The Poetry of William Hammett

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20293589833433232812026-03-05T18:43:02.453-06:00The Poetry of William HammettPoetry by Author and Poet William HammettWHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.comBlogger316125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-31385985421386579012026-03-04T11:55:00.007-06:002026-03-04T11:59:07.012-06:00Saint Basil's Harmonica<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Sitting on the bench in Central Park,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Basil blows blue notes into dusk,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">serenades, wails, wanders over the stops<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">with a tongue that goddamns the damned.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Pigeons, robins, sparrows—all become<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">blackbirds in the jangle of metal jungle—<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">scatter like gunships shaving a tree line<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">at the sound of Saint Basil’s harmonica,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">skimming rice paddies with evening-violet napalm.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">His hands cup the organ with tremolo trim<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">polluting the air with staccato music,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">bullets from a bandolier feeding the M60 Pig<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">to mow down joggers and the Cong.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Before long, the day dies.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Behind aviator lenses and olive drab shirt,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the shuffles to the Catholic church,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">lights a candle to Our Lady of the Buddha,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">whose temples ruled the heart of darkness<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">in Asia land, in Asia land.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">He curls up on the last pew and sleeps,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and in his dream there is weeping<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">before crickets calm the convolutions of his brain.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">A candle sputters, goes dark.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Hollow bamboo shoots, reeds to blow<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">a dirge or Mekong Delta blues,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">grow in the night by the stained-glass window<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">on which Christ feeds a lamb not long for this world.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html">Poetry Sites of Interest</a><br /><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html">Copyright and Publication Information</a></span></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-69683928028375126132026-02-25T11:54:00.002-06:002026-02-25T11:55:23.170-06:00Playing Chess with Confucius <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">I do not understand his moves.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">They are random, his queen<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">traipsing across the board<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">like a streetwalker looking for tricks<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">with a lusty bishop or a knight<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">behaving like a Calaveras jumping frog.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">He throws the I Ching before every move,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">looking at the random yarrow sticks<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">before pushing a pawn into slave labor.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">He smiles a lot and says he can’t lose.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“It is what it is,” he says with a sigh.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“Be good, be kind. Drink rice wine<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and make love in moderation.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Study art, politics, and religion.”<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I move a rook two squares to the left.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“You’re a stereotype,” I say. “Checkmate.”<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">He scratches a whiskered chin.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“Ah,” he says. “Just as it should be.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The Mandate of Heaven prevails."<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">He is full of wind and words,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">a puffy cloud with too many followers.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">He puts a stick in each of his nostrils<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and twitches his erudite nose.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“I am a walrus,” he laughs.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“Ah, just as it should be,” I say.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“The laughing toad gathers no moss.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">A stitch in time saves nine. Etcetera.”<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">He snores while I sneak away<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">with his college coed courtesan.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html">Poetry Sites of Interest</a><br /><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html">Copyright and Publication Information</a></span></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-35473285532249866382026-02-16T12:13:00.002-06:002026-02-16T12:19:21.672-06:00Praying to the Gods and Saints for Good Weather and Gold<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Fishermen cast wide nets for mackerel<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and trout, the wide-eyed captives<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">flipping and smacking in the mesh,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">silver and gold coins reflecting<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">sun scales, rainbow tarnished<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and plucked from the novenas and votives<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">at the four a.m. fisherman’s mass.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Mumbled words disappear in the flames.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Multiplied wafers no longer offer the balm.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Let there be fair weather and calm,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">no thunderheads or Satan spawn<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">to tilt the sea or rock the sailor’s brain.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Let market and monger be paid in full,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the gods appeased, the papal bull<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">from Peter’s boat absolving the sky of rain.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Let drachmas in the fish’s mouth<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">pay the temple tax and bribe old Triton<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">to blow his conch and the anchor weigh.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Are we even now? Am I free to go?<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It is time to cast off with spinnaker spin.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">T</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">he mariners are shrived, the widows grieved<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">because husbands are lost in the Galilee.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Let us be done with canonized feet<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">that walk upon the rumpled sheet.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It’s over, gone, and done, this hope<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">for cloud and coin and copper tin.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The wide-eyed fish and flock are the ones<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">who are always nailed with the Savior’s sin.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html">Poetry Sites of Interest</a><br /><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html">Copyright and Publication Information</a></span></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-87858913340082539802026-02-05T11:50:00.003-06:002026-02-05T11:53:12.416-06:00The Titty Bar<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The stripes and spots and speckles<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of lions, leopards, and tigers<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">rise and spin and fold under the disco ball,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">turn upside down, legs splayed,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">delayed by fingers stroking chrome<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">as the roving lights lick the carousel<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">with beams on seams of skin-tight silk,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of tawdry fur and feather boas<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">constricting the neck and nexus<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of the gyre, the gyration well-lubricated<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">with gin and rose oil rhymed, timed<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">to make the fluid hemispheres revolve<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">around the son of man who has come<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">to call this flock to savannah’s trial<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">in a kingdom where the many mansions<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">are in the back, red velvet and black lights<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">ushering in a rapture of Midwest conventioneers<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">walking the midway between the breast of dawn,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">between the gasp and lickety leers<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and twilight’s last suckle of a naked gleam.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The ups and downs exist but in a dream.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">All are actors, and all who enter here are sprites<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">who may have given you to slumber for a while.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Stuff the greenbacks into the collection plates,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the order of the garter and the snakes,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and you shall find yourselves at home again,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the wife and kids, asleep, bringing the ship to rights.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-40201977856298513402026-01-30T12:01:00.002-06:002026-01-30T12:02:41.580-06:00Fish and Birds and Other Things<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The black and white prince<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">behind the kitschy shrine,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">incense and thurible in hand,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">falls down the sanctuary steps<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and slumps in the red confessional<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">to hear and absolve his hidden sins.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Lighting candles on the very top shelf,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the physician never seems to heal himself.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">It is all well and good</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">if he's drunk as hell on altar wine,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">for no one offends the universe.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Everyone has thrown the first stone.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Everyone has delivered the gut punch<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and colored outside of the lines.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Everyone has picked up the serrated blade<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and cut the here and now<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">far too close to the bone.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Let there be saints,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">but not ones with robes<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">or halos or praying hands.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Let them be fish and birds <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and other wondrous things<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">that pirouette like the sun and moon<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and grace the air like insect wings.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Let the sacred and the profane<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">lie in the marriage bed.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Let them become great with child<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">who revels and dances and always sings<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">to the wizards and witches who live in the wild.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Let the world stumble its way into holiness<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">without canon law firing its rumble and roar.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Let there be fish and birds and other things.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Copyright William Hammett 2026</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-24108460226203216352026-01-23T12:32:00.009-06:002026-01-23T12:34:06.289-06:00Hanging from the Belt of Orion<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Orion marches through December,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the bear always in front of him<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">despite a thousand years of pursuit.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It is the way he navigates the years.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I live alone in a cabin in the woods<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">with a fire, a bed, a stack of books,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and a long oak table and chairs.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It is the way I navigate life.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">With a shotgun, I chased away naked St. Francis<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">because I dislike holy men lacking self-esteem.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The red cardinal speaks to me of philosophy.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">He has no theology to speak of<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and says God is the tree, the wind, the stream,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">only that and no more,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">though we have made him in our image<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and pursued him for a thousand years.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I am an apprentice of Orion,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">hanging from his jeweled belt<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">while tramping through the snow<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">in the long, cold, dark night<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">searching for a scripture only I can write.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It is the way I navigate the stars.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html">Poetry Sites of Interest</a><br /><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html">Copyright and Publication Information</a></span></div><br /><p></p>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-31537592230956308962026-01-16T12:15:00.011-06:002026-01-16T12:17:07.437-06:00The Wind<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The wind is everything and nothing.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It blows brown bags down the street<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">to keep the idea of carrying things<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">beyond the grasp of an already frazzled woman,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">whips the hats off beggars who can ill afford<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">an affront from the Invisible man, of all people.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It knocks down perfectly good trees,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the schoolyard bully who taunts because he can.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It slams rain into windows like buckshot,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">sends floodwater gushing into small towns<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">filled with Raggedy Ann and Andy people<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">now too limp to file the insurance forms.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">But then, but then . . . <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">it tousles the hair of a scorned woman<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">who decides that her lover is an ass after all.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">It drives clouds that look like sailing ships<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">over the schoolyard to fire imaginations<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">of little men and women who seek the sea<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and dreams too tall for their present reach.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">It spins the mind of a poet into a sonnet<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">about zephyrs and sprites and inspiration<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">blowing off Olympus with power too great<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">to be tamed by the hands of mortal men<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">who wish the air to cool fevered brows<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and evaporate sweat worked up in the field.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">It is a mystery.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">It is nowhere to be seen and everywhere to be felt.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">It is mistress, god, and sledgehammer<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">that can slam bones into powder and dust<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">or caress cheeks and make love to naked skin<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">bathing in a stream or daring to stand<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">in a garden like Adam minus sin.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">I blink, turn my head, open my mouth,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and my head is full of rushing ether,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">all my doors and windows open.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">I do not know what soul this might be<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">or what it does except claim the right<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">to circle and swirl and hold the world <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">in its grasp or decide that it should go free.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-13156009828795287442026-01-08T13:06:00.003-06:002026-01-08T13:07:25.350-06:00Half-Lives<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The half moon still governs the tides,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">still washes the sand and evens the score.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">A wink with one eye of two still lures the stranger <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">on the suburban train, a Venus on the half-shell.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Half a heart still attracts the soulmate<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">assuming the other half is waiting in the wings.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Half a song from the red breast in the tree<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">still sings of life and many wanton things.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">We live by halves, never grasping the whole.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Long ago, the sons of Adam were instructed to slow the roll.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></p>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-17108088544228938362025-12-31T12:17:00.009-06:002025-12-31T12:18:55.236-06:00Dark Leaves<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Dark leaves fly through December air,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">a flock of birds startled from rest<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">by buckshot or the backfire of a car,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the horde of cold immigrants huddled by a fire<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and driven to the hills by the season of ice.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">They are dressed in the brown garb of monks,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">spines all too visible from fasting in the fall,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">who fly towards God or away from his wind.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">We are the dry, dark leaves, a desperate flock<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">running away from entropy, the year, the clock.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">We are the dry leaves.<br /> We are the brown leaves.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">We are the leaves rushing for safe haven.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">We are the leaves.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-25287513987139707442025-12-24T11:53:00.009-06:002025-12-24T11:55:59.098-06:00Winter Dream<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The woods are still.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Branches are brown, bare<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">arms, fingers, and twigs.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The ice shows no signs of thaw,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the land sleeping, dreaming<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of shapes, forms, colors, times,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">access to which is denied.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Or perhaps it is thinking<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of epochs, the grand design<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">that winter plays close to the vest.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I do not know, I do not know.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I tramp through snow,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">my head lowered, my thoughts quiet.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I am allowed to pass across a frozen stream,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">though it is possible, I suppose,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">that I am merely part of the dream.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html">Poetry Sites of Interest</a><br /><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html">Copyright and Publication Information</a></span></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-87171113871990858642025-12-16T13:30:00.003-06:002025-12-17T09:28:12.199-06:00Dissolving the Buddha<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">He sits serenely beneath the bodhi tree,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">detaching himself from electrons<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and the ocean’s endless rhythm roll,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">from yoni and lingam and pleasure<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">squeezed like juice from a plum<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">lest longing nest in his soul like a lovebird<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">living in a constant state of desire.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Give me satin skin and a wine-flavored kiss.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Grant me the world, its hardness,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the here and now of its clawing roots<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">that break rich sod with the audacity of sin.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I’ll dine with courtesans and eat ripe fruit,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">consort with astronomers who crave entire galaxies<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">though they be a billion light years away,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">though they tease the eye with wanton light<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">beyond the grasp of all but refractory ways.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">My eye is lusty for forbidden sights.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I would have more grain, bigger barns<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and then eat, drink, and be merry for more.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Do not die to the self or extinguish the flame.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Rather, let it burn the bodhi tree,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">erase the Buddha’s subtle, slippery smile.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The Sirens call, and I will not be chained to the mast.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Let them torment me with their island arts<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">until I moan, drunk with a life that was born to last.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;">No poem, post, or page on this website may be used for the purpose of AI training.</span></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-57765129691032141022025-12-04T11:35:00.012-06:002025-12-04T11:38:20.523-06:00Tell It to Coltrane<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Spill your woes to Coltrane.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Let jazz put troubles into the funky fugue<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and turn them into incense<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">rising from cigarettes in the club<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">where only the shadows of dead men play.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Give your grief to Beethoven.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">His ninth is broad and bold enough<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">to swallow your rants and raves,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">sound rising and pulsing rhythm<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">in an orgasm of strings and brass<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">hung on a score with a thousand staves.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Hang your bitching out to dry<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">with Shakespeare’s iambic play it on the fly.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">After deliberation, Hamlet will stab your heartache,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Prince Escalus restore the butchered peace<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">to Verona after the star-crossed lovers die.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Bury your pain with the brush or pen,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">with the saxophone playing the midnight den.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Scream like Edvard on the Oslo bridge<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and let the Jumblies go to sea in a sieve.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Let canvas, page, and lute absorb your pain,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the fever pitch, your last damn nerve,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the witch-wife that mixes up the migraine.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Then sit by the pasture’s unnamed brook.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The world is not to die for, but to live.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;">No poem, post, or page on this website may be used for the purpose of AI training.</span></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-5087289153443092842025-11-28T14:09:00.006-06:002025-11-29T13:23:29.847-06:00In Your Heart<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Forgive me for drifting away, <br />dark-haired lady of legend,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">for leaving the clear running water<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of your voice and its music<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">that sang of love and kisses<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">despite the demands of any given day.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I left for the mountains,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">trudging through snow<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">in search of a lamasery<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">that would unpack all secrets,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">bind up wounds that had been carved<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">before our eyes ever engaged<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and danced what only we could dance<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and see through long hours<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of lounging in serendipity.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The only answer I needed was<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">in your heart,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">in your heart.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">No poem, post, or page on this website may be used for the purpose of AI training.</span></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-79230583337130986272025-11-21T12:31:00.004-06:002025-11-21T12:33:13.907-06:00Magi<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">The black man with the gold tooth<br /> and the silver pocket watch he found<br /> in a dumpster dive in Midtown Manhattan<br /> smiles and exclaims, “Lordy, Lordy!<br /> It’s a time for a change, ain’t it?<br /> The Age of Aquarius—shit, that’s what time it is!”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"> In Philly, the hobo smells of Chanel and Charlie,<br /> free spritzes from the glass altar at Bloomie’s.<br /> He’s the dandy in red and blue silk scarves<br /> shoplifted from the caravan cakewalk<br /> through Central City where he fashions himself<br /> King Candy, the magisterial leader of the mooks.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /> On the South Side of Chicago, Lou takes a hit<br /> from the bong that blesses the sliding slum<br /> with incense that vagabonds tending their flocks<br /> inhale deep into browning bellows<br /> before exhaling the plume to an unnamed god.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /> The spire and mooring mast, pulsing starbright<br /> atop the Empire State Building, leads the trio<br /> to Central Park, the Big Apple moldy with Eve.<br /> Heavy with wine, they slumber in Claremont Arch<br /> before taking the abandoned babe to the firehouse<br /> for a five-alarm life with foster dudes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /> It’s time to leave, to slip the long invisible leash<br /> before Herod’s cops roust the teachers three.<br /> They board the dog, the El, the boxcar rolling free.<br /> It’s done and done. Go down, Moses and wake up Job.<br /> There’s something happening here, something new—<br /> for what it’s worth—on the goddamn dizzy globe.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;">No poem, post, or page on this website may be used for the purpose of AI training.</span></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-86636807145148403632025-11-13T12:53:00.003-06:002025-11-13T12:55:23.549-06:00Monkeys in the Temple<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Cambodia breathes.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The jungle is dark green and hot,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">thin yellow prison bars falling<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">through the canopy of Strangler Figs,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Mai-Sak, palms, Silk-Cottons.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The monsoons are a month away,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and the stone Buddha spikes a fever.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Ferns and bamboo choke the temple,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">prana and kundalini strangled<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">below the crumbling sandstone and bricks.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">A hundred yards away,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">a fighter jet screaming Vietnam<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">hangs in the trees, a metal skeleton<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">with broken and rusted chakras<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">sacrificed to Charlie, G. I. Joe, the Cong.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Macaques climb the vines<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">twisting around the filigreed chedis,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">clamber over the Buddha,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">eyes closed as he ponders in peace<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">the fact that his left ear is gone<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">from rot or riotous cluster bombs.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">The monkeys are inquisitive, demanding.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Who is the sandstone god?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Who is the prophet, the maker of worlds<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">consumed by artillery and missile strikes?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Where are the avatars dressed in olive drab,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">in cone hats and black pajamas?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">What is the mystery of the shrine<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">tended only by the python and cobra king?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">The blue marble breathes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">The ad men on Madison Avenue pitch their tags.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">They fornicate and ride the shafts to Shangri-La<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">while their wives bake and smoke<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and make love to the cabana boys out back.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Priests and whores clamber over rocks,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">pavement, and pews to worship the sun and the moon.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Who is the sandstone god?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Who is the prophet, the maker of worlds?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Monkeys swing from New York to L.A.,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">smoking ganja in tweed and conical hats,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">inquisitive and demanding as they try<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and try again to decipher hieroglyphics<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">from a race of apes in swaddling clothes<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and black pajamas and wooly mammoth skins.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">What is the mystery of the shrine?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">It is a primitive world missing the Buddha’s ear<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">that pirouettes in space and spins, spins, spins.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">Copyright 2025 William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">No poem, post, information, or page on this website may be used for AI training purposes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-17909566742030565972025-11-05T11:30:00.003-06:002025-11-05T11:32:24.830-06:00Wild Blossoms<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">I picked flowers for you today<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">in the countryside in the green field<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">with wild blossoms of every size<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and the color of Solomon’s regalia.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">I put them in water<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">from the pure, clear stream<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">that still runs through my heart<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and, I hope, yours as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><br /></p><br /><p></p>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-25792400118716539722025-10-29T11:28:00.003-05:002025-12-16T13:31:21.069-06:00Links in the Merlin Double Helix Chain<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The Flying Bellinis, hand to wrist<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">above the big tent sawdust,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">know the continuum of daredevil “ahhh!”<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">from night to night, from father to son.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The daisy chain’s endless green and white<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">tied together with matrimonial bands<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">stop and start, dip and chart<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the Billboard hippie fest—can you dig the light,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">man and wife spawning the generational heart?<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Watch Whitman stitch the leaves of grass,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">crossing Brooklyn Ferry before the lilacs bloom<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">in the dooryard when Lincoln heaves the torch.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Most of all, Joyce riverrun past Eve and Adam's,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and the first shall be last and the last<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">shall be first—oh I’m talking syntax and pages<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">that loop like gyres, and to every season,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">there is pern, pern, pern, Seeger and Yeats<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">says Qoheleth: live, die, plant, reap,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">laugh, weep, and dance under Scottish Skye<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">to the music of the spheres still spinning<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">despite Galileo’s culling of cepheid stars.<br />Uther Pendragon begets, and the once and future<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">marries Guinevere again and again and again,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">while Lancelot, the queen’s joyous guard,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">finds a way to split the round, pierce her mound<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">every time. Place your bets on the neon ground.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Which brings us to Merlin, the master hook and wheel<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">who pivots and joins the constellations nine<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">with magic born of Barnum and Igraine.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">To every sex and seed there is a reason,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">a time and purpose under heaven for lay, laid, and lain.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It’s coffeehouse beat, a Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg howl.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I am, you are, he she it is the Walrus<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">disguised by the mystery tour’s Franciscan cowl.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Be off now. Get with child a mandrake root.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">All the stones are one. All the stones are one.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Let us start when everything’s begun.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html">Poetry Sites of Interest</a><br /><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html">Copyright and Publication Information</a></span></div><br /><p></p>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-22344999209246768202025-10-22T11:24:00.002-05:002025-10-22T11:26:33.554-05:00The Spitting Image of Joan Baez<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">She was the spitting image of Joan Baez,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and I knew her and I loved her.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The sound of the redbird was sweeter,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the sky was bluer, and water<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and my thoughts were as clear<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">as the music in which we lived.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">And oh, the grass was dark green<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and a bed upon which we lay our thoughts<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">beneath three-masted sailing clouds<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">or the quiet gaze of the moon.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It made all the difference,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">like a red wheelbarrow glazed with rain.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Do you know what I mean?<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Can you possibly understand<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">what I mean?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html">Poetry Sites of Interest</a><br /><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html">Copyright and Publication Information</a></span></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-56399950714575368712025-10-15T12:22:00.012-05:002025-10-15T12:23:55.848-05:00Two Ways to Dance<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Let them sing and chant,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the ones hooded in widow’s black,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of serendipity and pain,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of blood and wood<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and a world of perpetual rain.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Incense from the virgins<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">clouds the nave and the swinging brain.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Let them dance a jig on angel wings<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">from Eden to the harlot and the beast,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">to the catastrophic end of things.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">I shall not moan for the Sky Father<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">but will search for the coquette<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">at the outdoor Parisian café.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">The City of Lights is a moon,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and I shall dance a jig that sings<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">for Monique or Marie or whomever<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">she may turn out to be.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">I shall drink an aperitif <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">to the juice running from the pulp of life<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and the beginning of all living things.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-11015187657656270382025-10-06T11:39:00.003-05:002025-10-06T11:40:07.641-05:00Tidal Surge<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The waves wash over welcome sand,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the Oversoul such a wide and ponderous thing.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">There is freedom on the land<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">for legs and claws, feathers and wings<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and a simple life of quotidian things<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and me.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">The tide rolls out to the deep<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and carries away the steps on the path,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">the settling of accounts by cabin’s light.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">It is a relief to once again roll into the sea,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">the home where there is only a present tense <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">of to be.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-15047117100592102282025-09-26T12:32:00.006-05:002025-09-26T12:35:19.778-05:00The Ark<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">There are two of every kind,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">though the battle lines are a bit blurred these days.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Who measured these awful cubits of would?<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The boat is tilted, crowded and heaving<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">as if it had no axis, no sun to worship<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">on days when Proteus sweeps the oceans<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">into a shroud because Frost could make no peace<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">between fire and the weeping polar ice.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The incense from the forge and factory<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">does not appease the carpenter or his boss,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">who thought the trip on a heavenly whirligig<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">might last a hundred billion apocalyptic spins<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">after Adam knocked up fruit-filled Eve.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">We drift through space, a milkweed spore<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">on an ark, nothing less and nothing more.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The wheel and a spark of electric flint<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">have become the nuclear flu, a covid strain<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">with binary digits running God’s motherboard.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Let there be bread for the wandering wastrel horde<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">riding the nonstop snow-piercing equatorial train.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Let there be a dove with an olive branch,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">a night when only dolphins and crickets sing.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Let there be a hundred million miracles<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">on this troubled, ancient, spinning thing.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div><p></p>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-41195467549048882352025-09-18T11:43:00.006-05:002025-09-20T13:09:20.921-05:00Poor Man's Yoga<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">In the park in the fall,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I hold my arms outstretched<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">as if I had just awakened from sleep,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">though that happened many years ago.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I try to touch my toes several times,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">always breathing, always breathing,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">but I can’t reach too far beneath my knees.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It’s almost time to go home, I think,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">or maybe not quite yet.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I turn my head to the left, breathing,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and see a robin sitting on a branch<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">that has lost all but three browning notes<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">that once waved a symphony.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I turn my head to the right, breathing,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and see a young mother and her child.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">He is laughing at me, a wrinkled thing,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and I begin laughing too.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I have become the cliché,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the old man in the heavy overcoat<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">on a bright chilly afternoon<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">sitting on a park bench.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“Hello, little boy. Namaste.”<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I stand and sit three times in a row,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">always breathing, always breathing.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It is October indeed<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and almost time to go home.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Shadows reclining on the grass<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">will soon stir and whisper and rise,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">tall and dark and definitive,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and start walking down the concrete path.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It is October indeed.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It is almost time to go home.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html">Poetry Sites of Interest</a><br /><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html">Copyright and Publication Information</a></span></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-66234624440659058052025-09-12T12:20:00.002-05:002025-09-12T12:21:20.030-05:00The Vatican Blues<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">I attended an audience with the Lord,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">a small white robe and zucchetto<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">floating on the balcony like a dove.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">He looked at the sea of nuns and veils<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">heaving like waves from a Galilee wind,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">sun painting the colonnade the color of clouds.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Latin syllables flew through Saint Peter’s Square<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">like pigeons, landing on Babel’s obelisk and cross.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“What we need is a song,” said a priest from Budapest.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Snake played the bass, the tall giraffe on the ‘bone<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">while a beast with whiskers lightly scared the snare.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Black girls in silver sequins snapped and swayed,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">background singers chanting “ooh poo pah doo.”<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The ship lumbered through the Med,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">but the albino could not calm the storm,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">did not walk on water, did not cross the sea<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of eyes looking to the balcony of be.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The whore of Babylon lit a cigarette,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">then crushed it with a stiletto heel.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The seven hills of Rome were done,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">leveled by an acid dream of horns and eyes<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and a dragon dressed to the nines in fire.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The multitude nodded off and fell asleep by one.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><br /></p><p></p>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-31465910301717559042025-09-03T11:45:00.003-05:002025-09-04T11:53:00.691-05:00The Play Within the Play<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">I am writing a play, and the ink is wine<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">or the wine is ink—I don’t know which.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Iago will not stop babbling his convoluted plot<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">to make me jealous and kill the bitch,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">but which one? I have made so many.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I only wish to kiss the lips of Juliet,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">a palmer and a pilgrim who will get her yet.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">What are these screams from a Globe on a globe<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">crying for a gaggle of hag, a trio of witch?<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I have papers to grade in this oak-paneled cove<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">at the edge of the ivy-colored quad,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the wild yet carefully-planted Forest of Arden<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">while the Avon carries the street, the ford, the garden.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Spritely Ariel spins my mind like the moon:<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the conscience of the wrongful king<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">while Prospero, magician extraordinaire,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">conjures up a storm so that Miranda,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">a lipstick looker and first-class babe,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">might marry her flamenco jape and jade.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Between you and me, I spin it all out of air.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Call me Will. I am the bard and he is me.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The essays are done and the claret is near.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I do the iambic nine-to-five and lecture on the lines,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">but who’s to say I’m not the seer<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">in the long ago or the still to come in time?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div><br /><p></p>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2029358983343323281.post-1018180195722963612025-08-27T12:05:00.014-05:002025-08-27T12:06:47.931-05:00Morning Tide<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The sun is new.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">White breakers roll<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">onto sand with foam and roar.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">A crimson and orange sky<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">rises into blue,<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the curtain up<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and lines recited by surf<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and gulls riding<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">updrafts of sea wind<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and swells of current<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">over the deep mind<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of a waking world.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">It is the dawn <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">of new and everlasting <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">time spun from nothing<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">but the vacuum and void,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">an idea with an idea<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">of form and substance.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">From east to west,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">light sweeps the land<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">into cities and prairies<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">and uneven mountains<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">that insist on rock-rise.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">From water, it all begins again. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;">~William Hammett</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Site Map</span></b></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/home.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/about-william-hammett_15.html">About William Hammett</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poem-index_15.html">Poem Index</a><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/06/poetry-sites-of-interest_15.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetry Sites of Interest</span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div><a href="http://www.hammettpoetry.com/2021/07/copyright-and-publication-information.html"><span style="font-size: medium;">Copyright and Publication Information</span></a></div>WHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14815646433314236886noreply@blogger.com0