Clear skies ahead
More than a month's worth of waiting for a sunny viable day,
a May crossing at last
1.
Sea Dog
The clouds shattered beatifically
And formed scintillating fractal patterns
The fish of the sky,
I cast my net wide
The elegant new eastern span of the Bay bridge,
Turned out to be a lemon
Another extraordinary day on the bay
We enter into San Franciscan waters
Fantasy as reality
Underneath the bridge
It's really a form of flying
The city, we draw near
Pull in here momentarily
Then back out on the open Bay
Few had foresight enough to launch today,
Everyone else's loss, it's brilliant
The obligatory image of the harbor seal colony
Nutty, windy little artificial island,
It's a restaurant to putt over to in this little craft
Pardon our suds
2.
Wharf Rats
I've been avoiding this guy
Ah, the pleasures of the harbor
Along the sidewalks
Of Fisherman's Wharf
They'll sell your heart's desires to you
Rule of thumb:
Go when you have the chance
(Men's room in National Parks visitors center)
3.
Artists
Inside the Prismatarium
Large whale on canvas
An exhibition of contemporary artists' responses
To the WPA, to the Maritime Museum
And to color theorist and pop-surrealist
Hilaire Hiller who designed this joint
This guy made himself a crown
Wearing an elaborate version of the crown
He paddles out into the North Bay
And is never seen again
An industrial harpoon embedded in his board
Was later recovered
Another American flag expressed
Through some amusingly novel process
This guy wanted to become his own sailboat
To see if he could still float,
While taking directions from the wind
A ship painted in silly string
Melted sugar skull impasto
This guy used his grant money
To throw himself a formal dinner,
At least he made that enormous photo print as well
What would Hilaire think of this latest iteration?
A moment's reflection on the patio
With the sound of the nearby surf
I reach quantum nautical density
And spiral back to the shore
4.
Voyager
My foot in the cold waters of the Golden gate
A beautiful, reaffirming day at Aquatic park
All the more charming because it's deserted,
I have broad expanses to myself
In the most expensive city in the USA
Now a brisk undertaking
Of my long hike back to the boat,
Here comes an antique street car
Walking, walking
Here comes another vintage street car
Don't want to miss the five o'clock boat,
Don't want to have to spend the night on the Wharf,
Eating junk food and sleeping in some dungeon
No need to worry,
All is well, and turns out well
The peril of going out on rough cold water is behind me,
Across the Bay the inexorable marine fog
Has taken back the imagined city
28 May 2015
