Wednesday, October 31, 2012

i'm stickin to the Taiwan


i'm sticking to the Taiwan (sung to "The Union Maid")

one and a half feet deep
smells very very sweet
though sewage seeped
in Sandy's feat
it's nothing we can't beat

the house wasn't swept away
the lights and heater stayed
though new york sucked
we weren't fucked
as armageddon played

no, you can't scare me
i'm sticking to the Taiwan
i'm sticking to the Taiwan
i'm sticking to the Taiwan
no you can't scare me
i'm sticking to the Taiwan
i'm sticking to the Taiwan
until the day i die

when daylight comes we'll know
the heroes and bozos
though fools may blame
their silly game
there's just one way to go

the Han River beckons me
as far as I can see
we'll stay right here
and feel no fear
let experts clean debris


no, you can't scare me
i'm sticking to the Taiwan
i'm sticking to the Taiwan
i'm sticking to the Taiwan
no you can't scare me
i'm sticking to the Taiwan
i'm sticking to the Taiwan
until the day i die

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

tan-zih sugarcane railroad trail


 tan-zih sweet sugarcane railroad trail, tracks removed 
and the Han River-Gully egrets alighting
trickling stream and butterflies
green with foggy mountains
paddies of rice ready to harvest
stray dogs cleverly crossing blighted roads
beyond the interlude of Leona's village home
across the busy avenue
lies the entrance right-of-way
near happy Philippines migrant factories
well-used two-way bike trail
'nei-hoe-ba' bikers' friendly nods 
thanks dear lord for riding me
let me love the world again
 the green fields of grain
hugging sugarcane by-way
10-26-12

bike-riding up a mountain road


bike-riding up a mountain road
rest with zest at the destination
shake, un-sting your hands
sweat and wipe the sweat
continue going twice as far
no fear of too far returning
breeze back down the mountain
to taichung with ease
10-27-12

how i got here: no idea


how i got here: no idea
a mini eiffel tower on a rooftop across the han
landmarks make the land familiar
tien-yuan village, what is it
cheng-li university I could find again
snaking river han hides its bends
trickling mountain stream heading to taichung
how can i get into her mountain source
found it
rode up to and then around it
sweet taichung, can't go wrong
hear me sing a happy mountain song
10-21-12

along the river han


Along the river Han
A bike path that goes on and on
I'm sorry I called you a 'wash'
Rice paddies and little farms
bamboo groves and elaborate temple
mountains melting into mist
boulders and meandering stream you are
capable of a rage
like a powerful sage
but sweet and warm in the morn
rolling from a place further on
I'll follow you there in your calm
you beautiful flow 
the river Han
now I know

Download DSC04428.jpg (752.6 KB)

                                                                         10-21-12

musical garbage trucks


musical garbage truck
very vermillion Chiang Kai-shek statue
in a cul-de-sac of hills
at the top of the Han River
 a farmers' market closes
after morning shopping
a place palm trees meet evergreens
and the Han an open sewer

Hurricane Sandy is far away
as my son in Shanghai plays with alcohol
my retirement turns Mondays
into Sundays
every morning 

birds chirp and Buddhists sing
what have i to add here
besides a bicycle, life, and wife?
i am the millionth ant on an abandoned court
scurrying hither and dither for a goal post
or has my goal been reached here
stopping to look and write a poem
home, James, go home
10-29-12

low-powered business


low-powered business Taiwanese style
suits on cycles Sunday morning, cigarette smoking
coffee drinking
meeting on a noisy intersection 
7-11 sidewalk cafe
what a way
prim and proper business ladies
in on the deal...
and then there's me
sitting with vitamin c
Taipei Times English paper
taking space, wondering
they don't have an office, coffee shop?
or do they feel cosmopolitan here
with 7-11 and the American guy
10-28-12

convergences

convergences
tanks, planes, sugarcane train tracks
martial music waifing from an air force base
the tan-zih trail's end, in da-ya, my friend
clouds in the distance clinging to low mountains
like whipped cream on the hills of west virginia
but not clouds icy after sandy
winds bend palm trees gently
but this isn't cuba, though it should 
be free of american garbage vulture
a bike path of happy peddling feet
no, this isn't flooded wall street

10-31-12