Journey to the Center of Oakland's Mind (expanded consciousness)

 

One Sunday morning

in December

I found myself run out

of rolling papers

Fortunately I had

some Cannabis chocolate

The Day begins

in pervasive light

 

 

Over to the vicinity

of Latham square

 

The previous day

I had noticed a very strange

young man hereabouts

Cross-eyed mono-browed

werewolf hairline

 

He looked like a denizen

of the Isle of Doctor Moreau

a dog man sniffing out

hand-outs

He was here again today

and followed into the store

cajoling people for funding

 

The store had another door

on Telegraph,

and I discretely withdrew

 

Gothic Cathedral

flat-iron building

City under
Reconstruction

 

Oblique alleyway into

the Frankie O. plaza where

all the demos begin

 

The Rotunda

owned by the villain

trying to ram in a coal

terminal at the Port

 

 

 

Riotous illustrated art

in a niche gallery

Downtown becomes

Toontown

Darkness seems

to cover the earth

 

Mudra

Oakie Doakie

 

 

Brick wall

remnant of previous

civilization

 

Looking toward

City Hall

 

 

Refurbished

Latham Square

 

Eternity every moment

 

Not yet a skate park

 

 

Civic Centered

The Happiest

of Holidays

 

And to all

 a good afternoon

A guy sleeps under a
a great Oak tree

in Oakland center
Let it all hang out
 

I gave a nervous skinny kid

a sandwich,

He had a book of
his obsessive writings,
didn't encourage talk

 

Vast new mural

on Broadway

looks on impassively





Stay centered
in the center of town
in the center of your mind

 

 

Listen to the Lion

 

 

 

 

December 2018

 

 

Friday Afternoon in My Universe

 

 

Moving water

summons peace

a mild savior

Friday Afternoon

and I'm aflame and afoot

A pleasant errand

and happy solitude

in Morcam Rose garden

A picturesque

part of town

 

Supermarket chain

huge lottery signs

suspended over

the cashiers

The rich never buy

lottery tickets

a poor sap's game

 

I'm hear on a mission

to obtain suitable

wood kitchen matches

strike on the box

 

Always a momentary kick

letting oneself get

lost in the supermarket 

 

 

The road to St Patrick's

 enveloped in gold foil

 

All the catholic holidays

denuded of religion

and sold to us

as gaudy cartoons

 

But it was syncretic

with a pagan animistic

celebration of Spring

so I don't cluck my tongue

at children's joy

merely at consumerism

 

 

See you later

Plutocrat

No dice

to your game

 

Out of doors

the world is somewhat

more agreeable to me

 

Neighborhood fantasies

 dog-walkers real estate

lime green tuxedo jackets

cardboard where someone slept

Here we are now

Old sidewalk

inclining upward

Tools at the

Hardware store

Found a little

rock and roll doll

Yessiree

The rose bushes

are all cut

 back

awaiting Easter

Thankful indeed

for places like these

We are climbing

up into the canopy

to sit a spell

Smoke the tail end

of a fatty

rolled out of

OG Butter

heavy hybrid

of euphoria and

 blessed pain management

A squirrel

 (at bottom)

bum-rushed my shot

Entheogenic

redwood grove

Over to Lakeside

on another errand

 

My leg in black jeans

waiting for another bus

across from the estuary

 

Provisions sought

and bought

at the natural food

emporium

owned by the world's

richest American

The Lottery won't leave folks

 vanities, fantasies 

born of desperation

A prayer for peace

and healing

to weary to go inside

but He can hear

me from here

 

And when I think

I've had my fill

He fills me up again

9 March 2018

Lakeside Palms

Actually

another garden palm

en route

An oasis in Oakland

one can't help but call it

Crossing water

that only the righteous

may follow

Watching out

for my sudden

 phone-cam focus

One's ancient self surfaces

Cold nights

wrinkled its edges

Death in the garden

 life everywhere

My contemplation

my meditations

my prayers

withstand

even life's end

Individual profile

of notable palms

Some  feel a need

to scratch letters into trees

How gauche

What ?

there's lots of Rays

A primitive face

a tiki

A total environment

I see animistic

Arcimbaldo figures

all around

Putting out

date filiments

 A profundity of palms

a state of peace

Light diminishes

the day falls away

A venerable place

Now we must go

past the fountains

at the entrance to

 the passage of the palms

Bye-bye

We must fly

bye-bye,

 bye-bye

November-December 2017