Haiku: Fall 2017

Ukiah Haiku:

      majestic beauty demands

our quiet worship

~~

Encouraging grass

      to grow stronger does not work

by shouting at weeds.

~~

30 miles from the ocean

     the fog still finds me;

memories damp and cold.

~~

  dreams

     as poems

forever                       floating

~~

The List

#3) make a poem

      using the word ‘imperial’.

check.

~~

Fall moon rises 

     to appreciate 

you

~~

Hidden symphony

     in a neighborhood tree. . . 

the dog signs his review.

~~

the kitchen window . . .

     outside, Fall leaves slowly turn;

inside, restless chores.

~~

computers

     connecting the planet . . .

pictures of dinner.

~~

It took a while

     but you can't hurt me anymore. . .

please stop trying

~~

pressure

     from years of neglect . . .

three middle shirt buttons

~~

Perfectly still

     guarding the moon rise--

dragon cloud.

~~

Your startled look

     leaving my dream--

the alarm.

~~

. . . and just like that

I thought of Harry Dean Stanton.

I was drunk; it made sense.

~~

Thirty thousand feet,

     three seats, four arm rests, six arms;

“Sit back and relax!”

Las Vegas to Oakland, October 2017

~~

cleared for departure

your hug

  my carry-on 

for Kelly, October 2017

~~

The traveler surprised 

     by midnight thunder. . .

Texas sleeps.

Aubrey, Texas, October 2017

~~

 I will not be

 the cause

of your cause.

~~

     She’s almost perfect:

     toilet paper rolls

under instead of over.

~~

  a benevolent king

     in a former life,

many princesses, no queen.

Alviso, October 2017

~~

Warm vacuum tubes,

     Princeton Reverb . . .

Smells Like Teen Spirit, 1965

~~

Truth:

 one news source

  no longer enough

Ken Owen

Van Niddy Press  October 2017

A Quiet Moment

a quiet moment 

  staring at a 

screen

  waiting for words 

to describe people 

forfeiting

 a quiet moment

   staring at a 

 screen.

Ken Owen

Van Niddy Press   October 2017

Persona

It takes every ounce 

of mental strength

to project

the 

unreal 

you

Ken Owen
Van Niddy Press   September 2017

Today is The Perfect Day

Today 

  is the perfect day

    to take off your watch

      put away your phone 

        and start measuring your life 

                 in moments 

               not minutes

              in memories

          not money

         in what you’ve touched

     not what you missed

      in the joy of your blessings

  not the pain of your trials.

 Today

is the perfect day.

Ken Owen

Van Niddy Press   September 2017

Weekend Gig Notes: September 2017

Weekend Gig Notes, #1: Coming into The City from my gig in Marin county via the Golden Gate Bridge, I immediately rolled down the windows and let the returning fog into the car so I could tell it how much I missed it. It didn't have its usual zing - probably too tired from dealing with the heat wave like everyone else - but it was still a treat. We shared a laugh as I deliberately drove over the ball caps that the fog had smacked off the heads of tourists and landed them in the roadway (the hats, not the tourists).

When I got to the toll booth I learned that I was to pay $7.75 for the privilege of coming home. Apparently I was in such a state of bliss in my momentary relief from the heatwave that I didn't find the “I've lived here all my fucking life so I get a break on the toll” lane. 

So, just curious: automate the toll taking process with cameras and computers, and the toll price goes up? Perhaps we could keep toll prices lower for residents and natives by charging tourists an extra premium for a “fog-less photo-op crossing” toll.

Just a thought.

Weekend Gig Notes, #2 (While The Cat's Away…): at last night's Seducers gig at Bird and Beckett, band leader and pedal steel master Joe Goldmark was absent on a well deserved vacation, so Mitch Polzak, Hank Maninger, and I carried on in his absence. Mitch and Hank do many trio shows of their own leading some of the finest musicians in the Bay Area, so there was plenty of material to choose from to put on a great show, which they did easily.

Though I'd guess I know somewhere around 75% of their material, it quickly became apparent that Mitch and Hank have been trying out some new tunes and ‘extended arrangements’ in their trio work; things that may not necessarily work for a more traditional quartet like The Seducers. But being well versed as a “substitute drummer” whose main task is to “follow the leader(s)”, I was surprised but game for the challenge. 

Billed as a night of “country honky tonk music”, I am fairly confident most bands playing country music aren't doing 8 minute versions of country classics with multiple time signatures and extended solos. Of course, Mitch and Hank did their great versions of standard country classics, but it sure was fun dropping into fourth gear and seeing if you could make the turn!

At the end of the night, Hank looked at me and said “Mitch Mitchell plays country!” I don't remember if I ever told Hank that Mitch Mitchell, drummer for Jimi Hendrix, was my biggest influence when learning how to play, but it was the best compliment he could have given me (assuming it was a compliment!). We all laughed and I responded with “Chris Squire plays country!” (Chris was the bass player for the progressive rock group “Yes”). We shared another laugh when we remembered how we “lost the 1” a few times but kept on going until we got it back, which served as proof that we were creating something on the spot; not the usual approach for a “country band”. 

Of course, we all missed Joe and his wonderful playing that makes a Seducers show special, but a good time was had by all as the country band stretched out.

(Don't worry Joe, everyone stayed until the end of the show, and no one asked for their money back.)

-KO

Shout

(What If . . .)

What if they held 

a hate rally

and no one cared?

What if they held 

a hate rally

and everyone else 

made it a point

to go to the beach

and have a wonderful day

just like any other Saturday 

picnicking in the sun 

playing in the waves

with their families 

and loved ones

and make new friends

of different persuasions 

and ask them 

to tell their stories

of how they got 

to where they are

and the troubles they are facing

and if they need any help.

Shouting down hate

does not promote love.

Ken Owen
Van Niddy Press   August 2017

Random Travel Notes: August 2017

Travel Note #1: San Jose Airport

Put down the phone, people watch, make eye contact, smile; it totally creeps most people out. As long as they don't call Security, you're doing it right. 

Travel Note #2: Yorba Linda, CA

Went to the local Von’s (Safeway) to get dinner, and got to the checkout counter with a grass-fed ribeye steak, a bottle of Maker's Mark, and a bottle of speciality microbrew. The following conversation then ensued between myself, the young checkout clerk, the bagger, and the lady behind me:

Clerk: Cool, dude; looks like you got everything you need! (smiles)

Me: I am a man of simple pleasures. (smiles)

Bagger: (guffaws, bobs his head, and snorts in the affirmative)

Lady Next in Line: Please tell me there'll be a side dish or salad, at least.

Me and The Clerk: (exchange of puzzled looks and mumbled half-sentences)

Lady Next in Line: (head bobble side-to-side in the negative)

Elderly Man Shopper next to Lady Next in Line: (a wink and a clandestine thumbs-up)

Now I know why people say 'I love L.A.'

Travel Note #3: Vic and Anthony's Steakhouse, Las Vegas, Nevada: 

An elderly gentlemen, alone, coiffed and obviously rich, was leaving the restaurant when he walked past my table and said, “If one must eat alone, one should do it at Vic and Anthony’s.”

Snapping back to reality from a food induced dream-state with a mouth full of lobster, I could barely muster a response. “Um…oh…yes! Indeed!"

He replied, “Have you tried the quail egg appetizers? They're excellent.”

Chewing rapidly while trying to act dignified (and failing), I said, “Oh, uh, no; next time!”

I raised my martini glass in his direction, he nodded in the affirmative as he left, and it was then I remembered that if you dress nice, carry yourself well, and keep your mouth mostly shut, no one need know that your just renting the penthouse.  

-KO

I Woke Up Dreaming

I woke up dreaming

and knew the truth 

had been lying

that the differences 

they sell you and I

are an illusion 

that minutes are a 

false measure of 

the incalculable

that the answers worth seeking 

are found in silence 

not rhetoric 

and if I could just 

breathe and step back

I would see destiny 

flowing easily by

carrying all things 

to their proper place.

Ken Owen    
Van Niddy Press   October 2017