That’s Valour
says the ragged redbearded man
on Hastings street
sunny and crisp
streaks of clouds
newborn pinks
baby blues
and hazy hues
intersected
by geometrical beams of white

Egyptian orange sun
gently disappears
into the silhouette of a mountain
we drive South
and watch in the rear-view mirror

Waning moon hangs
to the east of the Space Needle
Hurricane Diner
pinball
been here before
spirit and animal
energy concentrated
free shot
free milkshake
cheesy cheesy nachos

Yakula
Fort Glasby
Maytel Landing
Finnish pride
bogs eating moss covered trees
graveyard
pond
lily pads turn earthen
leaves rust and burst
orange and red

Dead possum
on the highway
big truck
monkey trees
kites and boogie boards
horseback riders on the beach

I chase my shadow
down the shoreline
my shadow
chases me back
we return
in the middle of the night
and a soft moon
slowly rises
through layers of pine
and cedar and spruce

Fort Stevens
Bud’s campground
Grandma’s kitchen
seaside surfing
golf course
waves in the distance
as I sleep
ocean breeze
through the trees
coyotes whine and cackle

Alders lean
over a roadside creek
whispering into each other’s ears
foam creates shadows
on the pale sandy ocean floor
crab carcasses
and a salt crusted ship wreck
sink into the sand

Into my shadow
into my light
a one horse town
ups and downs
Holstein cows
and a great blue heron
1920’s road design
Manzanita
Wheeler
and the Star Cafe

Art deco theatre
art deco bridge
historic tunnel
estuary
where the fresh
and the salt water meet

Motorcycle woman
voluptuous legs
bleached blonde hair
poppy red lips
cherub cheeks
and a child's smile
bubbly and brazen

Tillamook cheese factory
blobs of cheese curds
big waves
in Lincoln City
azure ocean
ochre sunset
fell fast
then hung at the horizon
and slid away
into the night stars

Bright shooting stars
he doesn’t want to sleep in the car
not everyone has the same sense of adventure I do
rad garden and market south of Tillamook
hoagy sandwiches
dance cafe
Winchester Bay
only light house
on the Pacific
with a red lens

2 guys
with leathery skin
and missing teeth
outside the ATV rental place
in Caos Bay

Old Town Banden
motel ghost town
sandsurfing
Siuslaw campground
dewy damp and cold
sound of the ocean
throughout my nightmare
two falcons
swoop and dive in the dunes
thick grassy bundles and bushes
little purple and orange flowers
had too much to think this morning
roadkill death count --
2 possums
3 raccoons
3 skunks
people sometimes injure themselves shucking oysters

Bays and marshes
Cliff and ocean
last of the sun
dances over the water
in erratic streams
through hanging mist and fog
archways of massive Redwoods
Legendary Lumberjack Paul Bunyon
he could fell an entire Redwood
with his double-sided axe
then it got pulled by his giant blue ox

Klamath Falls
camped out under Redwood trees
at Elk Prairie campsite
nature is boss
as we cower
under their ruddy trunks

Fort Bragg
more falcons
surfers
and groovy little towns
with cement gas stations
and posters for belly dance lessons

Coming into the Bay Area in the night
like a video game
like in outer space driving over the over passes
distant lights of San Francisco
like a space station
as we go to East Bay

Red El Camino
gold fastback
graceful gaits and dayglo t-shirts
bright white smiles
raw shea butter
black soap
hand dipped incense
more muscle cars
track pants
corn rows
and draping dread locks

Telegraph Ave.
Broadway
Jack London square
massive tanker
being loaded with cargo
boat to San Francisco
hills in the distance
clouds gather at the horizon
as the sun crawls to the west

Pelican bombing
around Lake Merrit
swoops over dragon boats
then elegantly glides
to the shallow edge of the lake
sliding
and gently gliding his feet
a slender
and gently bobbing neck
a prince a boss a beauty
casting a sunset shadow
on the faintly rippling lake

Bullet proof hipster beauty
with sleek honey hair
wipes down tables
behind clean glass
on a kitty corner
where two busy streets meet
where they used to sell vacuums
and play hip hop beats
purple cloud sunset
glares down at us
as Grizzly Bear plays on the stereo

Returning to where I came
nothing is ever the same
everything changes so fast
the squat’s all boarded up now
I’m choking down life
like a 69 cent hamburger