October 2006

Mallah walla tella bella. Trah mah trah-la, la-la-la,
Mah la belle. Ippa Fano wanna bella, wella-wah.

The hurricane of September 8, 1900 devastated
Galveston, Texas. Some 8,000 people died.

The Pearl City almost obliterated. Still the one worst
Calamity in American history,...

One afternoon of summer rain   
my hand skimmed a shelf and I found   
an old florin. Ireland, 1950.

We say like or as and the world is   
a fish minted in silver and alloy,

an outing for all the children,   
an evening...

Obsessions, I'd rather read about them

I had anticipated hiring a detective
But realized I was better off without so many possessions
Though I may miss the pieces of glass I found
In the ocean, and, of course, those Japanese fishing floats
Yet I remain...