;
an old moon&lt;br /&gt;
by her symbol&lt;br /&gt;
an abstract of the last orbit&lt;br /&gt;
searching always for&lt;br /&gt;
meaning in the turning&lt;br /&gt;
back&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2271.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 4 March 2011 - 09.17&lt;br /&gt;
a poet is not&lt;br /&gt;
a monk beaded&lt;br /&gt;
in refrain&lt;br /&gt;
or rhyme where a chant&lt;br /&gt;
would do&lt;br /&gt;
no&lt;br /&gt;
he is a peasant&lt;br /&gt;
knows the gods&lt;br /&gt;
are angry now&lt;br /&gt;
these years of supplication&lt;br /&gt;
and tedium&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2272.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 5 March 2011 - 07.04&lt;br /&gt;
black night&lt;br /&gt;
petrol pink&lt;br /&gt;
dawn sea&lt;br /&gt;
slick and still&lt;br /&gt;
and sacred&lt;br /&gt;
ibis queue&lt;br /&gt;
in space time&lt;br /&gt;
the stars lost&lt;br /&gt;
again and me&lt;br /&gt;
here too&lt;br /&gt;
hope and tide&lt;br /&gt;
turns another&lt;br /&gt;
cheek&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2273.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 6 March 2011 - 12.27&lt;br /&gt;
Note to my skin&lt;br /&gt;
depressingly large by some&lt;br /&gt;
measure and sensitive&lt;br /&gt;
by another&lt;br /&gt;
yet unable to contain all&lt;br /&gt;
my poisonous inside&lt;br /&gt;
it tests an ecstasy&lt;br /&gt;
lacking pleasure&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2274.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 7 March 2011 - 07.23&lt;br /&gt;
western fog clothes&lt;br /&gt;
indecent dawn unblushed&lt;br /&gt;
me feeling her negligence&lt;br /&gt;
handsome as a nightmare&lt;br /&gt;
under coverlet and slip&lt;br /&gt;
last I felt this good was&lt;br /&gt;
in a former life&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2275.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 7 March 2011 - 09.41&lt;br /&gt;
though, to make a clean&lt;br /&gt;
breast of it&lt;br /&gt;
merely reveals common&lt;br /&gt;
cliché and little taste&lt;br /&gt;
the poet just bangs on&lt;br /&gt;
at the anvil&lt;br /&gt;
of hard knocks&lt;br /&gt;
hoping smithy comes soon&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-6862034182931677198?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qNlo2VIPHoD0sXYtpZmDRnruPfE/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qNlo2VIPHoD0sXYtpZmDRnruPfE/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/m_Le_jGzXn0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/6862034182931677198?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/6862034182931677198?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/m_Le_jGzXn0/texts-2258-2275.html" title="Texts 2258 - 2275" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2011/03/texts-2258-2275.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DUcNQHg5eSp7ImA9Wx9WEUo.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-4293827937351038314</id><published>2011-01-16T13:24:00.002+02:00</published><updated>2011-01-16T13:24:51.621+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-01-16T13:24:51.621+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2253 to 2257</title><content type="html">2253.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;6 January 2011 - 1.15pm&lt;br /&gt;
natural causes&lt;br /&gt;
the yellow paper seems faded&lt;br /&gt;
by burden and borne&lt;br /&gt;
IDNO&lt;br /&gt;
SURNAME&lt;br /&gt;
FIRST NAMES&lt;br /&gt;
DATE OF BIRTH&lt;br /&gt;
SEX&lt;br /&gt;
MARITAL STATUS&lt;br /&gt;
DATE OF DEATH&lt;br /&gt;
PLACE OF DEATH&lt;br /&gt;
5 copies&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2254.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;6 January 2011 - 2.02pm&lt;br /&gt;
so rest comes&lt;br /&gt;
or is that hell&lt;br /&gt;
that frozen featureless place&lt;br /&gt;
a spiritless arctic&lt;br /&gt;
the weather the endless&lt;br /&gt;
howl of selfconscious hate&lt;br /&gt;
where nothingness empties&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2255.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;11 January 2011 - 12.04pm&lt;br /&gt;
two African oyster catchers&lt;br /&gt;
dab the litoral&lt;br /&gt;
as I type&lt;br /&gt;
we know this place&lt;br /&gt;
differently as fish or fowl&lt;br /&gt;
or European ever visiting&lt;br /&gt;
a sooty tern&lt;br /&gt;
and dark continent&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2256.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;12 January 2011 - 9.10am&lt;br /&gt;
every time the wave breaks&lt;br /&gt;
it is the same&lt;br /&gt;
it is different&lt;br /&gt;
all repetition is original&lt;br /&gt;
each new moment repeats&lt;br /&gt;
so it is for me&lt;br /&gt;
and you my love&lt;br /&gt;
always renewed&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2257.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;13 January 2011 - 9.42am&lt;br /&gt;
slip out of something more&lt;br /&gt;
comfortable the old monk said&lt;br /&gt;
if you need to ease your spirit&lt;br /&gt;
unclothe your emperor&lt;br /&gt;
and impress with candour&lt;br /&gt;
your own reflections&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-4293827937351038314?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xHsSg9t-b8EvopiOZ7Up0f_kCPk/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xHsSg9t-b8EvopiOZ7Up0f_kCPk/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xHsSg9t-b8EvopiOZ7Up0f_kCPk/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/xHsSg9t-b8EvopiOZ7Up0f_kCPk/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/PbY5DqP4sp0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/4293827937351038314?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/4293827937351038314?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/PbY5DqP4sp0/texts-2253-to-2257.html" title="Texts 2253 to 2257" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2011/01/texts-2253-to-2257.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DUMARn4yeyp7ImA9Wx9XEEg.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-5357953541150036657</id><published>2011-01-03T14:24:00.003+02:00</published><updated>2011-01-03T14:24:07.093+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-01-03T14:24:07.093+02:00</app:edited><title>For Sonja</title><content type="html">&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;w:WordDocument&gt;   &lt;w:View&gt;Normal&lt;/w:View&gt;   &lt;w:Zoom&gt;0&lt;/w:Zoom&gt;   &lt;w:TrackMoves/&gt;   &lt;w:TrackFormatting/&gt;   &lt;w:PunctuationKerning/&gt;   &lt;w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/&gt;   &lt;w:SaveIfXMLInvalid&gt;false&lt;/w:SaveIfXMLInvalid&gt;   &lt;w:IgnoreMixedContent&gt;false&lt;/w:IgnoreMixedContent&gt;   &lt;w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText&gt;false&lt;/w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText&gt;   &lt;w:DoNotPromoteQF/&gt;   &lt;w:LidThemeOther&gt;EN-ZA&lt;/w:LidThemeOther&gt;   &lt;w:LidThemeAsian&gt;X-NONE&lt;/w:LidThemeAsian&gt;   &lt;w:LidThemeComplexScript&gt;X-NONE&lt;/w:LidThemeComplexScript&gt;   &lt;w:Compatibility&gt;    &lt;w:BreakWrappedTables/&gt;    &lt;w:SnapToGridInCell/&gt;    &lt;w:WrapTextWithPunct/&gt;    &lt;w:UseAsianBreakRules/&gt;    &lt;w:DontGrowAutofit/&gt;    &lt;w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/&gt;    &lt;w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/&gt;    &lt;w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/&gt;    &lt;w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/&gt;    &lt;w:Word11KerningPairs/&gt;    &lt;w:CachedColBalance/&gt;   &lt;/w:Compatibility&gt;   &lt;m:mathPr&gt;    &lt;m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/&gt;    &lt;m:brkBin m:val="before"/&gt;    &lt;m:brkBinSub m:val="&amp;#45;-"/&gt;    &lt;m:smallFrac m:val="off"/&gt;    &lt;m:dispDef/&gt;    &lt;m:lMargin m:val="0"/&gt;    &lt;m:rMargin m:val="0"/&gt;    &lt;m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/&gt;    &lt;m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/&gt;    &lt;m:intLim m:val="subSup"/&gt;    &lt;m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/&gt;   &lt;/m:mathPr&gt;&lt;/w:WordDocument&gt; &lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;  &lt;w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12pt;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;i&gt;19 December 2010&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;A hint of Rome,&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;a nose that guards&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;the Kaiser of good taste:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;she is chef and chief&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;cook to this space-cart –&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;the daily round of sly&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;pages laced with humour&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;and her tinkling laugh,&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;itself a reminder to behave&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;as behoves a Saxon jester&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;who should have been a sailor&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;and would have landed her –&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;her ship worshipped full-breasted&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;in the figurehead, broad&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;in the beam, forecastle and after –&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;well-travelled by each tar&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;who dared to hammock her&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;and ran amok to win her heart&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;by charm or totem or some chant&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;last heard in a poet's cave,&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;a wonderwork naked before&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;her birthday still naked before the caul&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;that keeps a man from drowning&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;in her deep blue,&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;her tongue the language compassed north,&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;hardened to a plain truth&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;and ironstone of endless visions&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;of her mystery and caress&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;as if short-handed;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;this lady grips the heart&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;as a vice and sole&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;raison d'être&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;for setting one step before another,&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;yet amid this cleverness,&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;and enlightened,&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;the valley and hills of soft love&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;foresee an almost English occupation&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;of this country before Christmas&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="MsoNormal"&gt;with my Cox's orange pippin.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-5357953541150036657?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/SkflFE4L8_DMq7JdhzWEcTGk-p4/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/SkflFE4L8_DMq7JdhzWEcTGk-p4/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/SkflFE4L8_DMq7JdhzWEcTGk-p4/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/SkflFE4L8_DMq7JdhzWEcTGk-p4/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/Q2TNBok1L1A" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/5357953541150036657?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/5357953541150036657?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/Q2TNBok1L1A/for-sonja.html" title="For Sonja" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2011/01/for-sonja.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;C0UCRn09fyp7ImA9Wx9QGUU.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-4657411954325604125</id><published>2011-01-02T17:14:00.002+02:00</published><updated>2011-01-02T17:14:27.367+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-01-02T17:14:27.367+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2235 to 2252</title><content type="html">2235.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;24 November 2010 - 8.47am&lt;br /&gt;
this trail's spoor treads&lt;br /&gt;
old memories and signs&lt;br /&gt;
who pass&lt;br /&gt;
lifting my heels too&lt;br /&gt;
to leave my mark&lt;br /&gt;
on the face of africa&lt;br /&gt;
not yet washed away&lt;br /&gt;
by tears and years&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2236.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;29 November 2010 - 8.01am&lt;br /&gt;
still life water colour man&lt;br /&gt;
his sky high clouded&lt;br /&gt;
distances diluted desiccated&lt;br /&gt;
dull stone washed plain&lt;br /&gt;
solitary windmill slow slurp&lt;br /&gt;
of &amp;nbsp;parched imaged sorrow&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2237.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;7 December 2010 - 11.43am&lt;br /&gt;
this voice&lt;br /&gt;
I hear calling is it mine&lt;br /&gt;
would I know if not&lt;br /&gt;
is the sound of the surf&lt;br /&gt;
the surf or some other&lt;br /&gt;
this voice&lt;br /&gt;
a poem still pregnant&lt;br /&gt;
and morning sickening&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2238.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;12 December 2010 - 10.04am&lt;br /&gt;
skin me&lt;br /&gt;
take this&lt;br /&gt;
hide&lt;br /&gt;
the subcutaneous man&lt;br /&gt;
hidden&lt;br /&gt;
a priori always argues&lt;br /&gt;
the held position&lt;br /&gt;
digs in his heels&lt;br /&gt;
fed up with the specious&lt;br /&gt;
unspoken word&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2239.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;13 December 2010 - 5.27pm&lt;br /&gt;
imagine this place 30 years&lt;br /&gt;
hence some changes not much&lt;br /&gt;
this café gone at last&lt;br /&gt;
you spot your son&lt;br /&gt;
on the other pavement&lt;br /&gt;
you call him&lt;br /&gt;
he turns without recognition&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2240.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;22 December 2010 - 11.41am&lt;br /&gt;
the world remains&lt;br /&gt;
indifferent to my passing&lt;br /&gt;
joggers jog&lt;br /&gt;
the Atlantic rolls in&lt;br /&gt;
we eat fruit at breakfast&lt;br /&gt;
get ready&lt;br /&gt;
I hope to see Mum today&lt;br /&gt;
and I do&lt;br /&gt;
though passed&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2241.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;23 December 20.10 - 7.36am&lt;br /&gt;
kelp uprooted and flung ashore&lt;br /&gt;
dry to charred limbs&lt;br /&gt;
old bones to ash&lt;br /&gt;
their dark relatives watch&lt;br /&gt;
from the offing&lt;br /&gt;
tiptoe with the tide&lt;br /&gt;
their dirge never quieted&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2242.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;24 December 2010 - 6.59am&lt;br /&gt;
the bench is damp with dew&lt;br /&gt;
or mist the tide floods&lt;br /&gt;
the kelp dressed shore&lt;br /&gt;
where I sit where we sit&lt;br /&gt;
as if two terns in paradise&lt;br /&gt;
wondering why the world&lt;br /&gt;
is weeping&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2243.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;24 December 2010 - 1.47pm&lt;br /&gt;
do you remember the day&lt;br /&gt;
your mother let go your hand&lt;br /&gt;
both your hearts pounding&lt;br /&gt;
expecting the best or worst&lt;br /&gt;
and you turn to look&lt;br /&gt;
at her face which is all smile&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2244.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;24 December 2010 - 5.11pm&lt;br /&gt;
all my years have unprepared&lt;br /&gt;
me for today I fetched her&lt;br /&gt;
things the intimacies of her&lt;br /&gt;
smell her underclothes&lt;br /&gt;
her knitted jumpers&lt;br /&gt;
by her own hand&lt;br /&gt;
I held so often&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2245.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;25 December 2010 - 6.12am&lt;br /&gt;
now you are dead&lt;br /&gt;
we resume&lt;br /&gt;
our conversation&lt;br /&gt;
gosh you have a lot to say!&lt;br /&gt;
and such loving advice&lt;br /&gt;
I realise now how missed&lt;br /&gt;
the long years&lt;br /&gt;
only your kisses spoke&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2246.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;25 December 2010 - 6.20am&lt;br /&gt;
I spoke to Dad yesterday Mum&lt;br /&gt;
basically to warn him&lt;br /&gt;
if not too late&lt;br /&gt;
you're on the way&lt;br /&gt;
though of course&lt;br /&gt;
you may have touched already&lt;br /&gt;
perhaps a little shy at first&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2247.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;25 December 2010 - 6.43am&lt;br /&gt;
why pray&lt;br /&gt;
when you can speak&lt;br /&gt;
your mind directly&lt;br /&gt;
this pussy footing&lt;br /&gt;
around god does little&lt;br /&gt;
for mental health generally&lt;br /&gt;
last we spoke&lt;br /&gt;
a little rudeness was apt&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2248.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;25 December 2010 - 9.06am&lt;br /&gt;
and old loves too&lt;br /&gt;
need love&lt;br /&gt;
yesterday - my life in between -&lt;br /&gt;
I saw Joyce just the same&lt;br /&gt;
hard ass memory at bottom&lt;br /&gt;
but hell I forgive her too&lt;br /&gt;
letting my tears dry&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2249.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;28 December 2010 - 11.03am&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk considers&lt;br /&gt;
a cliché&lt;br /&gt;
the writing on the wall&lt;br /&gt;
how loud it is&lt;br /&gt;
he takes a vow of silence&lt;br /&gt;
listens to the world shudder&lt;br /&gt;
a column of ants&lt;br /&gt;
also silent pass&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2250.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;29 December 2010 - 9.05am&lt;br /&gt;
my mother is a week dead&lt;br /&gt;
already memory&lt;br /&gt;
the world passed on&lt;br /&gt;
to the next triviality&lt;br /&gt;
undistracted by a happy spirit&lt;br /&gt;
who hid from her terrors&lt;br /&gt;
in laughter and love&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2251.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;31 December 2010 - 8.18pm&lt;br /&gt;
this language innermost&lt;br /&gt;
to vertigo&lt;br /&gt;
of men and angels&lt;br /&gt;
carries no echo&lt;br /&gt;
of times past&lt;br /&gt;
and light or water&lt;br /&gt;
stars at noon&lt;br /&gt;
the moon full&lt;br /&gt;
promises remission&lt;br /&gt;
and shadows&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2252.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;31 December 2010 - 9.50pm&lt;br /&gt;
a year contracts&lt;br /&gt;
into its calendar&lt;br /&gt;
a flatness like the spoor&lt;br /&gt;
of a great beast of antiquity&lt;br /&gt;
its eyes rolling&lt;br /&gt;
heavy hipped into a petrified&lt;br /&gt;
history or darkness&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-4657411954325604125?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/N9viBP_YcckDajdGnDZhr53UVis/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/N9viBP_YcckDajdGnDZhr53UVis/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/N9viBP_YcckDajdGnDZhr53UVis/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/N9viBP_YcckDajdGnDZhr53UVis/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/peSd5i7kfl0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/4657411954325604125?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/4657411954325604125?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/peSd5i7kfl0/texts-2235-to-2252.html" title="Texts 2235 to 2252" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2011/01/texts-2235-to-2252.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;AkABRn8_eCp7ImA9Wx9QGUo.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-3329077291425927677</id><published>2010-11-01T12:17:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2011-01-02T16:32:37.140+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2011-01-02T16:32:37.140+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2216 to 2234</title><content type="html">2216.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;11 October 2010 - 5.44pm&lt;br /&gt;
a melancholy poet considers&lt;br /&gt;
the exhausted whore&lt;br /&gt;
youth sweating and shopped&lt;br /&gt;
naked as a bead&lt;br /&gt;
necklaced and threaded&lt;br /&gt;
wild oat seeded&lt;br /&gt;
dreaming of a white&lt;br /&gt;
Christmas&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2217.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;11 October 2010 - 6.02pm&lt;br /&gt;
the opening ceremony&lt;br /&gt;
never seduces the poet&lt;br /&gt;
nor the balloons&lt;br /&gt;
at the unashamed entrance&lt;br /&gt;
nor the Brazilian&lt;br /&gt;
exposed by a letter&lt;br /&gt;
to the world&lt;br /&gt;
daggers drawn as usual&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2218.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;15 October 2010 - 12.41pm&lt;br /&gt;
in Brazil patchwork quilts&lt;br /&gt;
don't cover the whole&lt;br /&gt;
where people lie like spoons&lt;br /&gt;
stripped of inhibitions&lt;br /&gt;
in the brassy sun come&lt;br /&gt;
mardi gras they parade&lt;br /&gt;
bottomless&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2219.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;16 October 2010 - 6.44am&lt;br /&gt;
her Bermuda triangle is&lt;br /&gt;
early morning's glory&lt;br /&gt;
and mystery the don&lt;br /&gt;
asks himself how to address&lt;br /&gt;
the issue of plagiarism&lt;br /&gt;
she purses her lips&lt;br /&gt;
in a perfidious smile&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2220.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;22 October 2010 - 9.58am&lt;br /&gt;
of darkness&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk says little&lt;br /&gt;
he closes his eyes to see&lt;br /&gt;
the light&lt;br /&gt;
the poet would see&lt;br /&gt;
better if he listened&lt;br /&gt;
to the silence of prayer&lt;br /&gt;
in darkness&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2221.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;26 October 2010 - 10.02am&lt;br /&gt;
the missing poet&lt;br /&gt;
knows the line&lt;br /&gt;
that divides despair&lt;br /&gt;
from a sunny day&lt;br /&gt;
her words etch&lt;br /&gt;
the coffin lid&lt;br /&gt;
scar my livid poem&lt;br /&gt;
the way she plays&lt;br /&gt;
her hand&lt;br /&gt;
herself an ace&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2222.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;28 October 2010 - 8.58am&lt;br /&gt;
I live on the edge of&lt;br /&gt;
Africa of its teeth jarred&lt;br /&gt;
white as the break left&lt;br /&gt;
at the Outer Kom in&lt;br /&gt;
the early sun this&lt;br /&gt;
morning of a life sooner&lt;br /&gt;
lived then forgotten&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2223.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;2 November 2010 - 11.45am&lt;br /&gt;
a queen knows that&lt;br /&gt;
bishop and rook rank&lt;br /&gt;
in the scheme of affairs&lt;br /&gt;
the king's horse's always&lt;br /&gt;
willing to mount&lt;br /&gt;
the scaffold in a show&lt;br /&gt;
exhibits his helmet&lt;br /&gt;
to a pawn&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2224.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;13 November 2010 - 8.32am&lt;br /&gt;
I sleep in stone&lt;br /&gt;
such music in a molecule&lt;br /&gt;
and light behind dark&lt;br /&gt;
content in empty cups&lt;br /&gt;
paradox in flight&lt;br /&gt;
then comes love&lt;br /&gt;
sweet chorus and nests&lt;br /&gt;
chocolate smells&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2225.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;14 November 2010 - 9.55am&lt;br /&gt;
she dozes&lt;br /&gt;
the light still liquid&lt;br /&gt;
himself rude rises&lt;br /&gt;
kettles a chorus&lt;br /&gt;
turns spittle to its lip&lt;br /&gt;
sweetens his smile&lt;br /&gt;
and returns to her rigid&lt;br /&gt;
monumental antiquity&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2226.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;15 November 2010 - 6.05am&lt;br /&gt;
no history brokers&lt;br /&gt;
a dawn like this&lt;br /&gt;
even return to eden&lt;br /&gt;
flocks where i roost&lt;br /&gt;
and the moon too&lt;br /&gt;
comic attends jests&lt;br /&gt;
in half gesture imperial&lt;br /&gt;
purple walled hills&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2227.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;15 November 2010 - 6.35am&lt;br /&gt;
Notes to a poet.&lt;br /&gt;
Watch the gulls circle&lt;br /&gt;
inventing figures of speech.&lt;br /&gt;
Hold the lens to your good eye,&lt;br /&gt;
and your breath. Press gently.&lt;br /&gt;
Horizons are level headed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2228.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;15 November 2010 - 6.49am&lt;br /&gt;
native sky and observer&lt;br /&gt;
listen and chart&lt;br /&gt;
no measures help decide&lt;br /&gt;
course or wind&lt;br /&gt;
colour changes with resolve&lt;br /&gt;
silence too&lt;br /&gt;
has gone&lt;br /&gt;
the waters back off&lt;br /&gt;
saddened&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2229.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;16 November 2010 - 9.31am&lt;br /&gt;
send for honey on grey days&lt;br /&gt;
when sheep lift their heads&lt;br /&gt;
watch pied crows&lt;br /&gt;
do not argue at dawn or dusk&lt;br /&gt;
women in trousers can read&lt;br /&gt;
your mind and will remember&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2230.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;17 November 2010 - 7.58am&lt;br /&gt;
make a note&lt;br /&gt;
to sing in the mountains&lt;br /&gt;
the clouds have gathered&lt;br /&gt;
and the granite waits&lt;br /&gt;
listen to the voices&lt;br /&gt;
of your remembering&lt;br /&gt;
your own when your&lt;br /&gt;
innocence smiled&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2231.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;18 November 2010 - 7.27am&lt;br /&gt;
for example the lighthouse&lt;br /&gt;
views without opinion&lt;br /&gt;
sure of location&lt;br /&gt;
day and night&lt;br /&gt;
fair weather and foul&lt;br /&gt;
warns of the shallow&lt;br /&gt;
metaphor of fact&lt;br /&gt;
before faith in gods&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2232.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;20 November 2010 - 12.18pm&lt;br /&gt;
give oranges to sweet hearts&lt;br /&gt;
honey to lovers&lt;br /&gt;
pare fruit and dice&lt;br /&gt;
eat at passion's table&lt;br /&gt;
drink deeply&lt;br /&gt;
hold your love's gaze&lt;br /&gt;
lick your lips&lt;br /&gt;
remember to kiss&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2233.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;21 November 2010 - 12 noon&lt;br /&gt;
break bread&lt;br /&gt;
crumbs are wholesome&lt;br /&gt;
share&lt;br /&gt;
laughter at breakfast&lt;br /&gt;
helps digest oats&lt;br /&gt;
fresh coffee civilises men&lt;br /&gt;
let the children talk&lt;br /&gt;
of adult questions&lt;br /&gt;
and answers&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2234.&lt;span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;22 November 2010 - 7.00am&lt;br /&gt;
the child is not deceived&lt;br /&gt;
by the obvious&lt;br /&gt;
hide from the adult&lt;br /&gt;
in his foreground&lt;br /&gt;
the decoy is for fools&lt;br /&gt;
and children but&lt;br /&gt;
children remember&lt;br /&gt;
your lies and tricks&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-3329077291425927677?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/wz9iqUapocxHOYHUjeBF66GqB2Q/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/wz9iqUapocxHOYHUjeBF66GqB2Q/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/wz9iqUapocxHOYHUjeBF66GqB2Q/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/wz9iqUapocxHOYHUjeBF66GqB2Q/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/rN6uEtyzPyI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/3329077291425927677?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/3329077291425927677?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/rN6uEtyzPyI/texts-2216-to-2222.html" title="Texts 2216 to 2234" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2010/11/texts-2216-to-2222.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;A0AHQ38yeip7ImA9Wx5VF0w.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-4308859065486387400</id><published>2010-10-10T16:08:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2010-10-10T16:08:52.192+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2010-10-10T16:08:52.192+02:00</app:edited><title>the edge</title><content type="html">of desire is smooth&lt;br /&gt;
a blade well-honed and lubricated&lt;br /&gt;
with the spittle of her whetted wheel&lt;br /&gt;
at first she cannot believe the flooding&lt;br /&gt;
warmth that begins in air&lt;br /&gt;
a voice overheard&lt;br /&gt;
in a maze on the other side&lt;br /&gt;
of the privet&lt;br /&gt;
a voice that whispers&lt;br /&gt;
the odd word&lt;br /&gt;
her name was it&lt;br /&gt;
caught in the timbre&lt;br /&gt;
a sigh as if forgotten&lt;br /&gt;
but repeated no mistake&lt;br /&gt;
does he know her naked&lt;br /&gt;
soul dances to a rhythm&lt;br /&gt;
how it fires her spine&lt;br /&gt;
the small of her&lt;br /&gt;
the back of her to the drum&lt;br /&gt;
if he but knew would he not&lt;br /&gt;
beat a path to her&lt;br /&gt;
through the hedgehog sleeping day&lt;br /&gt;
the soft rain to where he finds her&lt;br /&gt;
him erect she kneeling to&lt;br /&gt;
no lesser god&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-4308859065486387400?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/q9QAbq9VZmwBMpHgsQQdQT3RMT8/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/q9QAbq9VZmwBMpHgsQQdQT3RMT8/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/q9QAbq9VZmwBMpHgsQQdQT3RMT8/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/q9QAbq9VZmwBMpHgsQQdQT3RMT8/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/49Hj1vto2z4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/4308859065486387400?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/4308859065486387400?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/49Hj1vto2z4/edge_10.html" title="the edge" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2010/10/edge_10.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;AkYBSX88fCp7ImA9Wx5VF0w.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-7115208672846751972</id><published>2010-10-10T15:42:00.002+02:00</published><updated>2010-10-10T15:42:38.174+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2010-10-10T15:42:38.174+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2204 - 2215</title><content type="html">2204.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 27 September 2010 - 6.50am&lt;br /&gt;
a poet uses his tongue&lt;br /&gt;
to taste the painter&lt;br /&gt;
articulates her point&lt;br /&gt;
of reference&lt;br /&gt;
she pivots at an apex&lt;br /&gt;
to unhinge her sex&lt;br /&gt;
as he bears witness&lt;br /&gt;
to palette and pussy&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2205.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 27 September 2010 - 7.14am&lt;br /&gt;
talk me down&lt;br /&gt;
O Icarus&lt;br /&gt;
I close the light&lt;br /&gt;
so heated I&lt;br /&gt;
wax and wain&lt;br /&gt;
flow and ebb&lt;br /&gt;
search your body&lt;br /&gt;
with my poet's tongue&lt;br /&gt;
to articulate this&lt;br /&gt;
word unknown to&lt;br /&gt;
any man&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2206.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 27 September 2010 - 8.40am&lt;br /&gt;
a poet combs the horizon&lt;br /&gt;
at the edge of his longing&lt;br /&gt;
no distance is closer&lt;br /&gt;
than his heart or further&lt;br /&gt;
from his voice&lt;br /&gt;
so he sings his lullaby&lt;br /&gt;
to the morning light&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2207.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 30 September 2010 - 2.42pm&lt;br /&gt;
when it blows&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk wraps up&lt;br /&gt;
walks down to the beach&lt;br /&gt;
to watch the breakers&lt;br /&gt;
hurl themselves&lt;br /&gt;
on the rocks&lt;br /&gt;
that have so long repulsed&lt;br /&gt;
the Atlantic's embrace&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2208.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 30 September 2010 - 2.54pm&lt;br /&gt;
there he considers the meaning&lt;br /&gt;
of patience&lt;br /&gt;
how it is not given&lt;br /&gt;
to those who need it&lt;br /&gt;
most those who tire&lt;br /&gt;
in their voyage&lt;br /&gt;
who find wind and sea&lt;br /&gt;
untamed still&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2209.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 30 September - 8.39pm&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk knows nothing&lt;br /&gt;
of the bereft he knows less&lt;br /&gt;
of god he trusts more&lt;br /&gt;
in faith and less in good&lt;br /&gt;
weather and the well-ploughed&lt;br /&gt;
field than good&lt;br /&gt;
natured men&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2210.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 1 October 2010 - 12.35pm&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk enjoys&lt;br /&gt;
a ploughman's and a glass&lt;br /&gt;
of pale ale after morning&lt;br /&gt;
service at the dog and whistle&lt;br /&gt;
and a game of dominoes&lt;br /&gt;
to ponder over a second glass&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2211.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 2 October 2010 - 5.46pm&lt;br /&gt;
the great white feeds&lt;br /&gt;
me to my therapist&lt;br /&gt;
who has long teeth&lt;br /&gt;
and a gaping smile&lt;br /&gt;
she poodles to her id&lt;br /&gt;
she terrorises his ego&lt;br /&gt;
ergo he settles&lt;br /&gt;
couches a confession&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2212.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 5 October 2010 - 8.32am&lt;br /&gt;
these have seen us come&lt;br /&gt;
and go with equal indifference&lt;br /&gt;
foul men in wooden boats&lt;br /&gt;
foul men in plastic&lt;br /&gt;
the sun lights this scene&lt;br /&gt;
ageless as stone as if&lt;br /&gt;
I were last&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2213.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 6 October 2010 - 6.55pm&lt;br /&gt;
a poet finds her metaphor&lt;br /&gt;
in a death rattle&lt;br /&gt;
the flesh burning&lt;br /&gt;
a self examination&lt;br /&gt;
the viva of failure&lt;br /&gt;
a diabolical rhyme&lt;br /&gt;
marks the Thomas&lt;br /&gt;
of cynicism&lt;br /&gt;
his alone&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2214.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 7 October 2010 - 9.00am&lt;br /&gt;
a poet explores&lt;br /&gt;
the whole of Brazil&lt;br /&gt;
each deforested valley&lt;br /&gt;
each denuded hill&lt;br /&gt;
her essence like her voice&lt;br /&gt;
neither forgotten&lt;br /&gt;
nor remembered&lt;br /&gt;
an archaeology uncovered&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2215.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 9 October 2010 - 9.35am&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk does not ask&lt;br /&gt;
forgiveness he forgives&lt;br /&gt;
as he loves without agenda&lt;br /&gt;
so he loves within&lt;br /&gt;
but the poet loves Brazil&lt;br /&gt;
as if Adam of Eve&lt;br /&gt;
for giving her fruit&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-7115208672846751972?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cn9XQeSMVGcouiDYCBS4WVDax4o/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cn9XQeSMVGcouiDYCBS4WVDax4o/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cn9XQeSMVGcouiDYCBS4WVDax4o/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/cn9XQeSMVGcouiDYCBS4WVDax4o/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/x3pVlcKRB1U" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/7115208672846751972?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/7115208672846751972?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/x3pVlcKRB1U/texts-2204-2215.html" title="Texts 2204 - 2215" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2010/10/texts-2204-2215.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DkYARHg5eCp7ImA9Wx5WFE8.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-2767156189774621450</id><published>2010-09-25T16:15:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2010-09-25T16:15:45.620+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2010-09-25T16:15:45.620+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2192 - 2203</title><content type="html">2192.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 15 September 2010 - 11.30am&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk is glum&lt;br /&gt;
this morning&lt;br /&gt;
the weather gloomy&lt;br /&gt;
under the low sky and&lt;br /&gt;
drips snottily from the eaves&lt;br /&gt;
he decides to write a letter&lt;br /&gt;
of complaint to his angel&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2193.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 15 September 2010 - 11.43am&lt;br /&gt;
Dear Angelo&lt;br /&gt;
Please send good news&lt;br /&gt;
or money soon.&lt;br /&gt;
I notice even people who have&lt;br /&gt;
it, don't want work.&lt;br /&gt;
Maybe work has betrayed&lt;br /&gt;
the Protestant Ethic?&lt;br /&gt;
Truly, yours&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2194.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 16 September 2010 - 08.31am&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk's prayers&lt;br /&gt;
are poetry&lt;br /&gt;
for your eyes only&lt;br /&gt;
he tells his angel&lt;br /&gt;
and the ear of god&lt;br /&gt;
who loves his voice&lt;br /&gt;
at evensong&lt;br /&gt;
as the sun sets&lt;br /&gt;
and candles are lit&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2195.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 16 September 2010 - 08.44am&lt;br /&gt;
Dear Monkey,&lt;br /&gt;
The good news is you don't&lt;br /&gt;
need money&lt;br /&gt;
where you are going.&lt;br /&gt;
I am reliably informed&lt;br /&gt;
that stout shoes will help&lt;br /&gt;
protect your feet&lt;br /&gt;
from cinders.&lt;br /&gt;
Angelo&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2196.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 16 September 2010 - 09.06am&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk cannot lie&lt;br /&gt;
his truths are complete&lt;br /&gt;
his vow is silence&lt;br /&gt;
he listens without comment&lt;br /&gt;
he loves without consequence&lt;br /&gt;
he cannot hate&lt;br /&gt;
he looks for grace&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2197.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 17 September 2010 - 08.02am&lt;br /&gt;
the world surprises&lt;br /&gt;
neither the old monk&lt;br /&gt;
nor the peasant&lt;br /&gt;
but the poet is&lt;br /&gt;
vastly astonished&lt;br /&gt;
understands nothing&lt;br /&gt;
new always returns&lt;br /&gt;
to the refrain&lt;br /&gt;
or lullaby&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2198.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 20 September 2010 - 03.29pm&lt;br /&gt;
the poet loves&lt;br /&gt;
the rising tension&lt;br /&gt;
that disengages all&lt;br /&gt;
but essential services&lt;br /&gt;
to focus on&lt;br /&gt;
the rise and curve&lt;br /&gt;
the rise and rhyme&lt;br /&gt;
and season&lt;br /&gt;
of your sweet ass&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2199.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 21 September 2010 - 01.53pm&lt;br /&gt;
Dear Angelo&lt;br /&gt;
the weather changes&lt;br /&gt;
night lasts all day&lt;br /&gt;
stars are stoic&lt;br /&gt;
the moon full-bellied&lt;br /&gt;
prayers sung&lt;br /&gt;
children lifted&lt;br /&gt;
the sea restless&lt;br /&gt;
dogs whimper&lt;br /&gt;
God's name&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2200.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 22 September 2010 - 09.11am&lt;br /&gt;
O Monk&lt;br /&gt;
the weather is not God's&lt;br /&gt;
nor are stars his hers&lt;br /&gt;
nor genitive her him&lt;br /&gt;
nor the wind breathe &lt;br /&gt;
nor the tide copulate&lt;br /&gt;
nor time conceived&lt;br /&gt;
your servant&lt;br /&gt;
Angelo&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2201.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 24 September 2010 - 12.58pm&lt;br /&gt;
a poet grips the earth&lt;br /&gt;
until words squeeze&lt;br /&gt;
from his fist&lt;br /&gt;
his song's wet clay&lt;br /&gt;
rises in steam in fire&lt;br /&gt;
in the kiln of his music&lt;br /&gt;
to burn lines&lt;br /&gt;
to unmask himself&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2202.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 24 September 2010 - 01.51pm&lt;br /&gt;
a mystical rain seeds&lt;br /&gt;
the earth womb&lt;br /&gt;
under the mountain gorges&lt;br /&gt;
a masked man calls me&lt;br /&gt;
to prayer and solitude&lt;br /&gt;
I hear the earth's screams&lt;br /&gt;
give birth to my mother&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2203.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 25 September 2010 - 08.57am&lt;br /&gt;
a bronze man dances&lt;br /&gt;
in the naked garden&lt;br /&gt;
born again the nymph&lt;br /&gt;
offers her breast&lt;br /&gt;
if he remove his mask&lt;br /&gt;
but he is blinded&lt;br /&gt;
by the music&lt;br /&gt;
he will flee&lt;br /&gt;
the mortal clay&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-2767156189774621450?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/a6jXnEmqYGuXzWJP9P6qnMvAW8I/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/a6jXnEmqYGuXzWJP9P6qnMvAW8I/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/a6jXnEmqYGuXzWJP9P6qnMvAW8I/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/a6jXnEmqYGuXzWJP9P6qnMvAW8I/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/HpwYLZYmvlE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/2767156189774621450?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/2767156189774621450?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/HpwYLZYmvlE/texts-2192-2203.html" title="Texts 2192 - 2203" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2010/09/texts-2192-2203.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DEQBR3o-fSp7ImA9Wx5XE0s.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-2291097603508615726</id><published>2010-09-13T10:25:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2010-09-13T10:25:56.455+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2010-09-13T10:25:56.455+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2190-2191</title><content type="html">2190.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 7 September 2010 - 11.49am&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk exercises&lt;br /&gt;
patience without resignation&lt;br /&gt;
he and the peasant are slow&lt;br /&gt;
to anger choosing prayer&lt;br /&gt;
over curse&lt;br /&gt;
leaving vengeance&lt;br /&gt;
to carrion and scavenger&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2191.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 7 September 2010 - 12.07pm&lt;br /&gt;
even the wind knows nothing&lt;br /&gt;
of love how it is&lt;br /&gt;
nowhere and everywhere&lt;br /&gt;
how it speaks&lt;br /&gt;
in caress and roughness&lt;br /&gt;
how I turn to you&lt;br /&gt;
in this weather&lt;br /&gt;
this season's quiet&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-2291097603508615726?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9jUQg4k_s0HIQWIDxjSS6kycCrU/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9jUQg4k_s0HIQWIDxjSS6kycCrU/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9jUQg4k_s0HIQWIDxjSS6kycCrU/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9jUQg4k_s0HIQWIDxjSS6kycCrU/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/E7t7P-uShr4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/2291097603508615726?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/2291097603508615726?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/E7t7P-uShr4/texts-2190-2191.html" title="Texts 2190-2191" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2010/09/texts-2190-2191.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;D0IMRXY4cCp7ImA9Wx5QF00.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-4359657474008528680</id><published>2010-09-05T18:53:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2010-09-05T18:53:04.838+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2010-09-05T18:53:04.838+02:00</app:edited><title>Texts 2184-2189</title><content type="html">2184.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 27 August 2010 - 8.56am&lt;br /&gt;
the big bad wolf loves&lt;br /&gt;
mutton he says or lamb&lt;br /&gt;
the fleece is best&lt;br /&gt;
I wear it in public&lt;br /&gt;
nobody knows who I am&lt;br /&gt;
but the dogs do&lt;br /&gt;
when I near the flock&lt;br /&gt;
licking my lips&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2185.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 30 August 2010 - 7.59am&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk looks&lt;br /&gt;
in his mirror&lt;br /&gt;
with affection this morning&lt;br /&gt;
he smiles frowns&lt;br /&gt;
shows his best side&lt;br /&gt;
what is there to say afterall&lt;br /&gt;
if one is created&lt;br /&gt;
in god's image&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2186.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 1 September 2010 - 4.19pm&lt;br /&gt;
what is image in my brain&lt;br /&gt;
but neuro chemical&lt;br /&gt;
connection arousing me&lt;br /&gt;
to other thoughts of you&lt;br /&gt;
just another hit&lt;br /&gt;
that spikes me&lt;br /&gt;
to the hot formula&lt;br /&gt;
of your fine ass&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2187.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 3 September 2010 - 9.39am&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk has heard&lt;br /&gt;
too many sermons&lt;br /&gt;
the abbot could take&lt;br /&gt;
his own advice and trust&lt;br /&gt;
in god as the peasant does&lt;br /&gt;
even in the silence and cold&lt;br /&gt;
of an empty church&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2188.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 5 September 2010 - 8.54am&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk confesses&lt;br /&gt;
to the father&lt;br /&gt;
he has sinned in the mind&lt;br /&gt;
if not in the flesh&lt;br /&gt;
the flesh is lesser&lt;br /&gt;
and briefer in the breach&lt;br /&gt;
but his mind rehearses&lt;br /&gt;
the play&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2189.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 5 September 2010 - 8.59am&lt;br /&gt;
the man is no more&lt;br /&gt;
than a voice&lt;br /&gt;
his love is the great wind&lt;br /&gt;
his voice crashes on the reef&lt;br /&gt;
his eye gazes from the fire&lt;br /&gt;
this is his song&lt;br /&gt;
his song of emptiness&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-4359657474008528680?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/KvPwTQhBxx4Pqx0AqbRUfw8QDNs/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/KvPwTQhBxx4Pqx0AqbRUfw8QDNs/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/SxYIPymYYf8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/4359657474008528680?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/4359657474008528680?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/SxYIPymYYf8/texts-2184-2189.html" title="Texts 2184-2189" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2010/09/texts-2184-2189.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DEUAR3syeyp7ImA9Wx5RFk4.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-4715721423446814061</id><published>2010-08-24T09:50:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2010-08-24T09:50:46.593+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2010-08-24T09:50:46.593+02:00</app:edited><title>New Poem for Charlotte</title><content type="html">The Hologram&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
my love is image&lt;br /&gt;
she has three dimensions&lt;br /&gt;
of the ghost&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
but she is voice&lt;br /&gt;
she is moving type&lt;br /&gt;
she is rhythms of static&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I embrace her&lt;br /&gt;
no sound no moan&lt;br /&gt;
no laughter&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I kiss her lips&lt;br /&gt;
as still air&lt;br /&gt;
of summer evenings&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I touch her breast&lt;br /&gt;
feel nothing&lt;br /&gt;
under her rib&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
O Adam call to god&lt;br /&gt;
she is hollow&lt;br /&gt;
where has she gone&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
as if on camera&lt;br /&gt;
watching me tear&lt;br /&gt;
my tongue out&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-4715721423446814061?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ogCTrRiTuJ0OiL1jJbglIDx4uLU/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ogCTrRiTuJ0OiL1jJbglIDx4uLU/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ogCTrRiTuJ0OiL1jJbglIDx4uLU/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ogCTrRiTuJ0OiL1jJbglIDx4uLU/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/gbleT3TWTm0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/4715721423446814061?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/4715721423446814061?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/gbleT3TWTm0/new-poem-for-charlotte.html" title="New Poem for Charlotte" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2010/08/new-poem-for-charlotte.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;DEcNQHo7eCp7ImA9Wx5RFk4.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-5180438099456753349</id><published>2010-08-24T09:48:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2010-08-24T09:48:11.400+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2010-08-24T09:48:11.400+02:00</app:edited><title>more contexts</title><content type="html">2174.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 11 August 2010 - 5.39pm&lt;br /&gt;
the dark paps of memory&lt;br /&gt;
amuse distend and wet&lt;br /&gt;
the tongued lip partially&lt;br /&gt;
anticipates re-engagement&lt;br /&gt;
the vertigo of lust&lt;br /&gt;
the open pastured&lt;br /&gt;
farmyard horizon's toll&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2175.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 11 August 2010 - 5.53pm&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk stands&lt;br /&gt;
at the gate to this&lt;br /&gt;
year's field still fallow&lt;br /&gt;
his eye's unwavering lens&lt;br /&gt;
turns over the soil&lt;br /&gt;
anticipates harvest&lt;br /&gt;
pagan rites&lt;br /&gt;
corn dollies&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2176.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 12 August 2010 - 7.58am&lt;br /&gt;
the first shadows awake&lt;br /&gt;
stretch and yawn&lt;br /&gt;
somewhere a dog barks&lt;br /&gt;
irritably blinks at the jogger&lt;br /&gt;
the north wester cool&lt;br /&gt;
ruffles my hair as my mother&lt;br /&gt;
did mornings&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2177.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 14 August 2010 - 8.47am&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk hears god sing&lt;br /&gt;
the wind in his hair&lt;br /&gt;
his footfall on the raked path&lt;br /&gt;
to the orchard&lt;br /&gt;
a woman call her child&lt;br /&gt;
a surprise of starlings&lt;br /&gt;
lift god's name&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2178.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 16 August 2010 - 11.36am&lt;br /&gt;
the old monk tells&lt;br /&gt;
me forgiveness is a gift&lt;br /&gt;
of god it is not&lt;br /&gt;
just or kind it&lt;br /&gt;
is absent in law&lt;br /&gt;
it balances no scale&lt;br /&gt;
instead it restores&lt;br /&gt;
divinity to humanity&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2179.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 16 August 2010 - 3.16pm&lt;br /&gt;
a poet had too many words&lt;br /&gt;
in the bank so he emigrated&lt;br /&gt;
to Australia where interest&lt;br /&gt;
is low and borrowing high&lt;br /&gt;
there he bonded with Jim&lt;br /&gt;
who was often disgraceful&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2180.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 17 August 2010 - 7.08am&lt;br /&gt;
a peasant counts the ways&lt;br /&gt;
on his fingers&lt;br /&gt;
it tells she is more&lt;br /&gt;
than a handful&lt;br /&gt;
with such beauty&lt;br /&gt;
the master is sure to want&lt;br /&gt;
to take her single pearl&lt;br /&gt;
as his own&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2181.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 17 August 2010 - 1.51pm&lt;br /&gt;
a feasible poet stands&lt;br /&gt;
ankle deep in three&lt;br /&gt;
anchor bay slime&lt;br /&gt;
stevie waving goodbye&lt;br /&gt;
to ingrid stroking&lt;br /&gt;
a gullet filled atlantic&lt;br /&gt;
on the brink of coping&lt;br /&gt;
with myself&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2182.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 23 August 2010 - 7.15am&lt;br /&gt;
how dark the world is&lt;br /&gt;
the weight of words&lt;br /&gt;
wintry bare and cold&lt;br /&gt;
the word of god grim&lt;br /&gt;
as grammar but still&lt;br /&gt;
I write to you&lt;br /&gt;
these measured&lt;br /&gt;
syllables of longing&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2183.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 24 August 2010 - 8.27am&lt;br /&gt;
the fabric of spring&lt;br /&gt;
is woven in winter&lt;br /&gt;
these long nights dark&lt;br /&gt;
and cold without you&lt;br /&gt;
while I weave and count&lt;br /&gt;
the warp and weft&lt;br /&gt;
of my shuttle's rhyme&lt;br /&gt;
and season&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-5180438099456753349?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/VnDDwvqBmeOJWgXkZFeLkGAhKVw/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/VnDDwvqBmeOJWgXkZFeLkGAhKVw/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/EGXN2IpU1OU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/5180438099456753349?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/5180438099456753349?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/EGXN2IpU1OU/more-contexts.html" title="more contexts" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2010/08/more-contexts.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;CkICQnw7eip7ImA9Wx5SFEs.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-4479605121369499894</id><published>2010-08-10T19:16:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2010-08-10T19:16:03.202+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2010-08-10T19:16:03.202+02:00</app:edited><title>graceful lines</title><content type="html">2169.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 8 August 2010 - 10.05am&lt;br /&gt;
your name breathes&lt;br /&gt;
fills me with your song&lt;br /&gt;
I hear within&lt;br /&gt;
a sea echo in the mist&lt;br /&gt;
I call your name again&lt;br /&gt;
again it echoes&lt;br /&gt;
the mountain's voice&lt;br /&gt;
the long horizon's&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2170.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 8 August 2010 - 9.21pm&lt;br /&gt;
I have lived&lt;br /&gt;
so long without you&lt;br /&gt;
another minute is&lt;br /&gt;
geological I am a fossil&lt;br /&gt;
a Devonian a fish's&lt;br /&gt;
first totter to breathe you &lt;br /&gt;
this cold blood&lt;br /&gt;
this merman hooked&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2171.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 9 August 2010 - 0.25am&lt;br /&gt;
a woman forgot love&lt;br /&gt;
at first she had lots&lt;br /&gt;
too much&lt;br /&gt;
but bit by bit he took it all&lt;br /&gt;
grunt by grunt like a pig&lt;br /&gt;
in the orchard&lt;br /&gt;
in the end a husk&lt;br /&gt;
she began to hate&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2172.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 10 August 2010 - 4.19pm&lt;br /&gt;
the nightmare roars&lt;br /&gt;
the dragon soars&lt;br /&gt;
from his schloss&lt;br /&gt;
after the bar closes&lt;br /&gt;
the fair maiden poses&lt;br /&gt;
at a loss&lt;br /&gt;
she keeps her head&lt;br /&gt;
far from his bed&lt;br /&gt;
what a fuss&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2173.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 10 August 2010 - 6.50pm&lt;br /&gt;
filled with thoughts of you&lt;br /&gt;
almost pure&lt;br /&gt;
a joy I knew I had&lt;br /&gt;
carefully parcelled behind the hearth&lt;br /&gt;
waiting for the day&lt;br /&gt;
to bring out&lt;br /&gt;
and show you&lt;br /&gt;
who I am&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-4479605121369499894?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/FS6bgPbQ4NFBY4PTUUewKrr_zf8/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/FS6bgPbQ4NFBY4PTUUewKrr_zf8/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~4/cg-2evQtFxI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</content><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/4479605121369499894?v=2" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/23165675/posts/default/4479605121369499894?v=2" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HaHodge-PoemsAndScribbles/~3/cg-2evQtFxI/graceful-lines.html" title="graceful lines" /><author><name>Hugh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/12590696598518025766</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="27" height="32" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzH0ySLacb4/TVfY-Ui96CI/AAAAAAAAGqw/4N2tHhRbKHI/s220/Hugh%2BHodge%2B27%2BJan%2B11.jpg" /></author><feedburner:origLink>http://hahodge.blogspot.com/2010/08/graceful-lines.html</feedburner:origLink></entry><entry gd:etag="W/&quot;A0UDQnY_fyp7ImA9Wx5SEkk.&quot;"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23165675.post-540889869032681657</id><published>2010-08-08T08:34:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2010-08-08T08:34:33.847+02:00</updated><app:edited xmlns:app="http://www.w3.org/2007/app">2010-08-08T08:34:33.847+02:00</app:edited><title>Songs for Charlotte and friends</title><content type="html">2158.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 29 July 2010 - 8.26am&lt;br /&gt;
could I count the ways&lt;br /&gt;
each pebble each powdered&lt;br /&gt;
galaxy each beat of hearts&lt;br /&gt;
each blink each song&lt;br /&gt;
each drop in the forest stream&lt;br /&gt;
each moment of eternity&lt;br /&gt;
my love&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2159.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 30 July 2010 - 9.56am&lt;br /&gt;
the circus leaves town&lt;br /&gt;
the trapeze artist sleeps&lt;br /&gt;
the lioness measures her cage&lt;br /&gt;
only the clown remains&lt;br /&gt;
serious under his mask&lt;br /&gt;
is that a tear&lt;br /&gt;
I see&lt;br /&gt;
in this mirror&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2160.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 31 July 2020 - 10.00am&lt;br /&gt;
a few spring flowers are out&lt;br /&gt;
also anticipating better times&lt;br /&gt;
but the north wester&lt;br /&gt;
is still fierce in my face&lt;br /&gt;
as if he had not heard&lt;br /&gt;
his days are numbered too&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2161.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 31 July 2010 - 10.12am&lt;br /&gt;
your rose raises me&lt;br /&gt;
such subtlety of nose&lt;br /&gt;
I breathe you in&lt;br /&gt;
on tip toe&lt;br /&gt;
and the painter's palette&lt;br /&gt;
to describe&lt;br /&gt;
a love affair&lt;br /&gt;
that is the portrait&lt;br /&gt;
of a jealous man&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2162.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 2 August 2010 - 11.32am&lt;br /&gt;
she touches this edge&lt;br /&gt;
peels me&lt;br /&gt;
reveals the pith&lt;br /&gt;
and seed&lt;br /&gt;
that sweetness&lt;br /&gt;
the honey&lt;br /&gt;
of busy lives&lt;br /&gt;
and all with a song&lt;br /&gt;
of summer kisses&lt;br /&gt;
of watermelon sugar&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2163.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 4 August 2010 - 8.13am&lt;br /&gt;
my rage boils yet this&lt;br /&gt;
blood dressed dawn&lt;br /&gt;
the untermensch thrusts yet&lt;br /&gt;
stabs my heart&lt;br /&gt;
his blade blunted&lt;br /&gt;
he hacks in the passages&lt;br /&gt;
nobody escapes&lt;br /&gt;
the unfair sex&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2164.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 4 August 201 - 2.39pm&lt;br /&gt;
I know this will end&lt;br /&gt;
it is the song&lt;br /&gt;
it begins&lt;br /&gt;
it ends&lt;br /&gt;
it refrains&lt;br /&gt;
it repeats&lt;br /&gt;
there are other songs&lt;br /&gt;
other voices&lt;br /&gt;
other discords&lt;br /&gt;
other harmonies&lt;br /&gt;
one beautiful you&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2165.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 5 August 2010 - 9.47am&lt;br /&gt;
here bullet&lt;br /&gt;
through the church&lt;br /&gt;
angels of death&lt;br /&gt;
in the rafters me coasting&lt;br /&gt;
never land asking for grace&lt;br /&gt;
but she ideals with the&lt;br /&gt;
untermensch to kiss the toad&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2166.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 6 August 2010 - 7.59am&lt;br /&gt;
the sea mist clothes dawn&lt;br /&gt;
and my thoughts&lt;br /&gt;
in a certain gloom&lt;br /&gt;
the underwear of uncertain day&lt;br /&gt;
feminine certainly&lt;br /&gt;
uncertainly you&lt;br /&gt;
half naked in my mind's eye&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2167.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 6 August 2010 - 8.13am&lt;br /&gt;
was it enola gaye&lt;br /&gt;
and the fat boy&lt;br /&gt;
planted a new sun&lt;br /&gt;
too close to a house&lt;br /&gt;
of cards burning&lt;br /&gt;
every thing to negatives&lt;br /&gt;
nothing escapes the light&lt;br /&gt;
not lies not truth&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2168.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 7 August 2010 - 8.12am&lt;br /&gt;
the strange bed imagines&lt;br /&gt;
your body here&lt;br /&gt;
deep Coco flavours&lt;br /&gt;
our names breathe&lt;br /&gt;
in rhythms and out&lt;br /&gt;
our kisses are tears&lt;br /&gt;
our tongues speak&lt;br /&gt;
in tongues of angels&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/23165675-540889869032681657?l=hahodge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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