Under Leo: Part Two, The Weighty World

 

Leo King of Cats

 

 

Do-it-yourself

painting gallery

for wine-imbibers

 

 

There's an Oakland A's

elephant mascot again

ubiquitous and frankly

a thoroughly uninspired idea

 

 

But this scene is rather fun

 

A festival called

Rock the Bike

only mildly trepidatious

 

 

Double-decker bike

in the shape of a tree

 

 

 

An agreeable dub step band

and Lord knows how

fussy I am

 

 

 

 Semi-circle of stationary bikes

as audience front row

 

 

 

People peddled away the whole time

I had walked a mile

and was a little too weary
to join the fray

 

But I joined Rock the Bike

reclining on the lawn

 

Met a cat man

bicycle stunt driver

 As charming as could be expected

under the circumstances

 

 

Better not let this guy

see him

 

Cat hunters from Oregon

for some reason

want to intimidate bystanders

 

 

Another mascot

this time sort of eye catching

outside Everett and Jones

infamous BBQ joint

 

 

 

Trees inspire sails

I'm on a solo voyage home

 

 

 

People around here

really respond to

The Rock

 

 

 

 

Birthday pasta with

Seattle-style smoked salmon

heirloom tomato and

dinosaur kale

 

 

 

Poignant

cartoon cloud

avant garde of

relentless marine influence

 

At nine o'clock

I ventured out after

sparkling cider

Optical art illusion

of a famous face

in a transient gallery

 

 

 

 

28 July 2018

 

 

 

4.

 

Terra Incognito

of everyday life

 

Rarely on foot hereabout

though I pass quite a lot

 

 

Sushi joint

colorful worn wainscoting

mirror window

 

 

 

Who would leave

a handmade bun bun

alone in a car in

this sketchy neighborhood

 

 

The weathered brick

of an exposed wall

the nitty gritty

 

 

By this point on the path

I don't get it anymore

immune to your

salutations and hustles

 

 

 

Here is where I am bound today

if I can just manage this last hill

6.

Cardio Surrealism

 

The heart

as objet d'art

 

The translucent heart

of RAY man

figuratively speaking

 

 

Crucial to remember

the heart is not

a toy

 

 

 

 

The afternoon

becomes incarnadine

 

 

 

As I go

clouds like a river

like a great highway,

the black shrouded construction,

Life and its doppelganger

 

 

 

 

 

5.

Stone fruit

of July

 

 

 

 

A white nectarine

 

 

At perfect readiness

 

 

It even has a prajna dot

indicating almost mystical

transcendence

 

 

6.

 

 

On my way toward

a lonesome echo

 

 

 

Ah Sunflower

 not yet weary of time

 

 

 

There is a honey bee pal

on this sunflower's lower lip

 

 

Lady slippers

not as delicate as they sound

Jet black bumble bee

buzzing all around

Slippers turn intrinsic

in my filtered perception

 

 

Here's come one now

our most vital fellow beings

the bees

This is a very familiar path

for young people

heading for high school

 

Bulldog plaque

the usual sort of belligerent

mascot symbol

 

Wonder if their fight song

is Hey Bulldog!

But really life is brief

why fight?

 

 

 

The haunted high school

in Summer break

 

Stately circular façade

Great movie set I would think

wonder if ever so used

 

Public High School

a great institution

even as it stands

 

In some disarray

 

 

High school facilities

are magnets for vandalism

the kids know a lot is wrong

but I shudder to think

what would replace it

 

Technically Oakland

Technical High

Deserted today

 

 

Doctor's office Dali

Big sleep stay thy hand

while I am unaware

dreaming in echolalia 

 

 

 

 

July-August 2018