W. Keith Moore

Lost Birds

2012-02-16T12:18:00.001-08:00

A blue bird with a tuft of black feathers shaped like a Mohawk landed on a bush this morning.
Just outside our bedroom window, I froze not wanting to scare him or her away.
I have never seen this bird before, and I feel as though I am a "bird-watcher" of sorts...
Nothing like Jim Harrison or Dan Gerber, but I notice a bird every now and then..

I have heard that many species of birds were blown here during hurricane Katrina..
Maybe this is a Gulf Coast bird, or a Key West bird, or a bird from South America...??
After 'Googleing' "blue birds with Mohawks", and finding nothing that resembled my discovery, I called a friend.
He felt it must be one of those hurricane Katrina birds saying he would bet on it.

Can you imagine being blown thousands of miles into an environment where you are a stranger
Where you look differently than everyone else, new food, new weather, new anxieties..??
At times we are blown here and there, near and far, by the winds of change.. Topsy Turvy...
And once we land we start looking for food, for shelter, for friendship, for love,, happiness, security..

When a man or woman coverts to something that they weren't before, they grow a spiritual Mohawk.
Blown into the shadowy gray woods of calling, wondering, "why I am here and what blew me this way?"..
No matter how young we get, our ancient souls still hunger for meaning and purpose, thirst for reason..
Once I thought I could have been a monk, a mystic, but came to realize my feet and hands would not do well with the stigmata..

So I am going back to fishing and will wait for God to cook me some fish on the shore, asking me three questions...

wkm
Oxford

Simple

2012-02-14T12:53:00.001-08:00

"What is a simple life now days?", he pondered.
He walked out onto the screened porch, wondering why he had never smoked.

The moon hidden behind a low humid winter dark sky
His dog ran out the screen door, trailing the smell of some animal that had been in the yard

"Is the mind a simple thing to understand?" he asked out loud to god and to himself..
He waited for an answer but none came. His dog came back wanting in.

"Do we really get to choose with all the baggage we carry that affects our decisions?"
A truck went by on the wet highway, tires singing their lovely tune.

"Simple must mean normal, and normal means following the rules of the day." he mused to his dog
The dog looked at him and wondered if his master was ok, wishing he could use his master's primitive language to speak..

The wind kicked up and his cell phone buzzed, a text message... 'Hey dad, can I borrow your Lucchese boots?"
He typed back, "Yea, but please don't get them muddy or wet."

He wondered why God is so silent and hidden, and then he said, "Hey God, why are you so silent and hidden?"
His son texted back..'I will treat them with care."

He sat down in the swing and took a sip of his drink..
His dog jumped up in the swing lying next to him, wishing he could explain what "simple" means..

wkm
Oxford

A Fox

2012-02-13T05:24:00.000-08:00

All day Saturday and Sunday in Clarksdale Mississippi
I saw a beautiful Red Fox out behind the house we stayed

The Clark House B&B is a charming place with ghosts in every room
Tom Waits and Robert Plant stayed there last year I am told

We stayed in the "Big Daddy" room
It has an antique bed the size of a 1970's Gran Torino

Delta avenue is where the music is
Ground Zero is a cool place with kind folks running it

Rust has amazing cuisine, grilled Asparagus resting on a dark Balsamic rue
Crunchy catfish tacos with pineapple salsa, cold ale from a local brewery

Red's Blues Club is a real Juke Joint, in every way.
So cold inside everyone was bundled up listening in the red haze of red lights and steaming blues licks

Abe's BBQ is too good..Lucille is the kindest server with a smile that makes God smile
I had Tamales buried in a salad of tomatoes lettuce and onions with mild BBQ sauce...a cold Ultra,

The cradle of the Delta, the home of the Blues, a sleepy little town oozing with art and culture
Its history is cool, and its pretty dang cool today as well...

wkm
Oxford

Running through the Woods

2012-02-09T13:15:00.001-08:00

A gray sky morning

Low moving clouds creeping along just above the trees

The wind blew late in the night, falling a few small Poplar along the path

Thinking a moment of going back and getting the Jeep it to pull them out of the way..

Instead, the sound of something moving through the woods distracted me

It sounded like a man running, not a deer..two feet not four

I ran toward the sound as the hackles on Jack and Pig's back stood up rigid,

which made the hair on my neck stand up, feeling the blood pump harder in my veins

Both dogs ran ahead, stopped, ears back, unsure of what it was they were seeing..

It was a huge Gobbler..

He flapped his wings and made it across the large creek to our left..

He hit the ground running, vanishing, blending into the dense forest, camouflaged like a hunter.

A Turkey walking or running through the woods, I will confirm,

Sounds like a person walking or running through the woods.

wkm

Oxford Ms

a Balm

2012-02-06T08:07:00.001-08:00

I cook every morning, early, around 5:30 or 6:00
Two eggs in olive oil, garlic, peppers, onions, cumin

Sauteed morels in garlic, onions, butter with olive oil
A slice of Provolone melts, melding all into one..

Cayenne pepper, salsa, and crushed black pepper blanket this concoction
Food aroma blends with the dark roast coffee brewing, Leonard Cohen sings deeply in the background..

As I chopped onions I spoke to God
"I am contemplating abandoning musical aspirations, if you agree,,, don't say anything."

The dogs were waiting by the Jeep when I walked out with my to-go mug of green tea..
Jack barked until I put it in reverse and backed out of the drive.. "RUH! RUH! RUH!"

This morning was incredible and crisp, the sun's rays easing on and off my path through the trees..
42 degrees, deer move in herds through the field on the hill, camera in pocket...

God did not speak to me. He did not tell me to do anything, feel anything, His silence is comforting.
Joy comes when we pray for others, help others, halting the damned inward stare that ponders the black whole within

The woods tell me this, the dogs tell me.. the hope of others tells me.. Mass tells me..
Wish I were more cogent with these thoughts, I am trying terribly to be so.

Jack is snoring, lying here under my desk..
His peacefulness is a balm to my soul, possibly like the one in Gilead?

wkm
Oxford MS

Winter Trees

2012-02-04T15:37:00.001-08:00

We are Winter Trees
Stripped bare

Naked, waiting, silent, abandoned
Crows nest upon our limbs

We are Spring Trees
New leaves of color, seasonal hope

Filled with life and movement
clothed again

We are Summer Trees
Sweating in the heat and humidity

Languid limbs in the heat
creaking in the relentless sun

We are Autumn Trees
Embracing our slow coming death

Windswept and stripped
The confident cold our destiny

We are Winter Trees...

wkm
Oxford MS

American Idol

2012-02-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

Saint!
Sinner!
Wake up from your slumber!
Sinner sin with focus and commitment to your path
Saints serve and love with commitment to your path
This generation shall not pass away
it will linger into oblivion from laziness and mediocrity
no art
no poetry
no irony ( maybe except for Colbert)
nothing stirs this generation's soul except profit, politics, and porn..
Wanting is the music, the literature, Broadway, film...
but of course, there are exceptions..(Big Bad Love)
Sinners who give their all find fixating forks in the road,the severity of the mirror, the need for love, within and without...
Saint who give their all find mystery, the hilarity of the mirror, the need to love, within and without..
from this comes the candid confession..Charles Bukowski, Larry Brown, Robert Barron, Jim Harrison, Mother Teresa...
"Nothing pristine comes from American Idol"...she said as she poured a glass of Bordeaux.

wkm
Oxford
for Jim Harrison

Hush Puppies

2012-02-02T04:54:00.001-08:00

As a kid growing up on 60 acres of woods, a lake, and pastures,
I spent 90% of my life outside..eating fresh fish, fried green tomatoes, peppers..

Home cut fries, watermelon from the garden, along with Black Eyed Peas, String Beans..
Billy plowed the garden with an old horse named Maude.

My five dogs went everywhere I went, out till after dark alone with my canine siblings,
Horses, cattle, deer, motorcycles, Go-Carts, an only child, never watched television, three channels...

The lake was 20 acres and it was stocked with Bluegill, Bass, and Perch.
We fished whenever we wanted, I would take either a pole or reel and catch enough to fry..

Billy, my old man, had a large "Fry-Daddy" filled with oil, frying fish was a passion
Nothing in my life has ever tasted like those fresh fish from our lake on a warm evening.

He would fillet the Bass, and sometimes the Brim if large enough..
All of this took place near the large wooden picnic table close to the shore

The smell was wonderful, the air clean, the sounds of dusk on a summer day
My mom would bring the Hush Puppy badder in a large white plastic mixing bowl..

Fresh onions mixed into the badder, salt, pepper, a light sprinkling of Tabasco,
All blended perfectly, little dough balls dropped slowly into the bubbling oil.

My old man had a system, cook the fish first, then the Hush Puppies..
the most beautiful golden brown morsels you have ever put in your mouth..

wkm

Oxford

Excited Soul

2012-01-31T12:15:00.001-08:00

I wonder if my soul gets excited when I walk every morning
Maybe like my dogs get excited, barking and jumping up

And I will tell you why I wonder this...
There is a different light in the mornings and a slow change moves in

As the sun burns away the mist over the fields and creeks,
A different light burns away my bitterness, fear, anxiety

At least, this is where my wondering takes me,
to the Other light..

And somehow after 45 minutes of walking my soul feels lighter
then I feel the worry dissipate and fall to the winter ground behind me

My soul and me are the same, not separate or distinct
Body and soul walking through the woods in one labored breath

Now sitting by the Jeep drinking water and petting Jack and Pig
You know what, it's all a big freakin mystery, y'all go ahead with what you were doing.

wkm
Oxford

world without end

2012-01-31T04:23:00.001-08:00

curiously, there has to be more than this
but then again,
this could be renewed

wkm
Oxford

Messengers

2012-01-30T13:52:00.001-08:00

Instead of walking right in to the thing,
take a minute, breathe, have a look around.

This morning I saw three huge doe in the forest.
They didn't seem too afraid when they heard me.

Their gentle lope reminded me of slow motion footage from a nature show
the long flapping cotton like tails standing at attention

Jack and Pig didn't see them, but instead flushed a covey of meadowlarks.
Little brown birds flying in unison darting in waves to the right and left in perfect time

3 miles in the cold up and down the trails till the crows saw me
One crow in a tree saw us and alerted the other crows

They cawed, telling where I was
Messengers determined to make sure everyone knew

wkm
Oxford

Impression

2012-01-27T14:33:00.001-08:00

Through the screen on my porch
seeing the van Gogh trees of winter
a Mason Jar filled with a deep red Italian wine
a picture
it is more
a moment of still life
a new perception,
more for you,
it is it is.

wkm
Oxford Ms

Even the Silence

2012-01-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

The Battle of Little Big Horn National Park is a spooky place.
A Lakota Sioux named Harold drove us there two hours before sundown on a Tuesday

His light green 72 Chevrolet short bed Pick-Up rattled, the engine missed and sputtered at higher speeds
Harold looked like a man in his 50's, I learned later that night he was only 32..tall, thin, dark eyes

He asked if we wanted a drink from his bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag,
I took a sip out of no desire to offend, some kind of home-made wine, more bitter than sweet

We parked by the entrance just as dark clouds came rushing, blanketing the Bitter Roots
Harold stayed by the truck and told us to go ahead, he seemed uneasy and took another swig of his wine.

Grave stones cold and white litter the lonely field
Men and horses buried where they fell

A lone pheasant flushed, his rust colored breast standing out amidst the gray
A coyote yipped over toward the Powder River, a chill ran down the back of my neck

To say this place is haunted would be too simple I think, too easy to say.
It is a strange place with sounds from another world, even the silence laments

wkm
Oxford

The Big Picture

2012-01-17T04:22:00.001-08:00

When someone you know is hurting
and nothing seems to help
take them on a walk in the woods
a silent walk, no talking, no headphones or Ipod, no phone
just the sounds and rhythms of the woods in winter
after an hour or so of walking, perspective may broaden
the big picture might emerge...
but there is no way of knowing for sure.

wkm
Oxfrord

Mud Riding

2012-01-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

I have heard the saying,"Life is a dance"..
but the person saying it is usually referring to a hard moment in life

Today in the cold winter wind I felt a very sincere warmth
I thought about it later when I made coffee for four

She asked me if I do this often
I said as often as I hear Caliente music which is not very often

Isn't it amazing how well Saltine Crackers improve the taste and texture of many soups
With a half a sleeve in my hunting coat, I walked through the shadows at mid day in the woods

No matter how much you think about something,
mud riding never gets old.

wkm
Oxford

Wisdom

2012-01-12T07:18:00.000-08:00

"As I grew older, I understood that instructions came with this voice, and the instructions were these:Never to lament casually. And if one is to express the great inevitable defeat that awaits us all, it must be done within the strict confines of dignity and beauty." ~Leonard Cohen.

The Woods

2012-01-08T12:11:00.000-08:00

When walking with the dogs through the woods I feel their excitement
I run to keep up through the narrow trails wanting to see what they see

The soft southern winter in these woods makes for strong scents of the animals passing through
Jack darts one way and Pig another, each seeing the image the scent congers in their canine brain

Up ahead among the hard wood and sparse pine I see the white tail flapping clear against the gray and brown
A large doe bounding gracefully through the air as if the ground were a trampoline beneath her

Jack chases for about 3 seconds and realizes he can't fly and it will not work out for him
Pig yips and lets us know she has found a squirrel and would like our attention

We rest by a log for a moment, or, I rest by a log for a moment, they scan the woods
My childhood was spent in Mississippi woods with dogs and my older childhood as well

wkm
Oxford

For the Climb

2012-01-04T16:36:00.001-08:00

I do not always see what is coming down the road
in fact, I never see what is coming down the road, not till it comes into focus... react, respond, re-read..

Inside the mind of a man there are many questions but answers often dissolve like alka seltzer in the tap water of stray thoughts
Cause one kid will get one answer and another kid will get another one, whether one is truth or not is another thing

I have spoken to three people about the missing Jeep and where it was last seen
So far, still driving the white Chevy that gulps gas instead of drinking it like the other nice vehicles, but that is hurtful

Both dogs were cold this morning as we walked the old train track trail
40 minutes of picking em up and putting em down and wind so cold it made us wince in unison twice

I saw the hindquarters of the largest deer I have seen as it disappeared into the woods, and I mean ever seen
Could have been a mule except that it wasn't a mule, it was a White Tail big ass Mississippi Deer!

Three guys running by us on the trail made me colder watching them from the woods we darted into so the dogs wouldn't chase
They were dressed like it was 90 instead of 20, running like a cold devil from hell was chasing them

I believe life is a wonderful thing and should be lived with great compassion, abandon, honesty, and focus
1 should give all one has to leaving behind things needing left while firmly gripping the rope thrown down for the treacherous climb

wkm
Oxford

We laughed

2012-01-03T05:56:00.001-08:00

nothing is as the slow sun rising in winter, pastel light fading in like the opening of Gorecki's Symphony Number 3
viewed through the frozen limbs of the oak and pecan trees revealing shape, design, patterns.

at 5:00 I walked out an checked on one of our cats who insists on living in the shed now where we have made her a haven
cat bed on old chair with blankets and a space heater for the frigid nights, water bowl, food, and freedom, she was fine and purred as I rubbed her head

Black Coffee with Cinnamon in my Pablo mug made from the Yocona Mississippi clay just 6 miles from here, the Potter from Spain
He wore leather boots like something Davy Crockett might have worn with leather straps dangling from around his knees, be like Pablo..

Pablo looks like an actor from a Fellini film, not just an actor, but the star of a Fellini film, a humble man who works harder than anyone I know
I found two books by Guy de la Valdene at Square Books and was facing at the register when Pablo stuck his finger in my side, "Give me all your money!"

I told him it would not take long and we laughed.

wkm
Oxford

Why Not?

2012-01-02T15:21:00.001-08:00

I thought I had nothing to say this time but here is a collection of words:
sometimes the sound of leaves crunching beneath my boots in the winter dawn stirs my soul

The Deer know when to hide and when to be seen much like some people you know
Farther on down the line walking on a trail through the east section, the wind howling, 31 degrees.

I am not sure of anything except that I am not sure of anything, along with the the taste of garlic and olive oil
The stew is in the crock pot, i call it "Continuation Stew", it began as beef stew two days ago, now it has lentils and Andouille sausage

One carton of organic Beef Broth with one purple onion diced, a full flower of garlic, Olive oil, salt, pepper, cayenne, carrots..
the rue from last night, garlic salt, black eyed peas for the New Year, Yukon Gold potatoes,Guinness..chunks of sirloin.

Hemingway captured seasons well, but Rick Bass's journal, "Winter"is my choice for the cold days ahead.
Faulkner loved Paris and Paris loved Faulkner....I heard they love Larry Brown too..I wonder if Larry ever went to Paris.

I am surrounded by happiness and it is beginning to seep through the cracks of my melancholy, filling me with light
A new year to be new..to laugh harder.,to help..to forgive..to release..to step closer to the sweet mystery of Sweet Detachment

why not?

wkm
Oxford

Hunt

2011-12-31T17:21:00.001-08:00

I am becoming a fan of French music, accordion, waltzes, Notre Dame, frittas, Beaujolais..
today sitting in a tree-stand with a rifle i thought of truffles and the French countryside my wife and I visited years ago in Burgundy

Although it not wise while hunting deer, i played some French music at very low volume on my Iphone..
A large Murder of Crows argued in the distance and played in the pallid sky just over the tree tops

I read poetry by Jim Harrison and an article in The Rolling Stone about George Harrison,"The quiet Beatle".
The view I had at 20 feet up in a tree was canvas like..."colors vivid like Van Gogh"..

I have not shot an animal since I was a teenager, and even then my aim was questioned.
The only hunting I have somewhat excelled in as an adult is the pursuit of Quail, which are almost extinct in Mississippi, due to pesticides used in crop dusting..

My son was a few hundred yards away in his own tree, waiting with his 21 year old hope for a huge Buck to appear..
He is my pride and joy and thus why I am sitting in the tree stand and finding it incredibly wonderful and cleansing

I love being back in Mississippi for good...and knowing that i don't have to leave Monday...dadgum, what a lesson learned..
I shouldered the rifle and climbed down the ladder, walked out into the woods to see a man about a dog, peace..

wkm
Oxford MS

Home

2011-12-29T16:40:00.001-08:00

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my days
I am no longer facing a relentless man manufactured anxiety

Yes, the "normal" anxieties continue and God bless them
But the twisted encumbered suspicion from the insecure brain is lying in the dust again

But "we wrestle not against flesh and blood" a famous Saint once said..
We know the demons within, the hypocrisy within, the sinner within..very very well..

As I drove home yesterday for the last time, hallelujah, I sang along with Mick Jagger..
"Please to meet you, won't you guess my name?!" I knew what he was talking about..

God is not exactly what we think He is...He is more, Jesus tried to show us.. He is more loving and more merciful than we know..
And then I realized that the "insecure brain" is not any worse than me at all, I am just as insecure in my own way

So, as I love being home for good, and love being with my wife, my son, his girlfriend, my dogs...
I am just thankful..simple as that..thankful for the journey..

I wish peace for Scott, Mark, Marcus, Cedric, Micheal, Andy, Arron, Andrew, and whoever I am forgetting..
cause the cross is for every dang one of us, and that is the only hope we wanderers have..

It is so good to be home.

wkm
Oxford MS HALLELUJAH!

That Lonesome Whistle

2011-12-27T14:56:00.001-08:00

I understood her words clearly, and then I took out the trash
The dog Maggie, our house guest, followed me to the door and stopped when she saw it was raining

Do you think the earth remembers anything done to it over the years?
I have been on a horse in a section of woods not ridden in over a year and the horse noticed a tree missing, halting to inspect the vacancy.

If failing is such a bad thing why do so many of us get to experience it?
Success is finding the cork to go back in the bottle

Isn't it peculiar that the baby Jesus lived in obscurity till he was 30 years old, walked around 3 short years, forgiving whores and tax collectors, known as a wine "bibber", then died a criminal? Paul made it clear that if he didn't rise from the grave, believers are the king of fools

I walked out this morning with my scarf around my neck, wondering where the road is going
Roads are like.. roads. They are built to get you from one place to another..nobody ever built a road to nowhere on purpose.

I am thinking of making seven New Year's resolutions this time..1. stop complaining, 2. Grow my own vegetables, 3. help out more often, 4. Write a book of poetry, 5. Drink more water, 6. Eat less, 7. Go to daily Mass. Seven things to move the train on a little farther down the line..far from useless self pity of the past year...and I'll let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away..

wkm
nashville, one more night

Swaddling CLothes?

2011-12-26T05:48:00.000-08:00

Sick for Christmas makes one grateful for socks instead

I wonder if Jesus, Mary, or Jospeh caught cold while they were away in a manger

We watched a film last night and one character was such a pain in the ass

At one point I blurted out, "What a know-it -all jerk!", upon which my lovely wife said, "You can be that way sometimes."

OWWW! Sting! Pain in my ego! Yet after I weakly disputed her through pitiful coughs and hurt feelings,

I knew she must be right..and I started feeling worse remembering what Shakesphere said, "What thou hatest most, thou copiest best"

(I am not sure if Shakesphere said this, it was probably Frued or Kant...

but it sounds better with Shakepshere's toungue, wit and tamber)

I often wonder about days after big events, like Christmas, Easter, Hannakuh, the Super Bowl, The World Cup.

you know, the day after..What did Joseph do after that night of Angels, Shepherds, Wise Men..etc.?

Did he go out and find a warm place indoors to stay for a while?

Did Mary suggest they stay with some cousins while the census was being taken?

They wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes, a kind of mummy suit to keep him secure and warm..

God wrapped in swaddling clothes, God.. it's crazy if you believe it isn't it? It's mind blowing to think about the implications.

Maybe it was a pre-cursor for when he would be wrapped in burial clothes 33 years from that moment..

And the whole manger thing, a feeding trough, laid in a feeding trough, he who said, I am the Bread of Life..our food.

wkm

Oxford Ms

Where's Rilke?

the Virgin

2011-12-23T17:21:00.001-08:00

there is a sense of something coming tonight

one night away from the happening that has affected everything

Tradition says in St. Andrew's prayer that God was born at midnight

in the cold darkness of Bethlehem two thousand years ago to a young girl as pure as the falling snow

tonight in Mississippi where Choctaw once lived before we got here

shoppers are out using credit cards as if somehow believing in Jesus means prosperity, possibly?

When we walked in the woods this morning with Jack, Pig, and Maggie ( a dog we are taking care of)

We felt joy in the loneliness of the woods and trails we had never discovered before

Pecan crusted fried Brook Trout came very close to making me weep tonight

That and the white rice filled with crawfish and lobster it swam upon, I am a fan of art food

If you have never been to Oxford Mississippi on a winter's night please pray about it

One of our cats just came over to where I am writing this and lay down at my feet

I am still amazed at the beauty of the Virgin and her complete dedication to birthing this mystery Child

I have nothing against atheist or agnostics when we talk about this kind of stuff, it can all be accepted only by grace anyway

I am about to walk outside and look up at the winter stars

If you want o join me that would be fine.

wkm

Oxford MS, thank God.