slipping quietly

slipping quietly

from your room

I leave dreams 

above your head 

warm 

with loving desire 

dark

from passions extinguished.

Photo (c)2009 by R. Burnett Baker

Poem(c)2006 by R. Burnett Baker

Poem from 2006 chapbook "Slipping Quietly", by R. Baker

____________________

four days

four days 

into spring but 

my life is early autumn 

I wait for warmth 

yet snow is 

still possible this 

time of year 

and in life 

winter 

gets 

closer 

with 

every 

spring 

day. 

____________________

Poem (c)2009 by R. Burnett Baker

plump the pillow

plump the pillow 

for my head; 

a soft spot 

to store dreams 

lest they fall and 

break 

into pieces 

on the floor. 

Photo (c)2009 by R. Burnett Baker

Poem(c)2007 by R. Burnett Baker 

Poem from chapbook "efficient agony", by R. Baker

_______________

safe, yet

I'm safe in the 

silence of my room 

yet 

restless

in 

solitude. 

_______________

Poem (c)2009 By R. Burnett Baker

reclining

reclining Buddha

on a table 

shines golden 

in dim light. 

quietly I nap

in a chair. 

Photo and poem (c)2009 by R. Burnett Baker

Signs Of Spring

March is such a tease.  A warm day here, two there, then bitter cold for another week.  Spring begins on the calendar in a few days.  But in this part of the world winter can rear it's frozen head right into April.  Where's global warming when you need it? 

I'd like to think that we're over the hump with winter.  Along the shores of Lake Ontario (just a mile from where I live) we have often had some of our biggest snow storms in March, and a few major ice storms in April.  So I cross my fingers. 

The following selections provide me with encouragement that warm days are ahead.  It seems a bit late this year, but finally I've seen a few Robins, daffodils, and sniffed the fragrance of skunk in the air.  A sure sign that spring is approaching!  The poem "tulip" was written about a lonely tulip that was growing alone in roadside construction.  The piece titled "islands lush" somewhat represents, in my mind, the desire for change and the need for renewal in spirit. 

My fair weather nature notwithstanding, the sound of gentle rain outside my window will be a pleasant change from the crunch of snow and lung burning cold. 

Rick Baker 

Rochester, NY 

March 16, 2009 

islands lush

to islands lush, 

with quilted green

trees 

shading earth

sustaining life

offering refuge 

from oceans surrounding 

a proscribed existence, 

we swim to shore 

on tides and currents,

 

waiting for a 

gentle 

healing rain. 

Photo(c)2005 by R.Burnett Baker

Photo taken by R. Baker near Ruifang Township, Taiwan

about one hour north east of Taipei, 2005.

Poem (c)2007 by R. Burnett Baker

tulip

between rusted pipes,

ditches, overturned dirt 

laced with garbage; 

aside a city street 

vibrating from traffic 

fouling morning air; 

in view of blank human faces  

walking, driving, riding, 

to destinations of dire need; 

a tulip. 

pale yellow. 

proud petals. 

rising alone. 

desiring nothing 

but sun and rain 

to nurture life's brevity, 

offer vision over indifference 

for passersby,

and give pause

to anyone stopping

for a backward glance.

Poem (c)2006 by R. Burnett Baker

Photo(c)2009 by R. Burnett Baker

color of the buddha 

the spirit of 

the buddha 

is quiet repose. 

the color of 

the buddha 

is imagination. 

Poem (c)2009 by R. Burnett Baker

Photo (c)2005 by R. Burnett Baker 

Photo of Tian Tan Buddha atop a 

mountain on Hong Kong's Lantau 

Island taken by R. Baker, Feb. 2005.

hourglass

hourglass moments

set on a

table,

our time together

flows grain by grain,

top to

bottom;

a vial of sand

waiting to be

upended

again.

Photo and poem (c)2009 by R. Burnett Baker

Bird Can Sing

bird can sing

a bird can sing 

into biting winter wind. 

surely 

I can breathe frigid air 

another day 

till spring. 

Photo taken in 2008 by R. Burnett Baker.  It is a photo of a graffiti 

drawing on the men's room wall at Java's coffee shop on 

Gibbs St., Rochester, NY.  Color enhanced by R. Baker. 

Poem taken from the 2007 chapbook titled "Bird Can Sing" 

by R. Burnett Baker. 

Photo (c)2008 by R. Burnett Baker 

Poem (c)2007 by R. Burnett Baker

Elements of Time

Everything we do, it seems, is a construct of time.  Mostly we try to ignore that fact, not wanting to admit our age, or recognize the end of a pleasant day, or acknowledge the end of a phase of life. We shut off many of our senses, perhaps, to have the convenience of ignorance, or the pretense of bliss. 

But look around at how time surrounds us.  All that we observe can represent its passing, as well as its return.  Return?  Yes, time does return if we just wait.  It leaves and returns in seasons, in the movements of nature, and through the constant renewal of our physical surroundings. 

These few poems below represent simple observations of time, and how we can either ignore it, or watch it unfold, leave us, then return yet again.  Listen for timesongs as you move through your days.  Listen for the lyrics of life. 

__________________

face of time 

second hand 

revolving. 

minute hand

advancing. 

hour hand 

in wait. 

now. 

shortly.

later. 

increments of life 

on the 

face of time.

             _______________

headstones 

petal by petal

a flower on a grave 

blows surely into 

winds of

 remembrance. 

winter brown grass 

rises green 

on lives gazing at 

headstones, 

tablets of the past, 

testaments to the 

future. 

    ________________

547

watch died at 547. 

AM? 

PM? 

no matter. 

I still turn my wrist, 

check the face, 

and act surprised 

to see an instrument of time 

with moments frozen 

as life's pulse 

beats steadily against 

dead stainless steel. 

____________________________________

sunset

sunset:  

backside of a 

morning dawn 

waiting to 

tap us on the shoulder 

from behind. 

Sunset photo taken on the Berri NGL construction site in Jubail, Saudia Arabia, by R. Burnett Baker, 1976.

Headstone photo taken in Somerset, NY, March 2, 2009 by R. Burnett Baker. 

Photos and poems (c)2009 by R. Burnett Baker

____________________________________________________________________________________________