Seasoning

—Poems and Photos by Robert Lee Haycock, Antioch

SEASONING

Late dawnings
Dusky days
Were I a bird
I'd south a-ways

Long shadows
Autumn haze
My dreams migrate
Toward yesterdays

_________________________

THAT LOVELY COPPER KETTLE
 
Filled I set it on the stove
A gift when we were wedded
While pruning the prune branches
In power lines embedded

A glowing orange puddle
That lovely copper kettle
Was what she found when she came home
I got to test her mettle

_________________________

chacun à son goût

I'm not a fan of apple pie
With cheese or à la mode
She doesn't like banana cream
(I guess I should'a' know'd)
And if we share a rhubarb pie
A rhubarb's sure to follow
But she can keep her apple pie
Apple donuts I will swallow

_________________________

PATERNAL HOMESTEAD

Hagerman
Idaho
Pump handle outside the kitchen
Washer with a mangle inside
Elda's jars in the cellar
Eeewwwww
Joe's chair in the parlor
Shhhhhhh
Grasshoppers in the berry canes
Trout in the ditch
Rice and milk and cinnamon
Breakfast
I miss you, Grandma
I love you, Grandpa

ONCE I WAS AWAKE

Morpheus comes visits me
Proceeds through Gates of Horn

I was here before in dreams
Before it was this morn

There is one common thread here
A theme I can't yet name

Each as true as true can be
Though none of them the same

_______________________

(DON'T DO THIS WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING, TRUST ME)

Take the distributor cap off
Then the rotor which probably needs replacing
The points are cheap so replace them too
Use a gap gauge and put the new rotor on
Check the distributor cap for cracks
Pop it back on if it looks good
Hook up the dwell meter to double check the points
Remove cap and rotor and adjust the points
Until the dwell angle reads 30 degrees
Hook up the timing light to the number 1 spark plug lead
Start the engine and aim it at the flywheel
If it is not stationary shut off the engine
Loosen the distributor mounting bolt
Then twist the distributor a bit to one side or the other
(DON'T DO THIS WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING, TRUST ME)
Restart the engine and shine your timing light at the flywheel
Repeat until the scribed mark stands still
(5 or 6 degrees before top dead center is what you're after)
Tighten the mounting bolt
Drink beer

_______________________

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS
A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE

She is not pretty enough
He is not smart enough
They are not cool enough
To think that the old have always been thus
That my parents don't understand
The unkind thought
The hasty word
The selfish deed
To think that those in pain deserve it
That the unbelieving are bound for Hell
My lack of love
My losing hope
My lustful eye

I have never wounded another
So much as I've wounded myself
Goddess, forgive me

_______________________

Today's LittleNip(s):

TO FALL

Northward Autumn winds
Green leaves die to gold to fall
Golden hills grow green

       *****

AUGURY

Hawks feather the sky
Wheeling, gliding, soaring high
Enraptured am I

       *****

OUROBOROS NOW

Time is like a snake
Devouring its own tail
Future swallows Past

________________________

—Medusa, with thanks to Robert Lee Haycock for his poems and pix! These photos may be enlarged with a single click.