sol negro Virginia Rodrigues 

hearing you and Mary Jane 

with my west facing window washing clean 

in this predawn rain 

there is a jungle growing 

here in the desert 

your voice bell clear 

casa o mi casa 

filled with bits of spirits... 

letters from death row pen pals 

incense from a  Thailand friend 

a coffee cup -  "me & Jim founded Tonopah" 

some remedy from a healer friend 

an artist’s rendition of a new age mother bird 

spine spinning tiny circles 

hearthappy to the drum beat 

everyday is thanksgiving day 

to chew our food with thought 

of its source 

o Tennessee hill billy i remember 

turning over rocks 

finding hellgrammites 

squealing and you laughing 

in memory 

all hesitations are vanished 
 
 

i thus end this ode 

where else to begin the new?