Planetary Motion

Beyond the bare sycamore tree
the sky’s fire submits
to the deep sapphire of night.

The three colored points
I have been tracking
converge among the swarm of white fire-flies.

Sitting on the frozen mud
I hold them all in my hand
even though I am their passenger.

Quarters!

while watching the history channel or discovery or some other pseudo-educational show...actually, i think it was CBS News during the wee hours of the morning, the news lady informed me that a new gold dollar coin was going into circulation __ again. after the news folk talked back and forth with experts, treasury officials, and citizens at great length, they resolved that most of the people who actually care about such things and purchase rolls upon rolls of coins are collectors or numismatics.

Quickly they recounted the story of the ten year state quarter program. while still having two years left, the state quarter program has generated 29,132,760,000 quarters. (29 billion and change) [nice pun, eh?] the total worth being $7.3 billion. now here comes the interesting part...it only costs $0.09 to produce each quarter. that means the mint turns a nice profit of $4.7 billion thus far on the state quarter program with two years remaining.

wow. like those who we despise 'trying to make a dollar out of fifteen cents' the mint is making money off of money and marketing it to us as collector items. who would have thought consumerism could be so fun and exciting. i wonder where all that 'profit' goes? what does it buy? might making right probably. actually, in the grand scheme of things, its not very much. when looking up the national debt to get some scale, it turns out that if these profits were distributed, every citizen, actually, not sure if that's accurate, every person comprising the 301 million in US would get $15.48 compared to the $29,082.08 we each owe on the debt. still, i think the principle here is important. it feels like i'm being taxed $.16 for every quarter i purchase. it's only worth nine cents, but i have to pay 25 for the chance to use it in 'all debts public and private' and i should be happy about that 'cause the is a picture of a bison on it.

does it bother anyone else that the government is making money off of money, and more accurately, me. i wish government was a not-for-profit organization run by businessmen who understand that if you spend too much - you cease to exist; if you piss off those you serve - you cease to exist; if you exploit those you serve - you cease to exist. where is perot when you need him?

Drawing the First Line

Pull slowly from its thin cell
the ghost of everything and nothing:
A dignified face of virgin snow
helplessly waiting for a plow to soil it.

Laid upon table as offering
spread the rag smooth along the border.
Corners clamped with suppressive care,
its pure color glares indignation.

From the cache choose certainly.
Prodding finger shunts them
back and forth; their hollow jingles
pledge allegiance.

Wield the shank dulled by sacrifice,
and grind back its sharp vigor:
scrape flesh
from bone
reveal
its soul.
Another couple of twists, firm yet forgiving,
a quick burst of air to shed its tears.

Woven through fingers with feathery grace,
gently brush love’s airs
as a spring breeze persuading prairie grass,
wisps less caution strewn.

Yet with unshaken faith
crisp edge cut again n’ again
on its face breaks of black
shards exact n’ crisp.

the bottle of merlot begins to have its perscribed effect. looking for some productive distraction i thought it might be fitting to begin posting some of my poems.
thus far the topics and format range and i am engaged in the search for a new topic. i am leaning toward the current state of our (as in society or at least the culture i am imersed) 'priorities.' perhaps priorities might be too strong. the manner in which i determine what is important to "us" is the dedication and allocation of the things we value. now, the whole argument may be knocked out if you contest what is valued, but let's not do that, i'm still new at this.

i think all of this is beginning to fester again while i waited in line behind who i assumed to be a 'frat' boy purchasing nearly $300 of alcohol consisting of cheep vodka and several (7 i think) 30 pack cans of back-wash labeled "natural light." obviously, i'm an elitist because i was purchasing merlot and guiness, but that's not the issue here. while waiting, the constant babble of a 'concerned' and inquisitive news reporter noisily assaulted my ears, intellegence, and social ego. for what seems to be an eternity, at least three days, the media has been obsessed, as they always are, about a drug-addicted, white trash, gold-digging ex-stripper who 'tragically' died in a hotel. when i asked the clerks 'who really cares?' one was quick to answer "i do...i mean.. i care about her baby who will have serious detatchment issues."

are you kidding me. mothers die every day, but where is their story? does this woman represent, is the spokeswoman, for all of those unwritten stories, investigations, and days of non-stop media coverage? hearing in great detail about this woman of a five month old who nobody knows the father of, does this accurately represent all of those mothers we don't hear about? *sigh*

why do we have to hear about her? does it make us feel better about our own lives? does it make for an interesting story, 'cause everybody likes a good story? its about money, because the medial is not about giving information for the sake of information but to make ratings, sell advertisements, and propetuate their own existence. so why does this sell? just another distraction i suppose to what we really have to deal with in and out of our control.

productive procastination

Well, I have gone and done it. It's 6:00am (regardless of the pacific time zone stamp i believe will be imposed below) and i'm feeling the tension between productivity and sleep. In a keen diversionary tactic i visited the only two readily packaged, waiting, binary, one-sided conversations known to me, and was glad to read them both. The contemorary letter--blog, less the 39 cents, but still demanding anticipation and waiting. Some bloggers seem to wait days, even weeks before pinching a post. Myself waited a couple of years.

Today was the day, though. Avoiding the design and vocabulary of a retreat center nestled in the Konza Prairie of Kansas, frustrated with streaky and inconsistant gradient washes in watercolor, and avoiding the 8 degree weather that cuts through my wool coat as if it were gamma radiation.
(hmm, did the knee-jerk reaction of Ctrl-S and recieved a pleasant suprise--yeah for user friendly, idiot designs).

So, as i finish my white faux porcelin tea cup of sake, i bid thee welcome to thine musings.