Candy Apples At St. Laurence Market

I had the pleasure of hearing The Candy Apple Jazz Band 

play and perform at St. Laurence Market in Toronto this 

past Saturday.  If you happen on to Facebook, look them 

up!  Big fun!  Here are a few photos I took of the guys. 

Photos © 2016 Rick Burnett Baker 

"DREAM: Please Excuse Our Appearance..." ™

But for the grace of God 

and the gentle touch of a 

stranger, her dream becomes

a nightmare. 

Everything is relative, and everything is not.  Let's 

try to remember this each time we magnify our own

moments of trivial pursuits.  

Being grateful isn't as difficult as we make it out to be. 

Photos/Text ©2016 Rick Burnett Baker 

All Rights Reserved 

The Gulf Between Dreams And Reality

Once upon a time, 

we all dreamed of 

being young and rich. 

Photo © 2016 Rick Burnett Baker 

All Rights Reserved 

Photo taken in Toronto, Ontario

Medium Rare

                                       Click on image to enlarge:

medium rare


let some juice flow, the
knife glide effortless.

classy people turn
their forks upside-down,

take small bites with
heads slightly cocked.

warm, vulgar, sweet-meat
flavor is a life feast.

no need for grace, see, I take
life's banquet medium-rare.



Photo/Poem © 2016 Rick Burnett Baker 
All Rights Reserved

Storm Divine (Redux)

storm divine


it's the
rain's
fragrance
we savor,

a break
in clouds
that makes
a storm
divine.




Photo ©2016 Rick Burnett Baker 
Poem ©2008 Rick Burnett Baker 
All Rights Reserved 

People (Who Need People)

But for this outward, physical shell, who are they?  Who are WE?

They are book covers of fiction, comedy, drama, dreams;  happenstance, pain, self-destruction; images of effort, knowledge, laughter, tears, creation.

We are living shells on this beach called earth, waiting to be plucked and held to someone's ear, listening for the sound of the sea.

These are stories often told, but longing to be read again.  Who are we to recoil from their telling, and judge the artist's rendering?

Photos © 2014, 2015, 2016 Rick Burnett Baker
All Rights Reserved

Here And Gone

"I dreamt I could fly, 

these wings of clouds.

color, breeze, silence - 

a sequence of vision 

mimics life; a wisp of season, 

gone." 

-Rick Burnett Baker

Photo/Poem © 2016 Rick Burnett Baker 

All Rights Reserved

START SPREADIN' THE NEWS: NEW YORK NEW YORK

So yeah:  I live in New York.  Say that to folks back home in Texas and they tend to wrinkle-up their brows and flash a momentary look of hostility.  I'm Texan, born and raised.  I love that I'm from Texas.

But after over 30 years in New York, I'm constantly reminded of my home state.  My adopted state looks like a not so lost sibling.  Corn, soy beans, wheat, diary cows, vineyards, apple orchards, rolling hills, farms, and yes, big skies.

I'm a Texan in a New York state of mind.   

(Click on images to enlarge)

Photos © 2016 Rick Burnett Baker 

All Rights Reserved