The Southern Hemisphere

The Southern Hemisphere is the
new hemisphere, or it is
the one being explored anew.
Western myths are
based on the North,
but here the stars
point to a brighter future,
where Orion stands
on his head.

1 April 2017

Stars

Buffeted by the wind
and struck by the stars,
I stepped onto the deck of
our beach house,
in the middle of the night.
Off-season, no one around,
no need for clothes.
As I fixed the banging shutter,
my body was bathed in starlight,
the soft light
of a million blazing suns.
Job done, i was
so staggered by the stars
that I didn't even notice
the ocean.

Back in bed,
the surf pounded,
and the stars
kept me awake.

1 April 2017

My Beliefs

My beliefs are not so different
from those of "primitive" tribes.
I know there is a soul,
and that the soul survives.
Life goes on, no doubt about it.
Clothing is sometimes needed,
but I am happier without it.
Women are at least the equals of men,
to be loved and always respected.
Wisdom should be listened to,
and arrogance rejected.
The rich are not better than the poor,
but peace is surely
better than war.

Greedy for Life

I have been greedy for lives,
one was never enough.
I have walked naked through forest
with blowgun and darts.
I've been dockworker, shipbuilder,
astrologer, farmer, physician,
practicer and patron of the arts,
Pagan, Christian, Jew,
to name only a few,
woman, man, boy, girl,
high and low class,
married, single, multilingual.
I know the present
and I know the past,
why should I not know
the future too,
if this greed for life
shall last?

Edouard

While I was taking Betty for her walk this afternoon, the Swiss eccentric, Edouard, called out to us. He is a dog-lover, and wanted to greet Betty. She likes him too, and clearly considers him a friend. After giving her a lot of attention, he said "she probably smells wine on my breath." (He said it in Spanish, but I translate.) He showed me his tongue, which was purple from the fruit of the vine--he was obviously three sheets to the wind. He gave me the useful information that, in Germany, Johnny Walker Red is Johann Geht Rot. But he pronounce "geht" to sound more like the English word "get," so I guess that must be how it is in svitsdutch. About then an attractive young woman went by on a bicycle,and he followed her up the block with his eyes (actually, I think his whole body turned). He said, "for me, it's a memory--many years ago." "My bird is dead," he said. I guess he's in his sixties, and I'm in my seventies, so I probably know more about dead birds than he does. Sometimes there are ways to revive them, at least for a time. We commiserated a bit with each other, and then Betty and I had to go. Although Eduardo's property is filled with an incredible collection of junk,he's a friendly guy, and I consider him an asset to the neighborhood, dead bird and all.

28 March 2017

O Portunhol

[portunhol surenho]

Escrevo en idioma bastardo,
seguramente non é el mío,
escreverlo é desafío,
lerlo é un lío,
Qué infernal lunfardo!

I write in a bastard language,
it certainly isn't mine,
to write it is a challenge,
to read it is a hassle,
What a hellish slanguage!

Note: Rather than a single language, Portunhol is a dialect continuum that exists along thousands of kilometers of Brazil's border with its Spanish-speaking neighbors. My dialect, a work in progress, shares some of the features of the Portuguese of southern Brazil, as well as many features of the Spanish of Uruguay, where I live. It is not the same as the Portunhol of Rivera, or as that of Artigas. I believe the only dialect that has been formally studied is that of Rivera, Many dialects have probably never been reduced to writing, but I am trying to make a literary language of mine, which I call portunhol surenho. This poem is just humor; the truth is that I love the language.

A Curse on Spell-checkers

I know there was never a need
to separate practise from practice.
But "supersede" and "proceed"
are differently sourced,
and our hand should never be forced
by lexicographer praxis
or an ignorant spell-checker axis.
My language has been superseded,
and I know it well,
but spell-checkers,
ye little feckers,
can all proceed to hell!

27 March 2017