“Underneath the Waterfall in a Green Dress” by Bob Rich

bobrich2 225x300 Underneath the Waterfall in a Green Dress by Bob Rich

Alone in a cloudy green valley,

by himself in the green misty canyon

where steaming vapors trailed up in prayers toward the sky,

he felt cold, cold rain

pouring in sheets and buckets inside his chest

for years: bright blue burning seas of falling rain.

From the rain emerged a river,

finally releasing its burning blue sorrow

into a stream in the green valley,

in the lush green empty canyon where no one embraced.

Through the cold green valley,

the river carved a weary path

like a strong solitary liquid fist,

pushing intensely through the mud

through towering neon green trees of longing,

through dark green vegetation of bitterness,

in watery fiery ache across the wet salty earth.

The river was looking

for warm eyes,

and curved, cupped, soft hands

to catch perhaps just a handful of its cold burning ocean.

The river consisted of several sections as it wound its path through the valley,

like a song:

the first part of the river

stretching to the right like verses of sighs,

with lightly plucked guitars shown by ripples over the cold waters;

the second part of the river

swinging to the left like a chorus of prayers,

with a violin quietly humming, causing the river's surface to vibrate,

kicking up the brittle leaves riding on top of the river;

the third part of the river

arcing back to the right like verses of whispered wishes,

with lightly brushed drums seen through gasps of misty cloud-bursts

breathed up from the river

as the curious neon green trees peered down and watched from overhead;

and the fourth part of the river

arcing back to the left like another chorus of prayers,

with a bass guitar plucked in loud resounding notes

as cold wet fists of water leapt up from the river's surface

in defiance and desire.

The river deepened into the muddy earth,

grinding down the rocks and hard minerals into a river bed,

etching a dreary journey into the green valley's frozen terrain,

spraying tears into the grass

as the green trees bent over to silently stare

at the river's solitary path,

untouched by the single stroke of an oar

as it stretched on toward the night-time horizon

where falling stars drizzled down the sky

in bright yellow streaks

from a weeping constellation.

And, as the cold dark fury of the night settled over the nocturnal valley,

the river's murky waters sent up clusters of weary bubbles to the surface of the water:

with some clusters of bubbles like mournful lamps in bright blue,

and other clusters like swaying bunches of lamps in burning red,

and others were swirling hot orange lamps like translucent grapes of fire,

with more bubbles grouped in sad shining purple clusters like solitary royal treasure.

The river moving on,

in darkness...

Until somehow,

morning came!

The loyal warm sun.

And the river, still traveling on,

saw a cliff up ahead,

where the river could finally dive off into the free blessed air,

out from the chill of the green cloud-smothered valley.

And, at last, the river's many tumbling sheets of water

fell like clear ecstatic birds

over the cliff,

in liberated downward flight,

where, far below, a woman was waiting,

wearing a satiny green dress,

her dark hair arrayed in yellow stars from her sweet perfume

that carried the warm fragrance of an endless rose,

with a white blooming carnation flower in her hair,

as she softly opened her fiercely-shining eyes,

golden earrings resplendent in sunlight above her shoulders,

and a basket in her arms with clusters of fruit and colored glass lights,

her bare feet softly stepping in the warm powdery dirt.

The woman, with a beaming smile, began to wash herself in the falling river,

which warmed against her touch

as hundreds of wet singing birds fell around her

and a tunnel of warm air opened up above her

so she could breathe through the plunging river,

while her green dress darkened

beneath the surging warm waterfall's gentle hands

which lightly pressed its palms against her

like a tango dancer's soft skilled embrace,

turning her slightly to the right, then slightly to the left, then slightly to the right again,

in a slow savory dance,

as warm clear ribbons of water and light streamed all around her

like long luxurious streams of white shining confetti at the parade for a queen.

The river spilled all around her like soft crystal downpours of watery fireworks,

until, finally, at her feet,

fish appeared, flapping and diving in bright colors,

as the water cascaded in warm sheets away from her,

and fresh green leaves spilled at her feet from rejoicing trees

while she soaked in the last feathery drenches of the warm waterfall,

her bright womanly figure silhoutted in shadow within the downpour.

And the man from the valley no longer felt rain inside his chest,

as the river ignited into a sighing breath of steam within the valley

like a long winding row of exhaled musical notations

lifting off a page of sheet music from a finished opera,

each musical note turning into flames above the dry river bed,

while he imagined:

a boy running, who became a young man leaping,

who became a grown man suspended happily in the warm air;

and three dolphins leaping up over the wide sea in synchronized freedom

as they triumphantly rotate like slow-motion wind-chimes above a bed of sparkling waves;

and three gazelle jumping from the air into warm cradling grasses;

and one fiercely-standing lioness facing the orange-red setting sun.

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“Employment as a Question Mark” (humor) by Bob Rich

I want to update you that I read in the L.A. Times that people are making good money as punctuation and I just got part-time employment on evenings and weekends as a professional Question Mark! To explain, my work as a Question Mark will require that I dress-up in a six-foot plush Question Mark body-suit and, dressed as a Question Mark, I will motionlessly, conspicuously, soundlessly, yet very thought-provokingly stand in various locations around Southern California in order to present various philosophical "rhetorical questions" to the general public. My presence as a silently profound Question Mark at strategic locations in the Southland will address concerns related to deeper truths or underlying ethical dilemmas related to each particular location where I am standing.

For example, I will stand at the front of the line in a Wendy's Hamburger restaurant in order to rhetorically ask such questions as: "Is this restaurant even remotely healthy?," "Couldn't you be preparing a nice, fresh tossed salad for yourself at home right now?," and "Who in the world is Wendy anyway and does she have even the slightest personal interest or knowledge about hamburgers?"

Likewise, I will also be standing in the middle of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, such that my quiet presence will provoke such questions as: "What really distinguishes art from just amateurish but well-intended creativity?," "Does 'beauty' really exist in an objective sense, I mean outside of how you yourself spend so much time arrogantly studying your own physique in the mirror, Narcissus?," and "How much would even the most aesthetically exquisite piece of sculpture cost if it were constructed solely from Play-Doh?"

I also plan to serve as an insightful yet silent Question Mark presence on the sand at Zuma beach in Malibu, so as to wordlessly yet indelibly ask the questions: "How many burritos do you think have been eaten on these shores, and, out of the patrons who purchased those burritos, how many of those real historical people thought that you desperately needed to get a life?," "Did you know that only eight people on the face of the Earth know that Schering-Plough Healthcare Products is the name of the company that makes Coppertone sun-tan lotion, which includes the seven people who ever worked at Schering-Plough?," and "Why for the love of God are you staring at a Question Mark on the beach when that redhead is sitting only twelve feet away from you and she thinks you're an interesting guy? -- are you really that dense? -- do I have to walk over there and stand right next to her, jumping up-and-down? -- why do you think I've been motioning in her direction with my head for the past ten minutes, because I'm trying to shake some sea-water out of my ear??... wake-up, jack-ass, and ask her about the weather or something before I run over and pounce on top of you like punctuation gone postal !!"

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“The Houses by the Sea” by Bob Rich

156109 487680443488 1553628 n The Houses by the Sea by Bob Rich

"The Houses by the Sea" by Bob Rich

There's a place, far away, in a dream I once had,

It's an island of song, where not one soul is sad,

When I came to this place in my blissful night dream,

I was warmed by the sand and the rays of sunbeam.

 

All the children played freely in streets paved with stones,

And the windchimes played music in bright, floating tones,

I saw houses were there, white and blue, by the sea,

Then some people came out to give greetings to me.

 

"Come and join us," they said, "in the City of Light,

Where there only is cheer and there never is fright,"

The women came forward with baskets of flowers,

The men said, "Relax by the sea for some hours."

 

I sat on the shore near the cool, clear, blue water,

And found myself joined by the mayor's own daughter,

"Good day," she said warmly, "I've a question for you,"

"I will answer," said I, "but first tell me it's true."

 

"Oh, that what's true?" she asked, with a smile so sweet,

With a joy on her face that made me feel complete,

"That this city exists, it's not just a fable,

We can have joy and peace, we really are able."

 

It was then I looked up and saw birds overhead,

Casting shadows on me - then the lady instead,

But she waved them away with a brush of her hand,

And they scattered like sorrow without strength to stand.

 

"Come now," she replied, "you're so serious, so bleak,"

She drew near me and placed her soft hand on my cheek,

"Just look here, in my eyes, and you'll know if I'm real,"

And I gazed in her eyes and a soul I did feel.

 

"There's a light in your eyes, and the essence of life,

But, still, how can this be? A real place with no strife?"

In my grief, I looked down and could not hide my tear,

She said, "Now, would you please hear my question, my dear?"

 

"I will," I said, as she began to fade away,

Yet, before I woke up, I could still hear her say,

"What is your one dream and will you build it for me?

When it's done, I'll meet you at your house by the sea."

 

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