Again with the Haiku?

this low flying flock

the color of dried beech leaves

hear their flapping wings

- arem

MLK, MKG, HDT

Today, let's take a little break from the colossal popularity contest of our primary elections to honor and reflect upon the lives and continuing influence of world leaders who were not elected to public office, but led by example. Martin Luther King, of course, who stirred the souls of so many, freely cited the example of Gandhi, who cited the influence of the writings of Thoreau.

While it is clear that the impact of these three men will continue to be felt for a very long time, and probably longer than that of many who have been elected to office, it is also becoming increasingly clear that the struggles they faced are not over. Increasingly clear that the only fitting way to show respect is not to set aside a "day" of honor, but to continue those struggles in every moment, in every thought, in every act of our lives. Too much to ask? Maybe, maybe.

Maybe they put themselves on the line imagining that injustice would end, but I doubt that any of the three were so naive. More likely, I think, that they knew they were asking us to be more than we think we are, to do more than we think we can.

- Ralph Murre

Dancing With The Tsars

Did you ever wonder about polka dancers? I mean, they're always happy and laughing, yet they tried to conquer the world - while tango dancers, who never crack a smile, failed to recapture even the Islas Malvinas. Look out for happy people - that is today's lesson, kids. That both of those dancing factions lost to the British, who appear not to dance at all, is a subject which will be taken up at another time.

- RM

When the Music is Right

Some day, she'll tango in red shoes,

she'll drink Malbec in low light,

swoon to heat stirred by a single fan.

And though tango dancers rarely smile,

perhaps she'll smile at me

in that way that lovers can,

dancing in red shoes

when the music is right.

- Ralph Murre

Weather Report

new snow on branches

for the dawn of this moment

a silence of crows

- arem

Luck

I guess no one-armed bandit

will hand it to me,

no red and black roulette

or last minute track-side bet

or ticket in the lottery

is likely to pay off, no play-off pool

is coming through, so far as I can see.

But I hear the owls at night,

there's sun and rain and starlight,

there's fruit and grain.

I think somewhere

they're playing our song.

And down at the harbor,

they're saying it won't be long

'til my ship comes in.

They're saying it won't be long.

- Ralph Murre

Out There

photo by Nancy Vaughn

Look! Out there -

just at the horizon -

the ship that carries everything

I hope for

and everything I dread.

That slow ship

that was just a dot

in the mist

seems to head this way

with the wind at her back.

- Ralph Murre

Sail

Sail on, O Ship of Time!

I'll make another passage

if you'll have me.

- Ralph Murre

In The Freeze

even in the freeze

of this wintering woodlot

a dark stream flowing

- arem

Somewhere

December in Colonia del Sacramento, Uraguay

somewhere a flower blooms

while somewhere a bulb holds life frozen

somewhere there is dancing

while somewhere a bomb ends the music

somewhere there is laughter

and our little planet spins night into day

and wobbles so slightly

from the weight of tears

and the lightness of joy

- Ralph Murre

joyeux noel

The best to all of you - peace, love, a silent night.

Don't loose sight of it climbing to the cuckoo's nest.

- Ralph Murre

Dusting Off Jesus

"If there is no God,

Not everything is permitted to man,

He is still his brother's keeper

And he is not permitted to sadden his brother,

By saying that there is no God."

- Czeslaw Milosz

Readers of this blog include members of several of the world's major faiths and many others of no faith at all. I am not a member of any religious group, though I was brought up in the Christian tradition. I now consider most religion to be myth, but I say that in no way to belittle the faith of anyone - I consider most mythology to be full of very real lessons and values which have had great import to people down through the ages, and continue to be important today.

At a time of year when many of us are observing holidays, Holy Days, and perhaps idly wishing peace to our fellow humans, let me reflect for a minute on the so-called followers of Christ. First off, how can they possibly advocate going to war, no matter what the justification? What purported teaching of Christ allows revenge? And when, exactly, did God become the property of the right-wing?

"Blessed are the peacemakers", Jesus is supposed to have said. "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."... "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good for them that hate you."... "forgive men their trespasses"..."Be wise as serpents," he is supposed to have said,"and harmless as doves." Is anybody picking up on a theme here?

I, frankly, don't know if the Christian religion has any more merit than the Santa Claus myth, but Virginia, if you choose to believe in Christ, hadn't you better listen to his words?

Peace be with you, all of you - believers, unbelievers, seekers and suckers - if you think there's a God, I think there are a bunch of 'em.

- Ralph Murre

aa

Patience

so darkly perched

to await the tide's offering

unloved cormorant

- arem

Three Things

New friends in Buenos Aires taught me a proverb which I hadn't heard before -

En la vida, debes hocer tres cosas:

- Tener un hijo

- Plantar un arbol

- Escribir un libro

In your life, you must do three things:

- Raise a child

- Plant a tree

- Write a book

I like it, probably because it's the only "To Do" list which I've ever completed. Well, I suppose it's true that I only helped a bit in raising children and the book is a very slim volume of poetry, but there were lots of trees.

-RM

Back from Buenos Aires

The Artist Claudio Barragan,

photo by Nancy Vaughn

Morning In A Strange City

A mouth full of how-do-you-say?
and ears full of birdsong and builders,
eyes full of children and treetops,
red tile and red wines and green vines,
whitewash and washed clothes
and everywhere sun.

And shadow.

Evita’s air and fresh breeze and café doble
and diesel and dogshit and life
and death and jasmine and jazz.

And cats.

And the disappeared who do not disappear.
Oh, do not disappear. Oh, never disappear.

And hope. There is fresh breeze and hope.
And there are smiles.
Even the old woman smiles
as she walks by Cementario de la Recoleta.
Even the mask-maker smiles
as he makes his unsmiling masks.

- Ralph Murre

gotta fly, man

gotta see some other place,

continent, hemisphere.

spin things backward.

coupla weeks maybe.

or 'til new year's. or ground hog's.

back by mayday for sure.

- r.

From Down Here

Thanks to the mothers and the motherless. Thanks to the Ho Chunk and the Crow. Thanks to the poultry, thanks to the yam, thanks to the farmer and the fisher. Thanks to the one who does. Thanks to the well-wisher.

Thanks to the fathers and the prodigal sons. Thanks to the bird and the bee. Thanks to mechanics, thanks to cows. Thanks to the comic and the rain-cloud and the sun and the humble and the proud.

Thanks to the painters and the crimson paint; thanks to the poets and the words. Thanks for the paper. Thanks for the pen. Thanks for erasers and time. Thanks for rivers flowing. Thanks for strength to climb.

- Ralph Murre

All About Two

We've reached the second anniversary of the Arem Arvinson Log, and by coincidence (sheer or shear?) this is post #222. Forgive my moment of self-congratulation, but I guess I'm fairly happy with the blog as a body of work. If you're a newcomer, a serious blog addict, or otherwise totally without a life of your own, have a look through the archives.

Thank you all for dropping by, and thanks especially to those who've given me a link from their own blog. Stop in whenever you're in the neighborhood.

Peace,

- Ralph Murre, on behalf of Arem Arvinson

misread

I read a poem

by Louise Gluck -

she said birds were darting

in low shrubs.

I thought she said

they were dating

in low shrubs,

but I guess I was just thinking

of you and me.

- Ralph Murre

Windsongs

Have faith

breathes the wind

that pulls men to sea

Not too much

moans the wind

that eats sails

Not too much

agrees the wave

- Ralph Murre

Immersion

It's not so bad when I think in terms of a poem or a drawing, but when I allow myself to begin to think of a book - a book of poems and drawings - any pretense of good housekeeping just goes to hell. Tables and desks piled too high for anything more, the floor a few layers thick, I wade through piles of paper, roll in words and images and daydreams, surface occasionally for food and drink (oh, yes, more drink please) and then slide back beneath the surface, where I can hold my breath for a very long time.

Making Perfect

They Practice

The pianist and the violinist practice,

and I get out a pen and practice, too,

because

I'm just having coffee and why not

get in a few words of practice;

the warm sun on my back,

the music on my ear,

the world still

this moment.

- Ralph Murre

Packers, Thirty-Four / Vikings, Zero

Flame

Easy

How much easier
to write about the tamarack’s
golden flame
the last flicker of warmth
against purple winter’s
majesty
than to speak
of our own fading hopes
of immortality

to let the pen express visions
of V’s of geese
receding into falling night
than to talk with a lover
about
the approaching darkness
in which the warm V
of our desire
our desirability
heads south

easier to project
into metaphor of autumn
and winter
than to accept the coming
of no spring no summer

the trout lily’s bloom
the red robin’s return
not for us

easier to tell the world
of fortitude

than to tell family
of fear.

Tomorrow begins November
we shall wear brave masks
tonight.

- Ralph Murre 2004

this piece was written for Halloween,

and appears in my book, "Crude Red Boat"

And speaking of cameras,

(and I'm pretty sure I was, a couple of days ago,) I've got to tell you of a wonderful experience I had recently. The Canon SD230 digital, which had served so well, was overcome by some supernatural sort of glitch which rendered it more or less a pain in the ass. Since it was three or four years out of warranty, I decided to call Canon, just to find out which current model might accept the same periferal gear I had purchased for the old camera. I clenched my jaw and prepared for the endless horror of talking to machines and waiting for hours which I was sure would follow. WRONG! Within moments, I was talking to Johanna, a real, live human who was totally competent, caring, and courteous. We talked about new cameras that might fill the bill and then Johanna asked about the nature of the problem I was having. I explained, and also explained that my warranty was long gone. Well, she said, I'm going to send you shipping labels and all you'll have to do is pack the camera, and shipping will be paid to our service center, where they'll either fix your camera or make you a very good deal on a replacement. That sounded good, but not as good as the result - within ten days, I received a refurbished SD630 (!), a much newer and much improved camera, at absolutely no cost to me!

To receive terrific service from an electronics company in an electronic age is not something I can take for granted, and I must certainly recommend to my friends, that if they are in the market for any sort of device that Canon makes, they should look no farther. Incidentally, mine is not a unique experience, as I told this story to a friend who, almost word for word, had the same story to tell about Canon.

- Ralph Murre

Chuckles

chuckles of a pram-boat
on wavelets
haunting laugh of loon
quiet evening shower
tears of the crescent moon

-Ralph Murre

Lighting

Changing Light


Sunlight, thick as syrup
and golden flowing
on sweet afternoon
of saxophone serenade
but bass, the note
of discord beneath
and chill, the shadow
where he stands
as she leaves, again.
Wind where music was
and shrill, now
the thinning light
as metal on slate.
Tin whistle shrill.

- Ralph Murre 2006

Just in Case

Note To My Publicist

The camera should be held
Quite low, I think,
To make me appear taller
and to hide baldness.
The lens should be of the type
Which makes one look slim and muscular.
Also, I believe,
A rather soft focus would be good.
I’ll need the kind of lighting
Which adds a great deal of dignity
and youthful vitality.
If I am to speak,
The microphone must be attached
To some sort of apparatus
That renders the voice lower and more mellow.

I will,
With proper planning and rehearsal,
Be very candid and spontaneous.

- Ralph Murre 2003

Color Blue

not everything

will be explained completely

sky depth, color blue

- arem

Fair Trade Items

Barter With Bob

He brought fall mushrooms

- all kinds -

in exchange for construction advice

I'd offered in spring.

A fair trade, I think,

in equally dangerous commodities.

I ate the mushrooms

- hoping -

we were both experts,

or both lucky.

- Ralph Murre

Jugheads?

We Are What?

Are we what we read, I wonder? Probably not - no more than we are what we eat, or what we drive, or what we wear. I suppose those of us who try to write may be a little more of what we read than your average bear or Bears fan, but I think we need to be careful to live it, rather than just read about it, if we're going to tell stories that anybody wants to hear.

I came across the term "vastly unread" lately, in an article by someone I respect immensely, who suggested that the term would apply to you if you have not read a particular author. I take his point, but also that of the Clean Old Man who tells Ringo to put down his "boook" and get out and live life. Parts of life are not found in the pages of books, no matter how well written, and the best of writers, I think, don't JUST read.

Don't misunderstand me - read all you can - but do it when the sky is dark, the stars aren't out, and the bars are closed.

Are our heads just lovely jugs to hold the words we've read until it comes time to pour them back out? Did Conrad just READ about going to sea?

Tell me a story - but don't tell me somebody else's.

- Ralph Murre

Black Holes

Vincent In The Mines

Black holes in space pull everything in,

like heaven with nobody guarding the gates.

It's hard to know if the streets are gold,

'cause nobody sends postcards.

It may be too dark for pictures,

but you can see stars, I guess.

Black holes in earth pull at miners,

like hell with no amusements.

Even the missionary Van Gogh

didn't send pictures from the mines,

but he got out and saw the starry night.

He got out and saw sunflowers

before the black holes in his spirit

pulled everything in.

- Ralph Murre

bared

another leaf

and the naked tree

faces winter

- arem

good stuff

Worth Seeing

There are a few new connections over in the "links" area of the screen that I'd like to bring to your attention:

Norb Blei's Poetry Dispatch, which has long been available by email, is now being archived and brought to you by the mysterious Monsieur K., to whom we owe a debt of gratitude. Merci ! This site will be one of the best poetry resources available.

John Brzezinski - Photographer, is just that - and a damned good one. John also runs the blog "OKO".

Julie Eger, is just starting her web site, and it's looking very good. Julie is a friend, excellent writer and poet, great spirit - I congratulate her on this new effort.

And, not a new link, but if you care at all about what is happening in the world and/or good writing, please have a look at the September 6th entry at Baghdad Burning.

From Water

If you've slid

over frost-glazed strand

and rowed that shade of blue

past mapled crimson

in the cove she was moored,

if she rose and fell with a sigh

because the season

had grown thin as promises,

then you know, don't you,

something of life

and a little about death.

If she's cast rainbows

in the spray

and moaned with the lust

of wind and sea,

then you know something of dreams.

If you've taken her from water

and hid her away for the long winter,

you know something of sorrow.

- Ralph Murre

The Old Man

photographer unknown, probably Laura Murre

He'd have been 100 years old today, 29 September 2007, this prize-fighter/pacifist cowboy/carpenter. He was a good father. He was a good man. He's in a good place.

Perhaps fittingly, his death in 1999 gave birth to the writing portion of my life, when, the night before his funeral, I wrote this eulogy and spoke it at the service the next day:

A Short Eulogy For Arvin Murre

There's an old Shaker hymn that says " 'tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free, 'tis a gift to come down where you ought to be..." I don't know if Dad ever heard that song, but it could have been written about him, because he was richly blessed with those three gifts.

To be simple: We've turned that idea around so it almost sounds like an insult. But Dad was wonderfully simple. He never wanted for more than he had; more stuff, more clutter. He showed us that it was a gift to have simple desires.

To be free: Anyone who ever heard Dad walking across the farmyard at five in the morning, whistling a tune of his own, knew that he was as free as the birds, who whistle their own tunes.

To come down where you ought to be... What do you think that means? I think, for Dad, it meant coming down next to Mom; next to Laura, the love of his life. He's with her now...free again and at home with the one he loves.

Dad never put much stock in words... "Words are but a breeze"...he told us. So what can we learn from a man who never said much? Let's think of what we never heard him say... We never heard him say " I hate so and so, or that group of people, or that race of people...or that religion." So maybe we can learn something about tolerance; maybe even love.

We never heard him brag. Although he was a great craftsman, and we know he was proud of his work, he never bragged about anything; just let his work speak for itself. So maybe we can learn something about humility.

We never heard him say "Oh, I couldn't do that” or “You can't do that."... He always found a way to do what needed to be done. So maybe we can learn something about self-confidence.

But, his greatest lesson can only be learned by following his example... and I'm speaking now to the men...he taught us what it means to be a father...and what it means to be a man. So, Thank You, Dad... for the things you said...and for the things you never had to say. Thank You for your Life.

-Ralph Murre

Dry

after summer's end

the waterless lilies wait

ah, today's gray sky

- arem

Phenomenon

with neck craned

and wide-open eye

watch

- arem

hearing voices

voices on my walk

gold leaf veneer of this day

the bright-bloused women

- arem

Post 200

home again from the fabled up north

appointed rounds

in all kindsa weather

like masochistic mailmen

selling more books than we bought

which has never happened

and may never again

and two motorcycles faithful

and she who rode

one, too

these five days

still speaking to me

and bringing me tea, just now

- ralph murre

Burt the Dog

Burt The Dog, born 25 December, 1994 at Mindoro, Wisconsin, died today, 11 September, 2007 at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

He loved the water and rolling in dead fish.

Burt leaves his long-time companions, Nancy Vaughn and Ralph Murre, along with numerous friends.

Memorial contributions on behalf of Burt the Dog may be made to:

All Creatures

PO Box 155

Baileys Harbor, WI 54202

Harvest

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

When the golden kernels are in

and the purple fruit, too,

and the words are gathered;

save for me a heel of bread

and the dregs of wine,

save for me a throwaway line.

And the orchestra gets weary

and the barmen tire, too,

and the lovers leave;

save for me a melody

and a barefoot dance,

save for me a whispering chance.

And if it grow cold and it be a mile,

and if I grow old; stay with me a while.

- Ralph Murre

Arrive Derci, Luciano

There is a little less sunshine in Italy today.

the summer's gone

and all the roses falling

and all the crumbs of lunch

and all the papers crumpled

and the Rosalita's sweeping

and all the plumbing clogged

and all the overflowing

and all the windows fogged

and all the Carlos's plunging

and all the paint is peeling

and all the roofs are leaking

and the gardens all need weeding

and all the Ivan's scraping

and all the Juan's are raking

and the Marina's are all mopping

and all the dishes -

someone's doing all the dishes

someone's washing the hotel sheets

you made love on

someone's patching holes

in the roads

someone's patching holes

in someone's jeans

and the Jeremy's are assistant managers

and the Brittney's have syndromes

and all the Rose's falling

in the under-insured night

- Ralph Murre

of pigs

Picking Straw

All of these years blown away
like calendar pages in a black and white
movie I saw once when I was little,
kind of hokey, I mean –
the years and blowing around like that –
and me in the wind all the time
and my fragile shelter leaning to leeward
and me leaning with it like a strawhouse pig
with The Tabernacle Choir of Wolves huffing
at the door, an empty fridge,
and thinking, sticks, I could have built with sticks,
been a nine to five pig with a long commute,
gone to a straw house for a 2 wk. smmr. rntl.,
been a regular boar, dreaming of brick.

- Ralph Murre

for a spin

"little wheel spin and spin"

Buffy Sainte Marie told us,

"and the big wheel turns around . . ."

and the wheels still turn

and the world goes 'round

and a little gets lost

for everything found

and the clouds still spin

through the sky, through the sky

and I thought I saw you

floating by

and the dark horse goes up

as the white one comes down

and the music plays on

as the children go 'round

and the song seems to be

you and I, you and I

smile at me as you go

spinning by

- Ralph Murre

like willow

blue willow weeping

in the wind of a low bank

the beckoning limbs

- arem

sky blue

the unbearable blue of cloudless skies
reflected in your dark glasses
but, today, the clouds

the spacewalk with no tether
free, at last, of safe gravity
but, today, the earth

the dream of flight, so close at hand
a pair of cranes leaves home
but, today, they return

- ralph murre

Passage from India!

Many of you younger readers won't remember this, but there was a time, shortly after the Beatles* left the side of Baba Ram Dass**, when he was visited by Bebe Rebozo***, who was in something of a quandary.

"Baba", said Bebe, "I have lost my way. I am clearly not a Beatle, but if I were, what advice would you have for me?"

"Bebe", said Baba, " I will tell you what I would tell you if you were not just you, but a Beatle, too: Bebe, you must simply BE Bebe!"

"But Baba," babbled Bebe, "I have forgotten how to just BE Bebe, and what's more, I don't know if I even want to be Bebe, Baba."

"To be Bebe, or not to be Bebe;" rebutted Baba,"that is the . . . (to be continued)

* Popular English Rock and Roll Quartet

** Garden Grown Guru

*** Friend and confidant of Richard Nixon

Decisions, August 9th

just past the fork

a moment's indecision

too late to go back?

- arem

Brothers

Suppose for a minute we are brothers, you and I. Suppose our mother has been attacked by a terrible disease. In the course of fighting the illness, our mother has become addicted to the drug which was prescribed to cure her. Now imagine that one of us feels that the medicine is doing her more harm than the disease and is struggling to get her off of the drug, while the other is convinced that she will surely die if she stops taking her medication, and fights to keep her taking it. Can we say that one of us loves his mother more?

- RM