Mort: the Poem

one might think 

an old monk would know 

how to die

the final Irish goodbye

a wake, a funeral

with a nice music mix

some photos... a yearbook

a life book of adventures

now past

books passed on to brother monks

O'Brien to brother Marc

Kerouac to brother Adam

poems scattered out to the world

soon 

one last beer

and one last poem  

by the fading fire

A Tired Monk Wake

The Count of Monte Cristo dead centre

providing lumbar support

A little leather Bible  - New Testament and Psalms

tucked in wedding jacket breast pocket

Catcher in the Rye held tight

Lord of the Rings near at hand

Dharma Bums resting on the pillow

a couple Discworld novels for the laughs

an ironic copy of Mort for sure

slips of Gary Snyder Poems scattered and loved

oh those Pine Tree Tops

as the lid is shutting

a mix of Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine, Hulk

and Spider-man spin in

Ratio Sky

quick calculation

ratio of concrete and sky

1 measure of sky

4 of concrete

the tired monk tonight

clad in hospital robes

surveys the limited sky

maybe one strand

of the setting sun

bouncing

off a hospital window

From Oct. 23rd 2025 

53

raucous night shift change

consistent  laughing

giggle stream

big wedding ring gasps

honeymoon plans applauded

flirty comments zing

more smiles more laughter

suggestions of "one quick drink?"

a night cap

for the night nurse

during one more loud burst

of nursing station gossip

one nurse slips out 

the back stairs and home

From Oct. 23 2025 

Elbow Lake 1 and 2

i)

no party boats today

lake is quiet and smooth

through the forest:

humming highway tires

rushing to the city

acoustic chords 

rolling off Ontario rocks

and ridges

ii)

dragonfly drones hover

over the lake

zipping out

snatching deerflies midair 

later mosquitoes 

as evening sets in 

From July 2025 - Notebook Poems

 

a boxing memory

old tired monk arms

throwing snappy jabs

face mashing crosses

thundering meat hooks

heavy bag sways hard

boxer bouncing

under thick oak boughs

slipping and rolling 

past every branch

From June 15th  2025 - Notebook poem

Two From June

i)

cool for June

pine fire pops

cold beer pops

frothy lager flows

kids laugh

yell (Marco Polo) 

ii)

sore stomach, throat, 

and head

a virus of night chills

cooked and steamed

in cedar sauna heat

From June 16th 2025  - Notebook Poem

Bank Street Blues

lady meanders

weaves up Bank street

pushing her carriage cat

toothless alley guy smiles

toasts me with a hearty "cheers"

coffee cup held high

yoga girl sips

her oversized cup

jumps in a Tesla - away

young woman zips buy

yelling into her phone:

"you owe me 350 bucks!"

one guy is leaning on a pole

his buddy curled up on concrete

"he's sleeping - he needs $5.00"

I oblige

From Aug. 25th 2025

fire poem

no phone

no WIFI buzz

crackling pine log fire

cool pine scented breeze

colder can of lager

one more poem

as the burgers sizzle

From May 26th 2025 - Notebook Poem

Heavy Bag Poem

working on speeding up my jab

torqueing my cross

big walloping 3s and 4s

oh pounding hooks

sneaky thundering uppercuts

wrist wraps and robes

sweat on a tonsured head

as boxing gloves fly

a sauna prayer

disrobed

in sauna heat

birch water steams

mixing with red cedar scent

sweat drips

pouring down

over prayer bowed head

Sauna Life

hot cedar scent

a pulse of birch steam

heat soars

Malbec molecules 

and Irish Spirts 

join the mist

old monk rubs 

his bald head

ponders prayers

old and new 

pens poems 

deep in the mind

 - from May 25th 2025 - Notebook poem

A Garden Prayer

the abbess kneels

at the garden edge

weeds disappear 

piled and carted away

she finds a fallen feather

old black crow

stands it up 

beside pink snap dragons

From Summer 2025 - Notebook Poem

Wild Flowers

shed side trout lilies bloom

a lawn sea of violets

up to the forest edge

just off the path 

a rare red trillium hides

on the sunny hill 

a patch of crocuses 

under crab apples blossoms

forget me nots flourish 

by the rusty gate

 - from May 19th 2025  - Notebook Poem 

night swim

slipping into cool lake water

short flowing elementary backstrokes

under pine, and oak boughs

cast in flickering campfire light

then further 

out past "the rock"

into the middle of the bay

floating still

on a floating planet

looking up through milky way arms

a few of those stars are in other galaxies

a few of them are galaxies

beyond beyond

a commute

to the south

early morning commute snarled

cars hopping off the highway

onto rural route sixteen

lights flash

fire trucks coming in hot

from the city

an ambulance rushes past

in the other direction

racing down the icy shoulder

to the north

driving slow 

in bleary eyed traffic jam

a cow in the hay field?

...no there are two

a mother moose

ploughing a deep snow trail

for her calf

doing the work

parking lot princes, and/or princesses 

stumble in late...again

they are new clothes naked

as they promenade down the hall

one or two are clothed (phew)

rusty armour

tattered capes trail

swinging their yardstick swords

and rehanging flags

all bang, bluster

and gentle reminders

running from crisis to crisis to crisis

or long lunch laughing

the tired monk 

closes his door

climbs on the oak desk

unscrews the speaker cover

one deft snip

of the intercom wires

doing the work

A 15 Year Revision

sitting around the staff lounge

talking about the things good people do

a refrain of "he's a bad person" rings

the topic shifts...

weight loss, micro plastics

toxins baked into your very bones

how to fit into your summer pants

he walks away

back to his office

alone

the computer hums

End of January Notebook Fragments

 i. 

the pendulum is stuck

jammed up real good

rusted red

a shattered wooden shoe

a sabot

crushed in the gears

listen all y'all it's a sabotage

ii)

experience chart paper hangs

sun bleached

brittle

full of faded ink

           faded ideas

iii)

wild turkeys watch

safe

across the long icy ditch

lone coyote walks away

slow and steady

through new snow

on his long lonely path

rabbits run 

into the cedar thicket

iv)

F150 rumbles into the curve

black ice fish tails

tires shoot frozen gravel 

crows scatter

fly into barren trees

land on a rusted out

Alice Chalmers tractor

The Monastic Heart 3 - Antiphons

mantras of the moment

bracketed off in 

ponderings and poems

maybe a little rough

Kerouacian pop Haiku

(or American Haiku)

messy dashy lines

capturing the thinnest

slice of a slice

of the never ending present

a few flaps

of a songbird's wing

flying to the next pine

mantras of the moment