BAMBOO IN QUEENS

 

BAMBOO IN QUEENS

Walking along the Long Island Railroad tracks

 I spotted bamboo

Not the rolling paper

The plant

I always associated bamboo with giant pandas

 But the only thing I saw moving

Was a train
 

BIRD

 

BIRD

We stare at each other 

 

Trying to figure out why

 

Here is this bird with a long tube neck

 

From where I'm sitting I can only see its one unblinking eye 

 

Which after awhile becomes hypnotic

 

Staring into that eye is

 

Staring into the unfathomable nature all around us

 

Or so I think at the moment

 

While I'm totally captivated  I'm also a bit wary

 

Both of us are alone

 

Strangers drawn to the little lake in Maple Grove Cemetery 

 

I drove from Forest Hills

 

This bird had come from where?

 

If only we could have a talk

 

I could ask a million questions 

 

What would the bird ask?

 

We keep looking at each other

 

The bird with one foot over the other slowly comes closer and closer then backs off 

 

And  then returns even closer 

 

What's going on? 

 

All I know is we can't keep our eyes off each other 

 

Five minutes

 

Ten minutes

 

Fifteen

 

We are one

 

 I've never experienced a moment like this

 

How lucky am I?

 

Seems we are connected

 

Do we recognize each other from a past life?

 

Soulmates finally reuniting?

 

As I 'm pondering these questions the bird suddenly pokes its head into the water 

 

And catches a small bright fish

 

Which it holds briefly in its beak

 

Before letting it slide down its neck

 

The spell is broken

 

No more eye contact

 

Sadly I realize all this time the bird wasn't thinking about me at all

 

Just lunch

 

What a beast!

 

As I was also getting hungry

 

I got  up from the bench

 

Soon after the bird flew away

MORNING MOON

 

MORNING MOON

During the day the sun 

Hogs all the attention

But the moon is there all the time

Not just at night

Perhaps some morning

When you are walking in the park

While it's breezy

Next to a lake

If you're lucky

You may just look up at the sky

And the moon will catch you by surprise

POLAR BEAR

POLAR BEAR

The cute polar bear

Standing on the lawn

With a scarf around its neck

Holding a present

Of course is not real

One day however

It might be a sad reminder

Of the great creature

Who once roamed the arctic

Before receiving

The cruel gift

Of extinction
 

THE SEAGULL

THE SEAGULL

Does the seagull on top

Of the lamppost

In Kissena Park

Look at the humans

Walking by

And wonder:

Why are they missing the great view?
 

MID-DECEMBER MORNING

MID-DECEMBER MORNING

On Meadow Lake

Mid-December morning

Almost sixty degrees

Seagulls and ducks lounge around

As cars pass by

Along the various highways

Where are they going?

The seagulls and ducks don't care

They are enjoying the sun and the water

Some just know how to live!

 

MANDARINS

 

MANDARINS

Astoria

In a fruit store

On 30th Street

The sign promises

Sweet California Mandarins

And as proof:

TRY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT

How can one refuse?

So I tried a mandarin

Which was indeed sweet

Afterwards I bought a few pounds

That's what I would call 

Effective advertisement