Ben Gieske Poems

white canvas
................all bleached
what first
................a broad wash
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(Paintings by Robert Lange)

A panda bear isn’t that large
not large enough to be a bear
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Not much comes to mind now as I think of something yellow
Except that Beetle Song that happens to mention yellow.

I do not care to cite a certain bird I know by name
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A gift to us was given
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Moon half yellow
blue bulls bellow
wolf there lurking in the red zone
king of beasts all wearing purple
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Have you ever, he said, seen a rattlesnake moon?
Never, ever, I said. What's a rattlesnake moon?

One that captures solar light, soaking up its heat.
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dog and lizard
resting on a log
sometimes
friends don’t need to look very far
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Every so often ^ v ^ v ^
despite the disinclination \ \ \
to do so and the friction /\*/\
which it causes, but not everyday, , , , , ,
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(Woman Reading a Letter - painting by Jan Vermeer, c.1663)

There
standing
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All the calendars measure the months of the seasons;
None of them painting the same scenario for all.
Still all know the reasons for the different seasons.
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