Life By the Water in Winter
The Port of Oakland
One somber evening
in January
It's a short walk from my pad
I'm down here at least
once a week
Cloud formation
Saltwater estuary dusk
from the
house of Cognac
I have revived my custom
to enjoy a tiny tipple
every so often
There's a vast booze mart down here
were I copped something nice
It has a softening effect
on the edge of one's nerves
Coast Guard Manoeuvres
Turn this thing around
to fuel up
A sensitive vessel
without doubt
Warm day on the Bay vibe
I don't wave
as would a rube
About face accomplished
onward, Guardians of the Coast
Stop all the polluters and the tax-evaders
Board the pirates the traffickers the poachers
& all the cruel smugglers
Port Fire Station
The firemen are up to something
They've been working on the roof
and have summoned a ladder truck
It seems they are attaching large numerals
facing upward
Perhaps for helicopters to see
and so to land
The San Francisco Ferry pulls
into the landing
Passengers board eagerly
with a firm belief that San Francisco
can still be magic
on a Saturday Night
Lake Merritt
My other wildlife refuge
here several times a week
sometimes for a brief respite
other times for a few hours
At little as a half-hour sitting by the water
works wonders
No distractions except
for the occasional image capture
Being peaceful
Sometimes the sky
It's Martin Luther King Day
A motorcade drives by
A motorcade drives by
gospel singing on a flat bed truck
live and loud
live and loud
Lots of diving birds migrate here
for the months of short daylight
Robert W. Crown memorial
State Beach Park
Alameda
Just perfect weather
above average for February
I've got bluegrass in my ear buds
Radio KPFA over the web
The lowest of tides
teeming with life
In winter when the sunlight is brief
seaweed grows out of the sea
onto the walkway
which sometimes lies underwater
Plump ground squirrels
feed and frisk
They watch to see if I have food
as they come and go from
underground burrows
I came later in the afternoon
to find it as gloriously deserted
as I had hoped
To commune
with a mystical moon
Friends enjoy the last of a sunny day
perched facing the marina
Preternatural quiet prevails
when my radio show is over
and I say farewell to my fond
smoke spot bench of yore
Make my way back
the way I came
Webster Street
Botticelli tchotchke
As seen through a mirror
in a window
Tomorrow will be
Saint Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day
Alameda regulars observe a different holiday
sit mesmerized by football screens
watching an interminable spectacle
At the neighborhood corner pub
At Santa Clara and Webster
an extended police action is in progress
And I just missed a bus so I must wait here
full term until the next one comes
I counted four Alameda police cars,
two all black unmarked cars and a Sheriff's vehicle
Apparently a fairly serious incident occurred on a bus
sitting dormant now as matters are endlessly sorted out
an extended police action is in progress
And I just missed a bus so I must wait here
full term until the next one comes
I counted four Alameda police cars,
two all black unmarked cars and a Sheriff's vehicle
Apparently a fairly serious incident occurred on a bus
sitting dormant now as matters are endlessly sorted out
An old Navy base town with a conservative,
not to say authoritarian, streak
Alcohol on sale everywhere yet
there are no cannabis shops in sight
Onward
January-February 2022
