rohnbayesjourney

Amtrak

Traking east thru urban desert east LA freeway grafitti trucks bums under the overpass camped in the cathedral mountains now love the way they descend fingers and stones into ranch land the trees the plants growing in concrete the observation car I think the cars on I10 the itunes on RP the kids in the car the sky the breath the wind bends the poles of telephones the stray dog chimneys and driveways why the brown dirt ?? sun going down diesel electric now we're going fast passing volvos passing time curves views bottles of beer and giant windmills time for dessert read that book lost those bars

Sent from my iPhone

an espresso with no sugar

sitting in the cafe
in Barcelona rock n roll reggae
playing on the speakers and
coffee in a cup black on white
an espresso with no sugar
a plaza with a cross on a
moorish pedestal a church
a dog barking a pigeon on
the wall shadows in the
dirt murmuring people
voices in different languages
sunglasses by my iphone
pen with paper
uno beinte says the lady

encinitas

mustang convertible
101 solana beach carlsbad
cruising the big ocean on the
left the blue sky ahead the lines
of surf curling in from the west
the cliffs the cars the people
carrying their surfboards down
to the water the water the
marriage my sister the homes
along the edge the homes no
parking the cars the kids on the beach
the river ends in a lagoon the
dragon kites flying in the breeze
the breeze cruising with a hat on
open comfortable convertible mustang
rental just here for awhile all
these houses are going to fall
one day just visiting here's
your car back airplane airport

this is a view from the jungle

gorgeous and green and full of god’s creatures
i’m doing my part to feed the indigenous population of wild yucatan mosquitos although a few have missed their flight home due to stormy weather if you know what i'm saying - thunderclap and all
but the coatamundis the iguanas the mot mots and chacalacas (chacalaca alarm clock) red headed woodpeckers brilliant vermillion tipped butterflies tetras and catfish spider monkeys sitting on the bench where they launch the riders down the vectored zip line and into the cenote spiders in the shower 4 inch long centipedes striped yellow and black crawling thru the bathroom zopilotes cruising over the treetops with arms outstreached within arms reach of the treehouse rooftop where i sit watching the green green thick canopy below and oh yeah bipedal hominoids also many from exotic locations like paris and france here to explore the jungle and jump in the cenote waters jesus christ lizards (they walk on water) orchids and sweet zapotes baby jaguars and tzetzals sabal palms and che chin trees and chicle trees and chit palms and papaya they're all here and amen to all that amen

in the campfire at my friend's place in the yucatan jungle

the ashes still hold the shape
of bark and wood but
crumble when
i poke them with a stick
hot coals lie
beneath the surface half lit and new fire bursts forth
when i build the kindling pile over them

the theater of wood and flame
raises its curtain and stages a play
a crocodile
its snout on fire and smoke pouring from its nostrils
becomes the face of a child and
changes into the face of a woman and
into an old man with a walking stick

i add a piece of wood
and a laptop appears
it dissolves
i see a bridge between two cliffs
it collapses
the ashes are black
there are no stars

in the morning
i find the rubies buried in the bed
and stir them
add scraps of cardboard a paper towel soaked with bacon grease
and the flames appear bright orange red and blue
it burns everything i feed it

overhead a heavy sky begins to drip
and a slow drizzle covers the camp
it's smoky and rainy at the same time
and green light is coming from the jungle
from inside the hut i watch the struggle
rain falls into the fire and turns to steam
the fire's eye flickers and blinks
i realize something 

but lose it again

city

sometimes a river
winds thru it like salome’s dance
the buildings rise on

the bank
city may be
a bridge a floating
jewell a flash an appetite

i’m in brisbane
thinking these thoughts
they call it city here
the city
a cell

a mojito
lights against the night sky
the river taxi crosses
rippled water

buddha the bottlenose dolphin
swims in during the summer
when the waters
are warm
this is explained in the menu

a girl walks along the pier with a lit cigarette

comanche peach pie

just north of the davis mountains in deep west texas on the edge of the chihuahuan desert
lies the spring fed pool of balmorhea
there is a state park there now and a park ranger at the entrance 
and a parking lot for your car
and a large stone building with concrete floors built for visitors who want to change into their swim suits
before diving into the crystal clear water

on the approach to the pool there is a historical plaque explaining
to any interested guests that before the US calvary built fort davis in the nearby mountains
and drove them off - the comanche used to plant peach trees here
in the sandy soil along the stream that emerges below the pool

i'm pretty sure they made peach pie too
maybe something baked in a stone oven fired with branches
from the cottonwood trees that grow near the pool and drop their heart shaped
leaves on everything

i have not tasted comanche peach pie but i can imagine being a comanche
living in this desert and tending my peach trees at balmorhea or whatever it was
called then and i would
have baked a peach pie and served it with coffee after dinner on
special occasions - a successful raid on a mission somewhere for example

i suspect the recipe has been lost now
after their eviction from the springs the peach pie passed into legend
and ceased to exist
i have been searching for it nonetheless with a hopeful and naive aspiration
in truck stops and likely looking restaurants
also inquiring of friends if they have the recipe
knowing that ofcourse they don't how could they ??

yet still believing that the secret of good comanche peach pie
might reemerge somehow - if beseeched properly - and be called back into
existence at a tea party somewhere with yerba mate
or strong coffee sweetened with agave nectar poured from
a clay bowl glazed and decorated with mountains and a stream
winding all the way down to the base where i hold it
in my hand

road trip

atlanta ft. lauderdale gainsville asheville
i'm on a road trip with a friend from houston
driving around in his cr-v he
used to roam mexico in the 70's in his
vw van up and down the coast i used to live on the beach
below akumal diving geeks on the reef 
we're older now and wealthy it seems to me
we're also much funnier mucha broma
i would say muy divertido in bob's excellent
spanish instead of waiting in the laundromat for
the clothes to dry we cruise over to harry's for
the best key lime pie in alachua county
and joked the waitress

today the party starts at 5
stop 3 on the tour
an old dive buddy from the yucatan is joining us
at phillips hall on the university of florida campus
with prem rawat the best party meister ever presiding
check out http://innerlink.typepad.com/connect/2007/07/an-exquisite-da.html  for the inside story

and curious now that i mention it
this trip around the north end of the gulf of mexico
having spent so many years on the south end
a party tour indeed with motels and ihops and the lovely
sweetwaterinn.com bed and breakfast where
we presently preside the frog in the pond and the giggling fountain
replacing van camping and the campfire lit beach beneath the palms

i gotta say something at this point
harry's has the best key lime pie i ever had
including that trip to key west the memory
fades and the best is now it always gets better

always come home
i feel the same

del corazon de quito

the city
surrounded by mountains
the airport like a knife thru the center
el panesillo the virgin looking down
the villages climbing the slope

i’m here for a conference
at teatro nacional
prem rawat el maestro
the bringer of surprise
and delight

bold design broad enterprise

i’m looking down from teleferrico
4100 meters high
the city below
the clouds in between
i freeze my ears and get sunburned

i’m searching for
el corazon de quito
and find two kids near the panecillo
one is shy one is ready to go
both like the camera
and look thru it
toma la autobus !!
toma la policia !!
toma la nina !!
i oblige

and the camera captures it
they are surprised

2 miles high
in the andean mountains

winter wonder land

wisconson

but the snow is melting

brown patches emerging on the hills of maiden rock

population 121

although tracy at the gypsy grille pointed out to me

the sign on the other end of town

says 145 so i don't know

but the subzero temperatures and eight foot high snow drifts

are sadly missing from my midwinter narnia fantasy adventure in

the winterwonderland along the mississippi river in upstate

wisconsin far from michigan where i started out after leaving texas

before i got this far but that was other adventures this is

my holiday season in the serene scenery of my fantasy childhood

day playing in the snow probly eight foot high snow drifts seemed like it

and howling wind and snot freezing weather

practically and i know it was fun cause i just can't find any rabbit tracks

up the hill behind helen's house who i'm visiting in maiden rock pop

121-145 but it's just like that hill almost that we slid down in newaygo behind the

parsonage flying down that holy hill was fast

as snot streaming out of my nose cheeks red water in my boots probaly

why was that so much fun ?? geeez i guess just

the winterwonderland of my childhood land of santa claus and reindeer

and narnia and baby jesus and no school days !! what a gift the time

of gifts and specialness and the midwinter solstice ancient traditional reason

for the season sun return darkest day and a cheer for joy that was it a

cheer for hope no doubt and running around in the woods putting lights on trees

whatever they did then when they were just celebrating winter solstice before

baby jesus was born on christmas day they were certainly up to something with

the trees in the big forest full of snow drifts high glittering soft petals falling

touching the cheek of a child walking thru the winter wonderland