I rode my first rice burner bike
beyond the wild blue yonder
going solo the only way to go
on a red 50cc Honda
as being part of a bike brotherhood
was never in my repertoire
and moving on in Hawaii
my next was a 650 Yamaha
my last tho' fairly fast
in fact still quite nifty
on the hills of San Francisco
was a black Suzuki 550
if a motorcycle means personal freedom
of the road stretching out ahead
why do so many feel the need
to ride in packs instead?
A nurse was decapitated,
a wire had been strung over
a dusty road that led to town.
A youth robbed her mangled torso
took her motorbike then rode away -
a pretty girl behind him,
singing sweet love songs.
I wonder if he is an old man now
with loving grandchildren?
At times, Satan Himself
still rides a Suzuki
just like mine.
Parents pass away slowly after their death;
come back as your face in a mirror.
Our days are a code
written on the blind side of our skin.
You watch yourself
coming out of a childhood bedroom
eyes still wet from a foreboding dream,
see yourself getting lost in a dark theater
knowing, even as a child,
that would not be the last time.
You grew up too fast
and almost disappeared.
A friend dies in your arms,
you take her on your Suzuki
to the Thai river market,
drop her ghost into the Peng river;
hope that it will eventually
find its way back to Arkansas.
People you have known
remain as hand-shadows,
still pulling
broken strings on a wall of time.
And then you are this person,
and all you can do is watch
from your many
makeshift storm-shelters.
May we be blessed to acknowledge all the wonders in our life
that have, for us, thus far accrued…
and to begin each day with a word of thanks…
and thoughts of gratitude.
Today I’m thankful for attempting to live a life with a minimum of regret
for trying never do anything I’d want desperately to forget
This reasoning comes from Ranata Suzuki
a poet who endeavors
to remind us how regret is a short word
and yet it stretches on forever
In our home TV choices
Are subject to much debate
Programmes one may like
Can make another feel irate
Its Friday night tonight
So it’s with a sense of doom
I see tonights selection
Playing in the living room……..
Car programmes of every kind
Rally, racing and repairs
Like ‘Extreme Suzuki 4x4’ -
It’s the stuff of my nightmares
And wait, there’s so much more
Of ‘Global Investigator’ calibre
How about ‘Mysteries of the Deep’
And ‘Paranormal Caught on Camera’?
Theres ‘Storage Wars’ and ‘River Monsters’
And ‘Islands’, both ‘Oak’ and ‘Snake’
But for me it’s ‘Expedition Unknown’
That really takes the bloody cake
I find none of this inspiring
And I’m feeling quite unhinged
As payback I will subject them
To a ‘British Bake Off’ binge
- expressing buddhist psychology with the aid of quotes -
'...we are doomed not to know the truth exactly
....(dainin katagri)'
'...new meaning may...be truthfully added,
provided the mind ascend to a more
enveloping point of view.........(william james)'
'....who am i....in the midst of this thought traffic
....(rumi)
'....the smallest particle of time...this is it....
the next instant, it is not so....(shunryu suzuki)
'...a feeling takes hold of...one side of your being
and so distorts you................(rainer maria rilke)
'...kamma is that by which creatures do or act
....(ledi sayadaw)
'....to get enlightened....keep giving up....sense
of the world....that it come to us on its own terms
....(stephen mitchell)
stan sand
What we regard we might revere,
the sense of it will not be clear
without a setting in a phrase
to show if it’s to deem or gaze,
or natural esteem sincere.
Is Earth our Mother or a mere
resource for mortal profiteer?
For as it’s seen, we’ll thus appraise
what we regard.
The stars look down with stare austere
upon our customs cavalier,
while moon with each celestial phase
is witness to our worldly ways.
Yet life could thrive if cherished dear
what we regard.
~ Harley White
* * * * * * * *
The poem is a rondeau…
Some sources of inspiration were the following…
“The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it. If a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore; if a river is one of the veins of the land, not potential irrigation water; if a forest is a sacred grove, not timber; if other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity -- then we will treat each other with greater respect. Thus is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective.”
~ David Suzuki (born March 24, 1936)
They've thrown down the gauntlet
The Asians have a golf 'major' now won
Hideki Matsuyama, Masters Tournament Champion
The first from the Land of the Rising Sun
Ms. Naomi Osaki has won Tennis' Grand Slam
Mr. Shohei Otani could be the next Babe Ruth for glam
Mr. Yu Darvish was the hottest pitcher in the NL last year
Ichiro Suzuki garnered over 3,000 MLB hits as Japanese fans cheered
And I predict that there lurks a Chinese missile
Whose shooting touch is that of an accurate pistol
He's ready for the NBA to welcome him back in
A Harvard grad, no less, by the name of Jeremy Lin
As the world now sees China as America's #1 superpower rival
So is the world of sports witnessing an awesome Asian revival
Travelling from the hospital,
a nurse was decapitated.
A wire had been strung over
the dusty road that led to town.
The bandits robbed her mangled torso
and took her motorbike.
This was Northern Thailand
In the 1970’s. Bandit country.
If we had found them,
we would have shot them
and buried them in a ditch,
but we did not.
Blood drifted like hill mist
in those parts.
We also appreciate that the devils
rode a Suzuki just like us,
a pretty girl sitting behind them
singing sweet songs.
Travelling from the hospital,
a nurse was decapitated.
A wire had been strung over
the dusty road that led to town.
The bandit robbed her mangled torso
and took her motorbike.
If we had found him,
we would have shot him
and buried him in a ditch,
Back then, everyday-monsters
drifted like hill mist
in that part of Northern Thailand.
We also appreciated that the devil
rode a Suzuki just like us,
a pretty girl sitting behind him,
singing sweet songs.
Parents pass away slowly after their death;
come back as your face in a mirror.
People’s lives’ are a code
written on the blind side of your skin.
You watch yourself
coming out of a childhood bedroom
stained now with a foreboding dream.
Once, getting lost in a dark theater
knowing, even as a child
that would not be the last time.
Yesterday inside a newborn moment,
you grew up too fast
and almost disappeared.
Today your mind
is a crow silhouette in the sky.
A friend dies in your arms.
You take her on your Suzuki
to the Thai river market,
drop her ghost into the Peng river;
hope that it will eventually
find its way back to Arkansas.
You select smells
that you can paste into your mind.
The aroma of strange friends
and friendly strangers.
fold sensorial moments into origami birds
that are not even close
to working models.
People you have known
are hand shadows on
the same wall of time.
And then you are this person
and all you can do
is watch from a distance
as if you were always a father
to these drifters,
these persons, who once shared
the same storms with you.
I need to sell this bike
Dad says, a suzuki 550s
after it melts a hole
in my shoe and burns me
melting my ankle a bit
screaming down the hill
"Dad Stop the bike!"
I say
he rips my shoe out
burned rubber and skin
Eating berries makes me stop crying
Dad tells me he knows the people who live here
and we talk about the homes we've lived in
reminding me of many places
I don't know why that is important
but it is.
So, visit I will
Form Haibun: Comprising of prose followed by Haiku
I was driving a conversion van, pulling a trailer with a smaller Suzuki X90 car on it. I was heading to California. This would be another change in my life. Although, I couldn’t get through the Rocky Mountains pulling that much weight. Thankfully, a friend had taken the ride with me and could drive the little car. I remember the most brilliant sunset across the desert when the blue sky was peeking through the fiery orange colors and looked like lakes in the distance, looking at it just right. I also remember the rainbow that crossed over the sky, too. I made it to California safely, for the second brief time that I lived there. But, I learned something in all this.
It is not for me
To live, but only visit
So visit, I will
7/25/17
The first part is, you knock the skittles down,
the second is, you set them up again:
Suzuki, Siemens, Berlusconi, Braun -
they're indestructible, these little men!
We dole out dollars to the bums we beat,
extend a hand to lift them from the floor.
Whose is the victory? Whose the defeat?
They bounce back fresher, stronger than before.
Well, maybe. What if we're the busted flush?
What if they've always had the edge on us?
We got there first, is all, only to spoil it -
were squatting on the sand when oil first gushed.
We won the Cadillac, but missed the bus.
They're cleaning up. We'll soon be cleaning toilets.
The old Victorian toys in good condition are terrifiC
And collecting rare stamps or cards is very colourfuL
When I saw these gems I knew I had a huge bonanzA
But please do be very careful when you attend auctionS
Some road shows you can find wonderful furniture antquieS
Are you under the spell for old Japanese motorbikes like SuzukI
Lots of comics and magazines can also bring a touch of pure magiC
Yes it can be real fun and rewarding looking at some rare motor carS
© Copyright K.C.Leake
24th November 2015
All Rights Reserved
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