Monday, October 31, 2011

dry wine 




oh how I did 
taste that supple flesh 
of you and you did 
hold my breast 
against 
yourself 


and now 
I seethe and 
relish the quivered 
instant when 
every part of 
nature's nerve 
stings my very being 
with sweat and 
polish, 


lying
breathing 
wet with thirst 
and parched 
at once, 


never never 
to be quenched.


Poem © 2011 R. Burnett Baker
Photo© 2011 R. Burnett Baker 

Commercial Break.

"...After these words from our
sponsor..."


Ok. I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I've found a really nice one. It's not expensive. I know nothing about "oaky, smokey, bouquet, bloaky..." You know, all that wino talk. What rubbish. Anyway, this wine is just guud. No aftertaste. Nice buzz. No headache. (Well, at least if you don't drink a gallon of it.)  It's a slightly dry wine, but try it out! 


Rick

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Magpie Tales 89: Say It, Write It.


Photo courtesy of Tess Kincaid


speak to me


splash of ink,
quill to 
the heart,

words always 
at our fingertips 
even when voices 
can't be 
heard. 


Saturday, October 29, 2011

Back From Texas

Always good to visit family!  This trip I had the special treat to meet and have lunch with one of our favorite bloggers Cheryl Cato  (Lizzy Frizzfrock) and her husband Gerald.  My mother and I  had arranged to meet Cheryl and Gerald in Bastrop, Texas.  After lunch we drove to their house and saw the devastation from the fires that recently destroyed some 1500 homes and thousands of acres of pine forest. It was truly a humbling scene, and one that gives pause for thanksgiving.

Many of us bloggers had followed the updates that Cheryl posted during those days, and I'm thankful for them that they are able to still have their beautiful home and help rebuild their community.  As some of you remember,  their house was one of three that survived on their street.  I'm including here a link for donations to Bastrop fire relief agencies if anyone is so inclined.

Cheryl and me


My mother Betty and me


It was wonderful to meet you and Gerald, Cheryl, and hopefully we can meet again in the future!

We tossed around the idea of getting some of the bloggers together in the future for a "blogger's convention" at some central location.  I know that Cheryl has mentioned this on her blog this week, and I think it would be a fun way to put, as I said to her on FB, voices, faces, and reality to the words and pictures we see of each other each week.

If anyone else would be interested, let's explore the possibilities of arranging such a "meet and greet", as Cheryl put it, and see what transpires!  I'm open to any suggestions, and would welcome emails about such an event for next year.

Best to everyone!

Rick
October 29, 2011

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Lips. Lips To Find You

Photo from Google Images


cusp 


behind the backdrop of now 
I'll bend and blend into the 
ethereal wisp of lips pressed 
and pulsed for one revealing 
moment of 

breath 
against 
breath. 

Poem © 2011 R. Burnett Baker 

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Magpie Tales Photo Prompt 87: Universal Language





tangents




love prepared 
a feast in 


tangy tangents
of our fervor


in  nearness 
of even the 
smallest view 
of want 


beyond our 
needs.


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

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Autumn Gatherings: A Story



multitudes of forever 


they gathered at the portal. 
they had no choice.  to find 
shelter was a prayer they had 
been taught from birth.  

despite all the wind, rain, and 
burning sun that their glorious 
family tree had nurtured and 
endured, there had been no 
rehearsal for the great falling; 
and the falling itself was sudden 
and by design. 

now at the door to the family tree, 
through darkness they gathered 
their crumbling vessels of life 
and poured out their sorrows 
as ransom for shelter. 

but wind has its own agenda. 
it carries with it the dreams of 
every living and dying creature 
in its stream, and its agenda is to 
keep moving in every direction; 
to suffer the fears and dreams 
of every life 
and 
passing season. 


Poem © 2011 R. Burnett Baker 
Photo© 2011 R. Burnett Baker 
Photo taken by R. Baker at Powder Mill Park, Rochester, NY October 2011.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Incarnations





transient




it's this 
time 


of every
dying 
drama for 


leaf 
or twig,

we liberate
at last, 

this breath,
this death, 
this splendid 
fading 
prelude. 






Poem ©R. Burnett Baker 
Photo©R. Burnett Baker 
Photo taken by R. Baker at Powder Mills Park
Rochester, NY October 13, 2011. 

Weekend Road Trip: October In Western New York

The Wheels: Um, nope. 

The bike's lookin' good...

Ah!  That's better!

A roadside bottle stump. (A "bottle stump?")

Bambi's older sister.

Harvest.

Small...

Medium...

Large...

Morbidly obese.

Gentle countryside.

Roadside barn.

Home on the hill...


©R. Burnett Baker
Photos taken near and around Geneseo, Avon, Caledonia, and LeRoy, NY, October 8, 2011.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Protest? Be Happy That We Can

As we hear and read about the "Occupy" this, that or the other place or city in the United States, it is, perhaps, timely to think briefly about another milestone in world history. 

Yesterday, October 10th, marked the centennial anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution ( or Hsinhai 辛亥革命)  in China.   

The what revolution, you ask, and why? This revolution was the cornerstone of the overthrow of the last imperial dynasty in China, the Qing (1644-1912) Dynasty, and the establishment of a brief republican era.   Dr. Sun Yat-sen was and still is considered to be the father of modern China.  Actually, I would argue that he is more respected in Taiwan ( Republic of China) than in the People's Republic of China.  I'll not delve into the long historical details of all that, but simply encourage anyone who is interested to research and read about it.  

Suffice it to say that despite the rhetoric one might hear coming from Communist China, republicanism is not the norm on the Mainland regardless of the rights that country's constitution purports to give its citizens.  

Only in Taiwan have we actually seen the development, after many long decades, of republicanism and/or democracy.  

Which brings us to this not so small point:  We are granted the freedoms and the LUXURY in this country to be able to protest whatever we feel passionate about.  For the most part, we can do so without serious repression by the government, pepper spray incidents notwithstanding.  

So no matter your stand on these "occupy" protests, never loose the perspective of how we are fortunate to be able to exercise a high degree of free expression in this country against evil corporations, banks, and government hacks.  

Oh yes, and against political parties.  

Here I'm reposting a poem I wrote some time ago.  It was a response to another form of free expression I found in a local coffee shop:  Bathroom wall graffiti! 


There is a quaint coffee shop here in Rochester, NY where I enjoy people watching, talking with friends, and appreciating the sometimes bad art hanging on the walls.  You know the type of place: Trendy and bohemian.  As if those two concepts aren't mutually exclusive. 

Occasionally, someone leaves some kind of "art" on the men's room wall.  Nothing vulgar, mind you, but usually small and somewhat odd. Once there was a black marker drawing of a crow on a tree branch. The management simply touched up the paint and the crow had flown.  

Last week, a new piece of men's room art appeared.  Also in black marker on the deep red wall was the outline of a face with the word "happy" stylized beside it.  I couldn't resist taking a photo with my cell phone. 

I was struck by the expression of the face next to that word.  Who was the artist?  What was his intent?  His background?  So many questions we can ask after a trip to the men's room! 

But the image stayed with me and I couldn't help but write about it. With recent stories about a particular internet provider confronting issues of censorship on the other side of the world, I couldn't help but read more into the image than probably exists.  I doubt that graffiti drawing will be there when I next visit, but the image remains on my cell phone.  

And in my imagination. 


Rick Baker
March 31, 2010 
Rochester, NY  




little red book 
on doors of toilets 
and alley walls they've 
graffitied your profile
in black and named you
"yellow peril" and "red". 
through chapters of history
your colors coursed as 
blood through fields.
dragooned, you bowed 
to masters near and far 
and now your masters near 
declare you leader and 
decider of your collective 
fate; 
proclaim you happy 
behind walls built 
to protect you 
from your 
freedom. 
Poem © 2010 by R. Burnett Baker 
Photo © 2010 by R. Burnett Baker 
Photo of graffiti drawing taken March 2010 by R. Baker  in Java's coffee shop, Gibbs Street, Rochester, NY

Monday, October 10, 2011

Magpie Tales Photo Prompt 86: Reading Eulogies

 Michael Sowa, from The Little King
Shared by Tess Kincaid



resurrection



as a man's home 
is his castle 
the naked light 
of his life 
is cloaked beneath
his robe 

blinding all as he 
stands upon the 
obituary of his 
bitter black 
chicory life.


 Poem © 2011 R. Burnett Baker 

Friday, October 7, 2011

City Scenes VII: Addition And Subtraction

equations 




beauty to 
the seventh


minus keys 
to life divided 
by starbursts
and rams' 
heads 


equals 
knowledge of 
sunrise art: 


a dawning 
in our 
lives. 


Poem © 2011 R. Burnett Baker 
Photo© 2011 R. Burnett Baker 
Photo taken by R. Baker on Richmond Street, Rochester, NY.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Reflection

tomorrow




there will 
come a time 
to feel a wind
brush my face


neither cold 
nor warm 
only movement 


and I'll wonder 
if it's living 
or if I am 


and relish 
its touch.




Poem ©2011 R. Burnett Baker 

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Morning Damp



vision




what morning fog 
left behind: 


crystal clarity 
ready to evaporate 
before life 
knows it's 
gone. 




Poem ©2011 R. Burnett Baker
Photo ©ecstaticist

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Well Shut The Front Door!

Epiphany
(Of Sorts) 


Some of you have read a couple of my rants on Baker'sTake to know how I usually feel about celebrities and so-called entertainers.  Well, Lady Gaga has been someone I have just loved to can't stand.  I mean all the costumes and controversy and such is irritating to me.  You know, Elton was doing all that costume stuff 40 years ago.  So I've been quick to shout "copycat" about Lady Gaga. 

Well, thanks to one of our fellow bloggers and outstanding poet/writer Arian Tejano, I've had an epiphany of sorts:  On his FB page he posted a clip of Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett in a duet singing "The Lady Is A Tramp."  I hope he will excuse me for posting this here ( Am I a copycat??), but this performance is outstanding and uplifting.  I was blown away.  Yep, I was shouting "Well shut the front door!!"

If Lady Gaga would do a show like this instead of those, well, "songs" she has been doing I'd actually pay to see her.  Time and again!  I just love this clip, and hope you will too.  (Just pardon the advertising at the beginning of the clip.)  And Thanks,  Arian!

Rick