A Planet no more
a dwarf, a minor player
on the celestial stage
the lord of the underworld
relegated, lost out
to more precision
prejudice
of the current age
seen as less grand
than the special eight
excised so others
couldn’t join the club
August 24, 2006 21:33 – Pluto, a Planet no morehttp://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/iau0603/index.html
And Wikipedia is already updated - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,840+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
We Walk in Faith
A momentary blip,
a bump on the road of life
hit us again today, as it has
for a few weeks
a scare in our lives
prayed over, worry over
brought us together
family of blood,
of affinity,
our family of faith
wrapping arms around us
praying for us
for the doctor’s skill
the sureness of his hand
the guiding hand of God
in the testing to come
the results we wait for
the healing of the body
and the balm of the soul
feeling the presence
the people put in our path
wanting to help
to care for her
support her
comfort her
and me
August 24, 2006 20:11
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,820+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
a bump on the road of life
hit us again today, as it has
for a few weeks
a scare in our lives
prayed over, worry over
brought us together
family of blood,
of affinity,
our family of faith
wrapping arms around us
praying for us
for the doctor’s skill
the sureness of his hand
the guiding hand of God
in the testing to come
the results we wait for
the healing of the body
and the balm of the soul
feeling the presence
the people put in our path
wanting to help
to care for her
support her
comfort her
and me
August 24, 2006 20:11
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,820+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Howl Turns 50
http://www.citylights.com/His/CLhowl.html
http://www.citylights.com/His/CLhowlhist.html
http://www.citylights.com/His/CLhowlcel.html
-----
I actually got a letter from Allen Ginsberg in November 1991. On the same day as a letter from Tom Clancy. Too funny!
Here is the letter I sent to the poet Allen Ginsberg in 1991 at the start of my effort to include the thoughts of influential Americans in my research on Presidential Succession. I thought it was very interesting that he was willing to respond to my queries even though I had misspelled both his first name and last name. He was known for large correspondence. He wrote his responses onto my original letter with an angry script (fine point black felt tip pen - I think). He responded only 2 weeks after my mailing to him. I have put his responses below my questions.
November 18, 1991
Alan Ginsburg (Corrected to Allen Ginsberg)
c/o City Lights Bookstore
261 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133
Dear Mr. Ginsburg,
I ask for you assistance on a research project. The attached letter is an example of one I have sent to 94 current or former cabinet officers who served from 1969 to the present for their thoughts on the Presidential Succession Law. I hope to expand my study by contacting influential Americans for their interpretation on these issues. Please consider these questions and read the attached letter before responding.
1. How do you think a succession to the Presidency by someone low in the line of succession would work?
- Who knows?
2. Would people of any political stripe accept a Secretary of Education becoming President?
- Why not?
Obviously, any situation that caused the death or incapacity of 17 more senior people would have to be catastrophic.
- I don't think so, not at all
3. Would the rule of law hold?
- Did it ever? Iranscam, CIA dope peddling, etc ??
4. How would the press cover the transfer of power?
- On a cowardly manner except for underground or dissident press. The New York Times still hasn't reported on what seems to me to have been a takeover of power by Military-Industrial-Nuke + CIA Oligarchy since 1970's - (about '72).
(signed) Allen Ginsberg
12/8/91
He also put a return address label below his signature:
Allen Ginsberg
P.O.B. 582 - Stuyesant Station
New York, N.Y. 10009 U.S.A.
----
Later, I found some of the same text almost verbatim in one of his poems, in a bookstore in North Conway, NH.
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,840+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
http://www.citylights.com/His/CLhowlhist.html
http://www.citylights.com/His/CLhowlcel.html
-----
I actually got a letter from Allen Ginsberg in November 1991. On the same day as a letter from Tom Clancy. Too funny!
Here is the letter I sent to the poet Allen Ginsberg in 1991 at the start of my effort to include the thoughts of influential Americans in my research on Presidential Succession. I thought it was very interesting that he was willing to respond to my queries even though I had misspelled both his first name and last name. He was known for large correspondence. He wrote his responses onto my original letter with an angry script (fine point black felt tip pen - I think). He responded only 2 weeks after my mailing to him. I have put his responses below my questions.
November 18, 1991
Alan Ginsburg (Corrected to Allen Ginsberg)
c/o City Lights Bookstore
261 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133
Dear Mr. Ginsburg,
I ask for you assistance on a research project. The attached letter is an example of one I have sent to 94 current or former cabinet officers who served from 1969 to the present for their thoughts on the Presidential Succession Law. I hope to expand my study by contacting influential Americans for their interpretation on these issues. Please consider these questions and read the attached letter before responding.
1. How do you think a succession to the Presidency by someone low in the line of succession would work?
- Who knows?
2. Would people of any political stripe accept a Secretary of Education becoming President?
- Why not?
Obviously, any situation that caused the death or incapacity of 17 more senior people would have to be catastrophic.
- I don't think so, not at all
3. Would the rule of law hold?
- Did it ever? Iranscam, CIA dope peddling, etc ??
4. How would the press cover the transfer of power?
- On a cowardly manner except for underground or dissident press. The New York Times still hasn't reported on what seems to me to have been a takeover of power by Military-Industrial-Nuke + CIA Oligarchy since 1970's - (about '72).
(signed) Allen Ginsberg
12/8/91
He also put a return address label below his signature:
Allen Ginsberg
P.O.B. 582 - Stuyesant Station
New York, N.Y. 10009 U.S.A.
----
Later, I found some of the same text almost verbatim in one of his poems, in a bookstore in North Conway, NH.
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,840+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
Bounce!
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,730+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
Smile for Daddy
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,730+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
A Heart on the Trunk
Up even with the second floor window
of our bedroom, a piece of flat,
smooth oak bark
is shaped like a heart
a warm rounded heart
like the ones in our chest
not merely the valentine’s day variety
a heart living in the skin
the protective outer layer
of the broad oak’s trunk
there for many years
I suppose
noticed when I glanced
out our window
to see if you were there
back from errands, chores
back to our home
with our three treasures
all loud and boisterous
as they are late summer
soon school and fall will come
but they are still full
full of the flush of summer play
a heart in the wood
growing with the tree
August 23, 2006 11:52
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,830+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
of our bedroom, a piece of flat,
smooth oak bark
is shaped like a heart
a warm rounded heart
like the ones in our chest
not merely the valentine’s day variety
a heart living in the skin
the protective outer layer
of the broad oak’s trunk
there for many years
I suppose
noticed when I glanced
out our window
to see if you were there
back from errands, chores
back to our home
with our three treasures
all loud and boisterous
as they are late summer
soon school and fall will come
but they are still full
full of the flush of summer play
a heart in the wood
growing with the tree
August 23, 2006 11:52
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,830+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
A Prayer for Justice
We lift up a humble prayer
for peace, for wisdom
for justice in our land
for a mother fighting for her son
a son born of this soil of this land
a son with a disability, a handicap
a mother fighting for him
A mother fighting for others too
for herself, for those like her
those like us
A minister, a congregation
a church, a family
fighting for justice
sanctuary, refuge
knowing the way of Christ
the calling to the least, the last,
the lost, like them
A country large enough,
generous enough, to be gentle
to be kind, to be just
May that spirit of Jesus Christ
dwell in the hearts of our leaders
see through the letter,
the language of flawed law
rise above the law
to its spirit, our creed
our belief in justice
and do the right,
the inexpedient,
the just
Amen
August 23, 2006 11:19
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,730+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
for peace, for wisdom
for justice in our land
for a mother fighting for her son
a son born of this soil of this land
a son with a disability, a handicap
a mother fighting for him
A mother fighting for others too
for herself, for those like her
those like us
A minister, a congregation
a church, a family
fighting for justice
sanctuary, refuge
knowing the way of Christ
the calling to the least, the last,
the lost, like them
A country large enough,
generous enough, to be gentle
to be kind, to be just
May that spirit of Jesus Christ
dwell in the hearts of our leaders
see through the letter,
the language of flawed law
rise above the law
to its spirit, our creed
our belief in justice
and do the right,
the inexpedient,
the just
Amen
August 23, 2006 11:19
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,730+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
A Vial
An amber plastic vial
sat wedged in the top of a chain link fence
held in place by the dull steel of the bar holding
the shape of the fence
next to the edge of the parking lot
the entrance to the holding cells
of the municipal court
an empty vial, with a story to tell
no medicines, no sign of a label
that would herald its contents
a plastic cup about 2 inches wide
held suspended above the side walk
making a right triangle
with a single line of spider’s thread
creating a hypotenuse
caught in the sunlight of mid-morning
the bar as the base of the triangle
a strange image indeed
frozen for a moment
as I walked down the sidewalk
away from court
making me wonder about the life
the person who left the vial
a story indeed
August 23, 2006 11:13
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,730+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
sat wedged in the top of a chain link fence
held in place by the dull steel of the bar holding
the shape of the fence
next to the edge of the parking lot
the entrance to the holding cells
of the municipal court
an empty vial, with a story to tell
no medicines, no sign of a label
that would herald its contents
a plastic cup about 2 inches wide
held suspended above the side walk
making a right triangle
with a single line of spider’s thread
creating a hypotenuse
caught in the sunlight of mid-morning
the bar as the base of the triangle
a strange image indeed
frozen for a moment
as I walked down the sidewalk
away from court
making me wonder about the life
the person who left the vial
a story indeed
August 23, 2006 11:13
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,730+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
From Art to Law
From art to law
from beauty to pain
a life with twists and turns
bringing him home and
bringing him to his demons
testing his mettle again
after the grounding in his mother’s world
seeing the joy in the music, the paintings
preparing him to face them,
the ghosts of the past
the echoes of the cannon fire
the indentured servitude
conscription and orders
orders to dark to honor
places in the heart, in the memory
that should stay hidden in the pages
of time, the attic of history
forced to squirm in the hot sunlight
like a nocturnal bug
yanked from under a boulder
fearing the image in the mirror
blurred, contorted in the prism of memory
longing for closure, for an easing of the pain
maybe that is the message, the hope
in this place, a place for contemplation
for justice, far from the battle lines
the purges of the past
Hope may be here, for rest from turmoil
for resolution and redemption
for clearing away unspoken thoughts
painful images of the past
August 23, 2006 10:59
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,830+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
from beauty to pain
a life with twists and turns
bringing him home and
bringing him to his demons
testing his mettle again
after the grounding in his mother’s world
seeing the joy in the music, the paintings
preparing him to face them,
the ghosts of the past
the echoes of the cannon fire
the indentured servitude
conscription and orders
orders to dark to honor
places in the heart, in the memory
that should stay hidden in the pages
of time, the attic of history
forced to squirm in the hot sunlight
like a nocturnal bug
yanked from under a boulder
fearing the image in the mirror
blurred, contorted in the prism of memory
longing for closure, for an easing of the pain
maybe that is the message, the hope
in this place, a place for contemplation
for justice, far from the battle lines
the purges of the past
Hope may be here, for rest from turmoil
for resolution and redemption
for clearing away unspoken thoughts
painful images of the past
August 23, 2006 10:59
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,830+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
A cat on a wire
A short chain-link fence
ran along the sidewalk
in front of the old New Englander
the short front yard
just over elbow high
a cluster of birds
landed and flew
from the wire, the bar
to the flowerbed beyond the fence
in the left corner of the side yard
a tabby cat, too young for sense
standing opposite the other end
of the fence
eyed the birds, a quick snack
raised and lowering his head
poised to pounce, to jump
to the top of the fence
walk like on a tightrope walker
a gymnast on the beam
to get his prey
August 23, 2006 10:46
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,820+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
ran along the sidewalk
in front of the old New Englander
the short front yard
just over elbow high
a cluster of birds
landed and flew
from the wire, the bar
to the flowerbed beyond the fence
in the left corner of the side yard
a tabby cat, too young for sense
standing opposite the other end
of the fence
eyed the birds, a quick snack
raised and lowering his head
poised to pounce, to jump
to the top of the fence
walk like on a tightrope walker
a gymnast on the beam
to get his prey
August 23, 2006 10:46
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,820+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Eating the Word
He spoke metaphorically
so should we eat
knowing that the bread is his body
that the grape juice his blood
stopping and thinking about the deeper meaning
the connectedness in the act
in the murmured amen
on receiving the elements
the sustenance of God
eating his flesh, drinking his blood
feeling them within us
so clearly, so surely
responding to the call from within us
when we do this
feeling his love rising from within us
knowing our ability to sacrifice
as he did, because he is in us
feeling his spirit supporting us
hearing his whisper from our cells
from our sinew, feeling the dry bones
hearing his words, his calling
rising to do his work,
as his hands because his life is in our own
moving his hands within the skin of ours
giving blood because it contains his
lifting the load of others
because his muscle is knitted with our muscle
standing tall in the storms of temptation
challenges in adversity
because his resolve stiffens our spine
living because he lives on
in us, those who do more
more than going through the motions
who pause and eat of his body
and drink of his blood
not merely bread and wine
for true believers
August 21, 2006 22:31
John 6:51-58
so should we eat
knowing that the bread is his body
that the grape juice his blood
stopping and thinking about the deeper meaning
the connectedness in the act
in the murmured amen
on receiving the elements
the sustenance of God
eating his flesh, drinking his blood
feeling them within us
so clearly, so surely
responding to the call from within us
when we do this
feeling his love rising from within us
knowing our ability to sacrifice
as he did, because he is in us
feeling his spirit supporting us
hearing his whisper from our cells
from our sinew, feeling the dry bones
hearing his words, his calling
rising to do his work,
as his hands because his life is in our own
moving his hands within the skin of ours
giving blood because it contains his
lifting the load of others
because his muscle is knitted with our muscle
standing tall in the storms of temptation
challenges in adversity
because his resolve stiffens our spine
living because he lives on
in us, those who do more
more than going through the motions
who pause and eat of his body
and drink of his blood
not merely bread and wine
for true believers
August 21, 2006 22:31
John 6:51-58
All
of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004,
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014. All rights
reserved. Contact me at Ray
Foss for usage. See all 30,460+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
Pictures of Another Life
Pictures from another life,
of other lives, forgotten and remembered
fell from the boxes, from the envelopes
from among the mementos
the kitsch and the clutter
in frames and in my memory
pictures of earlier moments
of happy times, far away and faded
moments of wonder, in the taking
in the remembering,
wistful moments, preserved
saved on the film
disconnected from current reality
shards now, of another life
of other lives
August 21, 2006 22:20
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,730+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
of other lives, forgotten and remembered
fell from the boxes, from the envelopes
from among the mementos
the kitsch and the clutter
in frames and in my memory
pictures of earlier moments
of happy times, far away and faded
moments of wonder, in the taking
in the remembering,
wistful moments, preserved
saved on the film
disconnected from current reality
shards now, of another life
of other lives
August 21, 2006 22:20
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,730+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
His Shop
There was something about it
the way he had things
just so, from the start
a level, freshly cut boards
of equal length
masonry bits
a Black and Decker drill
a stud gun
set the peg board,
all the separate hooks, plates,
brackets for tools just so
the old shop vac hooked by a hose
to the output of the radial-arm saw
the extensions of the supports on either side
hinged and able to be moved
the shop bench, made by your own hands
numbered sections, preset holes
deep screws to secure the sections
boxes of nails, of screws, bolts, washers, nuts
lined up on the bench
tools for the skis separated
as if by season
on the neat shop bench
a fluorescent bulb, with a string extending the cord
plug into the wire above, in another shop
years after the first one was replaced
in another home
same precious, care, of the shopkeeper
everything just so
until we grew older
August 20, 2006 19:52
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,730+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
the way he had things
just so, from the start
a level, freshly cut boards
of equal length
masonry bits
a Black and Decker drill
a stud gun
set the peg board,
all the separate hooks, plates,
brackets for tools just so
the old shop vac hooked by a hose
to the output of the radial-arm saw
the extensions of the supports on either side
hinged and able to be moved
the shop bench, made by your own hands
numbered sections, preset holes
deep screws to secure the sections
boxes of nails, of screws, bolts, washers, nuts
lined up on the bench
tools for the skis separated
as if by season
on the neat shop bench
a fluorescent bulb, with a string extending the cord
plug into the wire above, in another shop
years after the first one was replaced
in another home
same precious, care, of the shopkeeper
everything just so
until we grew older
August 20, 2006 19:52
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,730+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
A Plate of Bows
Ladies, I just don’t get it
a plate of bows, at the showers
tacked down and presented
a proxy for a bouquet
a memento of a sort
do we have to keep it?
is it really for something
something real and tangible
a ritual for sure
but we don’t get it
August 20, 2006 19:44
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,820+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
a plate of bows, at the showers
tacked down and presented
a proxy for a bouquet
a memento of a sort
do we have to keep it?
is it really for something
something real and tangible
a ritual for sure
but we don’t get it
August 20, 2006 19:44
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,820+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
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