i love the way you moved my soul
affecting sands of timely shoals.
now, here i am, once made of stone
eroded down right to the bone.

~~

i try to flex old wings.
instead, a cracking sound
erupts from rusted joints;
i fall onto the ground.

fun times at my sister's house.  they have a new ping-ping/table tennis table and life was just grand.  there ain't nothing like watching my mom and my nephew play.  i will always cherish the dialogue during that moment- "I'm gonna make you dance!"  Lola (grandma) trash-talking her apo (grandson).  and the funny thing was that she actually did make him dance.  gotta love it...  "Her specialty is placement," my brother-in-law observed.  my nephew is a good kid.  very patient and not too sensitive.  i'm proud of him.  he didn't lose his cool.  ate (older sister) refused to play our ma.  everyone knew that  ma's got a better game!  i played my brother-in-law.  good matchup since we're both spin doctors.  good volleys everywhere.  i can't wait to take the table outside near their pool!  my dad played, though he was very anxious about his impending colonoscopy.  wifey showed up from work all burnt and pissed-off.  tired from taking the train from nyc and very hungry i must add, she was okay after the food was served soon after.  all attention (and some happy hands) were on her radiant belly.  my sister's mother-in-law was there.  i played my nephew's drums for her, but i don't think she realized my performance was for her.  as for my niece, like the two cats, she preferred her own company, watching Top Designer and reading All Quiet On The Western Front.

the "Tree of Heaven" grows like a weed all over new jersey and the northeast in general.  find it along highways growing out of concrete or in other places where trees aren't supposed to grow.  it's difficult to eradicate; cut one limb off or even break off the whole trunk and it will sprout new branches within a few days.  when handled, its sapplings leave a distinctive odor on one's hands and clothing.   as the tree grows and gains in bulk, its huge branches, made of spongy, soft wood, have a tendency to break off and come crashing down, especially when agitated by high winds.  a neighbor of mine has one such tree growing in her yard.  late one night, i found myself jumping out of bed and running naked (it was summer) from one end of the apartment to the other.  a sudden loud crash had awoken me.  it turned out that one of the two main branches of her tree had fallen into my immediate neighbor's yard, crushing her above-ground swimming pool and backyard furniture.  and so began the deforestation of my backyard.  no more trees, just nice flat savannah on which to plant tomato and basil.  so, in the end, and not to be irreverent or anything like that, i got the point.  and who needs that kind of surprise, anyway?

the nature of man is to remain in a stasis cocooned in belief, a most plush blanket from which it is most difficult to extricate oneself.  hence, our preconceived notions are undeniably shackles with warm, velvety interioirs.  and who in their right mind would want to leave warm, velvety interiors?  so, when challenged by the prospect of sudden change, we act like prisoners who know only the darkness of our cells- we denounce the open door and turn our backs to the light.