Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Better Days Are Here




HAPPY NEW YEAR




from everyone at
 Berkeley Flaneur













2015








Shake em if you still got em













31 December 2014

Monday, December 29, 2014

Waterfront Oakland (The Secret of the Sea, Part IV, Chapter 3)




The Flaneur takes another walk along another waterfront.






1.
Trains and Boats and a Helicopter




Starting at Jack London Square railroad station






In waterfront Oakland 
Trains haul down the middle of the street





Down at the water a sailboat race for kids





 

Nice older woody at the marina





A quiet place to rest and watch the boats go by







Macho studs of the US Coast Guard






A re-fueling station for their vigilant patrols






Plenty of opportunities to hit the Bay, 
By the hour or by the lifetime







Restaurants with views predominate the Square







Not just the home of the red white and blue





 

  But welcoming to the flags of many nations







Not just for pleasure craft,
But for utilitarian vessels as well
 




But facing facts, one acknowledges what really throbs






That is the thrill of it all




A helicopter careens overhead







Elaborate rigging of a tall ship






Just arrived here from Disneyland




Look no sails needed





Train crossing Washington street 
Earplugs are advised





Coot in a sunken boat,
I'm trying to re-locate le bateau ivre of youth






Here comes the noble Potomac
(We await another FDR )





 

Someone to guide us out of this maze






 

Two ferries bound for the ballpark in San Francisco
The world series or something like that






Beyond the Ferry landing, 
Municipal rescue vessels





The Sea Wolf




Relief, a floating lighthouse





2.
Beyond the Square




Serene industrial streets
(note anti-terrorist berms)





Equestrian cranes wait quietly





Symbolist cul-de-sac,
A Paul Delvaux nude sleep-walks past






Farther on,
 The Flaneur regards an imposing tower






Railroad tracks lead
Into the Port of Oakland






3.

Christmas Party at the Port




Port of Oakland at sunset
Viewed from West Oakland BART station








I was invited to a party at the Port,
A convivial time laden with good food







My friend is a chaplin here,
He brings Communion
 To the mariners on board ships






A visitor painted this image
Our Lady of the Seas,
I see her like this as well








The International Maritime Center
Located way out on a final strip of land
Exhilarating out here at night









The Evening Star 
Over the Bay at sundown,
Far to the South around Solstice







So far out in the Bay, 
Feels like you're almost in San Francisco






The End
Of Waterfront Oakland






Coming in January:
The Secret of the Sea,
the final chapter






2014

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Noel Noel





 


Christmas at Our Lady of Lourdes 





1.
Christmas visit last year





 Altar in the round





 Mary and Joseph
Make the scene






 Sing choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation





 Can never forget the reason He came






 Rejoice, therefore,
All ye citizens of Bethlehem







 Deep peace at Christmas time







 

 The seeker I sought there
Said he had a rough year,
But he never lost hope









 Nativity window








 Wade in the water, children,
God's going to trouble the waters







Grace pours down on us







 The world is reborn in Him








A blessing on all 







  December 2013





 2.
Visit This Christmas



 

Prayer-rug of the mind
A side dimension





Christmas day I ventured in after enjoying magical gingerbread on a bench in the warming sun in Lakeside park. The wind had made a day in the Fahrenheit fifties seem a lot colder. But the good cheer was contagious among families and friends walking away the calories by the estuary.

I was peaking as I entered and I must admit I gradually got a little freaked-out by the only other person present at that moment. He was a middle-aged black gentleman, bald and bearded, who was sitting in a pew and praying by passing his hands over his head repeatedly in the Muslim manner.
I proceeded to the glorious manger scene and was taken aback to see a dollar bill resting on the Baby Jesus figure. Undaunted I circled the room found my pew, one bathed in window light, and knelt down to pray in a more traditionally Roman Catholic manner.
I heard shuffling nearby as I reposed with my eyes closed. When I opened them again a moment later. I saw that the black guy had his hands around Mary's bosom.
A short time later I observed that additional lucre had been deposited behind Mary's praying hands. Word, she doesn't need it, it's not what we do (outside the Third World), and there is usually a box for donations. Not to find fault, peace on him.  He shoved-off and aside from another group all dressed up in fine clothes who came in to see the manger then left again,
I had the place to myself.








3.
Dorothy Day










2014







 4. 
Solo Notes

On Christmas day at two in the afternoon
in Our Lady of Lourdes on the Lake
the sun occupies
the nativity window
when seen from the kaleidoscopic pew opposite
the sun appears in the area of the glass
representing the Infant Jesus
the light from it
shines in my face

Sparkling wreathes ensheathe me
an incoming tide of poinsettias
surrounds me
Someone left something that belongs to caesar
In the center of the creche tableau
More stained light falls on the organ pipes
Illuminated trees attend us
A circular altar erupts
red and white roses






Lakeside Bird Sanctuary

a parliament of birds 
on the edge of the crib
conversation I'm not privy to


gulls question everything
one watches me writing
in case I sneak a snack


birds circle at all levels
the sky goes mobile
Duchamp gave Calder that name



tall ornamental building
I thought  someone said "ghostbusters"
somehow I got the reference



flamboyant mallards
have dull females
who nevertheless are beautiful




flock of coots in the grass
or some sort of clover
like make-believe




gull wing manoeuvres
after one breath-taking stunt
a duck shows he didn't like it



that little diving bird
he floats and dives so joyously
 wish I knew his name




armada of comorants swims past
stiff north wind keeps
the water birds lively




scores of snowy egrets
one great egret alone on an island
totemic




ducks have different
iridescent colors
over their heads




like today's street signs
like the free floating ultraviolet
I saw in the trees




 black velvet hood
 monochrome duck's partner pulls up
for a second I thought we had a thing