Pilgrimage: 7th Day: Café

we drink caffé latte
and share a poppy seed bagel
our conversation drowned by the voices
of others
we smile and I suggest
that we stand and shout
"shut the fuck up"
but all we do is chuckle
at the possibility of
turning on the light

Call and Response: #7 Migration

And on the seventh day

the clouds formed jigsaw

scrimshaw like puzzle

signals of the sun behind the

continents of wonder and

migration.

Pilgrimage: #6 Masthead

We drive forward with even
the small deaths to guide us
glued down mast befriending
broad grin protecting
the children whose
photos rest like icons

on the dashboard
ring like iChing and
plastic prayer beads
We are protected with the blessed
dirt, the rust of recall, the siren
of a spray painted heart

Pilgrimage: Day 6: Counter

It's raining here
The hills will grow
green and wet
Monterey Bay is gray
like the coat of a dry seal
with some white-tipped fur
here and there
I have come to study death
and how to defeat it
and how to breathe
wet sea air

Pilgrimage: The Sixth Day: Flower Cart

buckets of flowers
on the shaded gray sidewalk
vertical and vibrant
their beauty ephemeral
in the light but
sure and eternal
in my dreams
I am starved for fleeting
fragrance
soft moist petals
and deep kisses

Pilgrimage: #5: Calling

Blue blanches
slowly to white

missteps on ice

I place myself

in cool hands
await your/our
genuine calling

Pilgrimage: Day 5: Blue

Blue
Originally uploaded by vajra

the blue season hangs on
ice and skies blue as the edge
of a sharp knife
winds tear at zippers
snow falls again
compressing each flake
until no crystal is separate
from another
while you and I huddle under
blue wool and down
one hand curved around
a steaming mug