Summer of Youth: The Shallow End

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Photo/Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker

The Clock of Life

                                                                                                              

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clock 



prayers to 
circles of 
life, 

reverence 
offered 
to cores,
heartbeats,
fabrics of 
our world, 

then, 

that pother of concentric measure - 
time at hand - breaks all pattern: 

vision leaves meaning for 
the beauty of legacy sought,

and memory stills ripples on the pond. 





Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker

To POTUS Regarding Syria: A Subtle Message...

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Poem © 2012 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker

Magpie Tales 183: I'll Pass, Thank You...

pass with caution,
just not now



a lover named death awaits courtship 
with patience and stealth, though stealth
isn't a necessity.  there will be no unrequited, 

rather a point when fatigue is in a smile, 
like that spread across mouths that lay me
down to sleep.  

she said her farewells twice before, after 
patience took her hand to waltz.  we didn't 
care for the music and said so adamantly. 

it wasn't shock, but an acquiesced demeanor 
that brought her to her (our) senses.  she's 
frail now, and old.  her strength manifests 
as our desires and we tell her to "hold on," 
"hang in there":  

none of us knows where 'there' is, but we 
take the curves a bit slower now, and make
believe it's a better place than that which
we fear. 


Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo by Steven Kelly shared by Tess Kincaid.

In Faces of Strangers

to see them 

with kindness

to see it as you do 

softens the blow of 

          prejudice-hidden smug,

          arrogance as obsessive,

pride in vanity; 

it's gnawing humility 

          in hungered fits of 

repentance, 

but more: 

I'm unworthy of your heaven

          and 

the hell of my own creation.

let me see through your eyes, 

but moreover, 

          into your soul. 

Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker 

A Reminder: Hope To See You There!

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Accidental Dumpster Art

The genre of 'dumpster art' is in the can, so-to-speak!  

But here are some shots of my latest 'series' (so-to-speak) of what I call accidental dumpster art; that which just happens naturally. 

To dumpsters, of course! 

Images © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker 

Photos taken by Rick Burnett Baker in Syracuse, NY, August 21, 2013.  

Magpie Tales 182: Passing Phases (Faces)

passing phases
(faces) 



middle-aged 
feints of effort
gloss at a safe 
distance, eye-glass
views as 
voyeur du jour; 

progeny hangs 
in the balance,
ancestor scars 
project adolescent
phases of bad 
complexions; 

still, we embrace
facets of difference
in age and reflection.

opposites don't 
always attract, however,
given the flaws 
that distinguish 
hot from cold, 
darkness from light. 


Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Photo by Elena Kalis shared by Tess Kincaid.

On A Wing and a Prayer

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Photo/Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker

Dystopia 7: Enlightened...

Here is a link (here) to a report about cell phone/smart phone photos that should be required watching at every store that sells them.  As I've ranted many times before, technology will enslave us all, and we will go there with our thumbs stuck on a keypad, and eyes glued to the shiny touch screen...

Photo/Text © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker

Success Series: Trust

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Photo/Text © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker

Magpie Tales 181: Random Redundancies in Abstraction

random redundancies 
in abstraction 



a geomancer divines what already is,
specified and un- 

          new age in old age is redundant, 
          chic notwithstanding; 

'take me as I am', also is, 
          for I already am; 

          the mindset, 'this is the new that' 
          reduces both to each, 

so impel me with manic laughter 
for these verbal dances: 
  
          'repeat after me' 
          'weather the storm' 
          'it is what it is' 
          'double-edged sword' 

'and so it goes' :  I'm a wanderer 
among vagabonds, 

          redundant 
          all. 


Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Painting by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec shared by Tess Kincaid.

Making It Right, Keeping It Humble...

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Photo/Text © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker

Ugly Duckling to Swan, Noxious Weed to Queen Anne

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Photo/Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker

Magpie Tales 180: Past and Present Tense

future now/then 



when fame has gathered you into its bundle, 
          and eyes have read your mind in letters; 

after apprenticeship marks minions by your words, 
          there will remain a face of mystery, 
          legacy aside.

nothing soulful escapes furrowed views,
          you in stoic foreverness and staid:

that is 
the confident plea I desire for my walk 
          into winter's monochrome read - 

a chapter begun and ended by 
          chance. 

Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker
Escher drawing shared by Tess Kincaid.

Before Coffee....A Stream of Thought

Photo/Poem © 2013 Rick Burnett Baker