path to unrequited




reaching for your palm of fingers
pulled to my aura, mouth to mouth,
breath coiled, 
trying to speak a 
                one word sentence, 
my pulse portends the dissidence
of your giving-in 
creating the magic of affection, 


truth be damned. 




Poem ©2011 R. Burnett Baker 
Photo taken by R. Baker at Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY.  
Glass sculpture titled "Atlantica", 1938/39 created by Sidney Waugh (1904-1963)
Atlantica is a 300 pound sculpture created for the 1939 New York World's Fair.

A Summer Scene

wet heat




backswimmers skim 
a silky smooth 
surface,


the pond never 
feeling delicate 
legs 


weightless 
on wet 
heat. 




Poem ©2011 R. Burnett Baker 
Photo from Google Images. 

Magpie Tales Photo Prompt 75: Tour de France

 Performance-enhancing drugs?  

Well, I did think there was 

 something slightly "off" during 

Lance's last ride in France.

 Maybe his tire pressure was 

just a bit low...

Text: R. Burnett Baker 

Photo provided by Tess Kincaid

Yes It's Hot Here. Agony?: Perspective

crucified 

from mountains

came calamity: 

rock, snow, trees - 

into valley lives, 

out of rivers deep 

          we sleep sleep

          and sleep. 

from myriad dreams

of creation's lust 

worlds spawn, 

          turn, 

          and thrust 

as dusky fragrance 

of heaven's pace 

torments visions 

          of black black 

          space. 

this is our being, 

our minds, our 

          souls; 

a precipice of death 

and life 

never told. 

belief is cultured 

for hatreds and loss, 

for never seen 

dreams upon 

no man's 

cross. 

Photo:  Fernando Henrique

Poem ©2011 R. Burnett Baker 

July Heat Wave

98.6 and rising 




through 
our valleys 
a summer 
heatwave rises 
along the 
curves of 
your forest, 


my thirst 
quenched by 
rivers on
your 
skin. 




Poem ©2011 R. Burnett Baker 
Painting by G. Maria Blender

Down Music Memory Lane

In 1963 we kids were delighted by the release of a Billboard number one hit song titled "Sukiyaki" recorded by Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto.  Yesterday I found an old CD of the Hits Of '63 (don't ask!) in my car and wondered why I had it in the first place.  Then I remembered how I had searched for a few years for a copy of this song.


When the song came out we ALL sang the Japanese lyrics, even though we had no clue what they meant.  But it was a catchy tune and one that I think is timeless.  The title has absolutely nothing to do with the lyrics, and was chosen because it was short, sweet, Japanese and catchy to the American ear.  Figures, right?  Just thought I'd share it here today for no particular reason!


Kyu Sakamoto toured the US, and even appeared on the Steve Allen show in 1963.  Tragically he died in the single worst air crash on JAL 123 in 1985.  But the song lives on, as does, I'm sure his memory among his fans, and it's still a delight to hear!

The Lyrics:
Looking up while walking
Ue wo muite arukou
上を向いて歩こう

So the tears won't fall
Namida ga koborenai youni
涙がこぼれないように

Remebering those spring days
Omoidasu haru no hi
思い出す春の日

All alone at night
Hitoribocchi no yoru
一人ぼっちの夜

Looking up while walking
Ue wo muite arukou
上を向いて歩こう

And counting the scattered stars
Nijinda hoshi wo kazoete
にじんだ星をかぞえて

Remembering those summer days
Omoidasu natsu no hi
思い出す夏の日

All alone at night
Hitoribocchi no yoru
一人ぼっちの夜

Happiness lies above the clouds
Shiawase wa kumo no ue ni
幸せは雲の上に

Happiness lies above the sky
Shiawase wa sora no ue ni
幸せは空の上に

Looking up while walking
Ue wo muite arukou
上を向いて歩こう

So the tears won't fall
Namida ga koborenai youni
涙がこぼれないように

Keep walking on, while crying
Naki nagara aruku
泣きながら歩く

It's a lonely night
Hitoribocchi no yoru
一人ぼっちの夜

Omoidasu aki no hi
Remembering those autumn days
思い出す秋の日

Sadness is in the shadow of the stars
Kanashimi wa hoshi no kage ni
悲しみは星の影に

Sadness is in the shadow of the moon
Kanashimi wa tsuki no kage ni
悲しみは月の影に

Looking up while walking
Ue wo muite arukou
上を向いて歩こう

So the tears won't fall
Namida ga koborenai youni
涙がこぼれないように

Keep walking on, while crying
Naki nagara aruku
泣きながら歩く

It's a lonely night
Hitoribocchi no yoru
一人ぼっちの夜

It's a lonely night
Hitoribocchi no yoru
一人ぼっちの夜

More info:   Sukiyaki_(song)

Rick 

July 19, 2011

Magpie Tales Photo Prompt 74: Image

identity

identity




in a trice
before sleep
falls


eyes dream 
visions surreal, 
my persona 
illusory 
but 


frightfully
inevitable. 


Poem ©2011 R. Burnett Baker 
Photo courtesy of Tess Kincaid

sanctuary




sanctuary again
         in bed 
         in sleep
         inside silence:


my bedroom door
the aegis 
from life 
damned life. 






Poem ©2006, 2011 R. Burnett Baker 
Artwork pastels by Ina Jean Garner.  

Magpie Tales Photo Prompt 73: Relevance

People of Chilmark, Thomas Hart Benton, 1920

Photo courtesy of Tess Kincaid

relativity  

from the relevance of human experience 

to the relativity of human endeavor

love defines everything, even hatred. 

we need only to live its dimensions 

through moments of our lives, 

relative to the needs of ourselves 

and of others. 

Poem ©2011 R. Burnett Baker 

Adapted from an essay titled "Breaking The Dynastic Cycle:  China In An Interdependent World," by R. Baker, 1988, and 

a comment  by R. Baker 7-11-11 about love to a post titled "existence" by "citybouy". 

Observed Bliss: The Married Shoppers

consumed 




aimless consumers  
       vacant minds 
       rootless desires
       empty pockets on 
credit spent: 


a man buys a  
      bamboo backscratcher 


'cause 
his wife 
       won't 
touch him 
             anymore.

Poem ©2007, 2011 R. Burnett Baker 
Photo borrowed from Google Images 
Poem from a collection titled "manic muse and other observations" by R. Baker, 2007. 

Hell On Earth: The Defective Species Plods On...

This war.  That war.  This conflict. That one.  Uprisings, overthrows. "Arab Spring": (Bullshit).  Rape, pillage, and plunder daily.  Pirates.  Murder, more specifically getting away with it!  None of this madness will EVER end.  I'm not a pessimist:  Just being real.  I mean look around, read, watch, listen:  Can any of you really believe in the human race, this profoundly defective species?  


Yes, I know that many will say, "Oh but there's so much good to be found in the world, so many kind and decent people."  Yes, but are they actually making a difference?  Convince me.  Please. 

Related post:  "Defective". (Poem: "naked in the sand") April 4, 2009.

Artist: Chris Holden 

 Chris Holden

ghosts of the living 

destruction/creation may be the same force, 

but how to step beyond it all and rise above 

our defective nature? 

perhaps this human condition is that duality, 

and keeps us in the hell we attempt to relegate 

to an afterlife. 

atrocity is a vision,

a philosophy enjoined 

with human ghosts 

of the living. 

Poem ©2011 R. Burnett Baker 

Text  ©2011 R. Burnett Baker 

Magpie Tales Photo Prompt 72: Never Ending...

Photo courtesy of  Tess Kincaid

senzafine fields 

an artist's 

song of reason

beyond reason 

is never ending

beauty: 

senzafine fields of 

brilliant 

insanity. 

Poem ©2011 R. Burnett Baker 

The Shower

Photo: boostinspiration.com

Perseids Redux

there was 

that afternoon 

in tropical heat 

and stolen days 

we showered in 

minutes of love;

lying in the 

porcelain tub, with

nakedness surrounding 

every barrier, 

each whetted cleft

poured warmth 

like rain over 

meshed bodies of 

borrowed youth. 

Poem ©2011 R. Burnett Baker

July 2, 1999

morning reflection 
12 years later: Remembering 
Poon Pak Keen, 1957-1999 






preferring 
dark indoors against 
framed blue/green sunlight 
is not a preference but a 
necessity I can't consume 
at the moment.


I don't know 
why this form of silence 
is so compelling, but 
shrill typed words sometimes
make it so; 


leaning back - 
the chair - 
eyes closed - 
feeling my head 
throb in blood 
pumping staccato 
is oddly comforting, 
but hardly a 
comfort. 




Poem ©2011 R. Burnett Baker