Of Sugar and Marigolds

It is

La Dia de los Muertos

let us remember

and let us dance

~ RM

Hallows Eve

With appropriate dark

And this damp chill

Tomorrow begins November

We shall wear brave masks tonight

RM

Valuables

detail: louis sullivan bank - sidney, ohio

the banker asks

what use is a butterfly

having forgotten his childhood

the poet asks

what use is a bank

having forgotten his old age

~ arem

catnap

slipaway 

sleepaway

sere

summer

sunday

stalk

supper

sometime

later

~

r.m.

Yes, the Moon in June

that moon there

and the poet

with nothing to say?

~ arem

just having a little fun with the new camera, some old software     ~ R.M.

Red Kite

it's as if

my little red kite

meant something

to the sky

~ arem

song of my(th)self

today

and each day

writing

the myth

of myself

believing

most

every word

~ ralph murre

In Late Autumn

still a surprise

in spite of mounting evidence

to find that immortality

isn't likely

~ arem

small-time

on this table

where the marked cards are dealt

we play the game

~ arem

Look Again

sometimes

look behind you

but

get over it

~arem

On an Island

the eyes see

just what they look for

even here

~ arem

Call of Water

moonless river night

in its darkest murmured flow

one boat still at work

- arem

The Real Ralph Murre

I was in business machine repair, y'know? Mechanical typewriters -- Smith-Corona -- Remington -- Underwood. But my real calling, my love, was adding machines. No chance of them telling stories, just numbers, y'know? Any number you could think, cleanly printed in black, or if things weren't going so well, you could print in red -- no doubt, there, about what the hell is this guy talkin' about? -- black and red numbers, that's all, like roulette, y'know?

Geez, my beer's gettin' empty here.

Yeah, numbers -- good numbers, bad numbers, what else you need to know, huh? Red numbers. Black numbers. You type 'em in and pull that big lever, KERCHUNK, and the answer to your question is right there. Beautiful. Flat-assed beautiful.

Say, how 'bout you catch this one, huh?

Then some G'dam college asshole comes along 'n' invents a buncha e-lec-tronic bullshit 'n' I'm out of a job. Best damned adding machine man in six counties 'n' I'm out of a job like that -- Pfffft! I studied up 'n' worked on 8-track tape machines and Beta video players for a while. Now what the hell I'm s'posed to do, huh?

Hey, mud in your eye, appreciate the beer.

- Ralph Murre