Birthday Weekend

An unusual three days distinguished by monsoonal moisture and the return of MK Ultra.

1.

Saturday 26 July 2014

Strolling the sunny streets of Berkeley, 

attending to a few matters in a carefree manner

There's a crack in everything

that's how the light gets in

Tee hee, Naked Ladies

everyone is fond of them

an aroma dainty and narcotic

Sidewalk culture

it's free for the taking

Flowers new to me

for the cognoscenti of color

2.

Sunday 27 July 2014

The Berkeley Kite Festival

Kite fest!

A favorite moment for me 

crossing the nature preserve

people flowing in on foot

first sighting of the kites

Hmmmm... he's new to the festival

America's global reach

 Wrangler rhymes with angler

the bush league and the Bay

easy to launch a kite in wind so constant

It's all happening,

I scored a kobe beef hamburger

from an "Apps" outfit

they mistook me for a likely sucker

Look, a frog girl showed up

Can a frog man be far behind?

Hail to the magnificent cephalopods

Maybe it's time to hit the old dusty trail

Time to roll up the circus wagons

Approaching the pedestrian bridge,

a breath-taking cloud stream

over this recently man-made hill

3.

Monday 28 July 2014

Splendid day on the San Francisco Bay

Set sail for my usual dockside haunts

The monsoonal clouds reached

extravagant expressive beauty

in mid-Bay

Nature records its expressions 

through human beings,

never forever, always changing

Observing the coastal fog

Mount Tam under wraps

These boats seem to follow you around the room

And a round room it be

a panorama 

of the National Historic Maritime Park

 Roundness suits the subconscious mind

and pleases the soul

Time to dive down this deco hatchway

Build me a boat

that can carry two

and both shall row

The woods are filled with wardens

-Jack Kerouac

A moment's meditation

in a wind-sheltered spot,

the respiration of the sea

Some manly amusements,

Pleasures fleeting and slight

before my appointment with the oceanic

hi-ho, hi-ho

it's stoned to home I go

All my excursions are circular

ending where they begin

26-28 July 2014