Stolid and Staid

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Photo/Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker

On Second Thought, Skip the Pain

masochist 

if you opened your body 
the way you open your mind
there would be little to explore:

caverns are void, dark, damp. 
cold. the perfect ambiance 
for emotional stasis: you exist. 

my fingers skirted the heat
of your presumed passion
and never got burned.

that's one pain I'd relish
just for the morality of the
sudden, involuntary recoil. 

© 2013 Rick Burnett Baker

Happy Thanksgiving!

How Could I Know? Could You?

subversive



how could 
I know?

this blowing
snow is

icing on
the cake

candles lit
in a fireplace

pit. on my
mind

an image
recalled:

how you
looked when

I picked
you out

of the
crowd:

how the
crowd

gave me
refuge from

that social
insurrection. 



© 2013 Rick Burnett Baker

Two Poems

seasoned

there are rumors of winter, my 

metaphor December, yours May.

our senses are nuanced contrasts:

you proffer seduction, I hesitate. I 

know this transition - resistance 

is a form of weakness. what I wear

on my sleeve is never fashionable.

neither are old jeans and flannel. 

but season-appropriate is need;

warmth and submission, desire.

night sweats

tonight I leave this to memory: 

scent. texture. contour. heat.

posture. position. intent. your 

skin:  taste is bitter salt;

stinging sweat;  rhythmic-sound

of breathing. is that you?  is 

this recall or fantasy?  lights out. 

volume up.   sedition is under cover.

Poems © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker

Photo © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker 

Life Fragments

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Photo/Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo by R. Baker taken on Beach Road, Singapore.

November Summer

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Photo/Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo taken November 16, 2013 Lake Buchanan, Texas.

Here and Now

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Photo/Text © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo by R. Baker taken in Singapore, October 2013.

Voice of Beauty

                             



















Photo/Text © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo taken at Marina Bay in Singapore, October 2013.

Soul: Alex The Plant

During my recent visit to Singapore I came across this scene hidden in plain sight:  Alex The Plant.

Alex lives (or lived) on Haji Lane in Singapore.  I found this amusing, but sad all the while.  Surely there must be more to the story of Alex The Plant.

And so, my tribute to Alex...

Alex The Plant

emotion spent is 

the soul of what 

we consider to be

significant. 

we label.  we name.

nurture. cling when 

clinging cannot hold. 

but that is what 

names our souls - 

gives hope to all  

living and passing.

Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker 

Photos © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker 

No Names. No Numbers.

Click imaged to embiggen:

Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker 

Photo © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker 

Truth Serum Series: Truths of Imagination

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Photo/Text © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo taken near Jalan Sultan Mosque, Singapore.

Truth Serum Series: Rag and Bone Man

I remember the "rag and bone" men and women when I lived in Singapore.  Apparently they still ply the streets there, albeit in fewer numbers.

I took this photo hastily, and while cropping it I noticed what the man seems to be looking at on the far sidewalk.  I'm struck by the juxtaposition of apparent status between the tourists taking photos, and the man trying to earn his living at what most of us might consider to be a less than desirable job.

What might he be thinking?

Did those tourists even notice him on the street?

Sometimes, compassion is fleeting, if present at all...


                 Click on photo to embiggen and read:

Photo/Text © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo by R. Baker taken on South Bridge Road, Singapore. October 2013.

You and I In Season

as we change



you shed seasons. 
I am one. 

I prevail as long as 
the sky allows.

you are young.
yet with each shedding 

you will change. 
you, too, 

will look to the sky 
and welcome

all color it offers, 
sunlight at 
your feet. 


Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker

Re-read

second-hand book



improbable is understated.
there should be no doubt
a re-read is out of the question.

affinity is an excellent substitute
for affection. as pairings go, 
surface views yield no warnings;
but haven't we read that history?

countless volumes sit on shelves -
in the backs of minds centuries old.
words are unnecessary for chapters:

skip the details. read the last page.

Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker 
Photo © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker 

In a Moment: Truth

Photo/Text © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker 

Photo taken October 2013 near Arab Street, Singapore 

Collective Sense of Self

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Photo/Text © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo taken by R. Baker.  Pedestrian tunnel near Clarke Quay, Singapore.

Crossings: Looking Forward

In the foreground of this photo is my close friend Louis.  We worked together in Saudi Arabia and Singapore many years ago.  I've seen his children born, grown, and now with children of their own.

We went to Little India one night two weeks ago in Singapore for dinner at Banana Leaf Apolo, a place we used to eat when I lived there.  Afterward, we sat for a couple of hours over coffee at the food stalls and talked of old times.

I hadn't noticed him in this photo before tonight, and actually, hadn't really notice the photo at all among over 2400 I took during my recent trip.  For some reason I was drawn to it and just wrote this poem for it.

                            Click on photo to embiggen and read: 

Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker