Noel Noel, Part IV: Mountain View Christmas

 

  Disneyland for the Dead

 Christmas Day chilly and bright

The Flaneur heads out 

to the splendid grounds of Mountainview Cemetery,

Naturally he's dressed for it

and he's packing

Going to the chapel 

Going to get buried

Going to the Chapel 

of Chimes

 

I walked up in the smiley sunshine

Devouring some squares of cannabis chocolate

Which is of course not in the least bit square

A Christmas Welcome

Winter in Northern California
Sunny days while brisk
are fine for enjoying hours outdoors

Let's see,

Where shall I perch?

Out of the wind, 

strong sunshine

A lovely view,

looks like it could do

Here I had my buche de noel

So peaceful the comments of birds

and the distant cataracts of the highways

were the only sounds

 

Look within 

Must have been one cool cat

A star of the flamboyant West

 The Sphinx served as my lunch date

Silent but not without a sense of humor

 What the Sphinx sees

The broken column the red trees

St Mary's boneyard on yonder hillside

 A moment's reflection

On the business of war

and its casualties

View from the East side 

To the Golden Gate
Here deep peace and quietude
pervades

A nice little condo-leum 

A place to rest until the End of Days

Another way station,

The Cogswell monument

He was a doctor who traveled the States 

Raising money for public drinking fountains,
Stately granite sculptures in city centers and parks,

To discourage the ever-ready hard drink,

I toasted him with some of my brandy

A long talk with a couple of fellow hikers

What Cogswell sees

1915

Behind this glass a hundred years

Still waiting 

For the Angel at the End of Days

To come to the door

What the Angel sees

Long shadows and green grass

 The Feast of the Nativity

Solstice sunset
The red trees alight

 

Phalloid against the void

Life on the San Francisco Bay 

Revolves around Mount Tamalpais

Seen here at sunset,

Verging on eternity

Better make trails
Before the close the gates

 Making the cemetery a fun place for kids to visit

 

 Yuletide good-bye

25 December 2015